Hawaii

[TimothyG]

Ok, who's cruised Hawaii? Thinking about it in October, any tips, reviews,

positives, negatives?

[superjerryw]

The main downside to a Hawaii cruise is the limited amount of time you have to see each island. There is plenty to see on each island and you really need a few days on each island just to hit the highlights. Just my opinion, But I think a land based vacation is the way to go for Hawaii.

[TrentS]

I agree... Having lived in Honolulu for 9 years (and done interisland cruises) believe me, you'll only get a slight glimpse of each island. You can't even begin to see everything you should from a ship. If you actually want to SEE Hawai'i, then take 2 or 3 weeks, fly over and do it right.

 

Having said that the weather in October is normally great.

[xpcdoojk]

the logic of the two previous replies would apply equally to any cruise destination that you would pick. I mean you really can't do Puerto Rico with a stop in San Juan. You really can't do Greece while on a cruise, you only see a limited amount of Greece..... :rolleyes: One day in Rome... One day in Barcelona... One day in Istanbul... Gimme a break.

 

Really what is the freaking point of those comments? :rolleyes:

 

I hope you have a great time on a cruise to Hawaii, having done Hawaii by cruise and by land, I have had a great time on every trip I have made to Hawaii. My first cruise to Hawaii was my favorite cruise of all time. :)

 

jc

[Tra4]

We did the Radiance in Oct., 2001 for a 12 day cruise out of Vancouver. The seas the first two days were rough and weather cool to use the pools or balconies. By the 3rd day, you could begin to swim, etc. We had 5 sea days, 2 days in Maui, 2 days in Honolulu, Kauai, Hilo, & Lanai. Yes, it would be nice to have more days to see more of the Islands, but this cruise was really amazing anyway. The 5 sea days give you plenty of time to relax, see and enjoy the ship! I would love to do this trip again. We took an extra two days in Honolulu after disembarkation also.

 

I do have a review on cruise-addicts. You can do a search under the Radiance, then look for Oct., 2001 or under my name Tracey.

 

Feel free to email me with any questions.

 

mt10@mchsi.com

Tracey

[beachchick]

I think the point of those "freaking comments" is that the OP asked for positives and negatives. Sheesh.

 

A negative is that you have a short time on each island. Frankly, we've found that many islands and other places only need a day or so to explore. The same is not true of Hawaii. You could spend a week on each island and still not see and do it all.

 

However, for a first time visitor, a cruise can be ideal. It gives a taste of differents islands. This can then be used to plan a future land trip to further explore favorites.

 

The water temps in Hawaii are warmest in October; the weather usually has started to "cool" (relative term, I know). Summer crowds are gone. It's our favorite month, closely followed by November, March, April, September....

 

beachchick

[MszKitty]

I've heard that the ships that cruise Hawaii don't have casinos. Is that correct?

[Ohunion Cruzers]

We did Hawaii in March '04. Rent a car at Hilo. You can drive to the volvano. You will probably not see "live lava", but you can go at your own pace and see what you want, when you want. If you search, you can find cars for $30-$40 per day. Reserve cars now. We were able to tour the park, in the morning. In the afternoon, after lunch, we went north of Hilo and visited a botanical garden, a water fall, stopped along the beach to watch some surfers and stopped in town to pick up some souvenirs.

 

If you have 2 days on Maui, rent a car again. You can virtually drive around the entire island. It will also be your transportation to a luau. You can park the vehicle on most streets, overnight, for free. We drove up Haliakala, wonderful view if it is clear. Also check out Island Marine, they offer tours and luau combiations.

 

If you can hook up with another couple, who have the same interrests, they may share the cost of the rental.

 

We took the Honolulu tour w/ airport drop off. We saw the highlights around town and we spent a couple hours at Pearl Harbor Memorial complex.

 

It was a great cruise. We'll do it again some day.

[Fatherdav]

"....for a first time visitor, a cruise can be ideal. It gives a taste of differents islands. This can then be used to plan a future land trip to further explore favorites."

Couldn't be said better.

All of RCCL's ships have casinos. And they are open as long as you aren't in any port.

In May my better half and I are going on our second Hawaiian cruise. This time we're exploring different sites than we did the 1st time. . And I just love the idea of our "hotel" taking us to different places and not having to unpack at every destination. (And dinner waiting, when we're done snooping.) :D

[TimothyG]

We are still kicking around land based vs. sea based vacation. We have

cruised several times and love it, though it's always been in the carribean.

Back in 1988 we visited Hawaii for 2 weeks, 1 on Maui and 1 on Kuaui (hope

I spelled that right). While on Maui we stayed in a condo in Kihei (hope I

spelled that right), thats when we discovered the resorts on the kanapali beach area and have always desired to go back and stay in one. Were

looking at the Weston Maui resort and comparing costs vs. a cruise. I,m

going to read Tra4's review on the cruise to help me decide. Thanks Tra4.

Thanks everyone.

[Tra4]

http://www.cruise-addicts.com/reviews/readreview.php?id=0000000788

[xpcdoojk]

I think the point of those "freaking comments" is that the OP asked for positives and negatives. Sheesh.

 

A negative is that you have a short time on each island. Frankly, we've found that many islands and other places only need a day or so to explore. The same is not true of Hawaii. You could spend a week on each island and still not see and do it all.

 

However, for a first time visitor, a cruise can be ideal. It gives a taste of differents islands. This can then be used to plan a future land trip to further explore favorites.

 

The water temps in Hawaii are warmest in October; the weather usually has started to "cool" (relative term, I know). Summer crowds are gone. It's our favorite month, closely followed by November, March, April, September....

 

beachchick

 

The OP didn't say they were trying to decide between a land and a cruise in their Original post, and yet others tried to tell them they were making a mistake. There is no doubt that you can see more of a place by staying there. That isn't exactly rocket science. One of those two posts that on almost every Hawaii cruise question if they can work it in. It gets tiresome after so many years. Clearly now that the OP has provided more information we can help him/her more. I really think it depends more on what kind of vacation the OP is wanting a cruise vacation that visits Hawaii or a land vacation that will allow you to spend a lot of time on one or two islands. Only the OP knows which they prefer. I hope the OP has a fabulous vacation whichever they choose.

 

jc

[Grumpy8]

Ok, who's cruised Hawaii? Thinking about it in October, any tips, reviews,

positives, negatives?

We are doing the Serenade from Vancouver to Hawaii Sept.25 11 nts.

Can't wait !!

[island lady]

We wanted both, so we booked a round trip Honolulu cruise with NCL, which offered the shorter 7 day cruise. We arranged our own airfare and arrived 4 days early. We booked a "puddle jumper" flight to Maui, staying in a condo on the ocean there. Beautiful!

 

Rented a convertible and toured the island with tour book firmly in hand and our own snorkel gear. Then back to Honolulu to pick up our cruise.

 

I agree the cruise is a nice "appetiser" to sample the islands for future trips.

We are going back again to Maui, but also loved Kauai too. Though we only spent a day at that island during the cruise, we would not have known how beautiful it was too.

Cheers!