November Hawaii vs Transatlantic

[mcutter]

My DW and I are trying to decide between a Hawaii RT out of San Diego, or a TA from Barcelona to Miami, both leaving mid-November.

 

Our biggest concern is weather and warmth. Does anyone have experience with both these cruises at this time of year?

[RosieCanberra]

My DW and I are trying to decide between a Hawaii RT out of San Diego, or a TA from Barcelona to Miami, both leaving mid-November.

 

Our biggest concern is weather and warmth. Does anyone have experience with both these cruises at this time of year?

 

I haven't done either but I like the Hawaii round trip, saves having to worry about the weather anyway.:D

[Schmoe38]

My DW and I are trying to decide between a Hawaii RT out of San Diego, or a TA from Barcelona to Miami, both leaving mid-November.

 

Our biggest concern is weather and warmth. Does anyone have experience with both these cruises at this time of year?

 

We sailed to Hawaii in early December one year, and had no problems with weather. The only thing that caught us a little off guard was the rough waters during the first 2 sea days outbound and the last 2 sea days on return. This was when Celebrity sailed out of L.A. Balconies during those days didn't get much use.

Sorry, can't help you with a T.A. comparison.

[mamamzee]

We did the TA last November from Barcelona to Ft Lauderdale. The weather was 95% beautiful. It rained a little bit one day then cleared. People were in swimsuits about the third day out. The ocean was extremely calm.

[stevedosi]

My DW and I are trying to decide between a Hawaii RT out of San Diego, or a TA from Barcelona to Miami, both leaving mid-November.

 

Our biggest concern is weather and warmth. Does anyone have experience with both these cruises at this time of year?

 

My wife and I spent 2 weeks in Hawaii a few years ago. It was a great relaxing trip. As we casually strolled through Kona, we could easily pick out the cruise tourists. They were the most frazzled; we were the most relaxed.

 

IMHO to enjoy Hawaii, cruising is not the way to go.

 

Steve

[sherree]

We did the Hawaii 14 day RT from San Diego in November a few years back over Thanksgiving. Weather was very nice and did get to see the volcano eruption at night. Did cool down during evenings. We did use our balcony with no problems. We usually do our transatlantics in the Spring. It is a little rushed seeing all of the Hawaiian Islands on a cruise, but we were very delighted on all of the sights we did get to see. We have been back since, on a land tour and were more interested in sitting on beach than sightseeing. That is just us....

[mcutter]

Thank you all for your posts.

 

We actually did the Hawaii itinerary in September 2007 on Summit, and loved it. And living in the Bay Area makes it a logistically easy trip for us.

 

However, the November sailing is on Century, and the TA is on Reflection, so it's also a matter of their oldest ship versus their newest ship.

 

But as I said, the biggest deciding factor is warmth, and which itinerary will allow us to get the most use of our balcony.

[L11]

We did a late Hawaii cruise out of San Diego a few years ago on one of the M Class ships and are going again 11/19 on Century. We have also done a TA late in the year on Century. The weather was very nice on both though it was a bit bumpy and chilly the first and last day of the Hawaii cruise. Overall, the weather was probably a bit warmer on the Hawaii cruise, though weather is, of course, always hard to predict. We got a lot of use of the balcony on both cruises.

 

For me the difference is in the air travel. Since you live in the bay area, the trip to and from the ship would be much less taxing. I loved the TA and would do it again but the air travel is a bear unless you can afford to fly business class. If you don't like the hassle that flying has become these days consider the San Diego/Hawaii cruise. For the a great addition to the vacation, consider taking the train down to San Diego. Beautiful trip and a great way to start and end the cruise without same the luggage restrictions as the airlines. The port is only a few blocks away from the train station.

 

One other consideration is whether or not you have been to any of the ports on either cruise. Since you have been to Hawaii, you will not be as concerned about seeing as many sights and can have a more relaxing trip. As you can probably tell by the number of times I have used the word 'relax' in this post, for us, the relaxation of a cruise is a big consideration, For others maybe not so much. Depends on your preferences. When we did the TA, we were rushing at the port stops to see as much as possible since we had never been to thise ports before. I would personally prefer to see Europe next time on a land based vacation since there is so much to experience and it is hard to get the feel of the culture of your destination on a cruise. If you do decide on the TA, be sure to spend a few days in Barcelona to get a good feel for this beautiful area. IMHO.

 

BTW, we have a great roll call for the 11/19 Hawaii trip so check it out.

 

Whatever you choose, you will have a great cruise!

 

Linda

[mcutter]

Thanks, Linda. It does sound like we're on the same Hawaii itinerary if that's the way we go.

 

"Relax" is huge for us as well, which is why we're choosing a heavy sea-day itinerary, and want to get the most from our balcony. The ports have almost become secondary to us.

 

We did a Med cruise RT out of Barcelona in 2005, and spent a couple days on the tail end taking in the sights. And I agree, Europe from a cruise ship is anything but relaxing. Rome was not built in a day, nor should it be toured in a day.

 

Thanks again.

[Hawaiidan]

mid november can be interesting in the Atlantic, and storms for a few days of the 7 day crossing. No real problem

 

Now the Pacific means calm and in November its great if not ideal October and May are best. There will be a gentle swell the first day and the last as you cross the pacific currents path, nothing to write home about and the weather just gets better and better

It will be warmer for the entire Hawaiian cruise than the Atlantic which is more north than Hawaii

 

As to the guy who visited Kona, where I live I take exception.

 

Going to Hawaii, by ship, is without exception the best way to see the islands, free from hassel traffic, hopping from one island to another.

You will see all the best sights, you dont need weeks to get the most out of a Hawaiian visit. The port time in each port is more than enough time to get a very good taste and feel Frazzled? I dont think so..happy and just milling around on Hawaiiand time is what I see every week

 

The romantic concept of discovery of the islands by sea is not to be discounted Way better than arriving in a metal tube looking out a shoe box window and not compare to seeing dawn break or sailing off a flowing volcano , or seeing daimond head from the sea... Plus you have 5 wonderful days to relax and anticipate your adventure. not 5 hours at 540 mph.

 

No, Hawaii takes the cake... Thats whi I moved here and also sail here on cruise ships too!!! Ill take the ship any say over a plane... even in first class.;)

[Blue Lagoon]

We did both last November. We were on Century for the first part of November from Ensenada to Hawaii and then came home for nine days and flew to Rome to do the TA to Fll. onboard Equinox.

 

The weather on both trips was wonderful. The sun didn't come out until about day 3 on the TA crossing. When I asked the Captain when he was going to push the sunshine button, he commented that we were indeed very lucky with the weather. Then, my husband reminded him of another cruise he had captained where we tangled with 2 hurricanes in early Dec. The Greek alphabet was used to name the hurricanes since our alphabet had been exhausted with all the hurricanes that year (2005).:eek:

[QueensChick]

...Going to Hawaii, by ship, is without exception the best way to see the islands, free from hassel traffic, hopping from one island to another.

You will see all the best sights, you dont need weeks to get the most out of a Hawaiian visit. The port time in each port is more than enough time to get a very good taste and feel Frazzled? I dont think so..happy and just milling around on Hawaiiand time is what I see every week

 

The romantic concept of discovery of the islands by sea is not to be discounted Way better than arriving in a metal tube looking out a shoe box window and not compare to seeing dawn break or sailing off a flowing volcano , or seeing daimond head from the sea... Plus you have 5 wonderful days to relax and anticipate your adventure. not 5 hours at 540 mph.

 

No, Hawaii takes the cake... Thats whi I moved here and also sail here on cruise ships too!!! Ill take the ship any say over a plane... even in first class.;)

 

 

Hawaiidan:

 

I like the way you think. :D

 

Thank you for adding to my anticipation.

[canrubu]

My DW and I are trying to decide between a Hawaii RT out of San Diego, or a TA from Barcelona to Miami, both leaving mid-November.

 

Our biggest concern is weather and warmth. Does anyone have experience with both these cruises at this time of year?

 

Wow, thanks for this thread I was just about to type this out. I am are planning our trips for next year. We did the Adventure TA in 2010 are sailing her TA again in Nov 2012. I have booked all the TA's so far available for next year now am thinking maybe Hawaii would be better. A JS on any of the TA's is $1800 whereas just a balcony on Century is $2400. We are also thinking C class meaning $2800. I know the airfare would be cheaper but I need help justifying the price difference. My grandma lives in San Diego so I try and go there twice a year. We fly out of ORD so airfare to SAN runs about $500 r/t on the high end. Please help a girl make a decision. This would also be our first Celebrity cruise although, we are Diamond so we would have elite status.