Let me be clear, Molokini crater or Caldera is only one of three on the planet, do you know the other two? See the answer at the end of my review! I am telling you from experience that this is a must do activity if your ever visiting Maui and can swing it. The fish and coral at the crater are worth it for sure. On our latest trip 7/14/19 we ran into some bad weather! Please be advised that any big swell or hard winds will not be the best conditions for first timers and people that want a relaxing experience on the trip. Just to be clear we were staying in Kapalua and had a 38 minute trip to the Maalea Harbor to get to the boat. Its good to take a little extra time getting down to the harbor due to the two lanes and any beach traffic in the event the swell comes up. So why is that, well to be honest when in Hawaii in general and the waves come, or the swell comes up, you can expect the locals to come to the beach. That means lots of surfing and camping there. That was the case on this day, we should have listened to the NOAA on the smart phone to know the swell was up. We headed to the harbor and parked by the upper Aquarium parking lot, its a good 15 minute walk to the boat so I suggest driving to the boat slip location and drop your passengers and gear. The driver needs to take the rental car back to the aquarium and park, then walk back to the boat slip. You can save five minutes by slipping between the Aquarium and the the restaurants above the harbor. We got under way and we knew after leaving the jetty that it was rough weather for snorkeling the crater. Make sure to have a ginger
drink if the motion of the ocean cause you any discomfort. So our skipper Makaha and first mate Jesse and helper Lindsey did a fine job keeping it real and safe. We were able to hang in the crater for a good 40 minutes in water. The skipper and crew thought it was getting to rough and called all the snorkelers back to the boat. Keep in mine that boarding the swim ladder in big swell can be a challenge, the crew did a good job getting all back on board with out anybody getting hurt. We up anchored and headed to Turtle Town in the protected waters below the clifts to have lunch and see some "Hono". It was mellow there and we had some water time. Its a short run back to the Harbor from here, so relax and enjoy the ride. We learned the crew works for tips so its good to do that in Hawaii for the workers om these types of excursions.Despite the weather we had a good time, we would do it again for sure! The skipper Makaha and first mate Jesse (from Alaska) and crew Lindsey did a good job in some hard weather, kept everyone safe and smiled the whole time. We would recommend this boat for future trips as its smaller and handles less passengers than Maui prides. Safe travels!
Answer: Santorini in Greece was the number 2 Caldera.
Odpowiedź od gospodarza
Aug 2019
Aloha!
What a wonderful review! We can’t thank you enough for taking the time to share this useful information for future guests! We appreciate your understanding in unpredicted weather, and that the safety of our guests is always our number one priority.
We are very lucky to have crew members like the ones you named, for they are the backbone of what we do. On the Pride of Maui, you are ohana!
We hope the rest of your time on Maui was nothing short of fantastic and you’ll join us again next time you’re in the island!
-Lawrence S
PR COORDINATOR