Maui Sunset Dinner Cruise?

[DaveNV]

I'm a sucker for a good sunset dinner cruise on a nice boat. (Must be the sailor in me - eating dinner on the open water never gets old.) I'd like nice scenery from a decent boat, with a pleasant meal. I don't care about the dancing part, for me it's more about the cruise. Anybody have recommendations (pro or con) about any of the various dinner cruises I'm seeing for Maui? We'll be there late next month, and I'd like to do this one night. Who's good, and who isn't? It's more about the whole experience than the price or food.

Alternate option, if there aren't any great dinner cruises, is a great daytime cruise. I am not interested in Zodiac boats or anything too rough. But a nice boat that does a nice lunch/brunch/Happy Hour cruise is a good second choice.

Dave

 

[Luanne]

Dave, I've never done a sunset dinner cruise. Since I can sometimes get a little motion sick the idea of eating while on a boat doesn't appeal to me. The company I would recommend for boat trips out of Lahaina is Trilogy. I took one to Lanai years ago, before any of the big hotels were there, and it was wonderful. It started early, we were served coffee, juice and fresh homemade cinnamon rolls on the way over. We snorkeled in the morning, had a great bar-be-que lunch, then in the afternoon you could either do more snorkeling, or a tour of the island. We opted for the tour. I know Triology does more than just this one particular trip. You might want to look into them.

 

[Passepartout]

I don't remember the name, but we took a pleasant dinner cruise right from the dock at Lahaina. A little hula music as we boarded. We headed right to the open upper deck (down was enclosed) Mai-Tai's flowed. We took pictures as we pulled out, the sun set behind the island. Don't ask what we ate. It wasn't memorable for the food.

 

[DaveNV]

I don't remember the name, but we took a pleasant dinner cruise right from the dock at Lahaina. A little hula music as we boarded. We headed right to the open upper deck (down was enclosed) Mai-Tai's flowed. We took pictures as we pulled out, the sun set behind the island. Don't ask what we ate. It wasn't memorable for the food.

And that is probably more like what i'm thinking of. I can have a great meal anywhere.

Does the name Trilogy sounds familiar? They do a dinner cruise from Lahaina Harbor. Luanne's suggestion above has me checking their website.

Dave

 

[Passepartout]

And that is probably more like what i'm thinking of. I can have a great meal anywhere.

Does the name Trilogy sounds familiar? They do a dinner cruise from Lahaina Harbor. Luanne's suggestion above has me checking their website.

Dave

It may well have been that one.

 

[Passepartout]

Nope. It was Quicksilver. I think we took a Trilogy Trimaran snorkeling or whale watching another time.

 

[slip]

http://quicksilvermaui.com/

This is the one we took. Good food, beautiful sunset. We won a two for one at the Schooner but we would have been Happy paying full price. Not as nice as Captain Andy’s but still well done.

 

[DaveNV]

I think Quicksilver may work out. Not too pricey, and the boat looks decent. (Remember that photographer I live with...) Hanging out on the upper deck will likely work well.

Thanks!

Dave

 

[artringwald]

In February we enjoyed a sunset dinner cruise on the Teralani 2 (the sister of the catamaran in this picture). We chose it because it sails from the beach in front of Whaler's Village. We saw plenty of whales, and had a nice dinner too.

 

[DaveNV]

In February we enjoyed a sunset dinner cruise on the Teralani 2 (the sister of the catamaran in this picture). We chose it because it sails from the beach in front of Whaler's Village. We saw plenty of whales, and had a nice dinner too.

Did you have to wade out into the water to get on the boat?

Dave

 

[geist1223]

There are also several companies that operate Dinner Cruises out of Maalaea Harbor. This is where we sailed out of and had a good time. Don't remember name of company.

 

[Passepartout]

Dave, you might sign up for Groupon for Maui (or Hawaii in general). I have a hunch that dinner cruises are competitive enough that they pop up frequently. You might find other things of interest.

 

[DaveNV]

Dave, you might sign up for Groupon for Maui (or Hawaii in general). I have a hunch that dinner cruises are competitive enough that they pop up frequently. You might find other things of interest.

Great idea! I hadn't thought of doing that. Thanks!

Dave

 

[artringwald]

Did you have to wade out into the water to get on the boat?

Dave

They put all our shoes in a box on shore and our feet did get wet getting on and off the boat. The boat came up to the shore and swung down the steps, but we did have to walk through a couple feet of water.

 

[PaulaC]

Yes, you do have to step into the water to board the Teralani. However, we just got our feet wet, since the crew watches the oncoming waves and times your entry. You can get a great deal on this from Costco with the gift card, then just call and make your reservation. We went out two and a half weeks ago and saw more whales than we have ever seen on a whale watch, including the zodiac.

 

[tugcccsp]

I'm a sucker for a good sunset dinner cruise on a nice boat. (Must be the sailor in me - eating dinner on the open water never gets old.) I'd like nice scenery from a decent boat, with a pleasant meal. I don't care about the dancing part, for me it's more about the cruise. Anybody have recommendations (pro or con) about any of the various dinner cruises I'm seeing for Maui? We'll be there late next month, and I'd like to do this one night. Who's good, and who isn't? It's more about the whole experience than the price or food.

Alternate option, if there aren't any great dinner cruises, is a great daytime cruise. I am not interested in Zodiac boats or anything too rough. But a nice boat that does a nice lunch/brunch/Happy Hour cruise is a good second choice.

Dave

I went on a great sunset cruise with Gemini last fall. It boarded at Ka’anapali Beach. The food was delicious.

 

[taffy19]

There are several companies that operate from the beach right in front of the Hula Grill at the Whaler's Village. They all have snorkel trips in the morning and sunset trips late in the afternoon. You may get a little wet when a wave comes in right at the time you want to walk up to the ladder but nothing to worry about.

It is in easy walking distance of the Marriott's Maui Ocean Club and Hyatt Residence Club and several hotels (Westin and Sheraton) south of Black Rock.

You will have to drive coming from the Ka'anapali Beach Club, Dave, that is north of Black Rock as it may still be too warm to walk all the way from there late in the afternoon.

 

[taffy19]

Nope. It was Quicksilver. I think we took a Trilogy Trimaran snorkeling or whale watching another time.

We really like Trilogy! We also liked the "Queen's Treasure" but they are out of business, regretfully. It was a beautiful Catamaran, great crew and good food.

 

[DaveNV]

There are several companies that operate from the beach right in front of the Hula Grill at the Whaler's Village. They all have snorkel trips in the morning and sunset trips late in the afternoon. You may get a little wet when a wave comes in right at the time you want to walk up to the ladder but nothing to worry about.

It is in easy walking distance of the Marriott's Maui Ocean Club and Hyatt Residence Club and several hotels (Westin and Sheraton) south of Black Rock.

You will have to drive coming from the Ka'anapali Beach Club, Dave, that is north of Black Rock as it may still be too warm to walk all the way from there late in the afternoon.

We'd drive. Carrying camera equipment on long walks gets tiring. Same issue with wading through the water to board a boat from the beach. In Cabo San Lucas one time there was a near disaster getting off a boat when the water was much deeper than anyone expected. The camera bag was the only thing that wasn't fully submerged. It could have been disastrous. Since then, it's boarding from a dock only.

Dave

 

[clifffaith]

We had a nice dinner cruise out of Lahaina about three years ago. Didn't commit company to memory because Cliff said "never again!" Food was good, saw a few whales (Jan or early Feb), dined with a young couple from Alaska. Cliff and the young woman were fine until after dinner when they shut the engines off and let us bob quietly to look at the stars. At that point young woman disappeared, her husband left to see if she was alright and Cliff muttered "stop talking" as he was trying to deep breathe and keep his dinner down. And we'd both taken Dramamine according to the directions before getting on the boat.

 

[clifffaith]

They put all our shoes in a box on shore and our feet did get wet getting on and off the boat. The boat came up to the shore and swung down the steps, but we did have to walk through a couple feet of water.

I ripped the concierge at the Westin a new one on one of our first trips to Maui. He put us on a beach loading whale watching cruise out of Whalers Village without telling us what he was doing. Getting on was ok, although I wasn't pleased. Getting off was a disaster because waves were so high they couldn't get the boat to shore, and so put everyone in motorized rafts that they rammed ashore through the waves. We both had long pants on for protection from sun and warmth (air is cool on the water off Los Angeles, we didn't realize it would be warm), and were soaked from mid- chest down.

 

[SandyPGravel]

We had a nice dinner cruise out of Lahaina about three years ago. Didn't commit company to memory because Cliff said "never again!" Food was good, saw a few whales (Jan or early Feb), dined with a young couple from Alaska. Cliff and the young woman were fine until after dinner when they shut the engines off and let us bob quietly to look at the stars. At that point young woman disappeared, her husband left to see if she was alright and Cliff muttered "stop talking" as he was trying to deep breathe and keep his dinner down. And we'd both taken Dramamine according to the directions before getting on the boat.

I feel your DH pain. I love to SCUBA, but the surface interval time between dives is my downfall. One of my worst experiences was at Molokini crater, didn't make the second dive.

We're considering a dinner cruise, I will be taking multiple doses of Dramamine ahead of time if we do. (SCUBA instructor suggested this.)

 

[Luanne]

I feel your DH pain. I love to SCUBA, but the surface interval time between dives is my downfall. One of my worst experiences was at Molokini crater, didn't make the second dive.

We're considering a dinner cruise, I will be taking multiple doses of Dramamine ahead of time if we do. (SCUBA instructor suggested this.)

I find Bonine better than Dramamine. Dramamine makes me fall asleep.

 

[canesfan]

We did Teralani last week but the one we did was a cocktail cruise. They also do a dinner cruise. We had a great time, but we also saw lots of whales and dolphins.


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[taffy19]

The ocean is quite rough today and it has been raining too. I walked the beach to Black Rock and the Gemini was coming in so decided to watch how wet the people would get coming off the boat while the waves were higher than they have been this week. The crew did a wonderful job guiding the people to step off the boat to dodge the bigger waves. They are there before you know but nobody got really very wet.

I asked a couple if they had seen whales today and they told me that they saw a ton of whales and they were very excited. They saw a Mom and calf jumping together out of the water completely. I asked a teenager too and he also tole me that he saw a lot of whales.

I talked to the crew and they told me that they were going to take the Catamaran to Lanai most likely to do a "storm watch" from there. They will do their best not take the boat out if it isn't safe to do so but the ocean is very unpredictable especially here in Hawaii.

The Ultimate Whale Watch crew told us the other day that the calves are getting stronger so they like the waves and are pretty active. We also saw a calf that was about a week old and he showed us how he knew. This is a great tour for people who like to do photography seriously.