Cruising out of Oahu or Maui--what's your preference?

[wam957]

I have been mulling over the idea of a cruise around Hawaii for my wife and my 25th anniversary. I plan to do a 2-3 day pre cruise stay. I am thinking about doing the NCL ship out of Maui and enjoy the pre-cruise stay on that Island rather than the Oahu start with a stay in Waikiki. Any thoughts on the pros and cons of each? Also, if we cruise out of Maui we have to cruise on Pride of Aloha while I had been thinking of cruising on Pride of Hawaii. Will I be disappointed with Pride of Aloha? Do the advantages of having extra time in Maui compensate for an older, smaller ship experience?

 

Thanks for you opinions.

 

Bill Meyer

NJ

[bug_dan]

We cruised out of Maui in 2000 aboard the Independence.

Compared to the Pride of Aloha, that was really a small ship. We stayed 5 days pre cruise down in the Kihei area, had a fabulous pre cruise stay and really got to explore Maui. We also stayed post cruise on Oahu, but most folks seem to like Maui better.

 

I wasn't aware that there was that much difference in size between the two ships. Since the cruises are "port intensive", I wouldn't think ship size would be that big an issue. First reviews of the Pride of Aloha weren't too good, but slowly they seem to be correcting the problems. There were favorable reviews on Pride of America which I guess is pretty comparable to the Pride of Hawaii.

[wam957]

Thank Dan for the insight. The only ship that sales out of Maui is Pride of Aloha. It is the smallest of the three, but still a big ship with 2000 passengers. By small, I was referring to the size of the rooms and amenities.