First trip to Hawaii... cruise or fly?

[PrincessArlena'sDad]

We're considering our first family trip to Hawaii for summer 2024.

 

Assuming princess offers the 16 day round-trip from LA, would you recommend that or fly to Hawaii? 

 

We're coming from the east coast. 

[princeton123211]

Just now, PrincessArlena'sDad said:

Assuming princess offers the 16 day round-trip from LA, would you recommend that or fly to Hawaii? 

 

We're coming from the east coast. 

Fly. No question. Fly. 

 

On a 16 day Princess itinerary cruise you literally only get 4 days in Hawaii and not enough time in any of those ports to do the things you'll want to do. Unless you are someone who literally lives for days at sea you will get to the islands and be incredibly disappointed that you can't stay longer and explore deeper. 

 

I spend a lot of time in Hawaii and I think that cruises are one of the worst ways to see the islands (which I get is counterintuitive). But inter-island flights are so cheap and quick you can easily get anywhere you want to go. Flights from the east coast are long but there are good options including Hawaiian Airlines which is our favorite way to fly there. 

 

If you went to Hawaii for 16 days you could easily go to 2-3 islands and have a great balance between relaxing and sightseeing. Even if you flew there for 7-8 days you would do and see so much more than you would on a round trip cruise from the west coast like the one you mentioned. 

[CruiserBruce]

Princess doesn't do the West Coast to Hawaii cruises in summer. Their West Coast ships are in Alaska during the summer. Those Hawaii cruises are done from October to April.

 

Agree with @princeton123211. Fly. Far better to spend that sailing time actually in Hawaii.

[PrincessArlena'sDad]

On 12/6/2022 at 9:21 AM, CruiserBruce said:

Princess doesn't do the West Coast to Hawaii cruises in summer. Their West Coast ships are in Alaska during the summer. Those Hawaii cruises are done from October to April.

 

Agree with @princeton123211. Fly. Far better to spend that sailing time actually in Hawaii.

This is the one I was looking at in 2023, and wondering if they'll do it in 2024:

Cruise Details - 16-Day Hawaiian Islands - Princess Cruises

 

Thank you for the feedback, it's a lot to think about.

 

We would love to do a 2 week Hawaiin stay, but, budget wise, that isn't feasible. For our family of 5, we came up with, as an initial estimate:

 

16 day cruise with flights (and 4 days full days in Hawaii): $11k

 

7 day land (flight, hotel, food ($50/day/person), which is 6 full days + arrival + departure): $10.5k

 

 

 

 

[CruiserBruce]

7 minutes ago, PrincessArlena'sDad said:

This is the one I was looking at in 2023, and wondering if they'll do it in 2024:

Cruise Details - 16-Day Hawaiian Islands - Princess Cruises

 

Thank you for the feedback, it's a lot to think about.

 

We would love to do a 2 week Hawaiin stay, but, budget wise, that isn't feasible. For our family of 5, we came up with, as an initial estimate:

 

16 day cruise with flights (and 4 days full days in Hawaii): $11k

 

7 day land (flight, hotel, food ($50/day/person), which is 6 full days + arrival + departure): $10.5k

 

 

 

 

Hmmm...interesting. Wonder why they are doing that route at that time. The money is better in Alaska at that time.

 

The route the same as Princess runs in the winter time.

 

Hawaii is not cheap, and summer is peak season. If want a somewhat cheaper time, go in September after Labor Day or into October. 

[KeepCalmBearOn]

I suppose it depends on a few factors; what is the family composed of (number of people aprx ages), how experienced at cruising are you. what is most important on a vacation.

 

I love the Hawaii cruises, I love sea days, but I grew up on Oahu and go there on business 4-6 times a years, plus land based vacations. I cruise and do land based vacations for different reasons.

 

My inclination for you would be to fly and split between two islands, Oahu and Kauai, and split the time relatively equally, 7 nights for Oahu, 8 nights for Kauai. Oahu has the most to do, Kauai is most like the Hawaii of my youth because it is the least crowded/most beautiful.

 

I would not do more than 2 islands in a 16 day vacation.

[PrincessArlena'sDad]

We have school aged kids, so it's peak season for us.

 

We've been on 4 family cruises, we have to cruises booked for summer 2023, and wife and I have gone on 2 cruises sans kids, so we know what to expect with cruises. 

 

For the same budget, it essentially comes down to 2 (maybe squeeze 3) more full days in Hawaii than the cruise vs. 10 sea days (plus a Mexico port day) for the same money. 

[Silver Sweethearts]

3 hours ago, PrincessArlena'sDad said:

16 day cruise with flights (and 4 days full days in Hawaii)

 

Those "4 days full days in Hawaii" translate to 9 hours to visit Maui.  Tender travel will probably eat up an hour, and you will only have about 8 hours to see what Maui has to offer.  Being honest and not sarcastic, we suggest you figure what you hope to see and do on Maui and see how far those 8 hours will take you.     

[KeepCalmBearOn]

I think Princess is "okay" for school aged kids, but it isn't Norwegian or Royal Caribbean.

 

If you are not used to it, 10 sea days is a lot.

 

I'd do a two island, land based vacation.

[PrincessArlena'sDad]

Thanks for the input. It gives me a great start on where to focus my research. Good thing I have time to do it! 

[rodndonna]

On 12/7/2022 at 7:22 PM, PrincessArlena'sDad said:

Thanks for the input. It gives me a great start on where to focus my research. Good thing I have time to do it! 

 

Have you thought about a one way rather than a circle trip to Hawaii?

 

It is where I am leaning for late 2024 trip , but just starting research now. I like the idea of using a sea days to deal with time zone changes. 

[PrincessArlena'sDad]

2 minutes ago, rodndonna said:

 

Have you thought about a one way rather than a circle trip to Hawaii?

 

It is where I am leaning for late 2024 trip , but just starting research now. I like the idea of using a sea days to deal with time zone changes. 

That would be great.... do you know of any that sail when school is out? 

[rodndonna]

1 hour ago, PrincessArlena'sDad said:

That would be great.... do you know of any that sail when school is out? 

 

That could be a problem for you (with kids) - I don't see any on a quick search. They seem to be all when school is in on shoulder seasons , April, September and October. 😗

 

Edit: For a family on a budget - if you COULD take them out of school - hard to beat RCL in September 2024  

https://www.royalcaribbean.com/cruises?search=destination:HAWAI|startDate:2024-09-01~2024-09-30

 

Not suggesting you take them out of school  of course...

but am now thinking this is an option for us as it won't likely be overun with kids then. We would like to try RCL at some point,  and without kids this might be a good way to do 😃

Edited December 14, 2022 by rodndonna
more info

[PrincessArlena'sDad]

51 minutes ago, rodndonna said:

 

That could be a problem for you (with kids) - I don't see any on a quick search. They seem to be all when school is in on shoulder seasons , April, September and October. 😗

 

Edit: For a family on a budget - if you COULD take them out of school - hard to beat RCL in September 2024  

https://www.royalcaribbean.com/cruises?search=destination:HAWAI|startDate:2024-09-01~2024-09-30

 

Not suggesting you take them out of school  of course...

but am now thinking this is an option for us as it won't likely be overun with kids then. We would like to try RCL at some point,  and without kids this might be a good way to do 😃

That would be fun. But, no point in that trip if we can't spend time in Hawaii post cruise, which would make that a (really amazing) 3 week trip, including travel.

 

Still waiting to see if Princess will do the summer r/t from LA in the summer. If they do, I think we'll put a refundable deposit down on that, and then decide between that and land only trip.

[KeepCalmBearOn]

1 hour ago, rodndonna said:

Have you thought about a one way rather than a circle trip to Hawaii?

 

The one way trips are only 3-5 days shorter than the round trips and the only one ways I know originate or terminate in Vancouver. I'd rather do the RT out of San Diego or Los Angeles for the best weather.

[rodndonna]

8 minutes ago, PrincessArlena'sDad said:

That would be fun. But, no point in that trip if we can't spend time in Hawaii post cruise, which would make that a (really amazing) 3 week trip, including travel.

 

Still waiting to see if Princess will do the summer r/t from LA in the summer. If they do, I think we'll put a refundable deposit down on that, and then decide between that and land only trip.

 

Yeah - I agree, if you don't have the luxury of time to add after you get there, not much point.

 

We will likely end up on Celebrity, as it allows us to see more of the islands (overnights) and then a couple of extra nights in Honolulu would be ideal for us (with no kids in September)

https://www.celebritycruises.com/itinerary-details/12-night-hawaii-from-vancouver-british-columbia?packageID=EG12H023&sDT=2024-09-21&cCD=CO

 

Best of luck and have fun planning!

 

[rodndonna]

2 minutes ago, scottca075 said:

 

The one way trips are only 3-5 days shorter than the round trips and the only one ways I know originate or terminate in Vancouver. I'd rather do the RT out of San Diego or Los Angeles for the best weather.

 

Yeah - I find that odd that they are only out of Vancouver, but it works for us as we are starting in Canada.

 

The nice thing for me about the one way is the ability to extend the time in Hawaii a couple (or few days). Also have never been on a cruise with more than 3 sea days total and I have weak sea legs ...so the idea of making it across (or back) on a cruise is intimidating enough.

[princeton123211]

1 minute ago, rodndonna said:

Yeah - I find that odd that they are only out of Vancouver, but it works for us as we are starting in Canada.

It's in order to comply with US shipping laws. A foreign flagged vessel cannot convey passengers between two US ports without a stop in a distant foreign port. 

[PrincessArlena'sDad]

15 minutes ago, princeton123211 said:

It's in order to comply with US shipping laws. A foreign flagged vessel cannot convey passengers between two US ports without a stop in a distant foreign port. 

Yep. That's why the r/t from LA stops in Mexico on the way back.  IMO, it's a really pointless law.

[KeepCalmBearOn]

1 minute ago, PrincessArlena'sDad said:

Yep. That's why the r/t from LA stops in Mexico on the way back.  IMO, it's a really pointless law.

 

Ha ha, oh yeah, we've had those "discussions" in CC before and there are people who passionately believe it is a GREAT law, even though it has far outlived its purpose.

 

[CruiserBruce]

59 minutes ago, rodndonna said:

 

Yeah - I find that odd that they are only out of Vancouver, but it works for us as we are starting in Canada.

Just the law. There won't be one out of LA.

[BermudaBound2014]

If you want to see and experience Hawaii, it's Fly. No question.

 

If you are trying to do Hawaii on a budget, it's cruise. 

 

That Princess itinerary with 4 days in Hawaii offers just a miniscule taste of the islands. It will be very limiting. But, we are all on some type of budget and Hawaii is extremely expensive to do on land.

 

I might (respectfully) suggest putting this trip on hold until you can double the budget. 

[rodndonna]

13 minutes ago, BermudaBound2014 said:

If you want to see and experience Hawaii, it's Fly. No question.

 

If you are trying to do Hawaii on a budget, it's cruise. 

 

That Princess itinerary with 4 days in Hawaii offers just a miniscule taste of the islands. It will be very limiting. But, we are all on some type of budget and Hawaii is extremely expensive to do on land.

 

I might (respectfully) suggest putting this trip on hold until you can double the budget. 

 

I agree, but isn't that the case with all cruise based holidays? I wouldn't recommend generally recommend a cruise  itinerary for anyone truly interested in seeing all what can be seen and experienced in any area of the world.

[BermudaBound2014]

3 minutes ago, rodndonna said:

 

I agree, but isn't that the case with all cruise based holidays? I wouldn't recommend generally recommend a cruise  itinerary for anyone truly interested in seeing all what can be seen and experienced in any area of the world.

 

True, but its even more true when considering this particular Princess itinerary. There are only 4 stops and the only stop with extended time is Honolulu. Those 8-5 stops really end up being 9-4 by the time you get off (if you don't want to be pier running). Unfortunately 10K doesn't get you much in Hawaii.

[Paula_MacFan]

We are long-time Princess cruisers but for Hawaii in January 2023 we are doing NCL's Pride of America.  We're flying to HNL, doing 4 days pre-cruise on Oahu, then the 7-day POA 4-island itinerary.  Every day of the 7 days is in port so there's no sea days (2 ports are overnight stops).  While we love Princess, the thought of taking 2+ weeks off work for only 4 days in port just didn't appeal to us.  

 

Best of luck with whatever option you chose 🙂