Return by cruise ship from Hawaii

[ewh]

We are planning on spending some time in Hawaii next year and would like to include some cruising time on the vacation, preferrably to return home by ship (to LA). Does anyone know if any of the cruise lines will let you board for just a portion of the cruise? (ia: Princess' 14 day round trip from LA).

We are considering taking the Island cruise but they spend 2 days on Kauai, which would be kind of redundant because that is where we have a condo reserved for a week.

Any suggestions would be greatly welcomed.

Thanks

[RoofingPrincess]

Some cruise lines do permit it, but they would probably charge you the full fare for the cruise. After all, they could sell that cabin to someone else who would take the full cruise....

[Kamloops50]

We are planning on spending some time in Hawaii next year and would like to include some cruising time on the vacation, preferrably to return home by ship (to LA). Does anyone know if any of the cruise lines will let you board for just a portion of the cruise? (ia: Princess' 14 day round trip from LA).

We are considering taking the Island cruise but they spend 2 days on Kauai, which would be kind of redundant because that is where we have a condo reserved for a week.

Any suggestions would be greatly welcomed.

Thanks

 

Under American Law , you can't board a none American Flagged(registered) Ship ie Princess , Celebrity , HAL etc. in one american port and disembark in

another american port. Only American built ,registered and crewed can transport passengers or cargo between american ports. the only exception

are cruise liners on repositioning cruises from Alaska to the Caribbean and reverse. Their allowed to carry passengers between Seattle/Vancouver to

San Diego/Los angeles/San Fran.

If you look at the 14 day round trip from LA it stops in Ensenada for

a few hours to get around this law.

 

:)

[Texas_firefighter]

We are planning on spending some time in Hawaii next year and would like to include some cruising time on the vacation, preferrably to return home by ship (to LA). Does anyone know if any of the cruise lines will let you board for just a portion of the cruise? (ia: Princess' 14 day round trip from LA).

We are considering taking the Island cruise but they spend 2 days on Kauai, which would be kind of redundant because that is where we have a condo reserved for a week.

Any suggestions would be greatly welcomed.

Thanks

 

You might consider a repositioning cruise going through Hawaii. In April ,some lines offer a one way from Honolulu to Vancouver for the start of the Alaska season. Carnival Spirit,is one. In the fall they leave Alaska and go through Hawaii .You can get a one way to Ensenada,Mexico from Honolulu,with a provided shuttle to San Diego.Good luck.

[GTJ]

I can't recall any cruises that originate in Hawaii other than intra-Hawaiian cruises. Some world cruises will pass through, and as noted there may be some re-positioning cruises.

 

As someone else posted you can't travel between American ports on a foreign flag vessel (which means virtually all cruise lines). However, you might want to consider trying to cruise between Hawaii and Ensenada, Mexico, a port that many vessels use to satisfy the foreign port legal requirement. From Ensenada you easily get a bus up to the border, then into the United States. The main bus line here is Autotransportes ABC, and the excellent service operates quite frequently to the company's Tijuana terminal just a few steps from the border. Walk back into the United States, and get the trolley in downtown San Diego.

 

If you find an itinerary that calls in both Hawaii and Ensenada you'll then have the task of boarding mid-cruise in Hawaii and alighting early in Ensenada. Most certainly you'll be paying for a round-trip cruise between southern California and Hawaii, even though you'll be using less than half of the cruise.

 

I've done both mid-cruise boarding and early alighting. The ability to do this rests mostly on country laws and partially on cruise ship practices. In 2007 I was getting married in Mexico, and with a dislike for flying (haven't done so since 2001) we opted to go be sea.

 

We traveled on the Norwegian Spirit (Norwegian Cruise Line) on its 14-night fall repositioning cruise from New York to New Orleans, and alighted in Cozumel. We notified NCL at the reception desk a day or two before arrival in Cozumel, and NCL supplied us with the Mexican tourist cards. Upon arrival we stood by (along with one other person not in our party) while Mexican Immigration and Customs cleared the vessel and ourselves. We missed two nights of the 14-nights cruise, but $1,000 per person for 12 nights was decent.

 

After the wedding and honeymoon in Mexico, Guatemala, and Belize, we returned to Cozumel. There we awaited the Carnival Fantasy (Carnival Cruise Lines) on one its routine 5-night cruises from New Orleans to the Yucatan peninsula and return. At the pier we explained to security that we were boarding at Cozumel, showed out tickets, and were waved on to the vessel. At the gangway we repeated the same, cleared security, and awaited the purser to meet us at security to escort us to reception. We missed two nights of the 5-nights cruise, but again $350 per person for 3 nights was decent. Upon arrival in New Orleans we boarded Amtrak's "Crescent" for the overnight train ride back home in New York.

[imsulin]

NCL is the only line (one ship that does r/t Hawaii cruises) that is American owned and crewed.