Kamanu Charters Sunset Cruise Review - Kona, Big Island Hawaii
My husband and I were in Hawaii for our anniversary trip and I am doing a bunch of reviews for it. I have to break them up because some of them need much more space than others.
My husband and I, wherever we travel, always look for charters where they limit the number of people on the boat. We haven't had much luck except one in Cozumel (awesome), and this one. I was completely excited when I found an ad for them. You will find Kamanu Charters' ads in various spots, you just have to pay attention.
Kamanu Charters offers: Sunset Sail, Snorkel Sail, Dolphin Swim, Manta Ray Snorkel, and Whale Watch. In Mexico we had done a snorkel trip which was amazing, and we were tempted to do it again, but we ended up with the sunset sail. We would have had to wait for a date that was too far out for us, and we figured that we had never done one, and we wanted something romantic for our trip.
I found a $20.00 off coupon in the 'This Week Big Island" mini mag. You will see this tourist mag everywhere so its easy to pick up the coupon.
You will see in the advertisement that the sunset sail includes pupus (snacks), and an open bar. Also it shows that this cruise is limited to 20 people instead of 24.
We got to the marina a bit too early and there really isn't much to do there so you are just hanging out. It really isn't too far away from Kona's Alli Drive, so we could have taken our time. The people were friendly and it was nice and cool in the office.
We all met up down at the pier and you will have a designated spot. Make sure you listen up to see which tour you are with. I saw three boats next to each other and two were going out for tours. The catamaran is on the smaller side, but in excellent condition. They had a new sail that they were trying out on our trip. (Very nice sail.) They have you remove your shoes and leave them in their little shed at the dock. You have to line into all of the seats while you leave the harbor. For this I would suggest that you try not to be one of the first people on the boat. You may feel that it gives you a better advantage, but the later people are going to have easier freedom on moving around the boat, while you are stuck tripping over people or trying to get people that don't want to move out of your way. Also, this tour was supposed to be limited to 20 people, but when they were doing a head count they had 23. And they were wondering how they were miscounting, because apparently they were missing someone that was signed in. Also, it will be dark when you get back, so make sure that your phone has a light option or mine has a flashlight. You could also use a small keyring. You will need to find your shoes when you get back and the shed apparently doesn't have one.
There is one head (bathroom) on board, and it is VERY small. You seriously have to back up rear first into it. But when nature calls, it calls. Make sure you go before you leave. There is one in the convenience store that you are allowed to use.
Once they get you out onto the water, they will start to get the snacks and drinks going. This is their first downfall. Most people ended up with mai tai's, white wine, or beer (budwiser). They told me they do not serve red wine, due to it being so difficult to clean up after. The mai tai's were okay, but as it didn't seem like there were many other options available, or they needed to let people know some drink availabilties, they ran out towards the end of the trip. My last mai tai (I had two and drank 1/2 of my husbands cause he didn't like it) was pretty much just rum on ice.
The other disappointing thing was the pupus. When I called and made the reservation they let me know that they had these great pupus and drinks on board. I let my husband know and we made sure not to eat much for lunch. The pupus consisted up of one platter of fruit, a bowl of potato salad, sandwich wraps, and a bag of chips ahoy cookies. The platter of fruit was gone in one round. It was not refilled. The sandwiches were passed around, but the guy helping them out didn't even know what was on them and acted rudely to one of the guests that was asking. My ears had perked up because I had the same question. The sandwiches were small and not very appetizing. They also gave you a small appetizer plate and one fork. Don't lose it. That's what you get. It makes it a bit hard to try and handle your drink and the food while trying to find a spot to relax on the boat.
I finally got my husband past a couple that were holding him hostage inside the boat. I tried to be funny about it, but gave them no choice but to move their asses. Turns out, I was sitting next to their soon to be married daughter and soon to be husband. Both of them were very nice, and once we struck up a conversation, it helped me relax a bit more. My husband and I had a spot on the front of the boat ready for the sunset, which was around the corner. The female worker on board, who of course I forgot her name (she was very nice) came up and asked us to move down while they switched the sail. They switched the sail and the boat turned around. No, the sun hadn't set. We were now on the side of the boat not looking at the sunset. This confused many of the guests.
The captain started the boat going back to the harbor and was being pretty swift about it. My husband and I re-situated ourselves on the seats on the inside section, and that's where we kind of got to see the sun go away. The lady that switched the sail didn't seem to notice anything was wrong and asked a group of us if we saw the "green light" at the sunset. Um, no! How could anyone? The sunset tour ended before the sunset. That was the worst $182.62 we spent in a long time.
My husband and I agreed that we probably should have set up for the snorkel tour early, or done the manta ray sail. This one was poop. I can't say that we will go with this tour group again. They do have the bonus of limited (even if not as much as the ad says), but if you do not really get the tour you pay for and their "great pupus" are pretty sucky, I just can't say that I would.
My husband and I, wherever we travel, always look for charters where they limit the number of people on the boat. We haven't had much luck except one in Cozumel (awesome), and this one. I was completely excited when I found an ad for them. You will find Kamanu Charters' ads in various spots, you just have to pay attention.
Kamanu Charters offers: Sunset Sail, Snorkel Sail, Dolphin Swim, Manta Ray Snorkel, and Whale Watch. In Mexico we had done a snorkel trip which was amazing, and we were tempted to do it again, but we ended up with the sunset sail. We would have had to wait for a date that was too far out for us, and we figured that we had never done one, and we wanted something romantic for our trip.
I found a $20.00 off coupon in the 'This Week Big Island" mini mag. You will see this tourist mag everywhere so its easy to pick up the coupon.
You will see in the advertisement that the sunset sail includes pupus (snacks), and an open bar. Also it shows that this cruise is limited to 20 people instead of 24.
We got to the marina a bit too early and there really isn't much to do there so you are just hanging out. It really isn't too far away from Kona's Alli Drive, so we could have taken our time. The people were friendly and it was nice and cool in the office.
We all met up down at the pier and you will have a designated spot. Make sure you listen up to see which tour you are with. I saw three boats next to each other and two were going out for tours. The catamaran is on the smaller side, but in excellent condition. They had a new sail that they were trying out on our trip. (Very nice sail.) They have you remove your shoes and leave them in their little shed at the dock. You have to line into all of the seats while you leave the harbor. For this I would suggest that you try not to be one of the first people on the boat. You may feel that it gives you a better advantage, but the later people are going to have easier freedom on moving around the boat, while you are stuck tripping over people or trying to get people that don't want to move out of your way. Also, this tour was supposed to be limited to 20 people, but when they were doing a head count they had 23. And they were wondering how they were miscounting, because apparently they were missing someone that was signed in. Also, it will be dark when you get back, so make sure that your phone has a light option or mine has a flashlight. You could also use a small keyring. You will need to find your shoes when you get back and the shed apparently doesn't have one.
There is one head (bathroom) on board, and it is VERY small. You seriously have to back up rear first into it. But when nature calls, it calls. Make sure you go before you leave. There is one in the convenience store that you are allowed to use.
Once they get you out onto the water, they will start to get the snacks and drinks going. This is their first downfall. Most people ended up with mai tai's, white wine, or beer (budwiser). They told me they do not serve red wine, due to it being so difficult to clean up after. The mai tai's were okay, but as it didn't seem like there were many other options available, or they needed to let people know some drink availabilties, they ran out towards the end of the trip. My last mai tai (I had two and drank 1/2 of my husbands cause he didn't like it) was pretty much just rum on ice.
The other disappointing thing was the pupus. When I called and made the reservation they let me know that they had these great pupus and drinks on board. I let my husband know and we made sure not to eat much for lunch. The pupus consisted up of one platter of fruit, a bowl of potato salad, sandwich wraps, and a bag of chips ahoy cookies. The platter of fruit was gone in one round. It was not refilled. The sandwiches were passed around, but the guy helping them out didn't even know what was on them and acted rudely to one of the guests that was asking. My ears had perked up because I had the same question. The sandwiches were small and not very appetizing. They also gave you a small appetizer plate and one fork. Don't lose it. That's what you get. It makes it a bit hard to try and handle your drink and the food while trying to find a spot to relax on the boat.
I finally got my husband past a couple that were holding him hostage inside the boat. I tried to be funny about it, but gave them no choice but to move their asses. Turns out, I was sitting next to their soon to be married daughter and soon to be husband. Both of them were very nice, and once we struck up a conversation, it helped me relax a bit more. My husband and I had a spot on the front of the boat ready for the sunset, which was around the corner. The female worker on board, who of course I forgot her name (she was very nice) came up and asked us to move down while they switched the sail. They switched the sail and the boat turned around. No, the sun hadn't set. We were now on the side of the boat not looking at the sunset. This confused many of the guests.
The captain started the boat going back to the harbor and was being pretty swift about it. My husband and I re-situated ourselves on the seats on the inside section, and that's where we kind of got to see the sun go away. The lady that switched the sail didn't seem to notice anything was wrong and asked a group of us if we saw the "green light" at the sunset. Um, no! How could anyone? The sunset tour ended before the sunset. That was the worst $182.62 we spent in a long time.
My husband and I agreed that we probably should have set up for the snorkel tour early, or done the manta ray sail. This one was poop. I can't say that we will go with this tour group again. They do have the bonus of limited (even if not as much as the ad says), but if you do not really get the tour you pay for and their "great pupus" are pretty sucky, I just can't say that I would.
There's all the food.
Down by the pier
Entry to the pier.
Nice lady who I forgot her name.
Super small front area where you try to make yourself comfortable for the sunset you're not going to see on that side. Notice the small plate.
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