Hawaii

[GMC]

Anyone ever cruised to Hawaii? How does this compare to a Hawaii land based vacation?

 

Thanks

[rjg41]

While we haven't done our crusie to Hawaii yet we have done a land visit twice. On a land visit you will likely see more of the islands than on the ship. Remember, except for NCL, you cruise from the mainland and will spend about 7 seas days sailing roundrip. IMO if my goal was to see and explore the islands, go by land. If I wanted a vacation and got to see the islands as well, sea is fine.

[Nancyquilts]

Love the days at sea! I'd go every year if I could, sailing from California and spending 5 days around the islands. Rent a car in the ports and explore on your own. The not unpacking every day or so is wonderful. Nancy

[yogimax]

We visit Hawaii twice a year. While we love cruising, we have never really considered it for Alohaville. You really need multiple days to explore each of the islands. To us, the 8 hours or whatever at each port is simply not enough

[dfd22120]

Our first and only trip to Hawaii was last October on a cruise ship. I think it is a great idea for your first trip to Hawaii. We got a taste of all the islands and we now know where we want to go back to and spend a week. Most importantly we know where we want to avoid.

[mikefast]

We have done both, one time we started in Honolulu, and flew to three of the other islands, then last year we spent a week in Kona, and this spring, we took a cruise vactation around four of the islands. As far as which is the best, that is pretty much a personal thing. If you are limited in time, the cruise is a good way to see a little of each of the four islands, but only one day in port is not nearly enough to see much. It is nice to be able to go to the different islands without having to pack and do the hassle at the airport thing, but then again, you will only get a glimpse. If and when we go again, (Hopefully next year) we would like to just stay a week on Maui, close to Lahaina. The beaches there are beautiful, and if you rent a car you can pretty much cover the island.

 

[yogimax]

Our first and only trip to Hawaii was last October on a cruise ship. I think it is a great idea for your first trip to Hawaii. We got a taste of all the islands and we now know where we want to go back to and spend a week. Most importantly we know where we want to avoid.

 

Wow - You've left me with a question I can't answer. As I think of Hawaii, I honestly cannot think of any place I would avoid. Please share your thoughts.

[dfd22120]

yogimax, It is just my opinion but we will probably never go back to Oahu. We were gald we went once and were able to visit Pearl Harbor, but it was too congested and dirty compared to the other islands. We can find congested and dirty at home. I would have been dissapointed if I had spent a week on Oahu and never realized how great the other islands were. Someday we hope to return to Kauai which was our favorite island but we would never have known if we did not go on a cruise. This is just my opinion of course!

[yogimax]

yogimax, It is just my opinion but we will probably never go back to Oahu. We were gald we went once and were able to visit Pearl Harbor, but it was too congested and dirty compared to the other islands. We can find congested and dirty at home. I would have been dissapointed if I had spent a week on Oahu and never realized how great the other islands were. Someday we hope to return to Kauai which was our favorite island but we would never have known if we did not go on a cruise. This is just my opinion of course!

 

Hey 22120 (is there any significance to the number?) - Thanks for your response. I can understand your comments. I would assume you are talking about Waikiki. I know I cannot change your opinion, but here are a few options that you might want to consider...

 

... A picnic lunch at Chinaman's Hat

... A glider ride on the north shore

... A walking tour to hear about the history of Waikiki

... The maze at Dole Plantation (we got totally lost!)

... A Dole Whip at the plantation

... Polo on a Sunday afternoon

... the art wall on weekends

... The Pali Outlook

 

Just a very brief list. I would encourage you not to sell Oahu short. It's a lot more than Waikiki.

[KamloopsCruisers]

I've done three Hawaiian Island cruises, and have visited Hawaii many times. Cruising is a great way to get a little taste of the islands. Your time ashore is limited on each island, but it is really nice to get an overview of just how very different and unique each of the islands are. If possible, try to add a few days pre/post cruise to give you additional time to explore.

 

For me, Hawaii is heaven on earth. I agree with Yogimax - Oahu is beautiful and full of fun things to do and see and shouldn't be missed. There are many quiet secluded spots and beaches to visit if the Waikiki crowds aren't to your liking.

 

Enjoy!

[abridalmaven]

... A picnic lunch at Chinaman's Hat

... A glider ride on the north shore

... A walking tour to hear about the history of Waikiki

... The maze at Dole Plantation (we got totally lost!)

... A Dole Whip at the plantation

... Polo on a Sunday afternoon

... the art wall on weekends

... The Pali Outlook

 

Just a very brief list. I would encourage you not to sell Oahu short. It's a lot more than Waikiki.

__________________

 

 

 

We have done both, and loved both, first was the cruise and 2 days at each island, with a a 5 day precruise stay in Waikiki and then again to Oahu, staying at Ko Olina, which was a little to quiet for me. I loved Waikiki, but then again I am a city gal from NY! I would do eithe agin, but since we have a long list of places wewant to see, we most likely will not repeat this one until we have done the rest, but we never say never!;)

[abridalmaven]

... A picnic lunch at Chinaman's Hat

... A glider ride on the north shore

... A walking tour to hear about the history of Waikiki

... The maze at Dole Plantation (we got totally lost!)

... A Dole Whip at the plantation

... Polo on a Sunday afternoon

... the art wall on weekends

... The Pali Outlook

 

Just a very brief list. I would encourage you not to sell Oahu short. It's a lot more than Waikiki.

__________________

 

 

 

We have done both, and loved both, first was the cruise and 2 days at each island, with a a 5 day precruise stay in Waikiki and then again to Oahu, staying at Ko Olina, which was a little to quiet for me. I loved Waikiki, but then again I am a city gal from NY! I would do eithe agin, but since we have a long list of places wewant to see, we most likely will not repeat this one until we have done the rest, but we never say never!;)

[beachchick]

DH and I do a land-based Hawaii trip as often as possible (which is not nearly often enough!). We did one cruise and might do the NCL at some point in the future. A cruise is a good way to get a taste of the islands, but we much prefer just spending time on one or two per trip.

 

As far as Oahu goes. No, it's not our favorite of the islands, but it's very true that Honolulu/Waikiki is a big city with big city (traffic, crowds, etc.) feel. However, a drink at the Royal Hawaiian Mai Tai bar sitting next to the beach in not a horrible thing. And I heartily agree with the other posters who've mentioned all the other, beautiful and delightful, parts of Oahu. I will add that one of my all-time favorite swimming beaches is Kailua on Oahu. It's across island from Waikiki. The little town is nothing like Honolulu. OTOH, it's not "little grass shacks" either if that's what you are looking for. The Kailua beach park is gorgeous and clean with excellent facilities, soft and fine sand, clear water, and easy swimming. It's just wonderful. Every afternoon, many of the locals go there to shed the "work" day and relax. Please do give Oahu another look. It's certainly got a variety of styles and activities.

 

beachchick

[YogiDog]

We have only done a cruise to the island on NCL. While I much prefer RCCL for any cruise, this itinerary was hard to beat. We spent 2 days on each of the islands which gave us plenty of time to do a lot of stuff. We rented a car on each island and basicially covered what we wanted to do. We didn't do any excursions through the ship - just did a ton of pre planning on our own.

 

We also loved Oahu. We stayed 3 days pre cruise and 4 days post cruise at the Hilton Hawaiian Village. There is so much to do in Oahu - we only spent a day or two in Waikiki - the rest was exploring the other parts of the island.

 

Doing Hawaii by cruise for our first visit was perfect. We really got a feel for what we liked and didn't like so now when we are ready to do a land vacation, we aren't spinning our heads trying to figure out where to go. Kauai was our personal favorite so we will definitely be heading back there in the future!

[bankofdad]

We've done two inter-island Hawaii cruises on NCLA, and have done several land vacations as well in recent years. Both ways to experience Hawaii are great, just different.

 

If you do the NCLA route, port time is very intensive so it can have a tendency to be a very active vacation if you want it to be. It's not really the true cruising experience IMHO, but does make for a great vacation. Our land vacations have always been a bit more relaxing, because we weren't trying to fit in as much as possible in a particular port on a time schedule.

 

I haven't cruised between Hawaii and the America's, so I can't comment on that other than to say the port schedules I've seen don't give as much time in the islands. Fot the cruising experience, maybe this is the way to go. If you really want to see Hawaii, I'm not so sure that's the best route.

 

Would I cruise Hawaii again? Most likely I will. Will I do another land vacation? Absolutley. Both are great; just different.

 

Just a comment on the post that talked about Oahu being "dirty" and such, that's just not entirely true. If you get outside of Honolulu and venture up to the west and north shores, some of the areas are absolutley stunning in beauty with fantastic beaches (Kailua on the Windward side also goes un-mentioned quite often as well, and having lived there in the past I can testify to how lovely it is, too). That said, I still love Waikiki, it's just a different experience; busy and touristy, but also charming in it's own way.

[dshebert]

Hi GMC.

 

My wife and I cruised on the Rhapsody of the Seas on an 11 day repositioning cruise 7.5 years ago. It was in May and RCCL was getting the ship back to Vancouver BC for the Summer season. We flew to Honolulu nonstop from St Louis, cruised around the islands for 6 days and then nonstop for 5 days all the way to Vancouver. The islands were great except for the rainy weather we had every day. Came back without a tan. The trip from the islands to Vancouver was very windy and chilly (another reason for coming home tanless). Don't get me wrong, the cruise was great and very relaxing but there isn't much to do after bingo when you can't lay out by the pool due to it being too chilly.

 

Dale

[dfd22120]

Apparently from all of the posts we were just in the wrong area of Oahu. Waikiki Beach to us was just a big city with a beach but we come from a town of 2000 residents so we are not used to big city life. We enjoy a more relaxed atmoshpere. It sounds as if we may have been able to find this in other areas but we only had 1 day pre-cruise.

[cruzelovr]

Cruised to Hawaii on Legend of the Seas in April/May 2004. Each Island is beautiful in its own way. We sailed from Ensenada, MX. We had 4 days at sea before getting to the islands. The ports we hit got busier as we went. Hilo (Big Island) was the quietest, followed by Kona (Big Island), Nawilliwilli (Kauai), Lahaina (Maui) overnight, and ended up in busy Honolulu (Oahu).

 

I would go back to any of these places. I also really enjoyed the overnight in Lahaina. Not having to get back to the ship for a 5pm or 6pm sailaway was great. We rented a car, did the Road to Hana, came back and shopped on Front Street. Had a great piece of Hula Pie at Kimo's out on their outdoor deck at sunset, and still had the whole next day to go to Kaanapali Beach.

 

This cruise did really whet my appetite for the Hawaiian Islands. I would go back for a land vacation, or for another cruise. You can't lose IMHO.

[Leafpeeper]

We sailed RCCL's Legend of the Seas from Honolulu to Ensenada on March 17 this year. We loved sailing from Honolulu to the other islands, but we hated the four cold and windy days at sea going to Ensenada.

 

Next time we will definetely choose NCL's Pride of America and sail only within Hawaii for 7 days. We would prefer spending those sea days in Honolulu at a hotel before the cruise. It turns out to be the same amount of days off from work with alot more time in the sun and fun of Hawaii.

[cstooge462]

I am looking to take a cruise to Hawaii in the spring and I was wondering which ship is better RCL or NCL and why? Also does anyone know when you can get the best deal to Hawaii?

 

Thanks

[glgolfer]

Something to think about if you can do it is back 2 back Hawaii. We did it in

2000 from Acapulco to Hawaii to Vancouver for 22 night on board with one night pre cruise and one night post cruise.

It looks like the Serenade leaves Vancouver the end of September to Hawaii and then from Hawaii to Ensanada.

We really enjoyed all the sea days with the ability to play golf once in port and sight see the other times.

[Leafpeeper]

We sailed from Honolulu to Ensenada, Mexico in late March. Had we booked between September and mid February, we could have gotten roundtrip airfare for less than we paid one way on Hawaiian Airlines.

 

NCL offers 7 day cruises that stay in the Hawaiian Islands and spend more time on each island than other ships. They have an all American staff on Pride of America, and also have another new ship called Pride of Hawaii coming out soon. That will bring NCL ships based in Hawaii to 4. Royal Caribbean and Carnival offer one way cruises to or from the west coast (Ensenada or Vancouver).

 

As I previously posted, we took Royal Caribbean but were disappointed with 4 sea days on a ten day cruise. I have friends who sailed Princess roundtrip from LA who were also disappointed with all the chilly sea days. I was shocked that Hawaii cools down at night. It is not hot and humid like the caribbean. Some people prefer that, but I was just surprised. I am not complaining--just saying it was not as tropical as expected for the last week in March.

 

We loved the Hilton Hawaiian Village in Honolulu and were happy we spent several nights there before our cruise. Temps were in the low 80's during our stay. We went swimming but noticed not everyone was in the ocean. Coming from Cape Cod area, we thought the water was delightful.

Makes me remember the Canadian family swimming in the pool in Phoenix over New Years when the temp was 50's daytime.

[RN7997]

I haven't started looking into a vacation in Hawaii yet, but I would love to go there one day. I think I would go the land route for that trip. I hear the islands are beautiful!!!! So for those of you who have vacationed there what is the best way to go? All inclusive is my first thought. I have never done one of those before. Is there a certain TA or resort that is reccomended?

 

We are new to cruising too. We sailed the Majesty last April and we are taking our 2 sons on the AOS this April. We would like to make these types of trips a yearly family thing, but I think Hawaii will be one just for us.

 

Any info would be appreciated. I'd like to start planning for a year or 2 from now.

[sherry7]

I haven't been to Hawaii yet, but my DH and I are going in May. We are booked on the Radiance, 14 day circle cruise from San Diego. This particular cruise caught our attention because of the 'round trip' factor. We wanted to cruise to Hawaii, but didn't want to have to fly there. This is a new itinerary for RCCL, and they are offering the same cruise again in Sept 2006 (but out of L.A.). Hopefully, this is something that they'll start offering on a more regular basis.

 

I'm a little concerned about the comments I read about the 'cold, windy sea days' in the crossing from the mainland to Hawaii. We have 8 sea days that I've been looking forward to...but it sounds like I may freeze my bum off! :eek:

[RN7997]

I have heard the pacific ocean is rockier water to cruise on. Another reason I think I'll go the land route when I go.