Hawaii Dec 2009 - Questions

[L&JCruising]

Hello!

 

My husband and I are planning a 15 day cruise from LA or San Diego in December of 2009 to celebrate our tenth wedding anniversary. We are wondering if anyone has taken this particular cruise and could give suggestions on the following

 

-weather, water at that time of year

-best cruise line for that kind of trip - we like casual "partying" not major!

-8 of the 15 days are at sea - are there lots of actitivities during those days?

 

Anything else anyone would like to add to help us make a decision would be greatly appreciated!! Thanks so much

 

Lorri

[Spikesgirl]

Lorrie - if you already haven't, you might want to ask this question over on the Hawaii board (under Ports of Call). I know that Princess does this cruise and that there have been good reports back, but that line might be a bit quieter than you'd like.

 

December can be pretty rough, but we've also sailed under really good conditions at that time of the year. There really is no guarantee that you will have good weather or bad while sailing.

 

Weather in Hawai'i can be a bit cooler (lower 80's instead of high 80's), with more humidity and rain (it's their winter), but it will still be plenty warm for all sorts of water sports. The rain, which is usually heavier December through February, tends to be short and warm. This doesn't mean you can't get rainy days, but it usually doesn't.

 

You can be assured of plenty to do on any cruise line you pick. They are experts at keeping you busy around the clock, if that is your choice. Never been on a ship that hasn't had games, activities, lectures, demos, going all the time. Your problem will more likely being how to fit in everything that you want to do.

 

Have a good cruise!

[Cruisin' Chick]

Hello!

 

My husband and I are planning a 15 day cruise from LA or San Diego in December of 2009 to celebrate our tenth wedding anniversary. We are wondering if anyone has taken this particular cruise and could give suggestions on the following

 

-weather, water at that time of year

-best cruise line for that kind of trip - we like casual "partying" not major!

-8 of the 15 days are at sea - are there lots of actitivities during those days?

 

Anything else anyone would like to add to help us make a decision would be greatly appreciated!! Thanks so much

 

Lorri

 

We were on the Island Princess 15-day out of LA to Hawaii for the 2005/06 holiday cruise. There will be a different ship doing this run in 2009.

 

The weather in Los Angeles in December can be variable. It is in the middle of our rainy season (such as it is) so it could be in the 50s and wet. It could also be in the 80s, dry and windy. Your first couple of days may be cool and wet but by Day 4, it should be warmer during the day. For us, it was in the 60s the first couple of days and then it was in the upper 70s without any rain in the Islands. There was a heat spell back on the West Coast so we returned to temps in the 80s (with snow in the mountains because of a rain storm a few days before).

 

Expect rough seas the first couple of days because you're crossing a strong current. Some ships miss it but get rough days coming back.

 

Princess has plenty of activities on the sea days.

 

One thing to be concerned about, though, is that the Customs and Border Protection agency is trying to push through revisions to the PVSA act that will adversely affect the RTs out of US Ports.

 

If you scroll down, you should be able to find that thread (has over 2000 posts!) started by SeattleCruiseLover. The mods closed the thread, but hopefully when there's an annoucement, a new thread will be started.

[Cruisin' Chick]

the thread has been reopened:

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=687517&page=116

[L&JCruising]

Thank you so much for the info - alot of people on the Hawaii port message board answered my questions! Thanks again...

 

Lorri

[cb at sea]

The one good thing about Dec in Hawaii--the Humpbacks are coming in to breed! Enjoy!