Tender Nightmare in Lahaina

[san diego sue]

we either go back before the tours come back or sit at Pioneer Inn outside restaurant and have those beers. We have been on the last tender many times.

[azbirdmom]

8 hours ago, Astro Flyer said:

We picked up cruise friends for a day Upcountry & when returning to Lahaina they went to the Pioneer Inn adjacent to the tender dock for drinks & to watch the long tender line. The bar rings a bell for last tender call when the lines get short. 🍻
 

 

We may have to give that a try in a couple weeks if we aren't exhausted.  We fly in the day that the Coral visits Lahaina.  And we definitely plan a trip upcountry to see Sherri Reeve's latest creations.

[LACruiser88]

I was hoping that their updating the docking marina last year would have helped this long standing issue with the water shuttles. We are on the July 6th Emerald Hawaii sailing and will plan accordingly.

[MustangGT]

I’m glad to know that the thread title didn’t match the content.  Nightmare?  I was afraid passengers were being tossed about on the tender in high seas!

I enjoy long tender lines as much as the next person (not a bit!) so they have never given me nightmares 😂. Glad everyone made it back to the ship safely!

Edited April 22, 2023 by MustangGT

[Prost Seattle]

I’ll be with my 88 yo mother in Oct. in Maui, and I don’t think she’ll enjoy a long line.  She may enjoy a piña colada or mai tai across the street instead.  Thanks for the heads up so I can plan accordingly.  

[Astro Flyer]

8 hours ago, cr8tiv1 said:

Thanks for the link…semantics…it doesn’t rank…but only lists their favorites.

 

“Every local has their go-to shave ice spot; we asked our audience on Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook where to get the shave ice in Hawaii, and the foodies did not disappoint.“

Ululani’s now has a franchise store on O’ahu across the street from Leonard’s Bakery so you could compare it sometime…being a displaced local girl you’re much more of an expert on shave ice than me. 🍧

 

https://www.hawaiimagazine.com/ululanis-hawaiian-shave-ice-opens-on-oahu/

 

[CruzinNoony]

2 hours ago, san diego sue said:

we either go back before the tours come back or sit at Pioneer Inn outside restaurant and have those beers. We have been on the last tender many times.

Gloria, I'm making notes about all the best places to get some shave ice!!

[Astro Flyer]

1 hour ago, azbirdmom said:

 

We may have to give that a try in a couple weeks if we aren't exhausted.  We fly in the day that the Coral visits Lahaina.  And we definitely plan a trip upcountry to see Sherri Reeve's latest creations.

We went Upcountry for the views & for a Maui Wine tasting with lunch across the street at the Ulapalakua Ranch Store…ono-licious. 😋

 

Have a great visit on the Valley Isle. 😊

 

[waltd]

8 hours ago, Astro Flyer said:

We picked up cruise friends for a day Upcountry & when returning to Lahaina they went to the Pioneer Inn adjacent to the tender dock for drinks & to watch the long tender line. The bar rings a bell for last tender call when the lines get short. 🍻
 

Ok so now I know where to find you when Jak and I are in town.    😀

[cr8tiv1]

34 minutes ago, Astro Flyer said:

Ululani’s now has a franchise store on O’ahu across the street from Leonard’s Bakery so you could compare it sometime…being a displaced local girl you’re much more of an expert on shave ice than me. 🍧

 

https://www.hawaiimagazine.com/ululanis-hawaiian-shave-ice-opens-on-oahu/

Yes, I knew about Ululani’s opening, but Waiola is just another block away.  Tried it once in Lahaina.  I go for the fine ice, old school memories.  Actually made it once to Waiola on this trip home.  
 

Smart move on Ululani’s to open across the street from Leonard’s. And they have parking!  

[Astro Flyer]

56 minutes ago, waltd said:

Ok so now I know where to find you when Jak and I are in town.    😀

If we’re there at the same time let us know…we squeezed a 6’8” guy into our minivan & as I recall you’re not quite as tall? ☺️

[dockman]

a decade or so ago on a cruise syd to yvr the ship i was on also had huge lines for Lahaina tender...the big problem on that one was that for some reason the security screen x ray thing was done on the landside of the pier and everyone was having to go through security empty pockets and people of course had lots of bags of beach towels and shopping etc all of which was screened...to top it off they were even using the wand on most of the passengers....we thought it was overkill as we were all a bunch of old people who had already been on the ship for 10 days or so and not exactly the profile of a bunch of terrorists....not sure if security ashore by non cruise employees is still going on but back then it was a big mess that irritated a lot of people

[skynight]

It has always been this way. Especially a problem at the time all the tours return. 

[travelin.sisters]

at least you got to tender in Lahaina, for our cruise last month; the Crown tied up, dropped the tenders in the water...then the captain's voice in our stateroom saying it is too rough & we will have a sea day... 

[Oscar13]

Lots of good answers in the Majority Rules trivia tho about tenders.  LOL

[SargassoPirate]

I've run into this "nightmare" many times over the years and when I see a long line for the tenders I turn it into an opportunity to find a beer or two and some shade to watch the proceedings.

 

You only have to be on the last tender and when the crew starts to dismantle their shoreside setup, it's time to saunter over and board.  

 

The ship, the food, and the entertainment will still be there.

[loge23]

We experienced this in 2020 on the last Hawaiian cruise before the COVID shutdown.

Even the Captain and his family were on that line! A dinner cruise boat was in the tender dock loading up. We went back to the Pioneer bar and had a great time with a couple we met onboard. The seas were really rough too - that tender ride back to the ship was a rockin' and rollin'!

I can think of worse things than being stuck in Maui!

 

[cruisequeen4ever]

That line reminds me of tendering in Guernsey! Our line was long but nothing like this on the Royal a few months ago. I sat in the shade and watched the line, sipping water and cooling off with the chilled towels the crew kept bringing while my hubby got shave ice. The Pioneer Inn ringing a bell for last tender is awesome; if we ever do that cruise again, I’m sure my hubby will want to get drinks there while we wait. 

[Kay S]

My tender story:  a decade or so ago, we did an Iceland/TA with a stop in Greenland.  It was cold.  Fog, mist, ice and snow here and there.  We took the tender to shore and looked around.  Then we got right back on and returned to the ship.  Turns out were on the last tender for awhile because fog prevented them from sending any more out for hours.  There was a long line on shore hoping to get back to the ship, and they stood there for more than an hour, freezing.  There is very little indoor shelter in that village, and the little store was shoulder to shoulder already.  We were in the Piazza bar watching out the window when the first tenders returned with frozen, unhappy people.  Someone was looking out for us that day, for sure.

[Guest ldtr]

Lahina has pretty much always been a bad tender port. The dock space is limited. The tenders have to compete with other tour boats, ferry, etc coming and going. Princess largely shifted their Maui stops over the The commercial dock in Kahulu for the last couple of years while work was being done on the dock. Even when the work on the dock is completed I still expect that it will be a conjested tender port where only a couple of tenders can be working at a time making for delays coming and going.

[Thrak]

With a line that long if you aren't one for sitting in a bar you could always get some Hula Pie.

[Belle]

Yes, always long lines getting back unless you can time it right. I was

lucky last time there, found the right time, lucky because it was so hot.

People waiting 2 hours or more after I got on.

They were passing out water to people in line.

 

One reason why it took the Crown so long to get people off might be what

 happen on Royal, March & April (was on both) was Maui told the ship/captain

 they couldn't tender in till all the fishermen and other boats left port. Some

of them weren't in a hurry. The people who had tours were an hour or more late.

Some people just gave up and stayed on the ship. The all clear to get off ship the 

without tickets was way after 12 - 12"30

 

Work on the dock. What they did who knows? Nothing has changed helping the tenders.

Same spot, same everything.

Edited April 24, 2023 by Belle

[Thrak]

It's not always like that. We've tendered there twice and both times it was "fairly" quick and easy.

[PescadoAmarillo]

On 4/22/2023 at 12:03 AM, Astro Flyer said:

We picked up cruise friends for a day Upcountry & when returning to Lahaina they went to the Pioneer Inn adjacent to the tender dock for drinks & to watch the long tender line. The bar rings a bell for last tender call when the lines get short. 🍻
 

 

This is what we do. We’ve actually had the senior security officer on the pier come over to tell us it was time to pay up. 

[Katjoy]

On 4/22/2023 at 9:29 AM, CruzinNoony said:

Gloria, I'm making notes about all the best places to get some shave ice!!

Oh my goodness Ululani's Hawaiian Shave Ice in Downtown Lahaina is awesome. I plan to take my husband there once we get off the tender boat. 

Edited April 24, 2023 by Katjoy