Pros and cons of Hawaii in Feb

[lweber05]

We are considering a cruise to Hawaii from either SF or LA in February. We are interested in thoughts and advice including weather, seas, best ships, best cabins, etc.

 

We would probably fly out of Boston.

[rdcruisin2]

We are considering a cruise to Hawaii from either SF or LA in February. We are interested in thoughts and advice including weather, seas, best ships, best cabins, etc.

 

We would probably fly out of Boston.

 

I have done the Hawaii cruise on Princess, once RT from SF and once RT from LA. These were both in November, so I can't comment on the weather in February. This 15 day cruise involves NUMEROUS sea days as there are only 4 stops in Hawaii and 1 in Ensenada. Holland America has a similar RT San Diego-Hawaii cruise.

[reedprincess]

We've done Hawaii cruise r/t from LA in February. and in December. No real difference between the two as far as weather, etc. It will be cool to cold the first two or so days of the cruise and the last two or so days, while the orher days will be warm to hot.. Seas can be a bit rough first and last day as you pass the California current or whatever it's officially called - no problem for us, we enjoy a bit of movement. We also love the long stretch of sea days - very relaxing! Not any cons for us on that cruise, only pros!

[BritinSoCal]

I have done the Hawaii cruise on Princess, once RT from SF and once RT from LA. These were both in November, so I can't comment on the weather in February. This 15 day cruise involves NUMEROUS sea days as there are only 4 stops in Hawaii and 1 in Ensenada. Holland America has a similar RT San Diego-Hawaii cruise.

 

Far be it for me to poo-poo a cruise (and on CC of all places) but with 15 days available I'd plump for a week each on a couple of islands, or in the case of the wonderfully diverse Big Island split half and half(ish)...

[Luvmyrotti]

The biggest pro for us is that it's prime whale season.

 

It's a great itinerary if you like sea days. We had only one day of rough seas, leaving San Pedro. We loved it so much that we've booked another for February 2018.

[CruiserBruce]

Far be it for me to poo-poo a cruise (and on CC of all places) but with 15 days available I'd plump for a week each on a couple of islands, or in the case of the wonderfully diverse Big Island split half and half(ish)...

 

Totally agree. 15 days is a pretty great land tour of Hawaii. And you would avoid any weather distractions on the West Coast.

 

Lots of info on the Hawaii board, here:

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/forumdisplay.php?f=62

[Working 2 Cruise]

Far be it for me to poo-poo a cruise (and on CC of all places) but with 15 days available I'd plump for a week each on a couple of islands, or in the case of the wonderfully diverse Big Island split half and half(ish)...

 

Totally agree. 15 days is a pretty great land tour of Hawaii. And you would avoid any weather distractions on the West Coast.

 

Lots of info on the Hawaii board, here:

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/forumdisplay.php?f=62

 

Why don't you both start a thread on the benefits of seeing Hawaii by land trip instead of hijacking the OP'S thread? OP was specifically asking about a cruise.... that opinion was neither necessary nor asked for.

 

OP, it's a wonderful cruise! I've sailed in March and November. They were both fantastic!

[CruiserBruce]

Why don't you both start a thread on the benefits of seeing Hawaii by land trip instead of hijacking the OP'S thread? OP was specifically asking about a cruise.... that opinion was neither necessary nor asked for.

 

OP, it's a wonderful cruise! I've sailed in March and November. They were both fantastic!

 

The OP said there were starting to consider and asked for "thoughts and advice". Sorry if we broke your rules on what "thoughts and advice" might be.

[lweber05]

Appreciate the advice but in regards to a land tour, we are not keen on flying. The cruise avoids a longer flight or a second flight if we stopover.

[Cruisin' Chick]

Our last three cruises were the Hawaiian RT out of LA (it's our home port so only an one hour drive) on Princess. so obviously we love the experience (including the Hawaiian cultural program on board). we always went in late December because of school, but as someone pointed out, sea conditions won't be determined by month. we had three different sea conditions/weather conditions each time.

 

My first time in Hawaii (on a land trip) was in february. the weather is fairly consistent all year round.

[partybarbie]

We are considering a cruise to Hawaii from either SF or LA in February. We are interested in thoughts and advice including weather, seas, best ships, best cabins, etc.

 

We would probably fly out of Boston.

 

LA wins hands-down for me (and I live about 2.5 hours from SF).

 

The Star is a nicer ship, with bigger closets. They have Skywalker's, which is nicer that the One Five club on the Grand.

 

I've done six Hawaii cruises, and the one time I went out of SF in April, the weather was terrible the first three days out, and the last three days back. My mother-in-law couldn't even walk the last night because the ship was pitching so badly. Granted, she uses a walker, but still.;)

 

The itinerary out of LA is nicer too. You get eight hours in Ensenada, which is enough time to take a tour up into their wine country. Then you will get off the ship in LA, and avoid the rough seas, going against the current, into SF.

 

As far as cabins go, stay away from the bow. I prefer the cabins by the aft swimming pool. They are quiet, not too much motion, and are close to Skywalker's and the Horizon court.

 

Hope that is helpful for you.:)

[dickinson]

We went in February 2015. RT out of LA. The thought of flying from the East coast to Hawaii is what made us do the cruise (we have flown several times there over the years and the length of flight plus time zone is brutal without stopovers). February is a wonderful month to go because in Maui you can go whale watching. It is the height of the season.

 

We hit slightly rough seas for one afternoon on the way back however the cruise before ours did hit some rough seas and also was not able to dock in Kauai for the same reason. I think that might be unusual because I don't recall reading that that is an issue.

 

Go and enjoy! I'd do it again.

[tailspintom]

We are considering a cruise to Hawaii from either SF or LA in February. We are interested in thoughts and advice including weather, seas, best ships, best cabins, etc.

 

We would probably fly out of Boston.

 

We are on the east coast as well. We have done the Hawaii out of LA in this time-frame. We also did an NCL Honolulu to Honolulu which I would not recommend.

 

As a previous poster mentioned, the whales are usually very plentiful and active that time of the year. We have booked the Grand out of San Francisco this February. We will go into San Francisco the day before and try to fly through a southern connection (we have no direct flights out of RIC). We book balcony and mini-suites and enjoy looking out for whale activities.

Weather's been generally great near and between the islands but always has the possibility of being a bit rough in transit.

 

I hope this helps a little.

[riclop]

We are considering a cruise to Hawaii from either SF or LA in February. We are interested in thoughts and advice including weather, seas, best ships, best cabins, etc.

 

We would probably fly out of Boston.

 

Rough seas for 2 days going and coming and good luck flying from Boston in Feb.

[BritinSoCal]

Why don't you both start a thread on the benefits of seeing Hawaii by land trip instead of hijacking the OP'S thread? OP was specifically asking about a cruise.... that opinion was neither necessary nor asked for.

 

OP, it's a wonderful cruise! I've sailed in March and November. They were both fantastic!

 

The OP was asking for thoughts and advice. I gave my thoughts which were if I had a 15 day break I'd probably take a multi-island land based vacation. You yourself has stated the cruise is the greatest thing since the Chorleywood Process (Google it). Conversely there are other vacations I've taken where I though a cruise was the better option.

 

Sorry if my opinion doesn't fit with your narative...

[Cruiserkenn]

I agree that the whales are just fabulous in February!

 

Book a balcony, and you will definitely see whales from your balcony.

They are so plentiful when anchored off Maui, you won't need a whale watching tour.

 

Also in Maui, the ice cream shops in Lahaina are fantastic. The island flavors are superb!

 

I like a starboard side view, for viewing Honolulu and also Hilo (Big Island) when arriving.

 

Don't miss Pearl Harbor when on Oahu.

 

Aloha :) :) :)

[BRANDEE]

We did the Hawaii cruise out of LA the second week of March (10th). We found plenty of whales, especially in Maui. Our snorkel boat got caught in the middle of a mama and baby whale "parade". We had to cut the motor and spent over an hour with whales swimming along side our boat and going under our boat. Unbelievable!

 

There was plenty to do on board the Golden to keep us occupied for the 9 sea days. Loved the cultural talks and demonstrations. We did art auctions, wine tasting, dancing, trivia, swimming, drinking, movies and relaxing on our balcony watching the humpback whales give a show. Going was very calm waters, we had to look to see if we were moving. Coming back (last week of March) we did have two rock and rolling days.

 

The weather leaving LA and coming home was cooler than we expected. We did March instead of February for warmer sailing weather. Two days both ways were too cool to use the ship's pools. Next time we would go April/May.

Edited September 18, 2016 by BRANDEE

[Star Travler]

4 years ago my daughters and I did the 15 days cruise from LA. A bit rough the first couple days out, then great weather the rest of the time. It was prime whale migration around Maui...I have never seen so many whales and so up close[emoji1] it was amazing!

 

 

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[Lucky TGO]

4 years ago my daughters and I did the 15 days cruise from LA. A bit rough the first couple days out, then great weather the rest of the time. It was prime whale migration around Maui...I have never seen so many whales and so up close[emoji1] it was amazing!

 

 

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Star Travler is right about everything. All I like to add is leave a day or two before the cruise starts. I live in Boston it could be bad getting out in February.

Tony

[easyboy]

We had our Hawaii cruise on a month of May out of LA. First day was rough. We missed a port in Hawaii due to weather. Rough sea on first 2 days going to Ensenada. We enjoyed all the sea days.

[SadieN]

February is the start of our rainy season. Hopefully we will have lots of storms. El Niño was a bust this year. We need the rain.

 

Usually the first two and last two days will be bumpy crossing across the current coming down from Alaska.

[nipponcruiser]

This itinerary reminds me of when Princess started doing the Hawaii run out of LA, I think it was around 2012.

They were having a hard time filling up the Golden Princess at the time and we did this itinerary 4 times between 2012/2013. They were selling insides dirt cheap at that time, I remember paying $699 plus $55 port charges at the time and it was a 14-day cruise back then, not 15 days like it is now.

 

Thanks,

Fred

[Cruisin' Chick]

This itinerary reminds me of when Princess started doing the Hawaii run out of LA, I think it was around 2012.

They were having a hard time filling up the Golden Princess at the time and we did this itinerary 4 times between 2012/2013. They were selling insides dirt cheap at that time, I remember paying $699 plus $55 port charges at the time and it was a 14-day cruise back then, not 15 days like it is now.

 

Thanks,

Fred

 

We did our first Hawaiian cruise in 2005, and I know that wasn't the first year as we had tried to book it on the Regal (not the current Regal) in 2004 and the cruise was already sold out, so we booked an Alaskan cruise and tried again for the following year.

[nipponcruiser]

We did our first Hawaiian cruise in 2005' date=' and I know that wasn't the first year as we had tried to book it on the [b']Regal[/b] (not the current Regal) in 2004 and the cruise was already sold out, so we booked an Alaskan cruise and tried again for the following year.

 

 

Ah, the old Regal Princess. What a ship, we had so many great cruises on her. She was our favorite Princess ship.....we were sad to see her go to P&O Australia.

[Working 2 Cruise]

This itinerary reminds me of when Princess started doing the Hawaii run out of LA, I think it was around 2012.

They were having a hard time filling up the Golden Princess at the time and we did this itinerary 4 times between 2012/2013. They were selling insides dirt cheap at that time, I remember paying $699 plus $55 port charges at the time and it was a 14-day cruise back then, not 15 days like it is now.

 

Thanks,

Fred

 

Are you saying that Princess only started these cruises in 2012? I know I did this cruise, and it was offered multiple times, in 2011. This particular cruise has been offered for much longer than that.

 

It's a fantastic cruise, especially if you love sea days!