Getting there.

[Action Dave]

Considering a hawaii cruise on POA. The biggest issue i have is getting there from Florida. Finding a reasonable air fare is exhausting.

Any ideas would be appreciated:):).

[Bonnie J.]

Where is the ship leaving from? Can you find another airport, sort of nearby, not as much $$$ and fly there. Then rent a car there and drive to the port? Do you have a TA who can look into this for you?

[CruiserBruce]

Define "reasonable"? Your definition may not be in solid connection with reality. The airfares are what they are. Remember, if your flight was non-stop, it would be in the 11 hour range.

 

If you look on the Cruise Air board, here:

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/forumdisplay.php?f=128

 

you will find many air travel veterans. Also, you will see the reference to ita.matrix.com, which is one of the most comprehensive listings for flights.

[SadieN]

Where is the ship leaving from? Can you find another airport, sort of nearby, not as much $$$ and fly there. Then rent a car there and drive to the port? Do you have a TA who can look into this for you?

 

 

The POA leaves from Honolulu. She does 7day a 'round the islands' cruise. It's a captive audience situation.

 

The only alternative would be a 14/15 RT from San Francisco/Los Angeles or a repo cruise out of or going to Vancouver.

 

Could see about a land vacation package. Always see these advertised.

Edited February 2, 2017 by SadieN

[Kartgv]

Where is the ship leaving from? Can you find another airport, sort of nearby, not as much $$$ and fly there. Then rent a car there and drive to the port? Do you have a TA who can look into this for you?

 

Great idea anywhere but Hawaii. There is only one commercial airport on the island of Oahu that allows landing of trans-Pacific flights. (There are military and small plane/helicopter airports.) The closest other commercial airport would be on another island, making driving a challenge! However, there might be options for the beginning point of the trip for the OP to consider.

 

Back to the original question - when are you planning to cruise? We flew back & forth frequently many times to Hawaii from the West Coast, and the best prices were usually 2-3 months in advance. You might get better pricing doing separate flights, maybe with an overnight stop in either Los Angeles or San Francisco. Beside the usual large commercial lines, make sure to check Hawaiian Air and Alaska Air - they sometimes have fairly reasonable prices from the West Coast.

Edited February 2, 2017 by Kartgv

[Bonnie J.]

When I posted I assumed they would be leaving from CA, not Hawaii.

[Krazy Kruizers]

HAL also has round trip Hawaiian cruises from San Diego.

[cb at sea]

Unless you have been to Hawaii before, I'd recommend skipping the cruise, and doing a land-based vacation. Hawaii has SO much to see and do, and on a cruise, you are very limited to time in ports. Land-based is best!

[slidergirl]

Well, Mainland to Hawaii is never a cheap proposition, especially if you live East of the Rocky Mountains.

 

There is a dreadful nonstop on DL ATL-HNL - 9 hours, 53 minutes - longer than a TATL!!!

You can try a combination of airlines, with the knowledge that, if the first leg goes sideways you won't have any assistance to make your next flight. See if a cheap flight on Spirit, SouthWest, JetBlue, Frontier, from your home airport to a Hawaii gateway and then a flight on a mainline to Hawaii is cheaper for you.

Look at multiple airports for the connection - DEN, SLC, SEA, PDX...

HNL is not the only airport that has flights from the mainland - see if there is a cheaper flight to KOA, LIH, OGG and then spend a day on that island and take an intra-island flight to HNL...

 

My now-ex set up flights for us (we used to go to Hawaii each Fall) where we flew WN to LAX and then DL to HNL. Had to pick up bags (we also had golf bags) and lug them from T1 to T5 at LAX. Coming back, did it in reverse AND had the massive cattle queue at WN at checkin/baggage check and we, of course got "C" cards because we weren't there at least 2 hours before (this was pre-online checkin and Early Bird - you were given a numbered card when you physically checked in at the counter). What was really dumb was that our DL flight actually continued on to our home airport, but was more expensive.

[sparks1093]

Considering a hawaii cruise on POA. The biggest issue i have is getting there from Florida. Finding a reasonable air fare is exhausting.

Any ideas would be appreciated:):).

 

I can get decent airfare by flying out of Montreal to Hawaii and just booked flights from Montreal to FLL R/T for $244, so perhaps if you got a good price to Montreal you could fly to Hawaii from there.

Edited February 2, 2017 by sparks1093

[spookwife]

Considering a hawaii cruise on POA. The biggest issue i have is getting there from Florida. Finding a reasonable air fare is exhausting.

Any ideas would be appreciated:):).

 

 

What is reasonable for a lower 48 cross country trip is NOT the same when you toss in the Pacific Ocean crossing. It can easily double the cost of a cruise.

 

Hawai'i should be done as a land vacation anyway. You'd maybe be able to a RT LA -HI 'reasonably ' .

 

 

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[Bizmark'sMom]

If you have never been to Hawaii before, do yourself a favor and make it a land vacation. Find a reasonable condo on one of the main islands, rent a car, and spend a week relaxing and sight seeing on your own schedule. Try the saimin, have a plate lunch, get a shave ice with a scoop of macadamia nut ice cream, pig out on apple bananas. Spend days paddle boarding, snorkeling from the beach, or just plain hanging out and letting the Aloha sink in.

[Jackierabbit]

Considering a hawaii cruise on POA. The biggest issue i have is getting there from Florida. Finding a reasonable air fare is exhausting.

Any ideas would be appreciated:):).

 

 

 

We took the POA in 2014 from DFW and yes the airfare was hard to swallow. It took some pre planning but we signed up for a US Airways cc and spent $ within 3 months to earn miles so one of our tickets was free.

 

We loved our floating hotel to sample the islands. Flying between islands is very expensive. We did go 4 days early and rent a condo on Honolulu before the cruise. The crew was wonderful and the views of Napali Coast were incredible. We would do it again in a heartbeat but Alaska is next on the list.

 

 

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