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Hawaii- cruise vs land


basil1
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This may be a bad question to ask here, at Cruisecritic, but you can see from my signature that I am lover of cruises. My question is-if you have been on both a Hawaii cruise and a land based Hawaii vacation which did you like better? I ask because I have never been to Hawaii but have always felt that a land based vacation would be better, But now I am thinking about looking into a Celebrity cruise. That would be one way from Vancouver and would allow for a few nights add on in Honolulu. Pros, Cons? What are your thoughts? Thanks!

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It is very frequently discussed here that a cruise to Hawaii is, like a lot of other places, an introduction. Taking the NCL Pride of America 7 day cruise gets you a deeper introduction, as they spend more time on the islands.

 

That being said, a land tour is always going to give you far more in depth experience, and certainly Hawaii is no exception. There are many suggested land tour itineraries discussed here, allowing 3-5 days on each island, to really get a feel for Hawaii. Or perhaps, depending on your schedule, 5-7 days on each of two different islands.

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What you have experience in is cruising. What you do not have experience in is Hawaii. Skip the cruise this time and take the days you would spend sailing over here and add it to a land vacation instead to maximize your visit and see more of the islands.

Edited by Silver Sweethearts
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Land-based is best if it's Hawaii that you're interested in. You simply cannot see all this state has to offer via a cruise. Now...if you simply want to be on a ship...go for it...but you will NOT be able to experience Hawaii like it needs to be experienced! You need at least 10 days on land...more, if you want to see ALL of the islands!

 

I like cruises, but not for Hawaii!

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I've looked at those re-positioning cruises out of Vancouver to Honolulu, too! FWIW, I think it'd be a great way to combine cruising and visiting Hawaii. Since it's a one way cruise, once you get to Honolulu you can add on as many days as you like. It's a quick flight between islands, so if you wanted to visit more than one island, that could work as well.

 

It's also a downwind cruise, so it should be a nice cruise, too. Not that big cruise ships really pay that much attention to the wind direction, but following seas are always better.

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Thanks so much for your thoughts. And you ALL are right. It's Hawaii I want to see. I do have experience cruising but not with Hawaii.

And I had thought about flying in and staying maybe 5 nights, then cruising back. But that does suck up a lot of my vacation time. So maybe a land trip would be better. I'll continue to think about it (but not too long because I wanna go!).

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Thanks so much for your thoughts. And you ALL are right. It's Hawaii I want to see. I do have experience cruising but not with Hawaii.

And I had thought about flying in and staying maybe 5 nights, then cruising back. But that does suck up a lot of my vacation time. So maybe a land trip would be better. I'll continue to think about it (but not too long because I wanna go!).

 

 

 

My hubby & I took our boys to Oahu for 8 days a few years back. It was a wonderful vacation. That being said...we spent a pretty penny (thousands) on food & a one day trip to another island (Maui) cost over $1000 for the four of us. We’re doing this cruise at the end of July to experience several islands and reduce the cost of food. A few locals actually suggested this to us. I think your idea of 5 days on the island followed by this cruise is a great one! Happy travels whatever you choose.

 

 

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My hubby & I took our boys to Oahu for 8 days a few years back. It was a wonderful vacation. That being said...we spent a pretty penny (thousands) on food & a one day trip to another island (Maui) cost over $1000 for the four of us. We’re doing this cruise at the end of July to experience several islands and reduce the cost of food. A few locals actually suggested this to us. I think your idea of 5 days on the island followed by this cruise is a great one! Happy travels whatever you choose.

 

 

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We don't know how many "boys" you are referring to, and what class of airfare you booked. But flying to another island for several days is a better idea than a one day event. One day event? You might as well cruise.

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We don't know how many "boys" you are referring to, and what class of airfare you booked. But flying to another island for several days is a better idea than a one day event. One day event? You might as well cruise.

 

 

 

It clearly says FOUR of us. We decided we wanted to go for a day at the time since we had already paid for the resort in Oahu for 8 days.

 

Also...What specifically is your point in relationship to this post?

 

 

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This may be a bad question to ask here, at Cruisecritic, but you can see from my signature that I am lover of cruises. My question is-if you have been on both a Hawaii cruise and a land based Hawaii vacation which did you like better? I ask because I have never been to Hawaii but have always felt that a land based vacation would be better, But now I am thinking about looking into a Celebrity cruise. That would be one way from Vancouver and would allow for a few nights add on in Honolulu. Pros, Cons? What are your thoughts? Thanks!

 

Our first trip to Hawaii, we did a combination of both. After a lot of research, we decided on the NCL Pride of America because it gave us 2 days on each island and was going to allow much more time to explore the islands. We spent 3 days pre-cruise and 4 days post-cruise on Oahu. It has been my favorite trip to date. It also gave us a good taste of all the islands so that we would know where we might want to go back for a land vacation--which we did this year and we chose Kauai (my second favorite trip :).)

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Our first trip to Hawaii, we did a combination of both. After a lot of research, we decided on the NCL Pride of America because it gave us 2 days on each island and was going to allow much more time to explore the islands. We spent 3 days pre-cruise and 4 days post-cruise on Oahu. It has been my favorite trip to date. It also gave us a good taste of all the islands so that we would know where we might want to go back for a land vacation--which we did this year and we chose Kauai (my second favorite trip :).)

I think that a cruise is a good way to sample the 4 major islands to decide which island(s) to return to later for a land based visit.

 

When on the Mainland we enjoy sea days to/from Hawaii and island-hopping by ship for the day because when in Maui we don’t visit the other islands. But we’ve experienced enough of each Island to know which is best for us...Maui.

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Our first trip to Hawaii was nearly 20 years ago and was a cruise on the now-defunct American Hawaii cruise line (similar to what NCL's Pride of America does now). The ship was a 1950's "classic" liner. Old, but it got the job done, with an intro to each of the islands. Lots of Hawaii culture, good excursions. We spent a night or two in Waikiki pre-cruise. Since then we have returned every 4 or 5 years and split our 10-14 days between 2 islands (never Oahu, except the HNL airport). We rent a place (condo, house, etc.) with kitchen facilities so we can eat breakfast and lunch there (groceries are expensive, however, because a lot has to be shipped in). By renting a car we've been able to see a far part of the islands we're on. The only tour we've done is the "Road to Hana" when staying at Kahului on Maui for an extra night before flying home. It's easy and relatively inexpensive (or was) to fly between islands which makes these 2-island trips a viable option.

Bottom line: a cruise lets you briefly experience each island so you get some idea where you'd like to spend more time.

Edited by BarbinMich
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