NCL Pride of America Cruise | Day 2 and 3 - Maui, Hawaii | Iao Valley | Maui Ocean Center | Kahului
We started off our morning with breakfast at the Aloha Cafe, which was the buffet on board the Pride of America. Unfortunately during our sailing there were limited restaurants open, so this was our favourite spot to eat breakfast during this cruise.
After breakfast, we headed to the Mardi Gras Cabaret Lounge and Nightclub where our morning sales session with the executive team from Norwegian Cruise Lines was taking place.
I had never been to Maui before, so I wasn't sure what to expect, especially as cruise ships only recently this spring started visiting the Hawaiian Islands again. Taxis to go to Lahaina were about $100 USD per direction from the cruise port here in Kahului. So we walked the the Maui Mall across from the cruise port and browsed for a bit before heading back to the ship, exploring the Pride of America a bit more and spending the rest of the afternoon relaxing poolside.
Later in the evening, Norwegian Cruise Lines shuttled us to The Plantation House at The Plantation Golf Course, north of Lahaina and Kaanapali. It was so wonderful to see more of Maui and really enjoyed the drive. It was a fabulous hosted dinner with Veuve Clicquot Champagne as we arrived.
We left the Pride of America and walked through the terminal building. Norwegian Cruise Lines does have a towel service here where you can sign out beach towels as you leave the ship. Our group was hosted on the Best of Maui Shore Excursion with Norwegian Cruise Line. They did slightly alter the regular shore excursion for our group, however it was a great introduction to Maui.
Our first stop was the Iao Valley State Monument which was so beautiful. We had about 45 minutes here, enough time to take our time and explore.
We then headed to our next stop which was the Maui Tropical Plantation. It was a great little tour of what Maui grows in the way of plants and produce, however farming on the island has diminished quite a bit due to labour being more reasonable in other countries and costs of their produce being cheaper. During our tour, we were also given a demonstration of how coconuts are husked and cracked open.
I'll be honest, I'm not one to support aquariums. So I was intrigued to see what the Maui Ocean Center was all about. The conservation efforts and their education around sustainability was admirable. If you're coming to Maui with a family, it's a great place to visit and spend some time. Click here if you would like to learn more about the Maui Ocean Center: mauioceancenter.com/
After walking through the various exhibits, we were able to take in the amazing 3D video in the “Sphere” called Humpbacks of Hawai'i. It was such a beautiful show, I highly recommend watching it if you do visit the Maui Ocean Center. We had a hosted lunch at the Maui Ocean Center's Seascape Restaurant. I actually had the vegetarian options as I don't eat fish and the food was so delicious.
We spent the rest of the afternoon back at the pool, with a few pina coladas.
It's imperative that make sure you keep track of time if you do your own shore excursions, as we were set to sail away, we had two pier runners arrive late, they were lucky the Captain decided to wait twenty minutes for them.
We relaxed with a bottle of Rose wine as we sailed away from Maui enjoying a stunning sunset.
Our hosted dinner tonight was in the Skyline Restaurant which is one of the main dining rooms on the Pride of America.
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Пікірлер: 39
Worth mentioning, the Maui Bus (which goes to Maui Mall, and the Queen Kaahumanu center) is only $4 for a day pass, goes Right into the heart of Lahaina town. Kihei, Paia, and even up to Kula, well worth it
@WanderlustJourney
Жыл бұрын
Thanks for mentioning it!
@RussellHogan
Жыл бұрын
Thank you!
Maui had so much to offer & having the cruise ship dock overnight is a great way to explore
@WanderlustJourney
2 жыл бұрын
I agree! Makes me want to spend a bit more time on Maui and really explore next time!
Great info and videos. Thank you!
@WanderlustJourney
11 ай бұрын
Thanks so much for watching, glad to hear you enjoyed them!
Thanks for the great job of presentation. Super informative and well done.
@WanderlustJourney
2 жыл бұрын
Thanks so much for watching Paul and your kind words!
Looks great! I've always wanted to try a fresh coconut!
@WanderlustJourney
2 жыл бұрын
Fresh coconuts are the best! Especially while on a tropical vacation!
Thanks for the tips! Sounds like pre booking tours or renting a car is the way to go while visiting Maui by cruise!
@WanderlustJourney
2 жыл бұрын
Thanks for watching! The only downside to renting a car is that typically you have to rent cars from the airport nearby and there is no parking at the port.
Love Maui!
@WanderlustJourney
2 жыл бұрын
Thanks for watching Robert! Yes! I can’t wait to return one day!
These are the tours that we saw in December 2017!
@WanderlustJourney
Жыл бұрын
Yes, they haven’t really added too many new tours unfortunately.
Do you happen to know why the cruise lines don’t dock in Lahaina anymore? So much more to do there.
@WanderlustJourney
2 жыл бұрын
Hi Monica! Some cruise lines still try to make it over to Lahaina, however they don’t have a proper cruise port, ships have to anchor and tender passengers into Lahaina. Most cruise lines are now opting to actually dock so passengers can get on and off the ship quicker up in Kahului. In the case of the Pride of America as she overnights on Maui, it’s better that she’s actually docked instead of anchored. Hopefully this makes sense?
Can you come and go from ship all night? Can you leave ship at like 5:00 in the morning?
@WanderlustJourney
Жыл бұрын
If you’re overnighting, yes, you can come and go at any time during your port stop. So even if you arrive back late in the evening (as long as the ship is still in port) you can board at any time or leave at any time.
Was there any parking around the port? We are planning on renting a car for 2 days and wondered if there was overnight parking around the ship. Also, was it easy to get a cab to the airport? I heard most of the brand car rentals are at the airport.
@WanderlustJourney
Жыл бұрын
Thanks for watching. At the port itself there’s no parking overnight. There are taxis available right outside the terminal and there were quite a few available at any given time during my cruise (we were not at full capacity). This was one of the reasons I did not rent a car here on Maui as I couldn’t figure out where to park it overnight as I heard conflicting reports from people who parked it at the mall near the port. Also, yes most rental companies are at the airport.
@RonenLin
Жыл бұрын
@@WanderlustJourney same here the mixed info is mind blowing, it's so confusing. We really want to rent a car but it's not a walk in the park in terms of research... Thanks for your info! By the way, do you know by any chance how much was a taxi ride?
@WanderlustJourney
Жыл бұрын
@@RonenLin Hi Ron, unfortunately I don’t know that cost. You can also look into renting through a local using Turo (like an AirBnB, but for cars). I’ve had a few clients have good experiences with this service recently and because you’re “renting” from a local, they can typically drop the car close to the ship and suggest local areas to park?
how long is the walk off the ship to the cruise port so that we can catch our tour we have booked?
@WanderlustJourney
4 ай бұрын
It depends on the pick up location of your tour so I would check with the tour company you booked with. If they will be picking you up at the terminal, it’s a two minute walk off the ship, however give yourself around 15 minutes walk if they will be picking you up near the mall entrance to the port in Kahului. I hope this helps.
How far from the cruise port to the rental car company or airport?
@WanderlustJourney
Жыл бұрын
Hello and thanks for watching! Unfortunately as I didn’t rent a car in Maui I don’t have personal experience, however based on the information I’ve researched it’s about a 15-20 minute taxi ride from the port to the airport where most of the car rental companies are based.
I’m going in October and booked a luau in Lahaina. Is there a way to get to Lahaina and back to the port at night after the luau without renting a car?
@WanderlustJourney
2 жыл бұрын
Hello Cori! You can take a taxi, we were quoted around $100 USD per direction (around $200 USD total round trip) for a taxi (keep in mind that was during daylight hours, not sure if taxis have a surcharge after a certain time at night). They do have Uber on Maui as well, however I’m not sure on the cost. Hopefully that helps 😊
@coriander03
2 жыл бұрын
@@WanderlustJourney Thank you so much!
@WanderlustJourney
2 жыл бұрын
No worries! I hope you have a great trip in October! :)
@coriander03
2 жыл бұрын
@@WanderlustJourney Thank you! How far away is the Maui Mall in terms of walking? I can’t seem to find a video or pictures of the walking path from the ship to the Maui Mall. Is it safe to walk at night if getting back to the ship later in the evening?
@WanderlustJourney
2 жыл бұрын
@@coriander03 It was about 1/4 of a mile? If you look on Google maps, the walkway is along the "Ala Luina Street" however it is a gated pedestrian walk way. I'm sure it would be safe at night as you do have to go through security checkpoints to enter the gated walkway? I personally only walked it on our first morning. Hope this helps. If you're taking a taxi, they will drop you off right at the cruise terminal and you don't need to take that walkway.
wonderful video. 2 hot women at the beginning. love the aquarium video
Proooooduce. Oooo! O O OooooDuce
@WanderlustJourney
Жыл бұрын
Thanks for watching!