Silver Sweethearts

9 hours ago, DeepFreeze63 said:

Great! This could be a poster response to questions about dress code at dinner in CR. Women dressier than men. Men in collared shirts (with long sleeves and sweaters for the chilly venues) and chinos and slacks

Love this threads; thanks to posters.

At least for us, we feel when guests dress so casually it takes away from the special atmosphere the dining room creates.

13 hours ago, jdc987 said:

Hi, looking at island map, I am curious where or how you get to departure point of tour?  I am also interested in whale watch tour and it list departure point at some distance from cruise terminal.  Thanks in advance.

Whale Watch tours on Maui may be found at Ma'alaea Harbor, about nine miles from where the POA docks.  If you rent a car it will take about 20 minutes to get to Ma'alaea.  Do check first though, as whale season may be over by the time you arrive here.

3 hours ago, sunviking90 said:

Another retired gen x-er here who also started cruising on a 20,000 ton beauty (RCCL’s Sun Viking) I enjoyed your intro and I’m looking forward to your reports already! 

Sitmar Cruises was our favorite.  The ships didn't have all the bells and whistles (unless you considered skeet shooting from an aft deck), but they had excellent food and a great staff.  Hope HAL treats you well too.  Bon voyage, BermudaBound 2014 and fellow sailors!  Fair winds and following seas.

Thank you for the thank you.  We have been following your progress and achievements on this roll call for some time now and it sounds like you have everything in gear.  We wish you fair winds and following seas!

11 hours ago, princeton123211 said:

The point being, given travel times can be long over short distances, you need to be more strategic unless you want to spend the entire time in the car. I would pick two general areas for each day of your stay and base dining on that. 

You can pretty much divide Maui into five segments, and we offer this as a general idea of what is where out there and is our opinion only.  South Maui takes in Wailea and Kihei.  Wailea is mostly upscale resort restaurants and smaller storefront restaurants.  Mama's Fish House dominates the north side, though many like to include funky Paia and its casual vibe.  Central Maui is more business than romantic places.  Upcountry is casual and quiet.  We do not list the west side (Lahaina, Kaanapali, Kapalua, etc.) because it has a lot of healing to do yet.   

4 hours ago, jkbec101 said:

We'll be on the POA in June and my wife and I are looking for a nice, maybe a bit romantic restaurant for dinner on Maui.  We already have plans to go to Mama's Fish house for lunch, so we're looking for somewhere else.

Can you be a bit more specific about the type of food you enjoy, your budget, general location and so on so the choices can be narrowed down?  Mahalo.

You might try calling them at (800) 367-7060 between 12:30 p.m. and 9:00 p.m. Hawaiian time any day except Wednesday and Sunday.

10 minutes ago, BermudaBound2014 said:

If you are going to be there on a Saturday the Maui Farmers market is in walking distance from the only working port in Maui (Kahalui). If your itinerary  shows Lahania you will not be docking there and the Pride of America gets priority in Kahalu. The market is Across the street from Queen K mall and next to the university. Lots of great stuff much made by locals. 

With all due respect, Swap Meet (not Maui Farmer's Market) is what is held next to UHMC on Saturday mornings.  Google Maui Swap Meet for more information.  A fun way to spend a morning.  

On 1/24/2024 at 9:46 AM, princeton123211 said:

Like Bruce says, POA gives you the most actual time in Hawaii. The ship is a gaudy barge and wouldn't be my first choice for any cruise, 

Other than that, how did you like it?

On 1/25/2024 at 9:08 AM, princeton123211 said:

IIf you do get into Hollywood (its about 1 hour from San Pedro), stop into Musso and Franks,  Very nostalgic celeb restaurant.  Martinis are pretty good there.  

 

I will second this-- excellent martinis (some say the best in LA) and super atmospheric. The food is also worth sticking around for but if you have limited time (which you would on a shore excursion) it still worth it for a drink. You'll immediately remember the place from lots of movies it's been in. When you walk in the front entrance from Hollywood Blvd bar is to your right in the other dining room. 

Just a FYI:  Super idea, but the earliest they open is 4 p.m. (5 on Sundays).  Also, even if the excursion  is a late one, Hollywood Boulevard is not the place to be at night.

4 hours ago, lag9122 said:

Thank you I need ideas to do stuff there .

 

The POA  really isn't about what is offered with onboard  activities.  It is in getting guests from island to island so they can explore Hawaii in person and up close.

On 1/15/2024 at 10:48 AM, jkbec101 said:

Years and years ago, my wife took a tour that took them up to the mountain top for sunrise and then they biked all the way down to the ocean.  

 

From what I have read and what I can tell is that they no longer do this.  Most tour operators do the top portion twice, then put you in a van to just near the bottom, where you get back on your bike again to ride through town. 

 

I guess there is a large portion of the bike route that was closed (even prior to the fire) by the government.  Anyone know why.  Anyone heard if it will be opened back up again?  I have tried to find out why it was closed but all my Google searches aren't producing any results.

Those "years and years" have taken their toll on Haleakala, as scottca075 states it quite clearly.  Things from visitor overcrowding to disturbing the environment to injury and death of Park animals, birds and so on all contributed to scaling back activities, and remember that you need reservations for admission to the Park for sunrise viewing.  We're curious: What area is "a large portion of the bike route that was closed by the government"?  

4 hours ago, jkbec101 said:

Years and years ago, my wife took a tour that took them up to the mountain top for sunrise and then they biked all the way down to the ocean.  

 

From what I have read and what I can tell is that they no longer do this.  Most tour operators do the top portion twice, then put you in a van to just near the bottom, where you get back on your bike again to ride through town. 

 

I guess there is a large portion of the bike route that was closed (even prior to the fire) by the government.  Anyone know why.  Anyone heard if it will be opened back up again?  I have tried to find out why it was closed but all my Google searches aren't producing any results.

With all due respect, we encourage you to research further about bike riding down Haleakala - especially the bike tour websites.  You should be able to get the information you seek.

8 hours ago, Panhandle Couple said:

We are on a March NCL cruise, and looking for things to do in Maui.

We have an excursion for the sunset at the volcano, which leaves at 3 pm.  We are wanting something easy without a set schedule earlier in the day.

Looks like Paia has both a set of very nice beaches and a small town area to window shop and maybe a snack or two.

 

Is it worth the Uber trip for 3 or 4 hours?  We would spit the time between the beach and town.

Sincerely trying to be informative and not sour grapes, we were just in Paia this morning and it looked the same as ever - a sleepy tourist trap.  Sounds charming, but you would just be killing time, and it would be a shame to waste your time on Maui on that.  YMMV though...

On 1/9/2024 at 9:38 AM, Travel-or said:

Hi Crisy! So sorry to hear you are sea-sick. FWIW, when I was on the Baltic cruise I was sea sick as well. A fellow passenger gave me ginger PILLS and it worked wonders for me! Literally within 45 minutes I was up and about and made to the Horizon Lounge to watch the waves crashing over the bow...if I recall they were capsules with real ginger powder. Not sure if they are available on board, but they really helped me and they had no side affects. 

 

I hope you feel better soon-I am really enjoying your pix and posts.

What you may be looking for is Dramamine Non-Drowsy Naturals with Ginger (please Google them for complete information).  They are made by the company that makes regular Dramamine but do not contain whatever makes people drowsy.  We have used them (the capsules) many times with no side effects.

4 hours ago, cruisethirsty said:

We've done both and prefer to be on our own as long as it isn't too foreign or threatening. Hawaii meets the criteria for renting since you'll feel comfortable driving there and can see more at a lower cost...Maui doesn't have any rental cars by the port so you have to arrange for them to pick you up (driver only) and it can be rather inconvenient. 

- Or you can just put everyone in a taxi from the port over to the car rental area at the airport (only three miles) and go from there.

1 hour ago, mcmarya said:

One thing I noticed trying to book independent excursions when on a ship other than the Pride of America--not a lot of independent operators offer tours for passengers of other ships, especially small ones.  We had to use a ship's tour to do anything in Nawiliwili since other tours only operated on certain days of the week.

Remember that the POA operates the same route every week.  Other ships are infrequent visitors. Those other operators cannot count on the continuous income the POA usually provides for them. 

8 hours ago, CruiserBruce said:

The ease of doing Wailea via the cruise line excursion is hard to beat...takes care of the getting back issues.

If this is the excursion we have read about, most all you will be getting is a tour bus ride from Kahului to Wailea (about half an hour max) - and back to the ship about five hours later.  Everything else costs extra.  We encourage you to research this further.

4 hours ago, pinotlover said:

Purely coincidence. The system merely keeps track of how many people are eating where.

On Regent, we were told that the system monitors the likes and dislikes of the patrons  so they will be better able to serve them (that includes the staff being aware of food allergies too).

Have you given any thought to French Polynesia?

6 hours ago, leaveitallbehind said:

Good point and thanks for mentioning it.  I was only referring to our itinerary in 2019.

Since August, the only port available on Maui is Kahului, and ships will dock - not tender - there for the foreseeable future.  Take this into consideration when planning your activities on the island.

3 hours ago, jkbec101 said:

Those things I know, I was hoping for insight beyond that.

They are the only game in town.

49 minutes ago, mskaufman said:

We did that this summer.  Road to Hana and then sunrise.  We got back closer to 10 and went to eat breakfast since we did not eat before catching the (I think it was) 3 am departure.  We took a nap and hung out at the pool.

Your schedule is really the best idea, as they may be more tired than they think they are.  It wouldn't hurt to take a nap to renew energy.

Just curious where you had breakfast?

9 hours ago, Brewster said:

Since the tour gets back at 9:30 AM on Monday morning and the ship does not leave until 6 PM that night, any recommendations on how we should spend the rest of our day (Beaches, any interesting excursions in the area without going more than 30 to 40 mins away from port via taxi/Uber on that day)? Thanks. 

There isn't anything for visitors to do in Kahului (where the POA docks), so getting out of the area is the most logical move. In whatever research you are doing, have there been any places that sound interesting? 

2 hours ago, 70Up said:

Summary- Having a rental car gives you the freedom to explore the various islands at your own pace and I recommend it.  I would certainly lean towards renting from a company that provides a shuttle.  Kahului, Maui is the only stop where this does not seem to be possible and the 20-minute walk to get out of the terminal area I think is a real slap in the face to visitors.

With all due respect, what do you suggest could realistically be done about the situation?