Port of Kahului in Maui for the Grand

[CruzinNoony]

We are on the Jan. 19 sailing to Hawaii on the Grand out of LA.  Because of work being done to the pier in Lahaina, we will not tender there, but will dock across the harbor in Kahului.  So far, Princess has no shore excursions posted for this stop.  We are booked on a whale watching tour out of near-by Ma'alaea Harbor.  The problem is getting there.  We are hoping Princess will offer shuttle buses to a shopping center which is a mile away so we can hop on a city bus.  The port area is an industrial site, so there is nothing around.  Lots of itineraries are going there, but we will be one of the first.  I know we could take a taxi or Uber, but we are trying to keep the cost down if possible. Any thoughts on this?

 

[Astro Flyer]

Meredith…sadly the lack of shore excursions might be an indication they think Hawaii won’t reopen to cruising any time soon. 😟 I see tours for other ports they regularly sail to but not for Kahului which replaces the normal Lahaina stop requiring new contracts.

 

I have not seen any public discussion in Hawaii about allowing cruising to resume & this CC article has a HDOT statement that isn’t encouraging: "Currently, the earliest resumption of cruises to Hawaii would be January of 2022”. It took many months of discussion to develop a plan that was acceptable for residents to allow air travel to resume without a quarantine.

 

https://www.cruisecritic.com/news/6604/
 

Also checking the Honolulu harbor arrivals site it currently shows few cruise ships are scheduled in 2022 with no Princess ships until 2023.

 

https://hawaii.portcall.com/#!?tab=2&date=2021-11-18&port=Honolulu - Oahu

 

Hopefully things change before your cruise & if we were back in Maui could drive you there but we don’t return until early February.

 

Edited November 20, 2021 by Astro Flyer

[san diego sue]

I hope we do sail. We have a great price for this cruise and hate losing that deal. I was looking forward to different ports besides Mexico and coastals.

[jondfk]

The same port call website does however show Grand arriving at Hilo, Kauai and Kahalui for her two calls in January, so the Honolulu portion seems out of sync.

 

Mind you there is undoubtedly risk we may not sail.  However, NCL continues to have a full restart of Pride of America for January 22 with weekly calls.  It stands to reason that it would be good to work out the kinks with a couple ships before that regular cycle resumes.  Here's hoping Grand can be one of the trial cruises that is allowed to go off before Pride resume.

 

Fingers crossed.

 

[memoak]

We switched from a December Hawaii cruise to one January and then switched that one for one in late March. We are fairly confident in that one prior to February not so sure

[Astro Flyer]

13 minutes ago, jondfk said:

Fingers crossed.

🤞

[ProfMHC]

After the latest from Hawaii yesterday I’ve begun working on Plan B for January.

[Bgwest]

38 minutes ago, ProfMHC said:

After the latest from Hawaii yesterday I’ve begun working on Plan B for January.

Please elaborate. 

[ProfMHC]

Looking at substitute cruises both Princess and X.

[azbirdmom]

It's a short distance (like 8 or 9 miles) to Maalaea so it would be easy to get to.  You might want to check with your tour vendor for recommendations about how to get to the port in case they already have agreements for affordable transportation.

 

We were in Maui in October and are going back next month.  Everything is open but it's hard to get into restaurants as they are at 50% capacity, require that you show vaccination cards, and are working through the same staffing shortages as there are elsewhere.  They also welcomed back international travelers this month.  Despite the obvious restrictions, we found folks in Maui as welcoming as ever.  Hope the Hawaiian cruises do indeed start in January.

[muffin]

Yes please elaborate. We are booked on the Crown Princess leaving LA Nov 9/22 on a 28 day to Hawaii and Tahiti.  See it is not mentioned in Honolulu when our day there is  supposed to be Nov 15 /22. A full year away, but filled with uncertainty for sure! 
 

[cr8tiv1]

2 hours ago, CruzinNoony said:

We are on the Jan. 19 sailing to Hawaii on the Grand out of LA.  Because of work being done to the pier in Lahaina, we will not tender there, but will dock across the harbor in Kahului.  So far, Princess has no shore excursions posted for this stop.  We are booked on a whale watching tour out of near-by Ma'alaea Harbor.  The problem is getting there.  We are hoping Princess will offer shuttle buses to a shopping center which is a mile away so we can hop on a city bus.  The port area is an industrial site, so there is nothing around.  Lots of itineraries are going there, but we will be one of the first.  I know we could take a taxi or Uber, but we are trying to keep the cost down if possible. Any thoughts on this?

 

 

https://www.lahainanews.com/news/local-news/2021/04/02/work-on-new-concrete-ferry-pier-at-lahaina-harbor-set-to-begin-april-5/

 

"According to DLNR, while portions of the existing pier will be closed at various stages, this project has been phased carefully so that commercial operators and the existing Lanai ferry will be able to operate without any interruption of service. 

When cruise ships return to Lahaina, construction will be halted during all cruise ship days, and ferry/commercial operations will be able to continue uninterrupted."  

 

If this is NOT the reason for visiting Lahaina, then what is????  Waiting to see which excursions are offered from Kahului.  When I did a quick search with Roberts Hawaii (tour), they did not offer any independent excursions from Kahului either.  

 

Maui was one of the islands that was hit hard by the pandemic restrictions.  Hawaii State is trying to kick start the tourist industry.  It's a catch 22 for all of the islands.  Locals got used to less traffic and open beaches.  It is a difficult balance to restore.

 

[ProfMHC]

The only elaboration I can offer is looking at other cruises and cruise lines for NON HAWAII cruises in January. We have already scheduled house/pet sitter and need to keep to dates as close as we can. 

[nocl]

47 minutes ago, cr8tiv1 said:

 

https://www.lahainanews.com/news/local-news/2021/04/02/work-on-new-concrete-ferry-pier-at-lahaina-harbor-set-to-begin-april-5/

 

"According to DLNR, while portions of the existing pier will be closed at various stages, this project has been phased carefully so that commercial operators and the existing Lanai ferry will be able to operate without any interruption of service. 

When cruise ships return to Lahaina, construction will be halted during all cruise ship days, and ferry/commercial operations will be able to continue uninterrupted."  

 

If this is NOT the reason for visiting Lahaina, then what is????  Waiting to see which excursions are offered from Kahului.  When I did a quick search with Roberts Hawaii (tour), they did not offer any independent excursions from Kahului either.  

 

Maui was one of the islands that was hit hard by the pandemic restrictions.  Hawaii State is trying to kick start the tourist industry.  It's a catch 22 for all of the islands.  Locals got used to less traffic and open beaches.  It is a difficult balance to restore.

 

Actually it is the reason.  Tender operations have always been difficult at the best of times at Lahina with tenders having to work in between tour boats loading and other dock traffic.  It is resulted in lengthy times getting people to and from the Island. Even though they make the comment that construction will be halted during cruise ship days, the work is certainly not going to improve an already bad situation.  Also when they make that comment who is to say that the port has already been in communication with the cruise lines to reduce the number of port calls such that they have less impact on their construction schedule.

 

The NCL ship based out of Honolulu usually docks in Kahului so there are clearly businesses that normally support that port when it comes to excursions.  We will not see what is going to be available until cruising actually restarts

 

I do no that one thing that a number of people have done is to rent a car for the day since the port is not far from the car rental agencies.  However with the car shortages if one is planning to do that they better lock in their reservation will before the cruise date.

[nocl]

50 minutes ago, ProfMHC said:

The only elaboration I can offer is looking at other cruises and cruise lines for NON HAWAII cruises in January. We have already scheduled house/pet sitter and need to keep to dates as close as we can. 

I think the question was more about the latest news from Hawaii, what was the news that is driving your decision.

[cr8tiv1]

26 minutes ago, nocl said:

Actually it is the reason.  Tender operations have always been difficult at the best of times at Lahina with tenders having to work in between tour boats loading and other dock traffic.  It is resulted in lengthy times getting people to and from the Island. Even though they make the comment that construction will be halted during cruise ship days, the work is certainly not going to improve an already bad situation.  Also when they make that comment who is to say that the port has already been in communication with the cruise lines to reduce the number of port calls such that they have less impact on their construction schedule.

 

The NCL ship based out of Honolulu usually docks in Kahului so there are clearly businesses that normally support that port when it comes to excursions.  We will not see what is going to be available until cruising actually restarts

 

I do no that one thing that a number of people have done is to rent a car for the day since the port is not far from the car rental agencies.  However with the car shortages if one is planning to do that they better lock in their reservation will before the cruise date.

 

Yes, renting a car on each island is a solution for some.  The last I checked, rental cars are still in high demand and costly.  The islands are very drivable...except:

1.  No island has a road that completely circles each entire island (geographically impossible).  

2.  Traffic is a major obstacle to factor in, especially with limited day time ports.

3.  Terrain, accidents, brush fires, all add to the fact that you may be stuck on the opposite end of the island (Lahaina bottle neck, North Shore on Oahu) come to mind.  I, being a "local", would never risk driving over to Lahaina from Kahului (or reversed) on a limited day.  Neither would I do the Polynesian Cultural Center Luau or Germaine's on Oahu on my own time.  When there is only one road in/out...it becomes too much of a risk factor for me.  

[ProfMHC]

This is a copy of something noted earlier above. It was posted in Hawaii yesterday by various sources

 

Hawaii Closed to Cruise Ships Until At LeastJanuary

November 18, 2021

Fran Golden

Contributor

 

(Updated 12:45 p.m. EST) -- Despite last-ditch efforts by cruise lines, Hawaii will not be open to cruise ships for the remainder of this year, leaving some passengers out in the cold.

Whether cruises will be allowed to resume in January 2022 is still a question mark.

"Currently, the earliest resumption of cruises to Hawaii would be January of 2022,” Jai Cunningham, public information officer for the Hawaii Department of Transportation (HDOT) told Cruise Critic. "While no firm date is currently set, HDOT, in coordination with the various State, Federal, and Local entities, is focused on the safest possible resumption of cruise."

Cunningham added that as of this week, no local port agreements -- with pandemic-related health and safety protocols as required by the U.S. Center for Disease Control and Prevention -- had been signed. He said there would also have to be an expansion of Hawaii’s Safe Travelsprogram for those arriving by cruise ship.

[Bgwest]

37 minutes ago, ProfMHC said:

This is a copy of something noted earlier above. It was posted in Hawaii yesterday by various sources

 

 

Hawaii Closed to Cruise Ships Until At LeastJanuary

November 18, 2021

Fran Golden

Contributor

 

(Updated 12:45 p.m. EST) -- Despite last-ditch efforts by cruise lines, Hawaii will not be open to cruise ships for the remainder of this year, leaving some passengers out in the cold.

Whether cruises will be allowed to resume in January 2022 is still a question mark.

"Currently, the earliest resumption of cruises to Hawaii would be January of 2022,” Jai Cunningham, public information officer for the Hawaii Department of Transportation (HDOT) told Cruise Critic. "While no firm date is currently set, HDOT, in coordination with the various State, Federal, and Local entities, is focused on the safest possible resumption of cruise."

Cunningham added that as of this week, no local port agreements -- with pandemic-related health and safety protocols as required by the U.S. Center for Disease Control and Prevention -- had been signed. He said there would also have to be an expansion of Hawaii’s Safe Travelsprogram for those arriving by cruise ship.

Thank you. I was inexcusably vague in my earlier post. The elaboration I was seeking is what you posted above. 

 

While we are by no means out of the woods on this, I remain reasonably confident (just the Pollyanna in me, I suppose) that cruise ships will be allowed back in starting the first of Jan. 

[ProfMHC]

If I see some movement regarding uploading the necessary documentation for cruise passengers on the Hawaii Safe Travels program I’ll feel more positive. This cruise has been sooooo long awaited. (And I hope their program works better than the Princess app! 😂)

[nocl]

53 minutes ago, cr8tiv1 said:

 

Yes, renting a car on each island is a solution for some.  The last I checked, rental cars are still in high demand and costly.  The islands are very drivable...except:

1.  No island has a road that completely circles each entire island (geographically impossible).  

2.  Traffic is a major obstacle to factor in, especially with limited day time ports.

3.  Terrain, accidents, brush fires, all add to the fact that you may be stuck on the opposite end of the island (Lahaina bottle neck, North Shore on Oahu) come to mind.  I, being a "local", would never risk driving over to Lahaina from Kahului (or reversed) on a limited day.  Neither would I do the Polynesian Cultural Center Luau or Germaine's on Oahu on my own time.  When there is only one road in/out...it becomes too much of a risk factor for me.  

1. who said anything about circling the Island, though there are round in Maui that do go pretty much around the entire Island.  A portion past Hana is usually forbidden in rental car contracts (local tend to like putting large rocks in the road to dissuade tourists)

 

2. traffic is a limiting factor everywhere, I did not say anything about traffic or issue with it in my post.

I guess people that stay in Lahaina or any of the resorts past them should leave the day before to make sure that they get back to their airport on time.  Except for the time the road was closed due to a rock fall near the point it has not been an issue, especially since they built the bypass around Lahaina.  The time they had the rockfall people did have to do the long loop past the Ritz Carleton  which is an interesting drive and does take a couple of hours.

 

3. I guess you are stuck in Kahului then.

 

Now what exactly does your post have to do with anything I posted which was why the cruise lines are avoiding Lahaina and that NCL use Kahului so when cruises actual start up we should see those same companies step up.  Seemed plenty of options then.

[cruisequeen4ever]

Well I was hoping to just need to answer your question about how to get to Lahaina, but it sounds like the problem is a much bigger issue in reality. To just answer that basic question, I would recommend seeing if you could rent a car for the day because Lahaina is about a 45 minute drive without traffic and a pretty drive. Things are spread out, so driving is helpful. I do know that rental cars are very hard to get right now though, so they may be sold out. Alternatively, I would think that Princess would offer transportation even if at a price to get to Lahaina if this ship actually sails this itinerary. if you are planning to eat at any sit down restaurants, I recommend seeing if you can make a reservation because like someone else said, the reduced capacity and makes it extra hard to get into places. With just a short porch visit, you don’t have time to wait an hour or two to eat.
 

After reading the article someone else posted from Thursday, I am thinking it seems unlikely that you guys will be able to sail  to Hawaii in January. I hope you can though! 

[cr8tiv1]

1 hour ago, nocl said:

1. who said anything about circling the Island, though there are round in Maui that do go pretty much around the entire Island.  A portion past Hana is usually forbidden in rental car contracts (local tend to like putting large rocks in the road to dissuade tourists)

 

2. traffic is a limiting factor everywhere, I did not say anything about traffic or issue with it in my post.

I guess people that stay in Lahaina or any of the resorts past them should leave the day before to make sure that they get back to their airport on time.  Except for the time the road was closed due to a rock fall near the point it has not been an issue, especially since they built the bypass around Lahaina.  The time they had the rockfall people did have to do the long loop past the Ritz Carleton  which is an interesting drive and does take a couple of hours.

 

3. I guess you are stuck in Kahului then.

 

Now what exactly does your post have to do with anything I posted which was why the cruise lines are avoiding Lahaina and that NCL use Kahului so when cruises actual start up we should see those same companies step up.  Seemed plenty of options then.

 

My intent was not to annoy you or negate your comments.  I apologize if I got your dander up.  I was just adding my local perspective regarding life in the islands.  I reside part time on Oahu.  I grew up there too.  I have cruised on this voyage many times.  I was sharing my experiences with others that are looking at how to experience the islands.  

 

Currently, visiting the islands is very challenging.  I am hoping that when cruising resumes in 2022 that there will be in place policies that will be welcoming to tourists and cruisers.

 

You are correct, making reservations for restaurants is a wise thing to do.  We are still at limited capacity.  NCL wii run a shuttle out to Lahaina.  I am sure this will be an option for Princess as well.

[californiagirl]

If your cruise happens why not Uber to your tour?  We have been to Maui many times and Uber is alive and well on Maui.  

[TriumphGuy]

I'm still trying to understand why tourists from around the world are now allowed to fly in with no specific vaccination requirements by the airlines, yet cruise passengers, who must be fully vaxxed to board are not allowed at this time.
Am I missing something? How does this make sense?
Booked on the March 6 Crown sailing and I really hope it sails. My wife and I are triple-vaxxed and ready to go.

Edited November 20, 2021 by TriumphGuy

[nocl]

57 minutes ago, cr8tiv1 said:

 

My intent was not to annoy you or negate your comments.  I apologize if I got your dander up.  I was just adding my local perspective regarding life in the islands.  I reside part time on Oahu.  I grew up there too.  I have cruised on this voyage many times.  I was sharing my experiences with others that are looking at how to experience the islands.  

 

Currently, visiting the islands is very challenging.  I am hoping that when cruising resumes in 2022 that there will be in place policies that will be welcoming to tourists and cruisers.

 

You are correct, making reservations for restaurants is a wise thing to do.  We are still at limited capacity.  NCL wii run a shuttle out to Lahaina.  I am sure this will be an option for Princess as well.

My main point was that your comments were really not related to what I posted.  Just as I was not the one that mentioned getting reservations.