Pride of America Haleakala Crater Tour

[Casey2]

We will be on the POA in April. We are not renting any cars on this trip and am aware that it will be much cheaper to do so. We would like to go to Haleakala by day and it seems the only way to get there is by the ship's tour. Has anyone done this through the ship and know how much time you spend there and if you can walk around. I have read conflicting reports that ranged from 20 minutes and confined to the parking lot to an hour and free to walk around. I am wondering if this tour is worth it.

[trrn2016]

Following post. We reserved this excursion for our cruise the end of February!

[zqvol]

Having been there I can tell you this. It can be quiet cold, but even more troubling is that the air is very thin. You really will not want to spend more than about 30 minutes there and you certainly will not want to do a lot of walking. Remember it is at an elevation of 12,000 ft +

 

Based on the description you will spend about 30 minutes at the summit. I highly recommend the sunrise or the sunset tours.

[Molokai-Chuck]

10,023 ft. is the highest elevation:D

[Adventuresabound]

You can also rent a car and just go yourself. We rented cars mostly and loved it.

We did the the sunrise tour as one of our two excursions. It was foggy and we saw nothing. However I think that was the exception.

[luv2gonow]

We did the sunset tour through the ship.

Stops on the way up at the souvenir shop... which was closed... turned out to be a bathroom stop.

Once we arrived at top, we had we had a good hour maybe 1.15 to wander. For me it was way to much time because I was with mom and she was not going to hike up to tippy top and just looking around waiting for sunset I could have completed in 20 min.

In fact right before sunset all the cars started showing up.

Slow crawl down , which was just FINE!!

We happened to luck out with good weather and a beautiful sunset:-)

We made it back just in time to see the “Hawaaiin show”. IMO this is a must see if you are in ship.

Only smaller buses will be allowed into park this year I believe so they might go that extra half mile or so up

Happy planning

Kerri

[don't-use-real-name]

While the temperature at sea level cruise altitude maybe 65-85 degrees the temperature

at the top of Haleakala with a brisk wind can feel like almost zero at sunrise.

With sun having risen later in the day the temperature will still be a chilly 40 or so degrees.

Wear something warm if going for one of the most spectacular sunrises on earth.

No matter what time of the day to night there is always an ever present photo opportunity.

YES the air is thin and will take your breath away so take it easy - but it is no where near

14400 foot summit of Pikes Peak in Colorado.

 

A tour I did a few years ago was the bicycle ride down from the top. Your tour takes you

and the bikes to top by van and a guide sees you safely down some 30 miles of all down

hill road. Oh and the ride operates rain or shine - not for everyone's constitution.

 

Three prime things to do on Maui - the Haleakala (House of the Sun) Crater - the road to

Hana - and the tourist mecca of Lahaina. There are other tours. With two days port call

you can cover the prime 3 easily.

 

If this is to be your only trip to the islands - DO THIS tour !

[pizzalady1]

We took the Robert's sunset tour and we had about an hour on top. It was about 40 degrees and dropping--I was lucky, I had my cuddle duds on, hood up and mittens. The sunset was beautiful. Robert's left around 3:30pm and was back by 7:30 pm. The cost was $84 per person. It was worth it since neither my husband or myself wanted to drive.

[Casey2]

Thanks for all of your advice. Since we are doing the Road to Hana tour on our first day we won't be able to do the sunset tour which is why we will have to go by day. Roberts is no longer going to Haleakala in 2018 which is why we will have to do it through the ship.

[jennyprovo]

I agree it is a must see. When we were there it was snowing. Was not really prepared for that. We ended up buying a long sleeve t-shirt in the gift shop.

[df5250]

We drove up ourselves. It is a must see! It was cold...jeans, layers with a jacket, gloves, and a travel blanket and we were still cold, but so worth it! On the way down we had a great breakfast at Kula Lodge.

 

 

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[merdon]

We did the sunrise tour through NCL. Yes it's very early but well worth the experience. We probably left the ship around 3:20 AM, stopped at a convenience store (gum and/or ginger candy was advised to help with altitude change) and we're parked by 5:00 AM. Takes a while for the sun begin to appear but that's the point to get there early to see it rise under the clouds. It's a phenomenal experience.