NCL Pride of America or staying in Hawaii or another cruise?

[emuangel]

My husband and I really want to go to Hawaii. The cost is holding us up right now. So we're trying to figure out which path to Hawaii would be best both cost-wise, getting the most out of the trip, and best vacation. We want to do a beach, see some volcanoes/rainforest/waterfalls, and do Pearl Harbor.

Due to work schedules we can only take enough time off either during the summer or at Christmas (I'm a teacher).

 

Should we do NCL's Pride of America 7 day cruise? Which we have found for $1249 inside cabin for the summer and $1499 for December.

 

Should we just spend a week in Hawaii, if so what island is best? Still looking up costs for that, but no sure what island and how feasible it is to island hop.

 

Or should we wait and save up more for another cruise line? We've found 2 Princess cruises (Star and Grand) round trip from LA or San Francisco for $1999 during December.

 

All of the trips would involve round-trip flights from New Mexico.

 

Any opinions would be greatly appreciated, because we really want to do this trip to Hawaii right.

 

Thanks!

[Addict Cruiser]

Aloha from the Big Island of Hawaii!

 

I personally feel cruising is the most cost effective and hassle-free way to vacation to Hawaii. NCL's Pride of America covers several islands so there is no need to island hop on airplanes, which can be expensive (and if you choose an airline other than Hawaiian Airlines, unreliable). Another plus is they start and end in Honolulu which will give you a chance to see Pearl Harbor pre or post cruise.

 

As far as the other cruise lines, they all require MANY days at sea, as most of them begin in California.

 

Happy planning!

 

Aloha!

 

Scott

[Zeno]

My husband and I really want to go to Hawaii. The cost is holding us up right now. So we're trying to figure out which path to Hawaii would be best both cost-wise, getting the most out of the trip, and best vacation. We want to do a beach, see some volcanoes/rainforest/waterfalls, and do Pearl Harbor.

Due to work schedules we can only take enough time off either during the summer or at Christmas (I'm a teacher).

 

Should we do NCL's Pride of America 7 day cruise? Which we have found for $1249 inside cabin for the summer and $1499 for December.

 

Should we just spend a week in Hawaii, if so what island is best? Still looking up costs for that, but no sure what island and how feasible it is to island hop.

 

Or should we wait and save up more for another cruise line? We've found 2 Princess cruises (Star and Grand) round trip from LA or San Francisco for $1999 during December.

 

All of the trips would involve round-trip flights from New Mexico.

 

Any opinions would be greatly appreciated, because we really want to do this trip to Hawaii right.

 

Thanks!

 

Personally from what you have said as I understand it (limited time, desire to see mutiple islands) POA is probably your best bet.

 

The cruises from the West coast spend a lot of time at sea and very little time in Hawaii.

On the POA - you get 2 full days on Maui, about 1.5 days on Kaui and 2 full days (2 different ports but both on BI) on the Big Island (where you want to go if you want to see an active Volcano). In your case. rather than take a longish cruise from the West coast I would plan to arrive on Oahu a few days before the cruise (so you can do Pearl Harbour and see a bit of Oahu) and then take the cruise. The islands DO differ somewhat from one another and so it is DEFINITELY worth trying to see more than one island.

[genealogyfan]

If you can afford it, I'd also recommend getting a balcony. We loved waking up sitting on the balcony just as we were pulling into a port - nice and relaxing.

 

It was a great way to see Hawaii on all the different islands and find which one you like the best. Inter island flights are so expensive we thought it was worth it.

 

You are overnight in Maui and Kauai which is great. One day we did the excursion for Road to Hana and the next day we rented a car in Maui and drove around ourselves- got to see almost the whole island.

 

We arrived the day before the cruise in Honolulu and reserved tickets online to see Pearl Harbor the morning of the cruise - think the first time slot which was 8 or 8:30am. Plenty of time to see it and still drive around a little before we had to return the rental car and get to the ship.

 

The last day, my friend and I wished we had booked a back to back cruise and said we would do it again too

[Gordo]

Another vote for Pride of America. We did this sailing a few years back and had an amazing time. You will have more time on the islands compared to other cruise offerings and you can always add a few days pre- or post-cruise.

 

We rented a home on the north shore of Oahu after our cruise. We got a great rate for a home on the beach and absolutely loved the laid-back feel of the north shore.

 

Check out http://www.turtlebeachrentals.com.

I believe we paid around $200 per night.

 

If you go in December you will get to see the big waves on the north shore and will be able to check out some amazing surfers. And there are some nice restaurants in Haleiwa - one of our favorites was the Japanese restaurant.

 

Good luck with your decision and have a great vacation.

[cruzn single]

I posted in reply to a similar question: #1 longer cruise, #2 POA, or #3 land. Hope this makes sense.

 

"We have done basically all three. Have done 15 day R/T from San Diego (HAL), done land for anywhere from 10 to 25 days (this year), and have done land including 7 day POH--now done exclusively by POA.

 

The 15 day was too many sea days for us, although we love sea days usually. Seas were very rough the time we were on the HAL ship.

 

Since we are going for our 12th land only vacation, guess you could say that is our favorite. Although we are considering a POA cruise probably in the next couple of years when we do our annual land vacation.

 

Whatever you decide, the Spirit of Aloha will capture you and probably your first visit to Hawaii won't be your last! "

[emuangel]

Thanks for all the answers. Would love to hear more opinions on this too. We're working on figuring out some saving up tips like on http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1131563 until we decide what we're going to do, what we can afford and when.

[FunCruiser56]

We are sailing on the Celebrity Solstice next April 25. 11 nights, leaves from Honolulu, Maui, Kona, Hilo and 5 sea days returning. We liked that it starts in Honolulu so we can come a couple days ahead and make the most of all that Oahu offers (there are also 2 days in Honolulu on the ship), looking to the 5 sea days after to relax and enjoy this beautiful ship- we have sailed on 2 of the sister ships and just loved them.

We did book this over a year ago for what we thought was a very good price. Last week Celebrity offered Senior rates so our balcony cabin is $1500 each. Plus we only have air one way to Hawaii and a flight from San Diego to home.

We have waited a long time for a Hawaiian cruise and this one is a great price.

Before you decide on NCL read some of the reviews.

 

Have fun planning!

Bev

[Cruise Junky]

We've done Pride, won't do the LA return because of the limited time in Hawaii and now rent a condo. There's some great deals on VRBO and you can hit happy hours to keep your costs down. Our average dinner bill with some drinks was $40 for two. We also hit Costco for condo supplies.

[cb at sea]

I think, if you really want to experience Hawaii, a land trip is the better choice. You are so limited in time when on a cruise....if you are staying on the islands, you can take your time and do all you want to.

[Cruisin' Chick]

Personally, if we wanted to spend time in the islands, we would fly there and stay in a hotel for a few days, and then go to another island and stay for a few days. Did this on our honeymoon.

 

To my family, a cruise is the experience. And our last cruise on the Golden Princess, RT out of LA, ranks as one of my favorite vacations, even despite the iffy weather coming and going. If you do a search on "Elua," you'll find nothing but compliments about the Hawaiian experience (activities, music) that they and one of the CDs have developed for the Princess Hawaiian cruise. The ship isn't just a conveyance to get you from island to island. When you're onboard, you'll know what the itinerary is!

[fleckle]

....Should we do NCL's Pride of America 7 day cruise? Which we have found for $1249 inside cabin for the summer and $1499 for December.

 

Should we just spend a week in Hawaii, if so what island is best? Still looking up costs for that, but no sure what island and how feasible it is to island hop.

 

Or should we wait and save up more for another cruise line?

It just depends on what appeals to you. There is no right or wrong answer.

 

If you want to maximize your time in Hawaii and only want to visit one or two islands, the best bet would probably be to fly out and spend your time on whichever island/s you choose.

 

As for asking which island is best, people all have their favorites.

Ours is Kauai so we always want at least 3 or 4 days on Kauai regardless of which other islands we visit, but others have different preferences.

It is like asking which state is best on the mainland, or which European country is best. :D

 

If you want to visit more than two islands, I would definitely suggest taking a cruise. Otherwise too much time is wasted packing and unpacking, traveling to and from airports and hotels, checking in and out.

 

If you don't want any sea days and want to visit 4 islands, Pride of America would be the best bet. That way you can spend additional time before and/or after the cruise on whichever island/s you choose

 

If you want a combo of both sea days and land days, the one-way cruises from the mainland provide the ideal compromise.

They give you 4-5 days at sea, followed by a tour of 3 or 4 of the islands, and then you can get off the ship and spend as much time as you like on your favorite island/s afterward.

 

Unfortunately though, few one-way cruises are offered, usually as segments of repositioning cruises at the beginning or end of the season.

 

It is too bad you can't go in October because right now the Celebrity Millennium is showing a one-way cruise to Hawaii (11 nights) from $799 pp for an inside guarantee or from $949 pp for an ocean view guarantee.

 

If you want to spend most of your vacation out at sea rather than in Hawaii, there are lots of round trip cruises from the mainland. They give you a brief taste of 3 or 4 Hawaiian islands in the middle of the cruise before the ship turns around and heads back.

 

If you decide to book a round-trip cruise though, just be aware in advance that if you want to get off the ship to spend more time in Hawaii after you arrive there, you will be out of luck.

Passengers are not be permitted to take them one-way for legal reasons but must return on the same ship that brought them out.

 

By the time we get to Hawaii, we are ready to get off the ship to enjoy a real Hawaii vacation there, not just turn around to head right back out to sea again.