Hawaii 2007 on RCCL

[catnt2]

Anyone ever cruised RCCL to Hawaii??? I tried searching cruises and checking the Hawaii threads but can not find the answers we are looking for.

 

My hubby and I are thinking of Hawaii next year. We have planned to go with another couple that have been wanting to cruise to Hawaii for 3 years.

 

We waited for the dates to be released and see that there are only 3 Hawaii cruises !! :( One in April, one in Sept and one in Oct. (they do have another listed in Oct, but it is N/A at this time). We have considered other cruises, but being C&A Diamond, it makes it tuff to switch!!

 

My question is which one and why??? My friend prefers to go earlier...Is April better than Sept or Oct???

 

Another thought.........these are "circle" cruises. Anyone have thoughts on 4 days at sea before and after a cruise!!

 

Thanks for any help!! :)

[brwneyedgirl86]

We're cruising Hawaii Sept 24, 2006-- southbound from Vancouver. From the few postings and info in the RCCL Site, I've noticed RCCL only cruises Hawaii in the Spring and Fall.

[ondeckatsea]

We've done both. The first was sailing on Celebrity Infinity out of Vancouver in 2003. It was Sept 26th. The seas the entire trip over were like a sheet of glass. It was perfect. We flew back from Honolulu to Boston and it was a long, long flight. The longest ever for me. The second was just a few weeks ago. We did a 14 night round trip from San Diego. It was Radiance of the Seas. The seas were rough after we left the California coast. Coming back, not as bad. To be perfectly honest, I'd do either one again, I love Hawaii, but I think that even with the long flight the first, which was in September, was the best. We had a little more time in the islands. I think the sea days coming home were a let down. 14 day cruise...4 1/2 days on the seas each way...5 days in the islands. Just not enough.

Good luck.

[morebeaches]

We are booked on the Serenade Oct 5 2007....there is already a huge roll call thread, it is the one that says NA but speculation is you can still get it through travel agents.

[i15swguy]

I was on the Radiance in May for the 14 day round trip from San Diego to Hawaii. The ship is wonderful and the staff and captain are the best. I must say that RCL's liquor policy is stupid. The highlight of the cruise was a night off-shore visit to the lava flows that were pouring into the ocean. The captain provided us a view of steam and flowing lava that is a memory forever. It was a rare night that might not be available in the future.

 

I have been to Hawaii many times, twice on cruise ships. The four days going there and the four days back are not worth it. No sea life or birds. Boring!!! I like to cruise Mexico or the Panama Canal. There is always something to see.

 

Have a great cruise!

[tinkerme1]

If I had never been to Hawaii, and if I didn't have friends in Honolulu, I would cruise any time. Not so anymore.

 

First, The spring season has the most potential for rain and just plain wet weather. Not to say you won't have any rain in Fall, but the likely hood of it is less on 'most' of the islands.

 

We cruised in October of '03 and the weather was perfect, the cruise perfect, and the days at sea became a little chilly and windy as we neared the Coast of California.

 

I LOVE sea days and always find this the most relaxing part of the cruise! You have the opportunity to enjoy all of the activities on the ship, you can read, sit outside and enjoy the fresh air. Absolutely marvelous. If you are a person that prefers to be on the move constantly and don't like relaxing, this cruise may not be for you.

 

There are TA's that have cabins available on the October 2007 sailing for the Serenade. If you need their name, please email me. micknminy@aol.com

[rollie]

May I suggest NCL. They are the only line that cruises just the Islands. I know it may not be as good as RCCL, but you can see as much of Hawaii in 7 days on NCL than a 13, 14, 15 day cruise on RCCL. Just MHO.

 

Rollie

[Arizona Cruz Chic]

We just did the May 7th round trip form San Diego. AWESOME!!!!

4 sea days there and 4 more back, we love sea days and we're never bored. We always had or found something to do. Our M&M was the best and we had pre planned activities arranged for most of the sea days.

 

Here is a link to my review.

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=352248&highlight=review+hawaii+radiance

 

 

We will probably book this again in spring '08 with some friends for their 50th anniversary. ;)

 

I'd be happy to answer any ??'s.

 

***

[dam1050]

Anyone ever cruised RCCL to Hawaii???

 

I've had several fantastic cruises to Hawaii on RCI --- westbound from Vancouver on the Rhapsody and 3 times on the Radiance in the fall, and eastbound from Hawaii to Vancouver twice in the spring on Legend and Radiance. Looking forward to round trip next year!

 

Excellent ships and service IMO ...

 

Dave

[elleluv]

We're on the October, 2007 Serenade Circle cruise with dam1050, tinkerme1 and morebeaches... (Hi Ohana!! :D ) and we are really looking forward to it... We've never done 4 sea days in a row.... I guess we'll find out if its too much... :rolleyes: somehow though, I doubt it! ;)

[threeofus]

May I suggest NCL. They are the only line that cruises just the Islands. I know it may not be as good as RCCL, but you can see as much of Hawaii in 7 days on NCL than a 13, 14, 15 day cruise on RCCL. Just MHO.

 

Rollie

 

At the risk of being flamed I agree. We flew into honolulu - stayed a few nights at the Hilton Hawaiian village and then cruised the islands. Great way to see a lot!

NCL is not as good as RCL - but it is by no means bad. The ships are beautiful and some of the restaurants are very good - some are ok.

When we went they BBQ'd poolside during the sailaway and sometimes for lunch. A real BBQ with steaks, ribs, dogs, burgers, corn - huge outdoor grills. Ice cold Beer - gotta love it.

Our TA suggested we spend a few days prior to the cruise getting onto pacific time and regrouping - it was a great decision and we felt like we were having a vacation before our vacation.

Nobody does Hawaii like NCL - their ships are given priority in the ports.

When in Rome ......

When in Hawaii....

[catnt2]

Thanks everyone for your replies.......We are really getting excited!

 

Linda thanks for the review.......I was a little concerned about the "days at sea" but tried to justify it by saying that we could use the days going to get caught up with the time change and the days coming back to relax!! :D

 

We still want to cruise Hawaii........just have to decide when and what line if not RCL.

 

Any other comments???

[cruisnfool]

I did the Infinity 11 day in Oct......weather was great..ours was honolulu to Ensenada.......getting off in Ensenada and having to ride the bus to San Diego was the only downer to that trip.......our sea days were coming home after a busy 7 cruising days......I think the 14 day r/t would be great because no long flights either way.

 

I would always have my sea days at the end not before. Better rest and no jet lag when we got home

 

I am not a fan of NCL but if you choose that option definately spend time before and after to rest.

[puck645]

catnt2 - We're booked on the Sept '07 cruise. Got our cabin as soon as they were posted. From the comments we're read, the cruises in the Fall seem to have calmer seas. Anytime would be great!

 

We take a couple of good books, and relax all the way there and back,

then we feel ready to go and do the Islands. Please let us know what

you've planned!

 

Have a great cruise,

Barb & Jim

[berly369]

catnt2 - We're booked on the Sept '07 cruise. Got our cabin as soon as they were posted. From the comments we're read, the cruises in the Fall seem to have calmer seas. Anytime would be great!

 

We take a couple of good books, and relax all the way there and back,

then we feel ready to go and do the Islands. Please let us know what

you've planned!

 

Have a great cruise,

Barb & Jim

Are you sailing on the Radiance-Sept.28th???

There is a group of us in the Meet and Mingle already, come over and join us.

[breal6]

We too were on the May sailing with some of the above posters. We loved the sea days going to wind down from work and gear up for the islands. and loved the sea days coming back for relaxing after the port heavy schedule of all those ports in a row. We had such a great time that we are booked again for the radiance 9/28/07 with berly369 ND APPARANTLY PUCK645. come join us with your friends. as a diamond member, you must have some experience with sea days and you obviously like to cruise. :) so go ahead, book it and come over to the m&m board and join in on the chat. we're a pretty friendly bunch, lol.

[kybill]

We've been on five Hawii cruises with RCCL and have loved all of them. We will be doing a 14 day cruise the Sept/Oct LA to Hawaii to LA. I suspect we will be doing the May 2007 round trip, we just have to figure our time.

Just DO IT you'll love it.

Bill