Cruise to Hawaii

[hockey1963]

Has anyone cruised to Hawaii from Vancouver? Pros,cons would be appreciated, please. Its the month of September 10 day cruise with 5 sea days on the Solstice ship. Will we be bored for 5 sea days and is it rough the waters? Flying home from Hawaii. We would probably stay in Hawaii a few days after the cruise.

[PSU]

We did that cruise last year and it was one of my favorites. There was always something to do during the day like lectures and afternoon shows. You will love it.

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Forums

[hockey1963]

We did that cruise last year and it was one of my favorites. There was always something to do during the day like lectures and afternoon shows. You will love it.

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Forums

Thanks, how were the sea days, was it cool or sunny and warm enough to tan the first or second sea day?

[Wickets]

We were on board also, and probably our favorite cruise over all of the Caribbean ones we have. They had a group from Hawaii on board for lei making, ukulele lessons, bracelet making. Get there early, they are very popular. The view of the volcano as we sailed away from the big island was amazing.

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Forums

[gerelmx]

We are booked the Eclipse sailing on Oct 22, 2019, We have a friend that lives at Honolulu. She says is the better time to visit Hawaii

[justcrusn]

No one can answer the “will I be bored on sea days” question but you.

We LOVE sea days, we read and relax and do as much or as little as we feel that day.

My brother on the other hand, would go stir crazy by the second day.

 

Personally, if a ship sailed out to sea and went nowhere I’d be happy just to be on the ship, although after about a week I start looking forward to an excursion.

Also, the weather does vary from cruise to cruise, so no guarantees there, our experience has been the ships ride pretty well, I only remember once being so rough we had trouble sleeping and they closed the pools, but that’s Atlantic Ocean not pacific.

 

It sounds like you have a great cruise planned!

[Moose12345]

hockey1963

We are doing the reverse in 2 weeks. We leave from Oahu, do the Islands and then 5 days on the ocean to arrive in Vancouver. I'm hopeful that the water will be calm. Fingers crossed. As far as being bored, I don't think that will be a problem. They have so many activities going on throughout the day that you won't be able to go to all of them.

I have read some reviews that say that (in your case) the first couple of days might be a bit cooler, so I would recommend taking a sweater just in case.

I will send you a post when we get back and let you know how things went!

[TFLG]

I've done that cruise 3 times. It's one of my favorite itineraries. I was really worried about going stir crazy on the first one but we met a great group of people and hung out with them most of the sea days. We sat by the pool, enjoyed our cocktails during the day, partied every night in the Martini Bar, Sky Lounge and Quasor. The weather was great most days. On two of the trips nearer the BC coast the seas were a bit rough and it was too cold to sit outside but that was only one day out of the 5 sea days. There's not a ton of organized activities during the day (wine tastings, lectures, a few dance/zumba things by the pool, trivia etc.) But if you just want to relax the sea days are fantastic.

[TeaBag]

It can be a little rough for a day or two after leaving Vancouver. As for the sea days, we are never bored. In fact we often have to choose between 2 activities that are being held concurrently.

[Aunt Tina]

We did this cruise last September and loved it. We enjoyed the lectures - Brent Nixon and his wife both did a series of great presentations. We also enjoyed trivia a couple times a day. The demonstrations from the Hawaiian troup were great - and they brought a huge box of live orchid flowers to make the leis.

 

We love Vancouver - and took the hop on bus and enjoyed the market. It is a great place with lots to do.

 

We enjoyed meeting another couple also staying at our hotel and had meals with them.

 

We took excellent private tours with Mary Lou -Island tours in Hilo and Kona. Because we had too much OBC we did ship's tours in Maui "Road to Hana" (my bottom still hurts from all that sitting) and to the mountain the next day (even more sitting- no water provided and a very late lunch. /check out the ports of call board for good tours.

 

In Honolulu we did a hop on bus, and did a luau in the evening.

 

Overall a really great trip.

[Cruisingirl2012]

Booked on this cruise September 2019 and looking forward to it. Long countdown but I’m positive it will be worth the wait

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Forums

[shipgeeks]

We sailed Celebrity from San Diego, roundtrip to Hawaii. I loved the sea days even more than the islands. The Hawaiian cultural activities onboard were fun, and they gave us a better appreciation for the islands. While in one of the ports, local performers were brought onboard for two shows, and they were fabulous; we were glad we had not booked an excursion away from the ship.

[C-Dragons]

We sailed Celebrity from San Diego, roundtrip to Hawaii. I loved the sea days even more than the islands. The Hawaiian cultural activities onboard were fun, and they gave us a better appreciation for the islands. While in one of the ports, local performers were brought onboard for two shows, and they were fabulous; we were glad we had not booked an excursion away from the ship.

 

That sounds great! We’re booked on Celebrity Eclipse round trip from Los Angeles to Hawaii for 15 nights in Oct. 2019.

Very much looking forward to it!

[Cruise Junky]

It's super convenient for us living in Vancouver. I was surprised that I wasn't going out of my mind by day 5. Sea Days tuned out not to be an issue.

[Moose12345]

When we booked ours it was 609 days, and I thought it would never get here. But now we are at 13 days. The wait will totally be worth it Cruisingirl2012.

[gerelmx]

When we booked ours it was 609 days, and I thought it would never get here. But now we are at 13 days. The wait will totally be worth it Cruisingirl2012.

 

Booked on this cruise September 2019 and looking forward to it. Long countdown but I’m positive it will be worth the wait

Sent from my iPad using Forums

Moose12345 looking forward for your review

Cruisingirl2012 We are on the Eclipse one week after your Sail-away on the Solstice

Our dream vacation 524 days to go

[ABoatNerd]

OP, you asked for pro/con.

 

My recommendation is do NOT cruise to and back from Hawaii. Unless, you want a double "transatlantic" experience (ie 10 days at sea), don't bother.

 

If Hawaii is your focus, spend your time in Hawaii.

 

Fly to Maui and do the volcano visit (breath taking) and a real luau oh my, then take the air shuttle to Kaui (do the fly around the island and see the Napali coast it is to die for), then take the shuttle to the big island if you want or shuttle to Honolulu and do the experience of Pearl Harbour.

 

The air shuttles are totally efficient and not expensive. You sit outside waiting to board the plane, awesome!

 

To be frank, a cruise will not provide you any real feeling of Hawaii. A cruise will give you a drive by. Hawaii is more than that.

 

I spent 4 weeks in Hawaii doing 4 islands and comparing the cost and time versus a cruise - would not ever consider a cruise.

[cachouonacruise]

OP, you asked for pro/cons

 

We did the Hawaii to Vancouver on Solstice in May 2017, in a standard balcony room.

 

On the pro sides: The ship is very nice and handled the sea well. Never felt crowded and the crew was exceptional. We are not food experts, but we enjoyed the food in the OVC, the Grand Epernay MDR. Our evening at Murano was exceptional!

 

No memory of boredom and the Ship’s Inside Tour excursion was a very nice experience. Watching the captain and crew play water volleyball against a group of passengers was lot’s of fun.

 

The view of the active volcano at night (Big Island), when the ship made a 360 turn in front of the volcano so that all sides of the ship could have a view was fabulous!

 

We booked shore excursions from X, and really enjoyed them all. The Haleakala volcano visit was a wonderful experience! and so were the two excursions on Big Island (including the Volcano National Park).

 

Since we began our cruise on Oahu Island, we stayed at the Turtle Bay Resort and really enjoyed our concierge floor, no worry, experience!

 

Discovering Oahu Island, the Polynesian Cultural Center, Diamond Head, the By-Odo Temple and Waimea Valley all helped make our experience unique and wonderfull!!! Discovering a touch of the native Hawaiian culture really was a rich experience. We fell in love with Hawaii and X ( it was our first cruise on X), we would do it again in a hear beat.

 

Our only «*con*» would be the weather during the crossing to Vancouver. Weather in Hawaii was fabulous, but during the crossing, for the most part, we were hit by cool, windy and rainy weather, resulting in waves between 10 to 15 feet. The ship handled it very well, but it made it more difficult to enjoy the balcony or the hot glass show.

 

Weather is somewhat unpredictable, in September you could end up with a more positive outcome.

 

All and all, for us, it was a defining experience, and so far, one of the best travel experiences we ever had!

 

Enjoy your cruise et bon voyage!

 

 

 

 

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Forums

[rollie]

I’m not a big fan of Norwegian Cruise Lines, but in this case I would cruise with them. One can have a better Island experience on a 7 day cruise than on a 10 to 15 day cruise with any other cruise line. Because of the Jones Act, NCL does not have to visit a foreign port. We have done this cruise twice, once with NCL, and one with American Hawaiian Cruises. Both great cruises.

 

Rollie

[shofer]

hockey1963

We are doing the reverse in 2 weeks. We leave from Oahu, do the Islands and then 5 days on the ocean to arrive in Vancouver. I'm hopeful that the water will be calm. Fingers crossed. As far as being bored, I don't think that will be a problem. They have so many activities going on throughout the day that you won't be able to go to all of them.

I have read some reviews that say that (in your case) the first couple of days might be a bit cooler, so I would recommend taking a sweater just in case.

I will send you a post when we get back and let you know how things went!

 

We did this also in May, 2002 and had several people tell us how rough the crossing had been. Our experience was wonderful, the sea was like glass. Loved the sea days. Always something to do.

 

 

Sue