Our port of call for today was Kahului on the island of Maui. In all of the years we have sailed to the Hawaiian Islands, our stop here was always Lahaina. But ever since the devastating fire in August of 2023, Kahului has been the replacement port. Located on the north part of the island, we believe this city is the main shipping port for the island as well as having the international airport. Most of the major attractions are accessible from here, with the exception of Lahaina, where the locals have asked for tourists not to come there.
Shore excursions had many options to see the island starting with a bus ride to and from Ka'anapali (on your own) for 6 hours and $90. There was a Maui beach transfer for 5 hours and $140 , while a drive to Haleakala Crater was 4 ½ hours for $190. How about a downhill bike ride from the crater for 5 hours and $190? A rainforest and waterfall hike was 5 hours and $220, while a drive to the Maui Tropical Plantation and garden was 4 ½ hours for $230. A drive to Pa'ia Town was 5 hours for $240 and Hana Coast drive with a boxed lunch was 7 ½ hours for $240. Another drive to Iao Valley was 6 hours for $300 with a picnic lunch. A drive to the volcanic crater and the Marine Ocean Center was 6 ½ hours for $300. An adventurous 52 mile drive to Hana for 8 ¾ hours was $450 and included a picnic lunch. Finally, a helicopter ride over the Hana rainforest was 2 ¾ hours for $500 which did include snacks and champagne. A few of these tours were being sold outside the terminal gates as well, but for a lot less money and shorter times.
So the weather today was much the same as yesterday except for a stronger breeze. The high of the day was 89 degrees with mostly sunny skies and 71 % humidity. Breakfast was the usual 7:30am time slot. We had come a little later because we wanted to get some pictures of the sunrise. Clare, our cruise director, came on the speakers to tell people we had not been cleared yet, although the tour folks were already allowed to join their buses. They had been cleared to go before everyone else. Interesting. We knew that was happening, but this was the first time someone admitted how this was working. One thing we did notice looking from our veranda, was that none of the officers and staff were standing at attention on the dock greeting the excursion groups before boarding their buses. Maybe that is reserved for the Grand Voyages only now. Come to think of it, we have not seen this greeting or send-off since boarding the ship in Vancouver.
There was another safety drill at 9:30 am, so we left the ship shortly after 10am. On the way out of the cruise terminal, we heard our names called. It was a friend we have not seen since 2020 when we all got the boot from the world cruise during the Covid pandemic. It happened to be Ron S. who we have known for many years. He happened to be one of the guests that almost did not make it out of Australia before the international flights were cancelled and the airport shut down. He said he boarded the ship in San Diego, and we were surprised we had not seen him yet. He had switched to early dining, so our routines seem to be different. We will look for him now that we know he is here.
There is a very nice shopping center across the road from the cruise terminal. Nothing like Ala Moana in Honolulu, but basic stores like Whole Foods, Longs, TJMAXX, hair and nail salons, Ross, barbers, and a variety of eateries. There are many boutiques, a theater, and fast-food restaurants. We had a list of things to get, but we stopped first at TJMAXX to check out some of their clothing. One of us is always lucky to find OPI nail polish there and some other things. It was one of the busiest stores there, especially with the Zaandam in port. Another big store was Ross, which was also full of shoppers. We found nothing we were looking for in there.
From there we went to lunch at Kahului's Ale House next to Wendy's. They have a 14-inch pizza which is pretty good and ice cold draft Longboard beers. And that's what we ordered. Also enjoyed the warm brownie and ice cream dessert , shared of course. This restaurant is more like a sports bar, so it did fill with customers fairly fast. This has to be the best place for free internet, which we remembered from last year. No log-in or password was needed. This time it worked quickly and updated everything that was needed.
Our last stop was at Longs (CVS), which was overflowing with crew and guests from the ship. By the time we located our items, the four lines were down the aisles. Why is it that we always get in a line where someone is having problems with credit cards or whatever? All four lines were like that. We did not have any choice but to wait it out since the only place in Hilo tomorrow for the stuff we needed is in Walmart. And there is no more complimentary shuttle anymore. It was now or never. Job done, we hiked back to the terminal and were back to our room after 2pm. It had cooled down about 4 degrees since the fix yesterday so that is not really cool, but acceptable. It would have been nice if the TV was working, but after a call to the front desk we learned that something happened at noon, and they lost the signal. It would not come back until after we sailed away. They had better get these things fixed before this ship does a Grand Voyage to New Zealand and Australia next year, or there will be a lot of unhappy folks.
All aboard was 5:30pm, but one person was missing. That's when we saw a fellow running to get up the gangway with 2 minutes to spare. Captain Willems came on with his sail away talk at 5:30pm. His message was short and sweet telling us that we had 128 nautical miles to go to Hilo doing 10 knots. We should arrive by 8am and expect 80 degree temps with a pleasant breeze. Today we had a wind of 25 knots which was really nice to help keep us cooler.
Hilo will be our final Hawaiian port of this voyage.
Bill & Mary Ann
