We were alongside in Wailea by 7:00am and off the ship by 7:30. Today, we opted for another Resort Pass booking, this time at the Marriott Wailea Beach Resort. The resort was a 30-minute drive to the southwest side of the island, and we thought we would try Uber, after our awful taxi experience on Kauai. However, a very friendly Sheriff deputy standing duty in the cruise terminal lot explained to us that Ubers are forbidden from picking us up at the port so we’d have to taxi to a local mall for $20, then catch an Uber there. We quickly decided to give the cab option another try and found a lovely man, Daniel, who was happy to take us across the island. We negotiated a flat fare and off we went.

This Marriot property was gorgeous. Our day pass included a shaded cabana for four persons overlooking the ocean, a fresh fruit tray with banana bread, water, towels and storage. The property was swanky and the view amazing: we must have seen 20-30 whales breach right in front of us over the course of the day. We learned that this particular bay, Maalaea Bay, is a sanctuary for birthing humpback whales from December to April. We saw mothers and their calves playing and jumping. Our delightful server, Geralyn from the Philippines, moved us to the front row of cabanas so we could see better, and brought us binoculars to improve the experience. Wow, just wow!

After our day of swimming and watching whales, we called Daniel and he was happy to provide return transportation back to the ship. We learned he is originally from the Philippines but has been in Hawaii for 25 years. Just like Geralyn, he is happy to be in the U.S. and supports his family through the tourism industry.

Tomorrow: Kona, Big Island, HI