hockey9934

The first time we took a land trip to Hawaii we spent 2 weeks on three islands. The low point was the transit days between islands. Yes the flights were easy but with packing up, checking out, checking in and all the rest, the day was shot. Now if we take a land trip we take shorter one week and stay on one island.

I totally agree about the travel days being shot. I've always found it hard to do much more than breakfast and/or go for a run on most travel days. My wife does not like hectic vacations to begin with and I definitely want this Hawaii trip to be as relaxing as possible.

Crystal does a RT cruise from Los Angeles. Unfortunately there are not a lot of options once you are in Hawaii. Cherie

Thanks. On this trip I do not want to spend the extra days going RT from LA

Not many of the larger ships go to Kauai, which is such a shame, as the Grand Canyon of the Pacific can be seen at Waimea. I had never heard of it , but it was stunning. Also made famous by Elvis Presley, as Blue Hawaii was filmed there.

Thanks. That looks like something I would want to see.

PNW Traveler

Thanks for that link. Uncruise looks like what I was looking for and hoping to find. The size of the ship and number of passengers is what I was hoping to find. Also 7 days is a good length. I'll think some more about a land trip on a few of the islands. Maybe combine the cruise with a few days on one of the islands.

Silver, Sweethearts and zoncom:

Thanks for the suggestions. I'll take a look at those lines for future reference but this this trip is going to be Hawaii. Still I've always been reluctant to cruise because I just had an image of a big crowded ship so it's good intel for the future.

By your description of your requirements, Azamara would be ideal, but I don't think they visit Hawaii.

I would go to the port schedules for the islands and note which ships are in port. You could then research any ship you are interested in.

Azamara looks interesting. I'd never heard of them but will keep them in mind for another time. I'll try to find the port schedules. Thanks.

I am looking for a recommendation on a smaller high end Hawaiian cruise. We are a couple around 60 who have travelled quite a bit but never been to Hawaii. I have only done one cruise which was a luxury Aqua Amazon cruise and my wife has done that one plus one other fairly standard Mediterranean cruise. Since we have never been to Hawaii before I am thinking we would like to see a number of the islands in one trip which is why I am thinking cruise. Another advantage is not having to change hotels and constantly move from island to island . I am looking for a smaller cruise preferably one that will stay in port for more than one day and visit at least 4 or 5 islands. I don't know much about cruising but I don't think we need a lot of ship board activities besides good food. If there are shore excursions that's fine but otherwise I have no problem renting a car or finding tours or what not on the islands we visit. I have done some searching online but have not found a whole lot for what I am looking for.

Turtles: Thanks for the links. I am going to check them out right now and am looking forward to reading your blog and the pictures. You are right about it being pricey and I agree with your logic.

Shawn: Thanks for the detailed info. Good for you for checking out the other cabins. It is an expensive trip to begin with so I think Cat 1 or 2 will be fine.

We are looking at taking an Antarctic cruise on the NG Explorer. I see on the website that there are 7 or 8 levels of cabins which vary widely in price. I was unable to find what the differences in the rooms are on the website but maybe I missed it. Anyway we are not rich so the top end is out but can anyone say what are the differences in the types of cabins on the Explorer ?. I do not expect to spend a lot of time in the room so any recommendations are appreciated as well