Maui Whale Watch and Snorkeling Cruise - Pride of Maui

On Monday I was back on The Pride of Maui for an afternoon Maui whale watch and snorkel cruise with my friend Lucy. We were mainly here for the whale watch because February is peak season for whales on Maui.  While we were checking in at Maalaea Harbor, I snapped a photo of the catamaran coming in with its morning passsangers.  My husband and I been on the Pride of Maui back in December for a sunset dinner and cocktail cruise so I was familiar with this wonderful vessel.



Lucy and I waiting to board



Just before boarding Captain Patrick introduced himself and gave the mandatory safety talk before we could get on the boat. I found out later that he has been a captain on the Pride of Maui for 15 years, and loves being out on the ocean because every day is different.  He was raised in Lahaina and grew up on boats so it was a natural transition for him to become a captain.

Captain Patrick

As last time we were greeted warmly by the friendly staff, and then we made our way up the stairs to the top of the boat.  The afternoon excursion isn't quite as crowded as the morning one so we had no trouble finding a great seat that even had storage underneath it for our bags.  We were barely out of the harbor when the captain called out that there were whales at 11 o'clock off the bow of the ship.  We were treated to a great show of breaches, pectoral fin slaps and tail waving by a mother and her calf. If you think a baby whale is small just because it's a baby, well,  think again.



Captain Patrick told us that a newborn calf is 12 to 15 ft. in length and weighs a whopping 1 to 2 tons.  Not only that but the baby drinks an astounding 100 gallons of the mother's rich milk every day. Girls, can you imagine even producing that much milk, especially in a state of starvation? I had learned quite a lot about whales on previous whale watches but it never fails to impress me that these gentle giants migrate each year all the way from Alaska to the warm waters of Hawaii where they mate and give birth to their young. Their feeding grounds are Alaska because food is abundant in the North Pacific, however while in Hawaii they are literally in a state of starvation until they return to Alaska.

A beautiful sight ( I didn't take this photo but I own it royalty free)

When mother and calf had each shown their beautiful tail as they disappeared into the ocean, the captain announced that they could be down for up to 40 minutes before having to come up again and breathe. He also mentioned that the design on each whale's fluke is unique just as our fingerprints are, so that is how they can be identified by scientists and marine biologists or anyone else who knows what to look for. For more information about the humpback whales visit the Maui Whale Watching page on Pride's website.

What a start to the trip!  Now we were all actively looking for more whales as we continued on our way.

Heading out to sea

Lucy and I were so enjoying being out on the ocean on this sunny Maui afternoon that our troubles just flew away in the wind. Down below first mate Matt was serving sodas and a special concoction designed to help a queasy stomach for anyone who might be prone to sea sickness.  The drink was made with seven up and cut up ginger, so being a big ginger fan I decided to try it even though my sea legs were just fine.  Lucy tried it too because she was a bit worried that she might feel queasy.  It must have worked because she never complained! Great stuff!

First mate Matt with my ginger drink on the right

Almost everywhere we looked we saw whales either blowing, breaching, swimming, or showing off their tails. How exciting was that! We came across a competition pod of males and Captain Patrick stopped the boat the required 100 yards away from them. They seemed a little angry and I guess it was because they were all after the same female. Apparently when they are into this aggresive behaviour they can actually cut each other up with the sharp barnacles that are on their bodies. Wow, were we ever learning a lot about the humpback whales!
Finally it was announced that we were nearing Coral Gardens, the snorkeling site for today.  As we approached the little bay which is just below the end of the Pali, we saw a couple of other snorkel boats and amazing blue green water.

Approaching Coral Gardens

Earlier on, those who wanted to snorkel were given masks and fins and then the captain invited anyone who wanted a snorkeling lesson to assemble.  I thought this was great because there are always people who have never snorkeled before and also people who have never been taught properly.  For example I only just found out that for years I had been putting on my mask the wrong way.



Snorkeling lesson from Captain Patrick

Lucy and I decided not to snorkel this time, so we just enjoyed watching everyone getting into the water and having fun.  The crew were right there to help and they had lots of flotation devices for anyone who couldn't float or needed a bit of extra security. They even had boards for kids to hold onto, as well as a fun slide.  Jason, one of the four crew members was life guard for the day. Sorry Jason, that I never snapped a shot of you.

When I went below this time, I caught Stephanie, who had been one of the crew on our dinner cruise, cooking up hamburgers and hotdogs for lunch.  Then Captain Patrick took her place and barbequed up some chicken. Lots of choices. My mouth was already watering from the delicious smells so I couldn't wait to get my teeth into a cheese burger. Lucy chose the chicken and when we finally got our lunch it was delicious and eating outside in the sea air, made it even better!

Stephanie cooking hamburgers and hotdogs

The captain barbequing the chicken

After lunch we headed out to find more whales and we did. Eventually it was time to go back to Maalaea Harbor. Boy did that 4 hours ever go by fast!

Heading back to Maalaea Harbor

It seemed like every second person I spoke to on the ship was from Alberta Canada. First I met a couple from Clive Alberta, near Red Deer. Gary had just come in from snorkeling so I asked him how it was.  He said it was nice and clear and that he saw lots of colourful fish and even swam with a sea turtle. While he was snorkeling his wife Bev was looking after their grandson Liam. 

Gary and Bev Krochak with grandson Liam

The Nelson family, from Edmonton, were having a family reunion and 16 of them were on the boat representing four generations.  Mike and Tracy Nelson, who have a four year old son, told me that they always choose the Pride of Maui and have been on it at least 8 times. They said that they recommend the Pride of Maui to everyone they meet. I thought their reasons were most valid after our experience, so thought I would share them with you.

1.  The boat is nice and big so it is more stable which is especially good if you are prone to sea-sickness
2.  The crew is always super friendly and helpful.
3.  The captain is very knowledgable about whales and so the cruise is educational.
4.  There are boogie boards with site holes for kids, and all snorkeling equipment is provided.
5.  There are lots of food choices for adults as well as kids.
6.   Mai Tais, beer, wine and other alcoholic drinks are included in the price.
7.   Great value for a four hour excursion with all the above.

I asked Mike if I could take a group photo so I did just that when we got off the boat.

The Nelson family from Edmonton, Alberta, Canada representing 4 generations

 If you are interested in a combination Maui Whale Watch and Snorkeling Cruise have a look on The Pride of Maui website. If you book online it is only $37.95 for each adult and $26.95 per child so you save $8.00 per ticket. Great value for the money!!!!

Thankyou Pride of Maui for another fantastic excursion!

2 for 1 Maui Whale Watch with Boss Frog

Ever since we arrived on Maui we have noticed a big banner on the lawn of the Kihei Longs Centre. The sign says “Boss Frog’s Dive and Surf 2 for 1 whale watch. $29.95 for 2 people” We thought we would give it a try, so signed up with friends Belle, Gordon and Debbie for the 1:30 adventure. Our destination was slip 87 in Maalaea Harbour and on arrival we lined up to sign in and wait to board the vessel. Luckily for us, Marine Naturalist Katie Grove-Velasquez was on hand to tell us all about the wonderful animals we were about to see face to face. She started by telling us that whales have been her passion for the last 18 years, and it turns out that she is extremely knowledgeable on the subject. As a retired teacher I was very impressed with her presentation which included photographs, examples of real whale teeth and baleen, and a wealth of information about whales. If you haven’t already you may want to read the post Humpback Whales of Maui.

Once on board Frogman II we were introduced to Captain Ed and his crew Adam and Andrea.

Captain Ed gave us safety instructions and a heads up about the “heads”, which differ from other toilets in that you can’t throw any paper products etc. into them. He nicely volunteered crew member Andrea to fix the problem if anyone should forget. I think she preferred her other job as bar tender and assisting the passengers as needed.

Finally we left the harbor and headed out to find whales. The captain had already been tipped off by another boat, about some activity going on at a certain location. As we approached we had to stop 100 yards away from the pod, as required by Hawaii state law. Suddenly Katie called out that we had been “Mugged on Maui”, which means that the whales had decided to swim very close to our boat. This meant that we were held hostage until they decided to leave and I didn’t hear anyone complain. It turned out that the pod consisted of at least 2 male animals who were pursuing a female, so they were in angry competition.

Needless to say it was very exciting and we had front row seats to watch a breach, tail slapping, and other mating activity. I guess in whale land the females are larger than the males and they rule, so it is one big fight to see which lucky suitor will win her hand and swim away to the deep to do their thing.

Belle managed to take these awesome photos of a breach, and fluke going down.   Thankyou Belle!!!!

Finally the whales decided it was time to leave, and since some of their activity took place under water, Katie said that it was unsure if one of the male whales had won or if they were still going to continue the competition elsewhere.

On the way back to Maalaea we had another treat watching a baby whale learning to breach with Mom close at hand.

Once back in the harbor, Katie had yet more goodies up her sleeve, and she laid out some handouts about whales for us to take home. There was also an interesting specimen of a coronula barnacle which had been taken off a deceased humpback whale.

I would rate this whale watch very high for three reasons. Firstly the captain was very skilled and we felt confident in his hands. Secondly the crew was fun, helpful and very friendly. Thirdly having a qualified naturalist on board, giving a running commentary of everything we were seeing, made the adventure so much more meaningful than past whale watches we have been on. Oh and I forgot to add that $29.95 for 2 people is a steal for such a memorable afternoon!!!! You can find more information at the Boss Frog Website.

Katie has been the Marine Naturalist on various whale watching vessels around Maui. Her fascination of whales also takes her to Prince Rupert and Alaska to watch and study the Hawaiian Humpback whales in their feeding grounds. We feel that Boss Frog’s is very fortunate to have her on their vessels to share her expertise with Maui visitors. Katie also confessed that she is a children’s author and is now writing a series of books centering around marine life with stories that offer life lessons while imparting true facts about the ocean and its creatures.

Why not stay in a Kihei vacation rental, and you won’t have far to go to slip 87 in Maalaea Harbor to catch Boss Frog’s 2 for 1.