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Hawaii - 1st Cruise?


allthetravel
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Last fall, I started looking into taking a cruise. Living in CA, I thought a cruise to western Mexico ports would be best since travel to the cruise ship wouldn't be as bad as say, flying to FL for a Caribbean cruise.

I became too busy to start planning much, but now I am back into it and am starting to think I would rather go on a Hawaii cruise with NCL since I have already been to Mexico a few times.

Would it be a mistake to make Hawaii my first cruise?

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Hawaii didn't seem like a "typical" first cruise, especially when most cruise lines have a bunch of sea days there and back. I definitely did not want to do that for my first cruise. But when I started looking into NCL's 7 days around the islands, Hawaii started looking better and better. Definitely doing some research and reading reviews today.

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Our first cruise was on the Pride of Hawaii for our 40th anniversary, at the time NCL was running 3 ships around the islands. It was so great that since then, we have cruised somewhere every year. This year we are going back on the POA for our 50th anniversary. So, no, you will not be making a mistake.

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Not sure if there is a 'typical' 1st cruise. Ours was a 7 day western Med out of Barcelona. :)

 

If you are flying over to take NCL POA cruise you may consider taking a few days either before or after and explore one of the islands a little more.

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The POA in 2014 was the first cruise for my wife and I. It was incredible and a great way to see the Hawaii for the first time. The POA was basically a floating hotel for us where we traveled at night and enjoyed excursions during the day. Each day was a new adventure in an extremely beautiful place. Food was OK but nothing special and the food on the Caribbean cruises we've been on is better.

 

If there was a drawback for us making Hawaii our first cruise is we have a tendency to compare other ports of call to the ports we visited in Hawaii. Of course, it hasn't stopped us from having fun! :D

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What could possibly be wrong about seeing Hawaii on your very first cruise! You might as well start at the top when it comes to the beauty and diversity of the Hawaiian Islands.

 

The POA is not the biggest ship, nor does it have all the bells and whistles of some of the newer ships, but nothing wrong with saving that experience for another type of cruise where there are perhaps only 3 port days and several sea days giving you more time to enjoy the ship.

 

The POA has the best Hawaiian itinerary, is totally refurbished, has great staff, and serves well as a floating hotel for Hawaii, which is going to be your main focus. Soon to have 4 Hawaiian visits under our belts and never tire of it.

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We did a NCL Hawaiian cruise for our 25th anniversary when they had 3 ships in the area. The Wind was Bahamian flagged so we also sailed to Fanning Island. It was our 1st holiday without our kids and it started our love for cruising. We did the POA a couple of years ago and it was great as well. We did not take any excursions but booked a rental car in each port. A good tour book and GPS is all that's needed. I recommend staying in Oahu a couple of days pre/post cruise if possible.

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  • 5 months later...

We have chosen Hawaii for our first cruise, departing Vancouver this week! (10 days-5 sea days then - 5 port days)

I wanted some sea time to enjoy the ship and all she has to offer. Then we will visit the islands that we haven't seen yet ( we have had 5 previous land vacations on Maui).

Ending with 3 days after the cruise in Honolulu before flying home.

For us it's a perfect intro to cruising!

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We chose Hawaii for our first cruise, too! 15 days RT from Vancouver in April 2018. We knew we wanted to leave from Vancouver (so we didn't have to fly somewhere), but weren't interested in Alaska so Hawaii it is. I'm looking forward to all the sea days.

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