RCCL & Cruising to Hawaii

[boomhaursgrl]

I'm looking into booking my next cruise to go to Hawaii. I've been there NUMEROUS times, have many friends and family that live there, but I want to play tourist again. I was wondering how RCCL does with their Hawaii Itineraries. Has anyone been on that itin? How was your experience overall? Would you recommend RCCL or other cruise line company?

 

THANK YOU!

[bubbie617]

I've done both RCCL and Celebrity to Hawaii and both were fabulous. The RCCL cruise began in Honolulu and ended in Vancouver. The Celebrity cruise was round-trip from San Diego. You can't go wrong with either one.

[travelerchris]

We cruised on HAL from San Diego/Hawaii/San Diego. It was well worth it. Having been in Hawaii more than 30 times, the ship was the destination. Leaving the Big Island, it was night time and the lava was flowing into the sea. It was an awesome view. Go for it, especially if you have family and friends there. We do too and it was great.

[GMoney]

I sailed Infinity from SD to Hawaii a couple of year ago and loved it.

 

RCI (and maybe X, I'm not sure) stopped going to Kauai, so that was a big negative to me. But I think Kauai may be back in future itineraries - not sure.

[marle7]

I sailed Infinity from SD to Hawaii a couple of year ago and loved it.

 

RCI (and maybe X, I'm not sure) stopped going to Kauai, so that was a big negative to me. But I think Kauai may be back in future itineraries - not sure.

 

We're looking at a Hawaii cruise for next April for our 10th anniversary. Celebrity is showing Kauai as a port on their April 26th, 2009 Millenium itinerary at the moment. Starts in Honolulu and ends in BC.

 

We've ruled out NCL for this cruise as I don't think their Hawaii ships have casinos on board. For us, it will probably be Celebrity or HAL.

[sea-cruise]

We flew to Kauai (from Oahu) and spent some time there. It's really beautiful. If you do go there try to go upriver and see the Fern Grotto. We have relatives who have lived on Maui for 20 years and although I love that island, I think Kauai is prettier.

We also sailed to Hawaii from Ensenada onboard Infinity in the spring of 2001 during her inaugural cruise. Kauai was on the itinerary then, but a storm caused us to miss the port. :(

Happy cruising! :)

[Arizona Cruz Chic]

We've cruise round trip from SD twice and booked again 9/26/08. :)

Both were with RC first one was on the Radiance - second was on the Serenade and both were excellent. We love the sea days, so very relaxing!

Our Sept cruise the evening sail and Kauai is on the itinerary!! Our first cruise was on the Radiance we had the evening sail and Kauai. We didn't go there last Oct on the Serenade and we also didn't have the evening lava sail....very disappointing.

 

IMHO all the itineraries are good, some will have an overnight in Maui....thats a big plus. It all depends on what you want to see and do while in each port....sounds like you've got friends and family all in the right places!!! ;)

 

Have fun planning!!

 

***

[gdisney]

I'm wondering if anyone can comment on the differences of doing a roundtrip from Hawaii (such as NCL offers) versus something like the ones that start in Hawaii and end in Vancouver. I'm wondering not only about the itineraries but also the idea of getting two one-way airline tickets versus a roundtrip one?

[boomhaursgrl]

Another question, I was shopping online for cruises last night, and was looking at one that started in Ensenada, and ended in Honolulu, but it had 4 or 5 days at sea. Has anyone ever done that itin, if so, did you go stir crazy for those days at sea? Thanks again for all your input!

 

On my way to San Pedro for my cruise, so if y'all have any ?'s about the Vision of the Seas, let me know!

[Gon2hwe]

W e did a 7 day on NCL America last summer. We had a wonderful time. The NCL ships are more casual but in my opinion fit in with the Hawaiian experiance. It is such a port intensive cruise you spend little time on board. The time we spent on board was very relaxing and unrushed. You are in port every day. There' so much to do in Hawaii there's hardly anyone on board during the day. You are basically in a floating hotel. I found the food to be good but not gormet. The ship was very well kept but no big Promenades. We also loved the Freestyle dining because we never felt rushed and never had to wait more than 10 minutes. Entertainment was lacking but we were usually tired at the end of long days in each port. If your looking for formality this is not the cruise for you. But if your looking for a way to visit each island this is the way to go.

[boulders]

gdisney

 

I looked into booking myself and my sister on the Radiance from Ensenanda to Hawaii that leaves May 3. Because of the one-way airfare situations, I looked into custom air from RCCL. They fly you to San Diego and back from Honolulu. My air fare from MSP was $749. My sister's was about $550 from SFO. That includes busing us from San Diego to Ensenada.

 

IME, this is about what a roundtrip air ticket to Hawaii would cost.

[sea-cruise]

Another question, I was shopping online for cruises last night, and was looking at one that started in Ensenada, and ended in Honolulu, but it had 4 or 5 days at sea. Has anyone ever done that itin, if so, did you go stir crazy for those days at sea? Thanks again for all your input!

 

!

That's what we did in 2001. Infinity left from Ensenada and we cruised to 4 of the islands, and flew home from Honolulu. The 4 days at sea didn't bother us at all.

We loved it, rather than that long flight! The ship was a destination in itself because we spent a lot of time getting to know other passengers, and Celebrity did have quite a bit going on, plus the casino was open, of course :eek: .

That flight from Hawaii to CA and then on to NJ always kills me. I'd rather sail. :)

[Arizona Cruz Chic]

I'm wondering if anyone can comment on the differences of doing a roundtrip from Hawaii (such as NCL offers) versus something like the ones that start in Hawaii and end in Vancouver. I'm wondering not only about the itineraries but also the idea of getting two one-way airline tickets versus a roundtrip one?

 

 

My 2 cents......

 

NCLA.....long flights to/from Hawaii, good time to book pre/post hotel for extra time in Hawaii. Very port intensive. Very little, if any entertainment on-board due to the long port days.

 

RC.....One way embarkation from either Ensenada or Hawaii. I would lean toward the Hawaii embarkation with a day or two pre hotel. Your one way flights will be more expensive but your cruise fares are generally less...right now there are hot deals with some good rates offered on the May 3 and May 13th sailings. Check for resident or SR (55, to qualify)

Nice and relaxing sea days! Entertainment was good. Lots to do or nothing at all, your choice. :)

 

***

[cruisenfever]

Another question, I was shopping online for cruises last night, and was looking at one that started in Ensenada, and ended in Honolulu, but it had 4 or 5 days at sea. Has anyone ever done that itin, if so, did you go stir crazy for those days at sea? Thanks again for all your input!

 

On my way to San Pedro for my cruise, so if y'all have any ?'s about the Vision of the Seas, let me know!

Anytime you cruise from the mainland to Hawaii and back you are going to have at least 4 sea days...........there's just no way of eliminating those sea days while on a ship as the ship can only go so fast and there's a lot of water to sail between the mainland and the islands.

 

We did Radiance in September of 2006 and are returning again on Radiance this September 26 R/T out of San Diego. There is no more relaxing cruise. We do have Kauai in our itinerary this September which we did not have in 2006.......we hope it stays there.

[sexyaznboy]

I am so glad someone decided to start this thread.

I'm taking my mom on a Hawaii to Vancouver cruise on May 13th.

This is my third cruise after the Eastern Caribbean and Panama Canal (on Carnival and Celebrity) and early on I want to try different companies to see how they are.

I booked with Cruise Deals (not sure if I can mention them)...I'm not saying that members should go with them or not (not an endorsement). I've noticed that Hawaii cruises are so expensive mainly related to the flights that I've been looking for one forever. I'm from Toronto and the flights to and from Hawaii would probably cost about a thousand for both people.

They had a deal with Royal where the flight from Vancouver to Hawaii was included (not sure if this is typical) and the round trip from Toronto to Vancouver cost 300 more. I thought this was a great deal and couldn't pass it up.

Booked on line and yes I'm a bit nervous about it because the first two times I booked with a TA. Hope everything will be ok. They seemed to be quite helpful with questions when I called them right after I booked.

I did some research on this itinerary and the reason the one way is a bit cheaper is because it is a repositioning cruise. Last 5 days are at sea, which some might not like. The deal I got was about 500 to 1000 dollars cheaper than what I've seen on the other cruising websites, so hopefully I'm ok.

I think what itinerary you book depends on if you want to be at sea for more days or just want it to be port intensive and price wise, try to find sites that include flight at a cheaper price because it seems that this is a rate limiting factor for those on the east coast, where flying to Hawaii is quite expensive.

 

I hope to hear from others with their take on things. Happy cruising!

[cruisenfever]

I am so glad someone decided to start this thread.

I'm taking my mom on a Hawaii to Vancouver cruise on May 13th.

This is my third cruise after the Eastern Caribbean and Panama Canal (on Carnival and Celebrity) and early on I want to try different companies to see how they are.

I booked with Cruise Deals (not sure if I can mention them)...I'm not saying that members should go with them or not (not an endorsement). I've noticed that Hawaii cruises are so expensive mainly related to the flights that I've been looking for one forever. I'm from Toronto and the flights to and from Hawaii would probably cost about a thousand for both people.

They had a deal with Royal where the flight from Vancouver to Hawaii was included (not sure if this is typical) and the round trip from Toronto to Vancouver cost 300 more. I thought this was a great deal and couldn't pass it up.

Booked on line and yes I'm a bit nervous about it because the first two times I booked with a TA. Hope everything will be ok. They seemed to be quite helpful with questions when I called them right after I booked.

I did some research on this itinerary and the reason the one way is a bit cheaper is because it is a repositioning cruise. Last 5 days are at sea, which some might not like. The deal I got was about 500 to 1000 dollars cheaper than what I've seen on the other cruising websites, so hopefully I'm ok.

I think what itinerary you book depends on if you want to be at sea for more days or just want it to be port intensive and price wise, try to find sites that include flight at a cheaper price because it seems that this is a rate limiting factor for those on the east coast, where flying to Hawaii is quite expensive.

 

I hope to hear from others with their take on things. Happy cruising!

Repositioning cruises are always a little less expensive which makes them so popular. You will be sailing on Radiance of the Seas that is repositioning over to start her Alaska season.

 

I do hope that you and your mom have a wonderful cruise on board our most favorite ship.

[Reijo]

My husband and I have checked into the "Circle Cruise" and have tried to do a lot of research to determine which is best for us. We love Royal Caribbean but the time of the cruise didn't work for us this year. HAL sounded good but there were negatives on several boards mainly concerning sitting the the lounge area and being able to see anything due to some kind of add on that was done. That may not cause you a problem at all. Checked in NCL but read lots of negatives there. We decided on Princess. All reviews were very positive, ship (Diamond Princess) sounded wonderful and we liked sailing out of LA.

 

We did decided that the Circle Cruise was cheaper than flying to or back from Hawaii.

 

Guess it's just up to each individual. You can find negatives ANYWHERE on any ship. Actually, I would be happy with any of them.:)

[nunk]

Another question, I was shopping online for cruises last night, and was looking at one that started in Ensenada, and ended in Honolulu, but it had 4 or 5 days at sea. Has anyone ever done that itin, if so, did you go stir crazy for those days at sea? Thanks again for all your input!

 

On my way to San Pedro for my cruise, so if y'all have any ?'s about the Vision of the Seas, let me know!

 

We're set to sail the 7 day VOS Mexican Riv. next month at this time. We've done 2 repositioning cruises and noticed you've done one....can you tell me any differences you might notice on this cruise vs. that one? I can't wait to hear all of the details you have for us when you return!

 

Nicole

[sexyaznboy]

Repositioning cruises are always a little less expensive which makes them so popular. You will be sailing on Radiance of the Seas that is repositioning over to start her Alaska season.

 

I do hope that you and your mom have a wonderful cruise on board our most favorite ship.

 

Thanks so much for the good wishes! I've been forever looking for a Hawaii cruise (this will be my third only but getting addicted!) and the first time I've travelled Royal Caribbean.

 

Happy cruisin' to you too!

[Apoggi]

We did the LA to Hawaii and back to LA cruise on the Radiance in September 06. My husband and I didn't like all the sea days. He loves sea days and on the way back he was like "are we ever going to get home." I spent a fortune in the spa because I hate sea days and only did this cruise because this was his birthday present and I went along with it. I like port intensive cruises but we knew going in that we were having 8 sea days. I won't ever do it again but we did have a good time in Hawaii, although for a 14 day cruise we spent most of it in the open ocean.

[sea-cruise]

but we knew going in that we were having 8 sea days. I won't ever do it again but we did have a good time in Hawaii, although for a 14 day cruise we spent most of it in the open ocean.

We feel the same way. :D Four days were fine, but if we had to continue on, it would have been an overload. :cool: