We really enjoyed our experience at Molokini Crater and Turtle Town. The crew was friendly and very... read more
We really enjoyed our experience at Molokini Crater and Turtle Town. The crew was friendly and very... read more
Great crew. The captain was awesome. Hit major winds and waves back from Molokini, but the captain... read more
We had an amazing family adventure aboard the Leilani. We saw whales upclose just outside the harbor within minutes of the cruise. The crew was informative and answered all our questions. We snorkeled over at Molekini and continued whale watching. We were verasatile and trusted the crew to know where to go. We got to experience a very rare whale shark sighting. The food was plentiful- with continental breakfast and later a bbq lunch. We highly recommend the Leilani Private cruise. We had 24 of us and there was just enough room not to feel crowded. We had 13 children ages 4-14 and all of us had a blast.
We had an amazing Day out with Captain CJ and his crew. I loved that we had a smaller group and our schedule was flexible. The crew was very friendly and engaging. We started with hot coffee and a continental breakfast. The crew handed out gear on the way to Molokini. Be prepared with cash if you want to rent a wet suit. We had about an hour of swim time at the crater before the waves started getting a little to big and so we left for the next stop. On the way we saw a large pod of whales and it was a wonderful treat that Captain CJ stopped so we could see them frolic and play. On the way to the second stop we had a yummy lunch of hamburgers, chicken and hot dogs with veggies and pasta salad. A group even had veggie burgers. The second stop was at Turtle Town/Reef and we got to spend another hour and a half swimming with a ton of fish and several turtles on the reef. The crew even went out of their way to make sure we saw several turtles and pointed them out so everyone could see. On the way back it was an open bar with great Mai Tais and macadamia nut cookies. I highly recommend this tour. It truly was a Great day!
Captain Tiffany and crew were excellent! We had so much fun snorkeling with 6 turtles and watching half a dozen whales frolicking. We saw more whales on the Leilani than we did on the official whale watching tour we took with another company so if you come in the winter save your money and just do this trip. They had an awesome playlist of songs and the food was great. Highly recommend this Best Day on Maui!
My husband, sister, BIL, niece, mother, and I went on Leilani for our snorkel tour. It was a great choice.
The boat is not one of the mega boats that Pride of Maui (this is a sister boat) and other companies have. Your not stuck with 60+ strangers vying for space and food. This boat seats around 30 or so people but our tour didn't even have that many people. In my opinion a smaller boat with less people is always better than a huge boat with tons of people. Especially when you're out in the water. You don't have all those people fighting to be in one area to see a turtle kicking you in the face with their fins.
Upon boarding the boat and getting safety instructions they provide breakfast. We had banana bread muffins, blueberry muffins and fresh fruit. Including Maui Gold pineapple (yum!). Then you're off to snorkel.
Unfortunately, and this is out of any company's control, the water conditions were terrible. Huge swells so there was no trip to the crater. But from what I hear the crater isn't what it used to be anymore. We ended up at two different reefs that were protected from the winds. Even there though the current was strong and you had to pay attention to not get caught in it.
We did still end up seeing turtles, tons of fish, eels, and even got to see a Hawaiian Monk Seal (only about 1400 left and facing extinction). We never saw any dolphins or whales but whale season hasn't started yet so we weren't expecting to anyway.
For lunch they served hamburgers, hot dogs, chicken, pasta salad and had a veggie tray. All was good. They also opened the bar and served different beers and drinks such as Mai Tais. The drinks were endless and good.
The crew was very helpful and nice. My mother, who isn't a strong swimmer, they were very helpful with and provided her with extra flotation devices to help her feel comfortable in the water.
Highly recommend . Great trip for the value! We loved the burgers, turtle town was amazing. Boat is well kept and staff is so nice
We did not know what to expect but we own boats and are boaters so our expectations were pretty high. We arrived on time to find the crew and Captain to be extremely friendly and properly getting things stowed and ready for the trip. The day had very strong winds and we opted to not go to Molokini Crater. Why? because we know that snorkeling in high winds is no fun and we would be miserable. We decided to go to Mala sunk pier and it was a great choice. Note: We had several first time snorkelers on board and they were blown away by the crew and location. I we recommend a private charter for your party as we were the only ones on the boat. We had 17 in our family and I cannot compliment the crew enough from breakfast to lunch they were very attentive and friendly. Now what did we see snorkeling? We managed to see over a dozen turtles several sharks and three or four Moray eels. Our children still talk about the excursion and the food provided was perfect boat food for our family...burgers, chicken teriyaki and hot dogs. The side dishes were pasta salad and vegi plates. Tanya did ask if anyone was vegetarian and would accomodate anyone with diet sensitive needs we did not need this but it's worth mentioning. I would do it again in a heart beat and highly recommend this charter.
Last footnote: If you have your own snorkeling gear bring it and practice a little before going out it only heightens the experience. The boat we were on was the Leilani.