Port of Kahului in Maui for the Grand

[cr8tiv1]

1 minute ago, nocl said:

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.

 

Again, my apologizes for giving you credit for a good suggestion.

[cr8tiv1]

8 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?

 

 

I am sorry for derailed your original post.  Here is some information that may help you plan your day in Maui.  

 

I checked NCL for an excursion to Lahaina.

 

https://www.ncl.com/shore-excursions/OGG_05/Lahaina-On-Your-Own-Round-trip?destination=Hawaii+Cruises&port=OGG&sort=searchWeight&sortOrder=asc&perPage=12&startingRecord=12

 

Princess will probably have a similar transportation offer.  Princess will also offer their own whale excursion since this is one of the main highlights of Maui.  I know that you have scheduled your own private tour.  You would be limited to the times that Princess could get you over to that side of the island.  

 

I don't know which order your ports will be.  Mine is Maui then Hilo.  So if I missed the boat (ship) I could hop a plane and catch up with them before they start their journey back to California.

 

I hope you find a suitable solution and am behind you in getting voyages to Hawaii started.

[Syracusefan44]

9 hours ago, Astro Flyer said:

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.

 

If you select the link for Cruise Ships there are many scheduled for ports in Hawaii.

 

 

Edited November 21, 2021 by Syracusefan44

[azbirdmom]

4 hours ago, TriumphGuy said:

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.

 

There are specific requirements to fly into Hawaii.  You have to either be fully vaccinated or submit to testing, otherwise you must quarantine.  You also need to complete information on the Safe Travels Website prior to departing for the islands so you can't just fly in without meeting the requirements.  The site works quite well and seems like it could easily be used for cruise travel.

[nocl]

2 hours ago, cr8tiv1 said:

 

I am sorry for derailed your original post.  Here is some information that may help you plan your day in Maui.  

 

I checked NCL for an excursion to Lahaina.

 

https://www.ncl.com/shore-excursions/OGG_05/Lahaina-On-Your-Own-Round-trip?destination=Hawaii+Cruises&port=OGG&sort=searchWeight&sortOrder=asc&perPage=12&startingRecord=12

 

Princess will probably have a similar transportation offer.  Princess will also offer their own whale excursion since this is one of the main highlights of Maui.  I know that you have scheduled your own private tour.  You would be limited to the times that Princess could get you over to that side of the island.  

 

I don't know which order your ports will be.  Mine is Maui then Hilo.  So if I missed the boat (ship) I could hop a plane and catch up with them before they start their journey back to California.

 

I hope you find a suitable solution and am behind you in getting voyages to Hawaii started.

Except keep in mind that if you miss a ships departure in Hawaii that is technically a violation of PVSA, since you have technically gotten off at another US port, and even if you catch up to the ship at a different port in Hawaii the cruise line will probably not let you board (there have been stories about this on CC in the past).  Since if you board at a different port that would be a second violation of the PVSA.  One person that this happened to a few years back said that the only place the cruise line would let them board was in Ensenada.

 

Here is an example of where this has been discussed

 

https://boards.cruisecritic.com/topic/627713-missing-the-ship-and-reboarding-at-next-port/

 

Missing the ship in Hawaii, just as it is in Alaska is not a good idea due to PVSA, one cannot just catch up to the ship at the next port.

[CruzinNoony]

Thanks to everyone for your input.  We booked the private whale watching tour out of Ma'alaea because that is closer to Kahului than Lahaina.  Pacific Whale Foundation has tours going out of each spot.  We can cancel and get a full refund up to 48 hours ahead of time.  If Princess decides to offer whale watching tours, we can simply switch over.  I just hope we sail!!

[cr8tiv1]

4 hours ago, CruzinNoony said:

Thanks to everyone for your input.  We booked the private whale watching tour out of Ma'alaea because that is closer to Kahului than Lahaina.  Pacific Whale Foundation has tours going out of each spot.  We can cancel and get a full refund up to 48 hours ahead of time.  If Princess decides to offer whale watching tours, we can simply switch over.  I just hope we sail!!

 

Pacific Whale Foundation has excellent tours.  But if your focus is on just seeing whales, then the cost and ease of signing up for a Princess excursion is the way to go.

 

Today's Star Advertiser (for subscribers only) mentioned that the current Safe Travels Hawaii is set to expire November 30th.  There is current discussion about extending this program and/or modifying it.  It will be interesting to see what the state will do. 

 

I, for one, am in favor of keeping the Safe Travels Program.  I feel much safer flying to the islands than flying to any other state.  At least I know that most passengers on the plane are vaccinated or have been tested (similar to cruising).  Yes, it is one extra step to fill out the online form.  This is just my opinion. 

[MishelleMcc]

4 hours ago, cr8tiv1 said:

 

Today's Star Advertiser (for subscribers only) mentioned that the current Safe Travels Hawaii is set to expire November 30th.  There is current discussion about extending this program and/or modifying it.  It will be interesting to see what the state will do. 

 

Thank you!!  To me, this sounds encouraging!!  They may indeed be working on a plan!!  Fingers crossed!!

Edited November 22, 2021 by MishelleMcc
shortened

[AVCruzers]

I was somewhat relieved by the list of ships in post #28--thanks Syracusefan44.  We are booked on the GRAND for both Jan. to Hawaii and Feb. to Sea of Cortez.  Just today there was one of those messages from Princess about the Feb. 28 cruise and it listed a message from Commodore Nash who will be our captain.  Nothing has been sent about Jan. so we continue to be hopeful.  

[Syracusefan44]

There are no excursions available yet but Princess added a link today.  

[cr8tiv1]

I just had to check Princess.com....yup, no excursions.  Strange.  

[nocl]

From a Nov 21 article that indicates that their have not yet been any port agreements made with any of the cruise lines.  Not exactly encouraging for the January cruises.  It may be that Hawaii might have some requirements that go beyond those of the mainland ports.

 

Cunningham said the state Harbors Division “has been coordinating with cruise lines, counties and local health and emergency management agencies on port agreements that clearly outline the resources available and responsibilities regarding potential health emergencies. The state has jointly prepared a framework for such agreements, which includes adaptation of the Safe Travel prearrival screening program for cruise travel.

 

 

Edited November 30, 2021 by nocl

[Syracusefan44]

1 hour ago, cr8tiv1 said:

I just had to check Princess.com....yup, no excursions.  Strange.  

This is the first day their has been a link to this port.  I assume the excursions will be posted within a day or two. 

[ProfMHC]

Kahului excursions were up for a minute then gone. Keep checking! I sure will…..

[marden1970]

Just checked (7AM PST) for our March 2022 cruise and they were there.

[Syracusefan44]

16 hours ago, ProfMHC said:

Kahului excursions were up for a minute then gone. Keep checking! I sure will…..

I just booked an Princess shore excursion to Haleakala this morning.  Feeling good about our cruise departing on January 19th. 

[CruzinNoony]

That is a good sign that Kahului excursions are posted, however, there are no whale watching tours posted.

[san diego sue]

I would have thought that Princess would have a shuttle to Lahaina on your own as a tour.No such thing. If they would have it , we could book a whale watching once there. Maybe once we are on the ship something will be offered. Dissapointed. Don't want to go on any of the tours listed.Maybe there will be free shuttles to shopping (Walmart etc) as there are in the other ports. No, I don't want to shop, just want to get out of the port area and do things on our own.

[ProfMHC]

Ditto. Expensive and noticing much of interest to us. Especially when compared  with what was offered before in Lahaina. Also looking for whale watching. Disappointed 😔 

[AZjohn]

As mentioned before, several whale watching tours out of Maalaea Harbor.

You can google the options. This would be as far as I would go from docking. We actually had one of the best whale watching tours from this location. Many whales love this area 🙂

Maalaea Harbor

[nocl]

42 minutes ago, AZjohn said:

As mentioned before, several whale watching tours out of Maalaea Harbor.

You can google the options. This would be as far as I would go from docking. We actually had one of the best whale watching tours from this location. Many whales love this area 🙂

Maalaea Harbor

Too bad Princess no longer allows bicycles on board it is a nice 45 minute bike ride from Kahului harbor to Maalaea Harbor.

[Ragdollbd]

I hope they will add more excursions.  I would like to go to a beach near Lahaina and see that side of the island

[Astro Flyer]

28 minutes ago, Ragdollbd said:

I hope they will add more excursions.  I would like to go to a beach near Lahaina and see that side of the island

There are some great beaches in South Maui’s Wailea area which takes about half the time of going to Lahaina with less chance of a road closure due to an accident or brushfire in West Maui.

 

Maui bus info:

 

https://www.mauicounty.gov/609/Maui-Bus-Public-Transit-System

 

 

[ProfMHC]

Departure Groups were available for Ruby 1/16 today

[AZjohn]

21 hours ago, Astro Flyer said:

There are some great beaches in South Maui’s Wailea area which takes about half the time of going to Lahaina with less chance of a road closure due to an accident or brushfire in West Maui.

 

Maui bus info:

 

https://www.mauicounty.gov/609/Maui-Bus-Public-Transit-System

 

 

And to add, Maui (as well as most HI islands) have no privates beaches. You may see the super large and beautiful resorts in Waiiea along the west coast but, everyone has free access to these beaches 🙂