We had a reservation for the Maui Princess. The occasion was the celebration of our 29th anniversary. Doesn't Belinda look great! Our family pitched in and bought us two seats on the Maui Princess, "by far the largest and most comfortable cruise vessel in Maui." We were excited we arrived a little early. There was no one at the booth at Slip #4. There were about 20 plastic chairs sitting in a row and there were about 10 people waiting. I thought it was interesting that we were only about 20 minutes from the time to sail and there wasn't a gangplank down from the boat and there were no signs of activity. We asked the others in line and no one seemed to know anything. We let fifteen minutes go by and still no activity. So Belinda called the office and they reassured her in a scolding voice that it was going to leave on time. Belinda told her there is no one at the ticket booth and there are no signs of activity, it didn't seem possible that we could leave on time.
The boat in Slip #3 was also a dinner cruise ship named "The Spirit of Lahaina." It was supposed to
leave at the same time. From the time we showed up it was a happening place. There were two grills on the back of the boat loaded with steaks, chicken and shrimp. The cook was having a great time talking to anyone who would listen. The scent was wonderful. There was a lady dressed in Hawaiian attire with a flower in her hair taking care of anyone who had a question. Music was coming from the ship and the tour guide was laughing, making small talk and prepping the crowd (about the same number as our boat).
Finally I boarded The Spirit of Lahaina and asked the cook if he knew anything about the Maui Princess. He said, I can't say for sure but they are known for canceling if they don't have a certain number. I asked the captain if we could get on their boat. But of course you needed a reservation. About that time they said, "all aboard" and the party started. They introduced the crew to the cheers of the crowd and you knew it was going to be a good night. I got back off the boat and sat down in our plastic chairs, all in a row, facing forward toward an empty boat feeling about the same inside. A few minutes later a woman sauntered up to the ticket counter and without greeting anyone sat on her seat while a line formed in front of her. We were the last ones to get to the counter. When we got there she told us she was taking tickets for the ferry to Molokai. The Maui Princess isn't sailing
tonight, she said. We tried to call you several times she added (we later checked ours phone and there were no messages). Belinda told her about calling the office and she said, I don't know why they would have told you that. We have a cruise tomorrow, I'll add your reservation to tomorrow night's cruise.
Guess which boat we chose to sail on? The Spirit of Lahaina was everything it seemed to be. The food was tasty, steak, chicken AND shrimp. There was a magician on board who was great. The crew made everything fun. It left earlier than the Maui Princess (when we left there were 20 people sitting in straight rows, in plastic chairs, waiting without music or any sign of life). And when we returned from a tremendous evening where everything was first class (we even saw dolphins). The Maui Princess was there in the slip all dark and deserted.
We had a great celebration for our anniversary and it was a good lesson in how to take care of people. At CMA we always say, the party begins in the parking lot. I've been so proud of Jon DeWhit for his insistence at Indian Creek that we have greeters in the parking lot even if they are all members of his family! I'm guessing the Maui Princess sailed but I don't think much of their operation is about the customer. They do great on their advertising but their delivery stinks. The Spirit of Lahaina on the other hand won't lack for great word of mouth. It is no wonder that the First Mate said, we have a capacity crowd of 75 scheduled for tomorrow night and when we asked the magician to change his schedule because the 4th fell in the middle of the week he did it without complaining. I'm not surprised. That's how it works when you do things right. So, which church, I mean, boat, would you choose?
By the way, Judy Sturman challenged me to a sunset contest, so visit her blog at http://www.judysturman.typepad.com/ and see what you think. You can leave us comments to vote. Have a great vacation Judy and Jeff.
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