Pros and cons of Hawaii in Feb

[Alaskanb]

For the March 19 2018 LA sailing 9/12 of the Emerald deck mini suites are already booked!

Edited September 19, 2016 by Alaskanb

[greenie082756]

Hawaii cruise in February - which port? LA or SF? Well I have gone out of both ports and LA seemed better IMHO.

 

We went out of LA to Hawaii on the Golden Princess. I did a review of that cruise. It was in April. Now we saw a few whales but not many.

 

The weather was cold for a few days crossing and coming back. I didn't think the ship had a lot of motion even though some did think so. I think on the 3rd day @ sea the pools were closed even though I didn't think it was that pitchy (I get sea sick however I did not going or coming back).

 

We are going again in 17 days out of Los Angeles. The last time we did this it was a 14 day cruise. I personally love the sea days, you can be busy or not - its up to you.

 

Aloha!

[jasmith52]

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.

 

On our 2012 Hawaiian cruise we had a couple at our dining table that had paid $499 for the cruise. At that time Princess was running two ships to Hawaii and just couldn't fill up both ships - hence the big discounts.

[nipponcruiser]

On our 2012 Hawaiian cruise we had a couple at our dining table that had paid $499 for the cruise. At that time Princess was running two ships to Hawaii and just couldn't fill up both ships - hence the big discounts.

 

That's right.....my wife just reminded me that we actually paid $499 plus $55 port charges on each of the 2 LA-Hawaii cruises we did in 2012..they were both on the Golden Princess....I must be getting senile as I mature in age.....lol...my memory ain't what it used to be.

Thanks for jogging my memory Jasmith.

[Corinda]

Have done this cruise once out of LA and 3 times out of San Francisco. Only con I ever experienced was running out of books :)

 

I also count Ensenada as a sea day :)

[waltd]

It's a shame Princess can't bring back the 5 Hawaiian ports instead of only the 4. More time around the islands in fine with me. Ensenada who? LOL

[ksm77]

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)...

 

 

A 15 day land vacation would cost much more than the 15 day cruise. We priced this out several years ago. The airfare alone was more than the cruise. Hotels were also expensive. Hawaii is a very pricey place to visit. Back to the question. We did this cruise 2 years ago in Feb. on the Grand Princess out of SF. Great cruise weather was very good. It will be cool the first couple of days going out and last couple of days back. They offered lots of activities on board that put you in the mood for the Islands. We stayed busy the whole cruise. We saw lots of mama whales with their calves so neat. One of our best out of 36 cruises. I would do it again. Someday maybe a land vacation but we really enjoyed the cruise.

Edited September 19, 2016 by ksm77

[Luvmyrotti]

It's a shame Princess can't bring back the 5 Hawaiian ports instead of only the 4. More time around the islands in fine with me. Ensenada who? LOL

 

Unfortunately, if they do a round trip from LA or San Francisco, they have to stop in Ensenada or another "distant" foreign port in order to not be in violation of the Jones Act. The Hawaii cruises that sail from Vancouver do not need to stop in Ensenada, since they don't originate in the US.

[jasmith52]

It's a shame Princess can't bring back the 5 Hawaiian ports instead of only the 4. More time around the islands in fine with me. Ensenada who? LOL

 

Aren't Kona and Ensenada pretty similar ? Except one has coffee and one has Tequilla.

[XBGuy]

I am going to echo what many have stated previously.

 

I don't think there is a bad time to cruise to HI. (OK, I do think there is one bad time, but I'll keep that to myself.) I've done two HI R/Ts--one in October and one in January.

 

I found the weather to be similar on both cruises--pretty mild both times. On the October cruise, we did sail though one or two little rain showers, but they never lasted more than 10 minutes, or so.

 

I found the seas to be similar on both cruises--pretty mild. Keep in mind, though, that there are no guarantees. Stuff can happen on the open sea. On our January cruise, we skirted a hurricane. My wife and I could not believe that we were sailing around a hurricane because the seas were so calm.

 

Some have reported missing port calls because of inclement weather. I'll bet those reports were about Kauai. The harbor at Nawiliwili is tiny and the entrance is very narrow. I friend of mine missed Nawiliwili because high winds made entrance to and navigation in the harbor too risky. So, he enjoyed another sea day.

 

We saw many whales on the January cruise. Others have reported that they are still around in February. So, if you want to see whales you should be good. We saw a couple as we were leaving Kauai, and A LOT while anchored at Maui.

 

Cabin choice is, of course, very personal. My wife insists on having a balcony. She loves to sit out there for hours. After a couple days, there will be flying fish. They're pretty neat. We always get the lowest category balcony cabin. Suites, obviously, give you more floorspace and they come with some nice amenities, but, equally obviously, they come with a higher tarriff. We've felt that the return was not comensurate with the investment, but I certainly have no argument with anybody who feels differently.

 

I should also mention that those less spendy balcony cabins that we prefer are at the ends of the ship. We always book as far forward as possible and on one of the upper decks. My wife likes to wave at the bridge personnel, but the real reason is because being higher up and forward maximizes the sensnsations of motion. Midship lower deck cabins minimize the motion of the ocean. Keep this in mind if anybody in your group might be motion sensitive.

 

Port/Starboard? Some people prefer to be on one side or the other when in port. I really don't get it. Also, if your cabin is on the sunny side on the outbound sea days, it will be on the shady side on the inbound sea days.

 

There is a lot to be said for anticipating and planning for bad winter weather when traveling by air. A storm can close the airport at, say, Chicago and mess up air travel all over the rest of the country. If you can afford it, I would give serious consideration to flying to the west coast two days prior to your cruise. If you do get stuck in Boston, you have a day to recover. If your luggage gets mishandled, you, again, have time for them to retrieve it and get it to you.

 

So, which port--San Francisco or Los Angeles? I live in in Los Angeles. So, that is my defalut. If I was traveling across country, and I planned to come in two days prior to cruise departure, I would pick San Francisco. I think it is easier to spend a couple days of sight-seeing in San Francisco than Los Angeles. San Francisco is very compact, and it has an excellent public transportation system. Los Angeles is just so spread out. Getting from Point A to Point B takes some thought and planning.

 

I am pretty agnostic on ships. I find most cruise ships to be more similar than different. Especially, when you're talking about different ships from a single line. Something I don't care for on one Princess ship is probably compensated by something that I actually prefer.

 

Have a great cruise. I'm pretty envious. :)

[baldercash]

A 15 day land vacation would cost much more than the 15 day cruise. We priced this out several years ago. The airfare alone was more than the cruise. Hotels were also expensive. Hawaii is a very pricey place to visit. Someday maybe a land vacation but we really enjoyed the cruise.

 

We flew 2016 Jan 1st from Vancouver to Oahu for $210.00CDN on American and returned Jan 31st to Toronto on Air Canada for $320.00CDN we stayed in a 2 bedroom bungalow in the gated community of Hawaii Kai with a back deck on the water $2,000USD for the month through VRBO and a 2016 Malibu Hybrid rental car for $950.00USD for the month.

 

Don't think Hotel think home rental, yes the food is pricey in Hawaii but when you can cook and BBQ at leisure gazing over the water at Koko Head it doesn't get much better.

 

We did something similar in 2012 flying to Oahu staying in a rental for 10 days before boarding our ship for a Trans-Pacific cruise.

 

But if you don't want to fly then yes the only option is a cruise but don't base it on price.

 

BritinSoCal - thanks for the "Chorleywood Process" reference, sounds similar to American Wonder Bread which invented a way to get rid of holes in bread in 1941 with a new process and that stuff does not go stale either.

I will use it instead of "sliced bread" references.

We will be traveling the UK for a month next summer and will definitely look for the difference or lack there of, the wife loves shopping Tasco and browsing John Lewis.

 

Cheers

Edited September 20, 2016 by baldercash

[StLouisCruisers]

One nice memory from a February Hawaii cruise (besides the whales in Maui, that is) was a vow renewal ceremony the Captain held in the Piazza on February 14. Many couples joined in and most of them were dressed up for it. A romantic way to spend Valentine's Day!

[ano]

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.

 

We are taking that cruise in a few weeks, for the same reason.

[BritinSoCal]

BritinSoCal - thanks for the "Chorleywood Process" reference, sounds similar to American Wonder Bread which invented a way to get rid of holes in bread in 1941 with a new process and that stuff does not go stale either.

I will use it instead of "sliced bread" references.

We will be traveling the UK for a month next summer and will definitely look for the difference or lack there of, the wife loves shopping Tasco and browsing John Lewis.

 

Cheers

Tesco. SWMBO used to work in their head office until I landed a gig here. She could have gone and worked for their ultimately abortive attempt to crack the US with "fresh and easy." However a combination of Tesco's somewhat dodgy business plan (what Americans scan and bag their own items and return carts - it'll never fly!) and a 90 mile commute were never going to win her over... Do miss John Lewis though, there's nothing like it here...

 

But yes, we travelled to the Big Island a bit off-season, cheap flights from LA, stayed in Motels / Guest houses and are ** cough ** 'frugal' travellers... Ultimately it's all about whether you want a cruise with some port stops or a land-based vacation. Hawaii and Oz are two that IMHO are better as land-based vacations - opinions, that's what it is all about

[Yehootu]

Aren't Kona and Ensenada pretty similar ? Except one has coffee and one has Tequilla.

You've been breathing too much smog.

[Yehootu]

We flew 2016 Jan 1st from Vancouver to Oahu for $210.00CDN on American and returned Jan 31st to Toronto on Air Canada for $320.00CDN we stayed in a 2 bedroom bungalow in the gated community of Hawaii Kai with a back deck on the water $2,000USD for the month through VRBO and a 2016 Malibu Hybrid rental car for $950.00USD for the month.

 

Don't think Hotel think home rental, yes the food is pricey in Hawaii but when you can cook and BBQ at leisure gazing over the water at Koko Head it doesn't get much better.

 

We did something similar in 2012 flying to Oahu staying in a rental for 10 days before boarding our ship for a Trans-Pacific cruise.

 

But if you don't want to fly then yes the only option is a cruise but don't base it on price.

 

BritinSoCal - thanks for the "Chorleywood Process" reference, sounds similar to American Wonder Bread which invented a way to get rid of holes in bread in 1941 with a new process and that stuff does not go stale either.

I will use it instead of "sliced bread" references.

We will be traveling the UK for a month next summer and will definitely look for the difference or lack there of, the wife loves shopping Tasco and browsing John Lewis.

 

Cheers

We just like to say "food is cheaper elsewhere". I don't find food very inexpensive in Canada. Maybe it's because I stick to liquids.

A place in Hawaii Kai,a Hybrid, Costco around the corner, and of course the Shack. Priceless.

[easyboy]

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 also did the Hawaii run out of LA on Golden in 2009. It was for 14 days and we enjoyed the sea days.

[HRPro]

Loved our Hawaii cruise from LA on the Star in February 2014. The weather was beautiful and it's whale watching season, so saw lots of whales from the ship as well as on a special whale-watching excursion. We enjoyed all the sea days--lots of Hawaiian themed activities and music.