Maui Question about tendering - Cruise Line Fans: Cruise Reviews and Chat From Real Cruisers

MilliesMom · 05-04-2008, 02:09 AM

This was in a review from March 2008 (other message board) for the Diamond Princess (the Golden will be doing the itinerary in 2009). I just wondered if any of you that have gone on the Hawaii cruise and tendered at this port had the same issues as mentioned here:

Port 1 - Maui - Lahaina
Our first stop was at Maui near the town of Lahaina. The two most memorable things about this stop were: Tenders - We did not dock at this port. Instead we anchored just off the coast and tenders shuttled people to and from the shore. It was a disaster! They were not able to process the people in a timely manner. We had to wait in line for over an hour to get off the ship. It took another hour and half from the time that we got in the tender line to get back on the ship. Most of that time was spent waiting in the hot sun. Some people had to be taken to the hospital in ambulances. The Princess Captain apologized afterward, but our tour bus driver told us that it happens every time.

and from a 2nd review:
Our last stop in Hawaii was Lahaina, Maui. This was our favorite. Would you believe that Lahaina is an old whaling city built in a New England sort of way? It has great shops, restaurants and temples, as well as your typical Hilo Hattie. Anyone that has been to Hawaii has heard of Hilo Hattie, the Hawaiian store. Not to sound cheap, but you do get free beads for around your neck when you enter. That way they know who is buying what and from what ship. You can buy your Hawaiian shirts there and they are on all the Islands so you don't have to bring so many with you. This is a tender port and I recommend trying to get to the ship a little early on the way back. Two ships were there and the line for the tender was several blocks long. Be patient.

daWoods · 05-11-2008, 04:40 PM

Can't comment on either of those, but Lahaina is a very busy town, and the waterfront is busy too with lots of excursions leaving from there. Tendering is anything but an exact science, so I'm not surprised to hear of delays. Bottom line, leave enough time for the tendering process.

cruisin' chick · 05-11-2008, 08:41 PM

When we were getting off the Island Princess for the Lahaina port, we had priority tendering because of our excursion. Our tickets said to meet in the Princess theatre at 7:45am and we were escorted as a group to the tenders. So it wasn't a problem for us.

If we didn't have an excursion booked through Princess, we would have just waited an hour or two as we usually do and then try to get a tender. Often by that time, the lines have thinned down.

When we were through with the snorkeling trip, we had a couple of hours left before we needed to return to the ship. So we checked out a couple of shops near the pier, looked at the Banyon tree, and took some photos. Then we got in line for the tender back to the ship. We definitely wanted to allow at least an hour because we figured the line would start getting long at that point.

When we were there it was in the upper 70s so it wasn't stifling hot. But I'm wondering if the person in that first review expected to get off the ship right away and that colored his review. I can't imagine the process being a disaster when they do this every other week.

MilliesMom · 05-15-2008, 04:42 PM

We have never been ones to "need" to get off immediately and always allow time to return, not cutting it to the last minute even if the ship is docked ... fear of getting left behind ... LOL (but on Hawaii, it might be OK)

We have tender at Cabo numerous times and Catalina. I just wanted to be sure that it wasn't worse in Hawaii after reading the two reviews. I posted on another thread too and the same type of responses as here were given. I think the 2 reviews I found were exceptions or people with no patience. Often people don't think to grab a bottle of water either when going into port. We've learned quickly that normally that is a necessity if the area is hot.

So that morning we will be leisurely and get off after the crowd. I know it will be fine.

Thanks everyone.