Pros and cons of 10 day + cruise?

[bzc3743]

We are looking at a Hawaii cruise. What are the pros and cons of round trip cruise? If only cruise one way would you do to or from? What month is best?

[Keith1010]

When you are saying R/T are you asking R/T Hawaii or R/T from California.

 

If California they only sail selected times of the year.

 

Betty, can you please be more specific what itinerary you re considering.

 

Keith

[Krazy Kruizers]

We have done round trip Hawaiian cruises out of San Diego -- 15 days.

JMO -- you really don't get to see much of Hawaii on a cruise. We had already been to Hawaii several times before we did the cruise and had spent several days on each island.

[marco]

We did the trip a couple of years ago in late January.

A) Didn't see enough of Hawaii

B) The sailing to/from was a little rough and definitely NOT "tropical".

Definitely prefer a 10 day (or longer) winter Caribbean cruise. Better weather, smoother seas and 10 days or so brings you to several ports.

[Underwatr]

More generally, if it's 14 days or longer you get more CCL shareholder onboard credit on Carnival Corp lines (Cunard, Princess, HAL, etc). $250 for 14+ days vs $100 for 7+. Veterans OBC for Cunard + Princess is increased by the same amount.

[flamomo]

I've done the 15 day r/t LA or San Francisco cruises with Princess a number of times and thoroughly enjoyed every one. I love sea days (4 days going out and 5 days coming back) and the Hawaiian vibe created on the ships, and really enjoyed my port visits in the Hawaiian Islands. Yes each port visit is only one day, but the islands are lovely and there are a lot of options for things to see on each port day. The required (because cruises beginning and ending in the US must visit a foreign port prior to returning to the US) stop in Ensenada is OK the first time, but I don't enjoy the place enough to go any farther than the shops in the pier after that first time. IMO, it's rather dumpy.

[leaveitallbehind]

The one way itineraries tend to be 10 - 12 days long with 5 - 6 of those days as the Pacific transit and the rest spent island hopping, often with an overnight port of call in the islands. They also often are offered only during a certain season window of time as many are repositioning cruises between Australia and Alaska, which tend to be during the late spring / early fall, often with Vancouver, CAN, as the North American departure or termination port. Other similar region ports can be used as well, depending on line.

 

I would check with a travel agent or visit the different cruise line websites and look up Hawaii and repostioning cruises to see who offers what, both in terms of round trip out of North America as well as one way itineraries. NCL also bases a ship in Hawaii year round with 7 night closed loop itineraries there.

 

As to the advantages of a 10-night itineraries, IMO it's simple - 3 more nights on a cruise v the more typical 7 night itineraries. :);) And if you enjoy sea days, the one way repositioning itineraries are still in a nice season for the transit and provide a nice stretch of that type of relaxation.

[pseudoware]

I've done the RT from SF. One way or two, I'd rather fly to the islands and spend the entire time there.

 

Sent from my SM-G950U1 using Tapatalk

[Nebr.cruiser]

We have done the 14 or 15 day round trip from LA. We like lots of sea days, but the weather was not the best (Feb.) on the sea days, coolish and damp, so these weren't as enjoyable as some. We probably won't repeat this cruise for a while just because of the sea days--which we normally love--it's just that these weren't the greatest as to weather.

 

Having been to Hawaii on land trips several times, we did enjoy the days on the islands--we just rented cars and went where we wanted except for Maui, where we walked to a nearby beach.

 

If you haven't been there before, I can see that it might not be enough time on the islands. I think a one-way, with more time in Hawaii post or pre cruise might be nice. At least it wouldn't be 10 sea days.

[NMLady]

We are looking at a Hawaii cruise. What are the pros and cons of round trip cruise? If only cruise one way would you do to or from? What month is best?

 

We've done HAL 15 day r/t from San Diego. We enjoy sea days so the 5 sea days going and 5 sea days return were enjoyable for us. They might not be for all people.

 

We had spent time in Hawaii before so the one day port stops gave us enough time. If you've never been to Hawaii before, one day in each port is barely enough.

 

We would not cruise one way because of the long air flight the other way. (Few one way cruises because PVSA requires port stop in distant port such as Ensenada).

[swedish weave]

We've done HAL 15 day r/t from San Diego. We enjoy sea days so the 5 sea days going and 5 sea days return were enjoyable for us. They might not be for all people.

 

We had spent time in Hawaii before so the one day port stops gave us enough time. If you've never been to Hawaii before, one day in each port is barely enough.

 

We would not cruise one way because of the long air flight the other way. (Few one way cruises because PVSA requires port stop in distant port such as Ensenada).

 

Ensenada is not a distant foreign port.

 

Where do the one way cruises originate or terminate to comply with PVSA?

[Shmoo here]

Ensenada is not a distant foreign port.

 

Where do the one way cruises originate or terminate to comply with PVSA?

Usually Vancouver/Victoria or Ensenada. But there's not a lot of them.

 

Most Hawaii cruises are round trip from LA/San Francisco I believe.

[geoherb]

Ensenada works for closed-loop cruises--ones that begin and end in the same port. It doesn't work for one-way cruises.

 

We enjoyed our 12-day cruise last month to the British isles. It was our longest cruise yet. Now that we're retired, we can take longer vacations. But with our mothers still needing care, we can't be gone too long. About three weeks will be our limit.

[NMLady]

Ensenada is not a distant foreign port.

 

Where do the one way cruises originate or terminate to comply with PVSA?

 

I stand corrected. I should not have used the word Distant for Ensenada.

 

For closed loop cruises a Distant foreign port is not required; a near foreign port is sufficient so Ensenada fits the requirement.

 

The PVSA requires that the ship not transport passengers from one USA port to another USA port without visiting a Distant foreign port.

In that case, Ensenada would not comply.

 

So a cruise could travel Canada port to USA port or vice versa and would comply with PVSA.

[rkacruiser]

I have sailed the 7 day round trip from Honolulu and a longer cruise from Los Angeles-Honolulu-Honolulu-San Francisco-Los Angeles on Pacific Far East Line many years ago. Both were wonderful cruises and met my expectations. Because I enjoy days at sea, the PFEL cruise was my favorite of the two.

 

I agree that only one day in each port really only allows for just a "taste", but provides much incentive for a return visit.

 

If one does the 7 day round trip from Honolulu, I suggest that one consider adding a few days pre- or post- cruise for a longer visit on one of the islands. Arriving a day or two before the cruise would allow for some time to visit some of the sites on Oahu plus give one some time to recover from any jet lag. (When I did this trip, it was a full 24 hours from the time I arose at home until I went to bed at the hotel in Honolulu.)

 

Hawaii is a great place to visit!

[cb at sea]

The only "con" I can think of is getting tired of ship's food....after my last 10 nighter, I was READY to leave on night 8...while the menu changed daily, the taste of the offerings didn't....I was getting SO tired of the food! Couldn't wait to get home and cook my own dinner!

[CPT Trips]

I enjoy sea days, but . . .

Four Hawaiian ports, Ensenada, and the rest seadays on a 15 day cruise that requires a transcontinental RT flight at each end is just nuts.

But, 14 days out of NY to the Caribbean with three seadays down, three back, I'm in.

[crystalspin]

Have never come across a one-way cruise to HI islands. It would have to sail from Vancouver, I guess. It would then be problematic for the cruise line -- trying to fill a ship IN Hawaii, to sail back to Canada (one would expect).

 

Your choices are usually roundtrip from the continent (about 5-5-5 seaday/ports/seadays plus or minus a day), or the Norwegian Cruise Line's Pride of America that does cruises JUST around the islands, requiring flights to and from HI, at a higher price per day on the ship because they must hire all or most or more Americans to do the jobs other ships hire other nationalities to do for far less. (This is the alternative to foreign port allowed by the PVSA.)

 

As far as the subject of this thread: I hardly want to look at cruises shorter than two weeks, myself -- NOW. But my second cruise ever was RT Hawaii from San Diego as the youngest person on board, with a computer that fried itself on the first day, in the company of two sea-sick cabinmates one of whom was a tea-totaller who insisted all of us refrain. My first cruise was across the south Atlantic: CapeTown to BuenosAires (NO ports of call), with the same companions! It's a wonder there was ever a third cruise!!! So --

Pros: Relaxation, enjoying the ship.

Cons: Boredom if you are not prepared to do at least some self-entertainment.

 

Ask on the individual cruiselines' sub-forum, concerning enrichment activities, etc.

[Keith1010]

I guess you don't have a specific cruise in mind so I will chime in again.

 

For most Hawaii cruises the length of the cruise will be around 14 days and they will leave and return out of Los Angeles and San Francisco. There are a few that take other routes.

 

If you like sea days then those cruises give you four days on the front end and four on the final end to enjoy the ship. So you get to enjoy the ship and relax from the get-go, then see four to five islands and then relax for the final few days. You will have one stop in Mexico anywhere from a few hours to the entire day. Sea days are very relaxing and depending on the ship and line some have a lot of enrichment and other activities.

 

For us this is a terrific voyage and we have done it several times.

 

The downsides would be that those first couple and last couple of days can have some rough seas and it can be windy and cooler outside. Then again you never know. It could be calm with very little rough seas. For us this is no big deal.

 

All in all we like the combination of sea days with the four or five ports in Hawaii. Makes for a wonderful cruise.

 

Keith

[BourbonNBluesLuvr]

Have never come across a one-way cruise to HI islands. It would have to sail from Vancouver, I guess. It would then be problematic for the cruise line -- trying to fill a ship IN Hawaii, to sail back to Canada (one would expect).

 

 

Yes, as stated there are very few one-way cruises to/from Hawaii, and those few usually occur when a ship is repositioning. For example, Celebrity Solstice has a one-way from Vancouver coming up, when the ship is repositioning to Australia. When the ship returns to North America next spring, then it will offer a one-way from Hawaii back to Vancouver.

 

There used to be a couple of one-way cruises that were offered from/to Ensenada to/from Hawaii (we did one on Celebrity Millennium in 2012), but those were a logistical nitemare and I don't think any are longer in existence. In our case, we checked in at the terminal in San Diego, and dropped our bags there, but then all 2,000 plus passengers and baggage had to be bused/trucked to Ensenada, where we finally boarded the ship. The funny thing was many folks had no idea that the bus ride was a part of the trip, and were quite upset when they saw the ship (which had docked in San Diego that morning after a cruise from Florida thru the Panama Canal) drop lines and sail away from San Diego without them ! The ship sailed empty (except for crew and the passengers who had boarded in Florida and were continuing on to Hawaii) from San Diego to Ensenada. And as you might imagine, many of the buses were late arriving in Ensenada, and we finally departed Ensenada around 1am IIRC. But still was a great cruise !!

 

BBL

Edited September 10, 2017 by BourbonNBluesLuvr

[XBGuy]

I think the OP was received most ot the opinions and observations regarding the merits of a roundtrip cruise. I am in the group that absolutely loves the 14/15-day roundtrippers. We love the sea days. The destination is almost inconsequential to us.

 

And, not to dispute anybody else's experience, weather in the middle of the ocean is not really predictable with any reliability. We've taken two of these cruises out of Los Angeles and have never encountered difficult weather. A squall or two, but that's been it. Interestingly, enough, the cruise prior to one of ours hit very severe weather--the dregs of a hurricane--returning to Los Angeles. The waiters told us that it was pretty hilarious trying to replenish drinks on tables as the moved up and down.

 

For what it's worth a friend told me that Holland America is offering an 18-day roundtrip cruise out of San Diego that, in addition to visiting Hilo, Nawiliwili and Lahaina spends two days in Honolulu and makes a port stop at Kona.

 

 

The only "con" I can think of is getting tired of ship's food....after my last 10 nighter, I was READY to leave on night 8...while the menu changed daily, the taste of the offerings didn't....I was getting SO tired of the food! Couldn't wait to get home and cook my own dinner!

 

 

 

I certainly understand your feeling cb. We get the same "fatigue." So, to give ourselves some variety we will, usually, have a big lunch ashore at one or more of the ports. When we do that, we find that we do not need much of a dinner at all. This is when Mrs. XBGuy gets to call room service and order a tuna salad sandwich.

 

:D

[donaldsc]

I am in the "hate sea days" group. If it was me, I would fly both ways so I can enjoy Hawaii instead of having to stand at the railing and stare at the sea. Different strokes etc.

 

DON

[Rinalouise]

After doing 2 transpacific cruises (18/19 days long) I can definitely say they do come with pros and cons...

Pros: longer vacation

Go to ports not many have been to (seriously ask your friends have they ever been to Bora Bora)

Different activities onboard compared to a smaller itinerary. These are culturally based for example a ukulele class a hula class history lessons by a university professor art classes based on location (make a Lei for example)

Regional foods that come on only for that port e.g. Frogs legs or escargot

FIFO (fly in fly out) entertainment and comedians

Normally less children then smaller cruises

Great way to build up points for a loyalty program

Can get good deals in the spa or steakhouse outside of port days.

 

Cons: days without land. On the carnival Legend transpacific you can stop only at 5-6 ports and have up to 13 days at sea. This can send people stir crazy kinda like how a full moon makes some do stupid things being without land for such a long time can make people nuttsy cuckoo.

Older demographic on board. If you are a youngin (say 18-28) who might be single and think ok I'm gonna live in the night club most nights or I'm gonna party until the crack of dawn you may get a shock. Most bars quiet down on transpacific cruises at midnight. If you go to the nightclub it may be deserted simply because the younger demographic who uses it isn't really there. However this can be an advantage if you like trivia and pop culture as you'll most likely win those trivias.

Can get repetitive. Especially if you go to the piano bar or the house band every night. They have a set number of songs they know and can perform.

Rougher seas. Seas can get rough especially around those 5 or so days between Tahiti and Fiji.

 

A few people as well were asking is there a cruise one way to/from Hawaii. I know the Legend does one from Seattle to Honolulu (August/September) or Honolulu to Seattle (April/May)which is about 15 days long. It goes around the Hawaiian islands on its way to Seattle or Honolulu.

 

Hope this helps anyone!

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Forums

[BourbonNBluesLuvr]

After doing 2 transpacific cruises (18/19 days long) I can definitely say they do come with pros and cons...

Pros: longer vacation

Go to ports not many have been to (seriously ask your friends have they ever been to Bora Bora)

Different activities onboard compared to a smaller itinerary. These are culturally based for example a ukulele class a hula class history lessons by a university professor art classes based on location (make a Lei for example)

Regional foods that come on only for that port e.g. Frogs legs or escargot

FIFO (fly in fly out) entertainment and comedians

Normally less children then smaller cruises

Great way to build up points for a loyalty program

Can get good deals in the spa or steakhouse outside of port days.

 

Cons: days without land. On the carnival Legend transpacific you can stop only at 5-6 ports and have up to 13 days at sea. This can send people stir crazy kinda like how a full moon makes some do stupid things being without land for such a long time can make people nuttsy cuckoo.

Older demographic on board. If you are a youngin (say 18-28) who might be single and think ok I'm gonna live in the night club most nights or I'm gonna party until the crack of dawn you may get a shock. Most bars quiet down on transpacific cruises at midnight. If you go to the nightclub it may be deserted simply because the younger demographic who uses it isn't really there. However this can be an advantage if you like trivia and pop culture as you'll most likely win those trivias.

Can get repetitive. Especially if you go to the piano bar or the house band every night. They have a set number of songs they know and can perform.

Rougher seas. Seas can get rough especially around those 5 or so days between Tahiti and Fiji.

 

A few people as well were asking is there a cruise one way to/from Hawaii. I know the Legend does one from Seattle to Honolulu (August/September) or Honolulu to Seattle (April/May)which is about 15 days long. It goes around the Hawaiian islands on its way to Seattle or Honolulu.

Hope this helps anyone!

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Forums

 

 

Hello,

 

Actually, I believe the Carnival Legend does one-way cruises from Honolulu to Vancouver and vice versa...which are between 10-11 days in length. A one-way cruise from Seattle to Honolulu or Honolulu to Seattle are illegal (without calling at a distant foreign port) per the guidelines of the PVSA. Also, if the Legend's next cruise after a Honolulu to Vancouver cruise is from Vancouver to Seattle, then a B2B on the Legend from Honolulu to Seattle would be illegal. Similarly, if the Legend cruises from Seattle to Vancouver, and the next cruise is from Vancouver to Honolulu, then a B2B from Seattle to Honolulu is also illegal.

 

BBL

Edited September 10, 2017 by BourbonNBluesLuvr

[Shmoo here]

Hello,

 

Actually, I believe the Carnival Legend does one-way cruises from Honolulu to Vancouver and vice versa...which are between 10-11 days in length. A one-way cruise from Seattle to Honolulu or Honolulu to Seattle are illegal (without calling at a distant foreign port) per the guidelines of the PVSA. Also, if the Legend's next cruise after a Honolulu to Vancouver cruise is from Vancouver to Seattle, then a B2B on the Legend from Honolulu to Seattle would be illegal. Similarly, if the Legend cruises from Seattle to Vancouver, and the next cruise is from Vancouver to Honolulu, then a B2B from Seattle to Honolulu is also illegal.

 

BBL

Quite true.