Taking a Dinner Cruise in Hawaii

August 13th, 2009

Three of my favorite things are food, boats and sunset.  When you can combine all of them, and then put it in Hawai‘i, I’m sold.  I used to watch ships depart for their sunset dinner cruises from a pau hana (happy hour) patio at Aloha Tower.  When my sister and her husband came for a recent vacation, I had the perfect excuse to check them out.

Dinner cruise options range from fancy (it’s hard to call anything "formal" here, but a jacket is required) to casual, with several stops in between.   We chose one near the middle.  They were also taking part in a luau and we had a fine dining reservation later in the week, so the main attraction of the dinner cruise was the opportunity to see Waikiki from the water as the sun set.  It did not disappoint.

As we boarded, a professional photographer took a souvenir photo.  That makes a nice keepsake, but we had more fun later when passengers took turns photographing one another.  Cameras were exchanged, along with stories.  One couple was on a honeymoon, another a business trip.  Many were from different countries and had only rudimentary English.  But a camera, a smile and a nod usually convey the offer to take a photo that includes everyone in the group.

The cruise we selected provided a buffet (others have plated meals).  The food was delicious, attractively presented and plentiful.  It was tasty without being too exotic for my brother-in-law, who hadn’t been too sure about some of the luau offerings.  The highlight of the meal, however, was the wonderful music provided by local musicians.  The music began before the food was served and continued throughout the evening.  By the time the ship returned to the dock, young passengers with no common language were sharing dance moves.

It was fun to point out spots we had visited from the water: their hotel, where we snorkeled, where our next dinner was scheduled.  Rick, of course, was watching the waves and how the ship handled them.  My sister marveled at the idea that we were actually on the ocean (rather than a lake) — there is no shore across the horizon until you run into another island (or country).  It is one think to be aware that you are traveling across the ocean to a little populated rock, it is quite another to actually feel the experience.  The dinner cruise gave us a little taste of that in just a couple of hours.

Posted by Cindy Scheopner  Follow me on Twitter @Scheopner 

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Entry Filed under: Maui, Oahu