has anyone sailed to Hawaii on Celebrity?

[motherchic]

We have been thinking of making this our next trip. I would appreciate any comments, pros or cons:

1) was it an overall good experience-why or why not?

2)best time of year to do this trip?We tend to prefer sept or jan onward?any bad weather times?

3) lots of sea time, was it too much?

4)any must dos? or not to dos?

5)balcony-any area preferable?

Thank you so much

Nadine

[LSilver]

Nadine:

 

I've sailed to Hawaii twice -- once as a b2b within Hawaii and once as the front end of a b2b.

 

1) was experience good: How could it not be? :)

2) best time of year: We went early October and late October and found early October better (but that could have just been that particular year). I believe whale watching start in November.

3) lots of sea time: For myself there's no such thing as too much sea time -- your milage will vary :).

4a) must do's: Depending on your preferences: a) Volcano National Park on Hawaii, b) Waimea Canyon on Kauai, c) Iao Valley and/or whale watching and/or Mt. Haleakala on Maui, d) Perl Harbor on Oahu.

4b) must not do's: Can't think of any

5) preferable balcony area: None.

[Traceybell]

Nadine,

 

My DH and I did a 10 day Hawaii to Vancouver in May for our honeymoon. The 1st 5 days in Hawaii were glorious. On the 5 sea days to Vancouver...the first day was a beautiful pool day, the 2nd was ok in the morning and then it rained. The 3, 4, and 5 days got a little long for us as the weather was too cold for being outdoors and most days it was windy or raining. I had mistakenly thought we would be in Hawaii like weather for most of the sea days. I had the wedding on my mind and clearly didn't think this out very well. Not my brightest momemt.

 

We had a great time anyway; we just spent far more than planned on Bingo, the Spa, and in the Casino!

[LSilver]

Nadine:

 

Just to show that the time of year can make a big difference...

 

The first half of our first b2b was from Vancouver to Honolulu in early October.

 

The first day out was kind of cool -- as expected -- but sunny. The weather continually warmed up the further south we went -- and was sunny; the outside pool had a lot of usage starting the second day.

 

--

Lee

[cruznut6]

Sailed to Hawaii twice w/Celebrity, in 2002 on the Summit and 2003 on the Infinity. We sailed once from Ensenada to Hawaii and the second time was Hawaii to Ensenada. Both cruises were the best we've done. There's so much to see and do, depending on your tastes. "Must do's" for us was snorkeling, visiting the Keck telescopes ( 14,000 feet!), Polynesian Cultural Center, doing a lauai (sp?), Wiamea Canyon, visiting the Princeville Ranch, Blue Hawaii helicopter tour, but my favorite was renting a Harley Davidson "Fat Boy" and touring Maui's coastline on two wheels. What an unforgettable experience. We were lucky enough to spot several whales on our snorkel tour. There's just so much culture and things to see, we're going to return again in 2006.

 

Regards...Bob

[moorefun]

nadine

 

my dw and i went vancouver to hawaii on infinity

 

if your only going one way this is the way to go when you leave vancouver each day is more gorgeous and the water is more blue. while in hawaii we rented a harley and explored the island.

 

the only draw back was the long flight home honalulu to newark non stop

 

we are sailing 14 day round trip from la next time to shorten flight home

 

also because of the time change when your sailing to hawaii almos each sea day you gain an hour which is really nice

 

we went sept 26 2004

 

i hope this helps oh balcony it really doesnt matter unless you can get one of the larger ones in the back

[motherchic]

thank you so much for the advice.Sounds excellent!!!

[Lorraine M]

Cruznut6. You mentioned Blue Hawaii Helicopter trip. Is that the helicopter that Celebrity used or did you book it yourself? If you booked it yourself did they pick you up or did you take a cab to them? Was your helicopter trip on the big island and if so did you see where the lava meets the ocean? This is a trip my DH wants to do next year when we go the Hawaii.

 

Thanks

[hancock]

We did the 15 night RT from San Diego to Hawaii on Infinity in December. The first 3 days and last 3 days were chilly. We had rough seas coming out of SD. We were very glad to have a cabin lower/midship. A lot of passengers were seasick. If you are planning to go because you like cruising, it's a nice cruise. If you are going because you want to visit Hawaii, I wouldn't recommend it. The time in port was very limited with the exception of Honolulu. Maui was our last port. We were scheduled in port from 7am to 3pm. Lahaina is a tender port. First tender didn't dock until close to 8:30. There was a 2 block long line at noon, waiting to go back on ship. The line didn't shorten until about 3pm (our scheduled departure time) We actually sailed at 3:30. Not wanting to have a problem with traffic, we had headed back to the Lahaina dock area shortly after noon to have lunch there rather than staying at Whaler's Village for lunch. We watched that line for 3 hours while having our lunch and drinks. We were on the next to last tender before we sailed.

We had booked another 14 day cruise to Hawaii for next November with our grown children who have never been to Hawaii. After going on the cruise, we rethought out plans and cancelled our reservations for November. There just wasn't enough time for them to enjoy the islands.

We enjoyed the cruise but don't want to do it again.

 

BTW, we did the repositioning cruise on Infinity, Honolulu to Vancouver and loved it. We flew into HNL 5 days before we sailed. Had lots of time to see Oahu before we got on ship. Also had the time to adjust to the time change. It's a killer coming from the east coast!

 

Hancock

[CelebrityMan]

Hi,

 

Don't let the comments about weather dissuade you from doing a Hawaii cruise. Weather is always the luck of the draw....

 

When we did Summit - Hawaii, ending in Vancouver, B.C., it was a May sailing. The weather was typical in Hawaii, both rain and sun. The 5-day crossing was beautiful, all the way, the seas calm, the temperatures balmy. And we enjoyed our corner 8166 a LOT!

 

Our last evening was spent trolling the San Juan Islands at the confluence of Puget Sound, the Strait of Juan de Fuca, and the Straits of St. George -- sunset and twilight were spectacular, especially as viewed with a group of cruise friends over farewell cocktails in window seats in Revelations.

 

Go, enjoy!!

 

 

 

 

 

CM

[shofer]

We did Summit Hawaii to Vancouver in May '02. It was 11 days w/2 days in Maui which were great. We did fly into Honolulu 2 days previously and were so glad we did. The time change was 5 hrs from Chicago and we were beat!The flight was 9 hrs not including the hour layover in San Francisco. But coming home from Vancouver was 4 hrs and it was a piece of cake. You can read my review on this site. The sea days coming back were very smooth and they had to keep slowing down the ship as we were getting there too fast! We kept plenty busy during the days w/the activities that were planned. Never set foot in the spa.

 

We are doing it again in Jan '06 with 8 family members with a 14 day round trip LA to Hawaii. Only 6 days in the islands and Maui time is short. I really liked the 2 days there before. Volcanos National Park was the best shore excursion we ever took on Celebrity. We are not big fans of their excursions which include too much shopping.

[CelebrityMan]

Hi Shofer,

 

Hey cruisemate! Looks like we were on the same Summit sailing! What hotel did you stay at prior to sailing? We were at the Hyatt Regency Waikiki.

 

And, yes, wasn't that funny how we kept slowing down. By the time we got off the coast of northwest Washington we could have practically walked to Vancouver faster than the ship was moving. Great cruise, though!

 

Glad to see another shipmate on here.

 

Happy Sailings!

 

 

 

CM

[Karynanne]

We have sailed with Celebrity Honolulu to Ensenada and absolutely loved it. The whole atmosphere of the islands was on this cruise...hawaiian dancers (come onboard in 1 port), even lei making classes! We bought flowers at the pier for our cabin and enjoyed them for the rest of the trip. If you love your "sea days", then this trip is relaxing and fun. We met great people from England that were loving the "Hawaiian lazy life-style". Can't wait until 1/2/06 when we're doin it again. This time Los Angeles R/T. Perfect itinerary for Calif. people. Aloha!!