Thank you, final payment is tomorrow, still trying to decide, I'm terrible. We would only have two days in Maui and two days in the Big Island, would that be doable. We understand we wouldn't see it all but we wanted a taste of all the islands, hence why we booked the cruise, but with so many unknowns the cruise started to sound stressful. I can't relax, AT ALL, I have to be constantly doing something, so I was worried about that many sea days. I could entertain myself with the pool deck but my worry is it might be chilly heading towards Vancouver.
The time came and went for you to decide.
As to doing two days on Maui and Hawaii, yes, very nice taste of both islands.
On Maui, you could do a sunrise trip to Haleakela, biking down the volcano to sea level. That takes you to lunch time. Since your tour might be from the ”town” of Haiku, sit down for a tasty meal at Colleen’s at the Cannery if You haven’t stopped on the ride down. While on that side of the island, you can continue on and drive the Road to Hana. (There’s very nice lodging at the Hana-Maui Resort $$$$)
Maui offers great snorkeling / boating trips from Lanai and Maalaea Harbor. Molokai Crater, Turtle Town, and Lanai are usual destinations, on catamarans and snorkeling boats, even outrigger canoes.
Ziplines, lavender farms, hiking trails, horse riding, golf… This island has so much to do.
Lots of timeshares and high-end resorts. The did build a Courtyard by Marriott several years ago (even it is not mainland pricing). A wide variety of dining.
I have only visited one luau in Hawaii; the Lahaina Luau on Maui, three times. Photos of other luaus just don’t match what I experienced at Lahaina. It’s as simple as plastic chairs and tables vs. their beautiful wooden ones.
On the big island, you have two climates: wet and green on the Hilo side and dry on the Kona side. There is an airport in each town and it is easy to fly into one and out the other. Hawaiian airlines offers multiple flights to each every day.
Closer to Hilo is Volcanoes National Park with lava trails. Downhill and close to the ocean is an area that was covered in lava during an eruption in the 1980s or 90s?
While Kona is the dry, more dessert-like side, there is also a cowboy town on a plateau. There is also the snow-covered volcano with observation facilities. The Southernmost Point in the USA is on Hawaii.
Hawaii is very diverse, it not as much as a tourism draw, but still a fascinating location.
It all depends on what interests you.
Hope you are able to feel peace with your decision.
