Aquaticdreams

We cruised to Hawaii from LA the last few days of October through the first two weeks in November. The seas were not rough on our sailing but the first couple days were cooler. Otherwise we had perfect weather and conditions. Maybe others can advise on other times of the year but this was our November experience. I’ve heard the seas can be rougher in the winter so it’s possible our experience may not be the norm but we had no problems with that at all. We’re going again in January from San Diego so we’ll see!

Oops. Just reread the OP. Sounds like they do routinely offer transportation now. I would suggest doing it that way. It was a breeze and they returned us promptly with plenty of time left over.  

We did the Nutridge luau on our last cruise to Hawaii. It was wonderful! It’s a smaller intimate luau that is more authentic than the large more commercial ones with hundreds of people offered through the cruise line so choose based on what experience you want. I coordinated the evening on our roll call. So many people signed up that the entire luau ended up being just us that night. They picked us up at the ship and returned us on time. I was able to arrange the transportation because there were so many of us. They had wanted a minimum number of guests at the time I think. I would suggest you call them to inquire if they still offer pick up and drop off at the ship. I found them to be wonderful and very accommodating to work with. We had such a great time. I would highly recommend it but again this is not a big commercial production. We all felt it was a personal and far better experience! Good luck!

Thanks everyone! Your feedback was helpful and I booked the tour starting in Fairbanks. I’m still hesitant about taking the cruise at all due to the closure in Denali but Princess had a really good promo so I booked it. This will give me a little more time to decide for sure. 

Thanks! These are the two itineraries. It looks like the train ride takes the same route between Denali and Talkeetna (between the two lodges). Is this particular section of the route part of the more scenic area?  It also looks like the one that starts in Anchorage will travel some of the same bus route twice. I could always stay an extra day in either starting city to do an excursion. I’ve done a seven day Alaska cruise before so the main reason I want to do the land tour this time is for the scenic train ride and Denali National Park. Aside from which itinerary to choose I’m disappointed to hear that half of Denali is closed. I’m now questioning if this trip is even worth doing at all. Thanks for any input on this!

Fairbanks starting point itinerary:

8/30 arrive in Fairbanks & overnight stay

8/31 take motorcoach to Denali Princess Wilderness Lodge & overnight stay

9/1 full day at Denali National Park and overnight stay

9/2 take train to Talkeetna then take motorcoach to Mt. McKinley Princess Wilderness Lodge. Overnight at the lodge.

9/3 take motorcoach to Anchorage/Whittier and board the ship.

Anchorage starting point itinerary:

8/16 arrive in Anchorage & overnight stay

8/17 take motorcoach to Mt. McKinley Princess Wilderness Lodge & overnight stay

8/18 take motorcoach to Talkeetna then take the train to Denali Princess Wilderness Lodge and overnight stay

8/19 full day at Denali National Park and overnight stay

8/20 take motorcoach to Anchorage/Whittier and board the ship

We are planning an 11 day Princess Cruisetour for the end of August doing the land portion first. One leaves from Fairbanks and the other from Anchorage. Is one better than the other and why? Thanks!

Thanks everyone. Given the mixed reviews about Ka’anapali and Kapalua we decided we will go to Ka’anapali for a half day. Hopefully we can go in but if not it sounds like It has a lot to offer regardless of the ocean conditions. We’ll spend the second half in Lahaina. We’re looking forward to a great day! We leave Friday and sail on Sunday. I’ll let you know what the conditions were like this time of year for anyone else sailing soon who might want to know.

Thanks all! Yikes, it sounds like going for a dip may not be in the cards. I’m still open to Kapalua but I think we’ll probably go to Ka’anapali and hope for the best. If it turns out we can’t go in then we’ll just enjoy a walk on the beach and spending some time there. Its Hawaii after all so I’m sure it will be amazing either way! Any ideas on what stretch of Ka’anapali to visit? We’re not interested in Whalers Village because we’ll be doing our shopping in Lahaina so looking for other ideas. Thanks!

We’re trying to decide between Kaanapali and Kapalua Bay beach for a half day in Maui during the first week in November. I can’t swim so I’ve been reading a lot about them to see which one has better conditions. The debate is all over the map. Some say Kaanapali can be dangerous with a difficult entry, hard shore break, and drop off. Others say it’s nice and calm. Same thing for Kapalua. Some say it’s too far north and has dangerously strong waves and currents. Others say it’s calm and shallow. I know each beach is nice for different reasons (i.e. Ka’anapali is livelier, etc.) so we will enjoy either one. We’re not looking to snorkel either, just nice easy swimming. My only deciding factor at this point is which beach is calmer?? And maybe if there’s a particular section of the beach that’s good/bad. Any ideas? Thanks!

7 hours ago, cb at sea said:

There is no way you'll see all Maui has to offer in a short day...Maui requires at least a week, if not longer!  We spend 10 days there on a land vacation, and still didn't see everything....but we were able to touch on quite a lot!

 

Read up on it, see what interests you most...and do that.  Then, go back on a land vacation and spend some time there!  It's worth it!

 

Yes that’s exactly the problem! There’s just too much I want to see. My dream had always been to do the Road to Hana and I would have been thrilled with just that. But the ship’s excursion was cancelled 😥 so I’m trying to narrow down a plan b from a long list of second choices. I’m sure we’ll love whatever we end up deciding to do.

Thanks for the tip on Tours for Locals. I’ll check them out. 

This info on Ka’anapali is interesting. I can’t swim so I’ve been reading to find out if Ka’anapali or Kapalua beach has calmer waters. There are conflicting articles about this. Some say a particular beach is calm and another says it’s dangerous. Our Maui day in port will be November 3. Not sure what to expect that time of year.

On 8/7/2019 at 6:48 AM, bigsky said:

Enjoy! I’m going back last minute trip for my birthday in a few weeks and in January for our annual winter trip. 🐳🌺🌈🤙🏖

Aloha... ask any ?’s

Happy birthday and have a great trip!

On 8/4/2019 at 7:56 AM, bigsky said:

Were you looking to do an excursion thru the ship? 

The ship’s excursions for Maui don’t look all that great. I was hoping to find a short private tour if I could do it early enough to leave time for the beach and Lahaina. My husband would be happy with just the beach and shops but I’d like to see some of the island too. I kind of feel like we’ll miss the beauty of the island if that’s all we do. As far as the ship tours there is a two hour trilogy catamaran sail that might at least let us see the coastal scenery. But even that starts late and goes to 12:30. So far I haven’t figured out the best way to spend the day. (Thanks for the info on Iao Valley. It sounds like it’s not feasible).

Thanks, this is very helpful. I’m still trying to find out how long the wait would likely be to even get on the tender in the morning. If there’s time to do a short tour in addition to spending a little time at the beach and Lahaina is there anything you could recommend? I would really like to see Iao valley or the west Maui mountains but I know there wouldn’t be enough time to do all that. So I need to identify something else that would allow us see some of the beauty of the island in a shorter period of time. Thanks for any suggestions!

This will be our first trip to Hawaii. We’re considering taking a private tour in Maui and I need to figure out what time I could actually schedule it for. We will be arriving in Lahaina at 8:00 AM. I assume people who are taking a Celebrity excursion will be the first to tender out. I’m wondering if anyone who has experience tendering at this port can advise how long it should realistically take to tender out and get over to Lahaina. I’m also trying to figure out the rest of the day. We’re in port until 6:00 PM so I think we should be back on board by 5:30 at the very latest. What time would we need to be back to Lahaina in order to get a tender back on time? Lastly, another option is we might want to spend a few hours at either Ka’anapali or Kapalua beach and a few hours shopping in Lahaina. How much travel time would we need to allow for cabs to and from the beach? It would be ideal to do a short tour, go to the beach, and shop but I don’t know if it’s realistic with tender and transportation time factored in. Thanks!

Thanks for all the suggestions. Sadly, our Road to Hana excursion was cancelled. We booked tours in the other ports so now we’re focusing on doing a half day at the beach in either Maui or O’ahu. We’re not renting a car so it will need to be a cab ride away. So it looks like in Oahu it might have to be somewhere near the Waikiki stretch. In Maui maybe Kapalua, Napili, or Kaanapali? 

Thanks. That’s a really great point and exactly the advice I would take if we rented a car! I don’t think we want to drive this ourselves though, not because of the road but because the driver won’t get to fully see all the views. As much as I dream of doing the road to Hana I’m looking at alternative scenic drive tours. I’m looking at a private one in west Maui with views or stops at Waihee, Iao, Ukumehame, and Olawalu Valleys, Makamaka'ole Falls, Kapalua, Flemings Beach, Honolua Valley, Hanakohau Bay, and Kahakuloa. It sounds like some of this might be along the Kahekili Highway. Still researching and undecided.

No problem. I appreciate your input!

Thanks all. They cancelled the excursion. We’re super disappointed. We’ll have to figure out what else to do. We’re not that interested in Haleakala crater because we want to see the lush scenery and ocean. Any suggestions would be welcome. 

Thanks. We’re only in port in Maui until 6:00. The ship sails at 11:00 in Oahu so that will be our only option. The ship excursion to Germaine’s was cancelled so we’re still debating if we feel it’s safe enough to do chiefs or paradise cove instead. At the moment I don’t think we want to take the chance but we’re still somewhat open to suggestion. 

6 hours ago, Beachiekeen said:

Will you be on Maui by chance and docking in Lahaina?  There are two very highly recommended luaus there closer to the pier.

We do stop in Maui but it’s not an overnight so unfortunately it’s not an option.

Thank you. I did look and also called them both. They both said your bus will leave almost immediately and you’ll be back by 10:00 “at the latest.” It may be true but I’m sure they want to encourage people to go to their own luau. It’s hard to know if they’re credible and what their actual track record is so I’m just wondering if anyone has heard or had their own personal experience with them. Things can always go wrong with traffic but how reliable are they under normal circumstances? I know they get good reviews and a lot of cruisers go but many are in Honolulu overnight. Would like to get as much info as possible before making a decision. Thanks.

We’re thinking of doing either the Chief’s or Paradise Cove luau on our own in Oahu. Our ship leaves at 11:00 PM. All aboard is 10:30. Both will drop you off at the pier (pier 2) but we’re hesitant about cutting it so close. Has anyone heard of any problems with these getting you back to the ship on time? Thanks!

Our ship will be Hawaii the first week in November. We are visiting Hilo, Kona, Maui, and Honolulu. We would like to do one scenic beach day, probably a half day. I can’t swim so we’re looking for a beach with calm shallow waters. I know a lot of the beaches in Hawaii have high surfing waves and rough waters. Does anyone have any recommendations for a tamer beach on any of these islands? My preference is to find one for the Hilo or Honolulu days because we’re interested in excursions in the other ports but I’m open to changing plans.

Thank you Chris! I’m glad it was so memorable for you. I’m so excited now as this is what I was hoping to hear. Sounds like it will be just what I imagined. Great advice about the bus too. A question - which side has the better ocean view?

Yes thats all correct. We would go from Lahaina to the road to Hāna then continue on past it and back to port via the back way. The time works but is definitely cutting it close and that’s why I would only consider the ship’s excursion as they have to wait for the tours to return.