We did the afternoon dinner cruise with snorkeling on the Lucky Lady Catamaran. We are a family of 4 with 2 teenage girls, so it was nice not to have to wake up early! A few pieces of advice for those taking the cruise.
I planned ahead and took a Bonine pill the night before and another before we left for the cruise. I'm very susceptible to motion sickness so i was worried about nausea. This is a must if you can't handle the motion, but still want to enjoy this cruise. I gave a Bonine to my husband and my girls, just in case. There were a few folks who couldn't handle the motion and the buckets came out for those who were sick. I'm happy to say, I was fine!
Be sure to pack a set of dry clothes for after snorkeling, a towel and a sweatshirt! Once the sun sets and you head back to port, it can get cold. We went out on a beautiful, clear, sunny day! I can't imagine going out if it was cloudy or rainy!
We sat on top on the right side which is the best place to be. It gives you a 360 view of everything, but the best view of the shore.
Now for the trip....
We arrived at the office for checkin and waited for our captain to get us and lead us to the boat which is a short walk across the street. Before you board, they make you take off your shoes. Apparently safer with no shoes. The highlights were definitely the Napali coast, beautiful views of the cliffs, interesting facts from our captain along our trip about the coast, the caves, the history.
The staff and our captain (Greg) were amazing and all about the customer experience. They brought you drinks, snacks and carried your dinner if you didn't quite have your sea legs! The food was decent, for buffet food. The mai tais were tasty although I don't recommend drinking if you're struggling with the motion! We saw some spinning dolphins and captain Greg stopped the boat so we could watch the dolphins and take a few photos.
The snorkeling stop was a major disappointment hence the 4 stars instead of 5. If it's your first time snorkeling, maybe you'd find it interesting. But we saw more interesting fish and sea life snorkeling Poipu Beach the day before than this stop. 40 minutes went by fast and it was a refreshing spot to swim nonetheless. We did see some fish and a turtle and was a cool place next to the start of the Napali cliffs to snorkel.
On the way back, the highlight was definitely the sunset. Just gorgeous and the captain stopped just before the sun dipped into the sea to snap some pics.
Overall, a beautiful day, perfect weather and a great time! I highly recommend the sunset cruise over the morning cruise. Picture perfect day!