Help me decide...Cruise or Hawaii??

[DeRon]

We are going on a 30 yr anniversary trip this year in October. We can either go to Kauai, or take the Sun on a 11 day cruise to the Southern Caribbbean.

 

We can't make up our mind. Hawaii is gorgeous, is more expensive, and takes longer to get there. We have never sailed the Sun, so a little nervous (we liked the Gem to Bermuda).

 

Thoughts? Advice? We have thought about combining both (cruising NCL around the islands) but really don't want to do that.

[BeckyMax]

That is a tough one, I love Kauii and would go again in a heartbeat. How long would you stay there? Would you visit other islands? I think you can pretty much see the whole island in 3-4 days, would you then get bored or would you just relax and do nothing. The cruise will give you more opportunities for entertainment, but Kauii is amazing. For me it would depend on how active you want to be.

 

NCL Sky 3/19/12

[Medtech2]

If money were no object I would pick Hawaii. Airfare is only going to go up, from what I have read. Cruises to the Caribbean are more accessible from mainland USA and I don't think they will price themselves out of reach quite as fast.

 

We have not done Hawaii because of the added expense of airfare...

[toyotaford]

We are going on a 30 yr anniversary trip this year in October. We can either go to Kauai, or take the Sun on a 11 day cruise to the Southern Caribbbean.

 

We can't make up our mind. Hawaii is gorgeous, is more expensive, and takes longer to get there. We have never sailed the Sun, so a little nervous (we liked the Gem to Bermuda).

 

Thoughts? Advice? We have thought about combining both (cruising NCL around the islands) but really don't want to do that.

That's a tough one but I would have to vote Kauai. First let me say I am a cruise addict. We have been on 20 plus cruises in the past 5 years. But Kauai is my very favorite place to vacation. We first visited the island 2 years ago when we did the POA cruise around the islands. We have been back 3 times since then and will be going back in December. We stay at the Grand Hyatt in Poipu. The island is truly what I had always thought Hawaii would be. Good luck and I know you will have a great time either way. (By the way we have been married 33 years so probably about the same age.)

[my_crib_too]

I love to cruise and love the Caribbean but would vote for Hawaii.

[akupupule]

Why not take a Hawaii cruise? Fly in to Honolulu a few days early, stay in Waikiki (Halekulani is a good one), tour the island, enjoy the Aloha spirit before boarding the NCL Pride of America for a interisland cruise. Best of both worlds...land and sea!

[sdmike]

I've been to Kauai a couple of times and loved it. However, if it's about relaxing I'd take the cruise. When I'm on the islands I run around doing stuff. When I'm on a ship I tend to relax more.

[russianmom]

I loved Kauai- went there for my honeymoon.

 

Right now I'm all about convenience so for me a 12 hr flight plus multiple time changes just doesn't do it for me anymore.

 

I would love to go back to Hawaii someday but for now I'd pick cruising where you just hop on a ship and go.

[DeRon]

How long would you stay there? Would you visit other islands?

 

NCL Sky 3/19/12

 

We would be staying on Kauai for 9 days.

[Barb Nahoumi]

Why not take a Hawaii cruise? Fly in to Honolulu a few days early, stay in Waikiki (Halekulani is a good one), tour the island, enjoy the Aloha spirit before boarding the NCL Pride of America for a interisland cruise. Best of both worlds...land and sea!

 

Ditto----This would be my suggestion, as well.

 

Let us know what you choose.

[armwinder]

We stayed in Honolulu last November for a few days and then sailed on the POA, we had a really good time. It was our first trip to Hawaii and we enjoyed every minute. The cruise is port intensive however you can chose the activities ashore or just chill on the ship.

We are both Vets. We toured Pearl Harbour and the USS Missouri, and found both to be very sobering.

[Twiz]

Ditto----This would be my suggestion, as well.

 

Let us know what you choose.

 

We did this a few years ago, I would do it again !! I found it to be one of the best vacations we have taken.

[Nanny B]

We leave in 35 days for our 2nd trip to Hawaii. No place on earth like it!

[spacepotatoes]

We would be staying on Kauai for 9 days.

 

I'd recommend Hawaii, no contest. We did the Pride of America cruise in 2009 and of the islands we visited, Maui and Kauai were our favourites. I'd actually recommend doing that cruise over a land trip if you want to get the most value for the money and if you've never been to Hawaii before.

 

If your preference is a land trip, then you can't go wrong with Kauai, though I think that 9 days may be a bit too long given how tiny the island is and the fact that half of it is only accessible by boat/helicopter. If it's possible, I'd suggest splitting that time between Kauai and another island. When my in-laws spent a week on Oahu, they flew to the Big Island for a day and did Volcanoes National Park. That could also be an option.

 

Either way, if Hawaii is within your means, go! You can't beat the beauty and wonderful spirit that is there.

[david_sobe]

I vote Hawaii

I love to cruise but 11 days is too long for me. Maybe 8 or 9 days would be a max cruise for me. For any cruise 7 nights or longer, I would want to be on a mega ship. I have never been on the Sun but have been on her sister ship Sky. While I love the Sky, I think I would burn out of 11 days sailing her.

[redxpanda]

Ditto----This would be my suggestion, as well.

 

Let us know what you choose.

 

yes yes yes! This way you get a cruise AND Hawaii! This is definitely the way to do it. We stayed 3 nights in Waikiki a la Priceline and then did the POA cruise. It was so great, I want to do it again. We are trying to talk some family into waiting until we can take our DD.

 

In Maui and Kauai we rented a car the first day in port and explored it on our own... no more than $30 + lunch/snacks in expenses on both days. We explored Haleakala and Waimea Canyon in this manor and then spent the rest of the day driving around the islands soaking up the beaches and atmosphere!

 

Hawaii is def worth the expense, but I do have to say I would not have wanted to spend my whole trip on Kauai. I actually preferred the Big Island and Maui!

[Sauer-kraut]

We have thought about combining both (cruising NCL around the islands) but really don't want to do that.

 

Why not take a Hawaii cruise? Fly in to Honolulu a few days early, stay in Waikiki (Halekulani is a good one), tour the island, enjoy the Aloha spirit before boarding the NCL Pride of America for a interisland cruise. Best of both worlds...land and sea!

 

Yes, but the OP stated in his opening post he DIDN'T want to do the POA cruise.

 

I would also remind the OP that Hawaii will be way more expensive, you have to figure in your meal costs and transportation on the island.

[sparkey2030]

Take the Cruise!!!!!!!!!!

[time2cruise1]

Do both 7 day cruise on the POA and a week on shore. If you are going to HI you have to make it an extended vacation with the travel cost and time. The week on the POA will cost less then the 5-7 days on Kauia.

[Budget Queen]

Hawaii, but I would NOT be 9 days on Kauai. Inter Island flights are cheap and quick. I would at the very least, go to one other island.

 

A NCL cruise is a superb option, meals lodging and transportation. Great amount of Hawaii time. Easy to visit with rental cars, with just about endless touring opportunities. I go every year, and am back a month from a 3 week trip, one week on Big Island, 1 week on the cruise, a couple days in Oahu then rest of week in Maui. Inter Island flights were $160pp.

 

the Caribbean is a cheap, fill in trip for me, which has to be just about given away for me to take one. There is no comparism to Hawaii. :)

[halos]

We would be staying on Kauai for 9 days.

Hawaii.

This is a special occasion and you can cruise any time.

 

I haven't even been to Hawaii yet but I don't know anyone who didn't come back and say that it was the most beautiful place they'd ever been and they had the time of their lives, so even never having been there yet myself (I'l going via cruise ship in April for the 1st time) AND being a cruise addict, I will say GO TO HAWAII!!!!

[mdellea]

We did the POA a few years ago, haven't sailed with NCL since that experience, I'll just leave it at that. However, the trip was still phenomenal simply because we were in Hawaii. We have done 2 land trips to Hawaii and the cruise, as well as multiple cruises to the caribbean. I would say do the cruise, and then fly over to Kauai and stay there for another 2 days, it will be more reasonable than being on the island for 9 days, get your fix of the sea, and you'll be in the best place in the world (while still on US soil!).

[Cubechick]

As this is a big special occassion, I'd vote Hawaii as well. Although you stated you didn't want to do the cruise, I highly recommend it. It was our best cruise to date!

 

Combine the cruise with some land time and you can't go wrong!

[finsupcruiser]

We are going on a 30 yr anniversary trip this year in October. We can either go to Kauai, or take the Sun on a 11 day cruise to the Southern Caribbbean.

 

We can't make up our mind. Hawaii is gorgeous, is more expensive, and takes longer to get there. We have never sailed the Sun, so a little nervous (we liked the Gem to Bermuda).

 

Thoughts? Advice? We have thought about combining both (cruising NCL around the islands) but really don't want to do that.

 

I don't know how you feel about Carnival but we are doing a 15 day from Long Beach to Hawaii and on to Vancover.

 

We really prefer NCL but did not want to do the flights so we chose to cruise.

[Starry Eyes]

I don't know how you feel about Carnival but we are doing a 15 day from Long Beach to Hawaii and on to Vancover.

 

We really prefer NCL but did not want to do the flights so we chose to cruise.

 

That is a great itinerary if you love sea days, not so great if you really want to explore the islands. We did a one way on Royal Caribbean from Vancouver to Hawaii, then added on a few more days to enjoy the islands. Only one long flight and fortunately Alaska air offered attractive one way fares. but such itineraries are usually only spring and fall as ships relocate.