Sunrise at Haleakala
 

I am taking a cruise to Hawaii and would like to see the sunrise from the top of Haleakala. I have been told by RCCL that the earliest tender to leave the ship is at 8:00A.M. Has anyone on a cruise ship; especially RCCL been able to get off the ship in time to see the sunrise? Any suggestions??

We did the sunrise thing at Haleakala during the beginning of January. We were staying at a hotel there and to see the sunrise there at that time of the year we had to lesve the hotel at something like 4 am to drive up the mountain. There is quite a bit of slow moving traffic on that road. It is still incredible after the sun is up. <BR>If somehow you do it, dress warm, as it is quite chilly up there.

My sister and I are booked on Celebrity's Infinity for Feb. 17, 2001. We will be overnight in Maui so the second day it will be possible to see the sunrise. Are you able to change to a ship that spends two days in port?

Regarding the sunrise-all tours I've read about require a bike ride down--no thanks, I want to see the sunrise and live to remember it. Anyone know of other options?

Maureen: <BR> <BR>I went on RC's Vision of the Seas in the spring of 99' from Acapulco to Hawaii. We had a two day stop in Maui and you should too(according to RC's web site)allowing time to visit Haleakala on the first night. The 8am time for tenders I believe only refers to when you first arrive at port. After that they leave every half hour until midnight and then leave every hour until 6 am. I forget what shore excursions there are for Haleakala but you can rent a car ahead of time (we did from Budget) and park it by the pier. Then leave around 2am to make the 3+hour drive to be in time for sunrise. While we didnt go to Haleakala I hear we should have. Next time. But I encourage you to do it and book your car ahead of time. When you first get to the pier you call Budget and they send a shuttle to bring you to the rental office. Very easy. Then explore at your will. There are various pay parking areas by the pier in Lahaina. Not too expensive. We saw all the islands this way and it was fantastic. <BR> <BR>Hope this helped. <BR> <BR>T.

Not sure about sunrise, but if you want to see some of our pix from Haleakala: <BR> <BR>http://www.kula.com/gotmaui/images/j...dge_crater.htm <BR> <BR>http://www.kula.com/gotmaui/images/j...word_bloom.htm <BR> <BR>http://www.kula.com/gotmaui/images/j...ater_trail.htm

In response to the comment that the only options re: viewing the sunrise on Haleakala involve the bike ride down...... <BR>although we did elect to bike down, when there this past October [an amazing experience!], there were numerous tour buses at the top, transporting people BOTH ways! <BR> <BR>It is extremely cold up there, probably about 28 degrees F, so layer up, with the suggestion made to us to take a blanket from your room for extra warmth.

Thank you Lynne, that is exactly what I wanted to hear!