Does the Wind ever miss port in Maui?

[Xev]

I'm interested in booking a luau other than the one offered as a shore excursion via NCL....I know there is no guarantee about making *any* port, which is why I've book all other excursions, 6 I think, directly through the cruise line.

 

That said, I wanted to know if the ship has missed this port before, and how frequently (or seldom or whatever).

 

We're on the 11 Day Hawaiian with 2 days in Maui, the luau would be on day one as we have an excursion booked for the morning and not a thing to do for the entire second half of the day (our longest day in any port).

 

Thanks for any input!

[jlines]

On our Wind cruise in April of 2003 we were down 2 engines. This made the trip to Fanning and back a day longer and we ended up only having 1 day in Lahaina (we were supposed to be there for 2). I think your itinerary has Fanning now toward the end of the cruise in which this wouldn't affect you but you did ask and I obliged. I also should tell you however, that may friend was on the Island Princess in January and they were not able to tender into Lahaina at all due to swells.

[SueSea]

We had a medical emergency on our Wind cruise on the way to Fanning that caused us to be a day late returning to Hawaii. Our itinerary was two days in Maui, so we missed the first day. However, after our first day in Maui we developed an engine problem that resulted in cancelling Kauai and replacing it with a second day in Maui.

 

When we were in Kona just prior to leaving for Fanning, we had a shuttle bus driver take us from the rental car agency to the Wind. Although we weren't running too late, we asked him to hurry because we had seen some traffic around the pier. He laughed and told us not to worry because even if we missed the ship, it would be back later. He said it always had to turn around on its way to Fanning. I know he was exagerating, but when a local tells you a ship has a history of missing its itinerary and you read a history on these boards, you begin to believe it might be true. And in my case, I experienced it.

 

I would suggest that you go ahead and book the luau you want on your own, but only if you get it in writing that if the ship doesn't make it into port on time or at all, you do not have to pay. We had to cancel our previously booked Old Lahaina Luau, but we didn't worry because I had it in writing that we wouldn't have to pay. We didn't have any trouble with them when we had to cancel. Be aware, though, that even though the ship overnights in Maui, they do require you to be back on board by a certain time. Make sure the luau ends early enough so you can make the last tender.

[Xev]

Thanks for the responses. I've booked the luau. I think we should be okay, the website says that we have until 10am on the day of to cancel without a charge. So if we can't tender to Lahaina, we should know well before 10am...I'm sure. Same as the return that night, assuming the website is correct and we tender to the Lahaina port, then we'll only be about a mile from the luau site so making it back to the ship in time shouldn't be a problem...Shouldn't.

 

Thanks again for your replies, they exactly answered my questions.