Hawaiian 14day cruise pro's and con's

[Pam in CA]

I just booked this cruise for next January and it'll be my third HI cruise. I also spent two weeks in the islands a few years ago so for me, it's 14 sea days with four days on land to have lunch. Oh, and I want to take the VIP tour in Honolulu. Might go snorkling at one of the ports but other than that, nada.

 

Pros: love the sea days, can't have too many of them; love the rocky seas; love the cruise.

 

Cons: can't think of any.

[cruzzers]

This is on our list of cruises to take. We were wondering the best time to go when the weather was less rainy and the seas less turbulent. I hate to sit on a plane and fly so any time spent on the cruise would be better than the flight over.

 

Would love to hear more from anyone who has been on this cruise.

[morriscats]

I just booked this cruise for next January and it'll be my third HI cruise. I also spent two weeks in the islands a few years ago so for me, it's 14 sea days with four days on land to have lunch. Oh, and I want to take the VIP tour in Honolulu. Might go snorkling at one of the ports but other than that, nada.

 

Pros: love the sea days, can't have too many of them; love the rocky seas; love the cruise.

 

Cons: can't think of any.

Pam, I love that! 14 sea days with 4 days for lunch in paradise. We love this route and will be taking our 3rd next October.

Our first sailing was in October and the first night out was a little rough the first 1 1/2 days. Then wonderful. Our second trip last November was perfect the whole time.

I also can't think of any cons.

[donscomp]

my wife and I are thinking about doing the 14 day Hawaiian cruise I need to get some feed back on this cruise both pro's and con's

 

 

We have also taken this cruise and will take it again Oct. 09.

Cons as started from others is the deletion of Kona. We really enjoyed that port. No cons but that here. We LOVE the sea days. I have NEVER been so relaxed. The two trips a year we take are. This cruise & the races in your neck of the woods.

 

If you like to relax and like sea days? You'll love it.

[R&MTHETRAVELERS]

I think that question was answered but I'll add a little to it. We was on the 10/29/08-11/12/08 Golden cruise this year & we thught that it was a great cruise. Some thought that it was a little rough a couple days & they did close the pools but I didn't really notice that it was that bad. I do know that at night or anytime I was in a Horizontal position the gentle sway of the ship did put me to sleep. Our Son & DIL are going on this same cruise next year (10/25/09) & they can't wait but they are old hands at cruiseing. We have been to the Islands for 20 times counting the one cruise & love it. As far as what to do on each Island we took two excursions: one on the Big Island & one on Maui because we love the Volcano National Parks on each Island. On Kauai we did that Lunch thing but only had Hula Pie at Dukes (Kauai Marriotts), in fact we had two & that was a chore to eat, but we had had a few days training on the way over from LA. The cruise will only make you want to come back to each Island to stay longer on each. We just got back from two weeks on North Shore of Oahu at the Turtle Bay Resort & really did some major relaxing there. I'll tell you this they sure are making some really good deals in the Islands right now. Tourism is down about half I think. Anyway, Good Cruiseing. At Turtle Bay They have a deal that you get a free night with every 6th night & it comes with a good Buffet Breakfast for two adults each day of your stay. They have other deals also.

[Colo Cruiser]

Thanks for you Golden info. :)

[Pam in CA]

This is on our list of cruises to take. We were wondering the best time to go when the weather was less rainy and the seas less turbulent. I hate to sit on a plane and fly so any time spent on the cruise would be better than the flight over.

 

Would love to hear more from anyone who has been on this cruise.

This is just a guess but I would say to avoid December and January as the LA area can be quite cold and chilly which means that your first few days to HI and returning will be cold and chilly. For instance, our daily high for the next several days is in the 50s; that's the high which would make for a cold embarkation and few days out to sea. My cruises to HI have been in February and March and the weather was great other than some rain in the islands. We're doing this cruise in January next year only because it's a good friend's birthday and she refused the change the date. :) That wouldn't have been our first or even second choice.

[Colo Cruiser]

We find leaving LA on any cruise the first day or two can be iffy.

[kirbyrox]

The cruise will only make you want to come back to each Island to stay longer on each. We just got back from two weeks on North Shore of Oahu at the Turtle Bay Resort & really did some major relaxing there. I'll tell you this they sure are making some really good deals in the Islands right now. Tourism is down about half I think. Anyway, Good Cruiseing. At Turtle Bay They have a deal that you get a free night with every 6th night & it comes with a good Buffet Breakfast for two adults each day of your stay. They have other deals also.

 

 

Are these deals with Turtle bay its self or a travel site?

[LARGIN]

We did this a couple of years past and had a great time. We are booked on the Golden Hawaii in October

[bigs2man]

took the 15-day cruise on the ISLAND PRINCESS in 2007. fabulous trip. personally, the "voyage" is the vacation for me--I NEVER cruise for the port calls--it's ALWAYS the experience of being underway--the short port calls are just icing on the cake.

[Sillyjilly]

took the 15-day cruise on the ISLAND PRINCESS in 2007. fabulous trip. personally, the "voyage" is the vacation for me--I NEVER cruise for the port calls--it's ALWAYS the experience of being underway--the short port calls are just icing on the cake.

 

Ditto!

[Cruisin' Chick]

took the 15-day cruise on the ISLAND PRINCESS in 2007. fabulous trip. personally, the "voyage" is the vacation for me--I NEVER cruise for the port calls--it's ALWAYS the experience of being underway--the short port calls are just icing on the cake.

 

Love those sea days

[NevadaHiRoller]

As long as you love sea days and want to see a touch of Hawaii or don't care about the ports, than this is an excellent cruise.

[DesrtDrmr]

We did this cruise on the Island and it was our all time favorite cruise. Everyone had warned us that it would be rough sailing, but it wasn't. It was, as everyone else has said, a bit bumpy and cool out of Los Angeles for about a day and a half........got smoother and smoother and warmer and warmer closer to the islands we got. The sea days were fabulous........watching those miles of ocean, relaxing, playing silly games, reading, meeting new friends, napping........just everything. The island ports were fun. We rented a car in every port and just took off by ourselves. We had spent a couple of land vacations on Maui, and knew we loved that island, so it was nice to get a bit of each of the others. It was so pretty.

If you think you might be remotely interested in this cruise, and if you love sea days, I hope you'll try it.............we truly thought it was wonderful..........like being in an old movie............especially when we saw the old Matson murals in the terminal in Honolulu.

[flamomo]

DesrtDreamer,

Thanks for the reminder about the murals. I had forgotten about them, and they really are a treat to see.

[R&MTHETRAVELERS]

They are available on Their own site on the net. Infact after I had made the reservation a few months ago I found out that the rates on their site for the same deal for the same room had gone down about $100.00 a night & called them & they just lowered mine right then. We really love it there because it's like being on an outer Island with not that many people & a lot beach to roam on & two 18 hole golf courses right there, as well as tennis courts. WE love the pools because I have a bad spine & can walk in the one pool because it's all one level(about 3 1/2 ' deep and has a Small water fall that you can walk under and get a shower. The water is warm. We went down at 7 in the morning to the pool & Hot tub, shower then to the Buffet Breakfast. The movie " Forgetting Sarah Marshall " shows it a little bit but I thought the move stunk, except for the sceenery. Anyway, Good Cruiseing & remember be a Good Traveler.

[R&MTHETRAVELERS]

I would like to add this about being on the North Shore this month was beign able to watch some World Championship Surfing. Both Men's & Women's were takening place while we were there. On Sunset Beach, where 20' to 25' waves were coming in. It was really something to see. When we were leaving there was another one going on at The Bonzai Pipeline for four days in a two week period. When those Surfers would Wipe out & really get hammered by a wave my whole body would just hurt all over.Good Cruiseing.

[Cruisin' Chick]

DesrtDreamer,

Thanks for the reminder about the murals. I had forgotten about them, and they really are a treat to see.

 

they are interesting to look at.

[FritzG]

We cruised to HI in January, and the first day or two were cool, but the main reason I wish we had gone later was that it still got dark too early. We felt that we would have liked more daylight hours to enjoy the sea.

[mauiedin87]

We did this cruise two years ago for our 20th anniversary (we got married on Maui) and it was wonderful. We're doing it again very soon (it will be our 15th cruise) because we love what it has to offer. Namely the many at-sea days, the slightly older demographic, the enforced relaxation. The best time to go? I'd say March or April, but you can never tell what kind of weather the vast Pacific will throw at you. Two years ago we had 16-20 ft waves the first two days out of L.A. at the end of March, but then it got calmer and warmer. That current that runs along the west coast, and which one has to cross on the way out, can stir things up a little! But with ginger pills and Sea-Bands we're thankfully not prone to sea-sickness (knock on wood).:D

[sassyredhat]

We've sailed to Hawaii twice, and are booked again for 2010. All three times have been/are in April, although the 2010 will be our first Princess cruise.

 

We chose April so it won't be so humid for me on the islands. Always seem to have a couple of rocky sea days, but that's normal due to the tradewinds.

 

I am excited to try Princess. Although we love HAL, we are trying something different. The only negative thing I can see so far is the emination of Kona, which we happen to like.

 

Pat

[Colo Cruiser]

Its a great cruise for sure. :)

[west coast cruiser]

I have done this cruise twice and am booked again on the Golden in 2010.

I love sea days and this is why I chose this cruise the first time. It is so relaxing and that is why I keep going on this cruise.

It will be a little chilly the first two days out of Los Angeles and then is starts warming up.

I will definitely miss Kona, one of my favorite ports.

WCC

[Tina G]

We liked the 15 day cruise so much, we took it twice. We always like the longest cruises, as we enjoy the sea days as well as the ports. Now that Princess is down to 14 days and misses Kona, we might possibly look for a different line next year, if anyone else has one over 14 days.

Hi,Nancy! Holland America is still 15 days. I can't cruise this year due to health concerns. Hoping for this one next year! ;)