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Which Cruise Line for Hawaii? Or Why You Chose the One You Did?


emory2001
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We booked  nov 3 ,2020  in a balcony on  Holland america cruise line from the San Diego Harbor blvd dock .

 

 It is a 18 night cruise with 2 days in  honolulu  ,Oahu& 2 days in Lahania Maui .The Cruise Prices are great  as of July 2019 & we got  ppd gratuities &  $600 on board credits plus we will get the $250 share holder credit on board credit making our total on board credits $850 

 

  We have been to Hawaii many times but especially love the fact that  this time it will be on the newer HAL ship koningdam built in 2016 .We sailed her this past March on a 10 night  southern Caribbean cruise .the service & food were fabulous .The entertainment has been elevated considerably on the this ship  .We have done 84 cruises & this is by far the best we ever have done  .👍👍👍

 

Cliff

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I've done the Hawaiin Cruise with NCL twice-the only cruise line I would cruise with to this region as we wanted to go and spend our time in Hawaii. We didn't want to have to fly to the west coast of the US and then sail all those sea days just to get to Hawaii. It seemed easier to just fly direct to Oahu. Both times we spent a few days pre and post cruise staying at Waikiki Beach. The NCL cruise has Hawaiian Ambassadors on board that ran various Hawaiian themed activities. We loved it so much the first time we came back 5 years later to do the activities we couldn't fit in and didn't do the first trip. 

Edited by karoo
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  • 1 month later...

For me was the best result to choose 14 days cruise from Papeetee /French Polynesia / to Honolulu on NCL Jewell.

Why ?

It is possible to see two regions in one cruise - Polynesia and Hawaii,   visit 9 islands - 4 in Polynesia and 5 in Hawaii with only 5 sea days. We are from central Europe, so we save one long and expensive transport too.

Edited by mispi
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We know many people who have done a trans Pacific cruise to Hawaii and all of them have reported nightmare stories of rough seas during the MANY sea days. Spending five days each way to get there and back seems crazy, given the uncertainty of the Pacific conditions. Then when you get there, you're only there a few days before heading back.

 

For this reason, we chose POA for our May cruise. Yes, it's more expensive, but your entire time is spent in the islands, not bouncing around the ocean for days...and days...and days. Plus, you can extend the time in Hawaii on either end, if desired.

Edited by schmoopie17
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4 hours ago, schmoopie17 said:

We know many people who have done a trans Pacific cruise to Hawaii and all of them have reported nightmare stories of rough seas during the MANY sea days. Spending five days each way to get there and back seems crazy, given the uncertainty of the Pacific conditions.

 

You know "many" who did it and "all" had "nightmare" stories? But just to be on the same page, you've never done it?

 

I'm doing my third trip to HI from the West Coast in February and I've never had a "nightmare" experience.

 

My first time, about 12 years ago, it was "too rough" the first two days for a good satellite signal, but not too rough to be enjoyable, unless you were on the cruise to watch cable TV, then I am sure it was a nightmare (for two days).

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We're doing our 12th Hawaii cruise next month -- we've had a couple of choppy sea days,  but so far, no nightmares  😉

 

Enjoy your cruise -- you will certainly see more of Hawaii.  We love the sea days  (and Hawaii) 

 

Aloha!  

Edited by CRUZBUDS
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19 hours ago, scottca075 said:

 

You know "many" who did it and "all" had "nightmare" stories? But just to be on the same page, you've never done it?

 

That's what I said and that's what I meant. No, I've never done it and never will. Sorry if that offends you.

 

I know several couples (which qualifies as "many)" who have been on trans-Pacific Hawaii cruises and without exception, they described their experiences as "nightmare", "scary", and "not fun, due to choppy seas for a couple of days". I even went back and asked three couples yesterday (just to make sure I didn't misunderstand them when they told me this a while ago) and those were their responses. They unanimously said they would never do it again. Are you calling me (and them) liars? 

 

If you were lucky enough to not have these experiences, good for you. If you want to take more of these cruises, good for you.

But don't disparage people who have had these experiences.

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2 hours ago, schmoopie17 said:

If you were lucky enough to not have these experiences, good for you. If you want to take more of these cruises, good for you. But don't disparage people who have had these experiences.

 

I disparage hearsay. It seems weird to me that without any actual experience you'd be disparaging the experience.

 

You are free to offer all the third person stories you like, but if I was the OP I'd be looking more closely at the opinions of the people who've actually done the trip, done it multiple times and have future plans to do it again.

 

 

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On 6/22/2019 at 6:01 AM, emory2001 said:

I'm the OP and I appreciate everyone's responses. I think it will end up being NCL for us, because we are likely to go in December, and Princess only offers it as a 15 day cruise in December. And while it would be nice if NCL's 7 day cost less than the 15 day, making Princess the better value (they are close in price, certainly not the difference you'd expect for a half as long cruise), my husband and I are self-employed, have employees and a firm to manage, and can't take that many days plus travel on either end. We also get bored with too many sea days. Happy cruising!

 

Glad you've made the decision you're happy with.  I'm sure you and your family will have a wonderful time!   

 

I've spent a lot of time vacationing in Hawaii as well as doing the west coast return cruises (6 times, booked for my 7th).  But no matter how much I personally like the trans-Pacific cruises I always warn people who ask my opinion that it's only for people who enjoy a lot of sea days and can take the occasional rough seas. As far as activities, I think most ships have a lot of Hawaiian themed activities planned, but unless you're a joiner, you really need to enjoy lazy sea days (which we do 😉 ). 

Edited by ell52
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  • 4 weeks later...
On 7/28/2019 at 4:38 PM, scottca075 said:

 

Uncruise isn't a cruise. Your clue is right in their name.

 

Yeah, if you need Specialty Dining, a five story atrium, an art gallery, a spa suite level, a nightly revue, dancing, a chlorine pool, or a big ship to have a good time, you'd hate it.

If you're on a ship mainly to experience a destination by water with included (and mainly very good) food and beverages, you'd be fine. 

I trust there are ample people on here through the entire spectrum - after all, I know people on both ends.

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  • 4 weeks later...

Looking at all options to cruise Hawaii again. Did NCL several years ago. Plus side- great way to see the Islands. Went to both sides of the big island, had overnights in Maui and Kauai. Cons- all American crew that did not have the same incentives to work 12 hour days for 6-10 months. Service was awful. Con for me was no sea days but that might be a plus for you. Flights were very expensive and you need to stay a few days in Oahu to see that island and the hotels are not cheap. We stayed 3 nights precruise so we could have done. 10 night cheaper. It was a great way to see the islands but now I'm looking at round trip California or Seattle. Don't want the long flights to or from Hawaii or Vancouver. Several cruise lines only cruise one way to Hawaii. Some don't go to Kauai. Few go to both Kona and Hilo. Like the idea of the sea days. Originally looked at January but I'm reading the seas are rougher and the weather more rainy. Now looking at April but expect more ships at that time. We went on NCL in August and it was great being the only ship in most ports.

 

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8 hours ago, jamscckmc said:

Looking at all options to cruise Hawaii again. Did NCL several years ago. Plus side- great way to see the Islands. Went to both sides of the big island, had overnights in Maui and Kauai. Cons- all American crew that did not have the same incentives to work 12 hour days for 6-10 months. Service was awful. Con for me was no sea days but that might be a plus for you. Flights were very expensive and you need to stay a few days in Oahu to see that island and the hotels are not cheap. We stayed 3 nights precruise so we could have done. 10 night cheaper. It was a great way to see the islands but now I'm looking at round trip California or Seattle. Don't want the long flights to or from Hawaii or Vancouver. Several cruise lines only cruise one way to Hawaii. Some don't go to Kauai. Few go to both Kona and Hilo. Like the idea of the sea days. Originally looked at January but I'm reading the seas are rougher and the weather more rainy. Now looking at April but expect more ships at that time. We went on NCL in August and it was great being the only ship in most ports.

 

We did the Pride of America cruise this past August.....looks like the same cruise you were on. Evidently NCL has improved on the onboard service a great deal as we have absolutely no complaints about the service. Friendly, helpful, efficient....and that was throughout the ship. We took this particular cruise to see the islands, so the lack of sea days was no problem for us. We were able to do all the shipboard activities we wanted to do plus some really fabulous shore time. We missed not having a casino on board.....but that translates into saving money. 😉 Overall I give NCL and POA two thumbs up and would recommend this cruise to anyone!

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