To cruise or not to cruise.... that is the question?

[sunshineminnie]

Hi all!

 

I have read over the first 10 pages on the boards. What great information, but now I am totally confused!

 

I was pretty set on going on a Hawaiian cruise with my family, DH - 46, me -43, DD - 15 and DS -11. We have never been to Hawaii before and thought that it would be a great way to get a feel for the islands.

 

So, here is my dilema:

 

We can pretty much only cruise in August, and have less than 10 days which limits the choice of cruise lines. Our only experience with cruising was on a Disney Cruise and the "cruise experience" was incredible. My whole family wanted to cruise again. It seems as if the only cruise is POA which many people refer to as a floating hotel. Would we be disappointed in the cruise itself?

 

We are a very active family and would love to see and do some cool things, but would also cherish some real down time to chill and relax. Would we be better of going to a resort and perhaps island hopping? Is Hawaii cruising easier, better?

 

If anyone has done both, I'd love to get your opinion.

 

It's kind of weird, I was positive that I wanted to cruise Hawaii.... now I'm not so sure?

 

BTW- I have been on a Royal Caribbean cruise before and loved it!

[born2cruize]

Hi all!

 

I have read over the first 10 pages on the boards. What great information, but now I am totally confused!

 

I was pretty set on going on a Hawaiian cruise with my family, DH - 46, me -43, DD - 15 and DS -11. We have never been to Hawaii before and thought that it would be a great way to get a feel for the islands.

 

So, here is my dilema:

 

We can pretty much only cruise in August, and have less than 10 days which limits the choice of cruise lines. Our only experience with cruising was on a Disney Cruise and the "cruise experience" was incredible. My whole family wanted to cruise again. It seems as if the only cruise is POA which many people refer to as a floating hotel. Would we be disappointed in the cruise itself?

 

We are a very active family and would love to see and do some cool things, but would also cherish some real down time to chill and relax. Would we be better of going to a resort and perhaps island hopping? Is Hawaii cruising easier, better?

 

If anyone has done both, I'd love to get your opinion.

 

It's kind of weird, I was positive that I wanted to cruise Hawaii.... now I'm not so sure?

 

BTW- I have been on a Royal Caribbean cruise before and loved it!

 

POA cannot be considered like any other cruise out there. Except for the Na Pali coast sailby it only travels at night, there really isn't any ship board activity during the day (Hairy chest contests, bingo, casino). Not to say there isn't something to do but the emphasis isn't the ship. You go on the POA to visit Hawaii (I don't consider going to Walmart as visiting Hawaii).

 

The real issue that most people have is the food. If you don't mind Applebees, Ruby Tuesday, The Ram or Outback then the food will be find. Yes if you want a better dining experience you'll pay extra.

 

No you won't find the staff willing to be subservient to your beck and calling. As long as your emphasis is Hawaii you'll have a great vacation. And don't pay attention to some of the snooty people that thing cruising is about being served hand and foot.

[Bucky3]

Just an opinion from an old lady! We have cruised a lot and spent many many days on all the Hawaiian islands both for business and pleasure. Have never cruised NCL or Disney. I doubt if they are comparable, but to experience the most of Hawaii in your timeframe with two kids choosng NCL would be a no brainer for me. We have cruised often with our adult kids and grandchildren. To do more than two island in less than ten days would be a real hassle - by the time you check in and out of hotels, get to the airport, rent a car, etc. you would be taking up valuable island time just by moving from once place to another.

 

I'd definitely do the cruise, unpack and settle in just ONCE, visit all the islands with no hassle, rent cars on each so you can see and do as much or as little as you please. Seems to me this would also be the most economical way to "get a feel" for the islands. Try not to compare cruises, just go with the "floating hotel" mindset, and I think you'd have a great time.

 

Good Luck with your plans. Family cruises are the best no matter the ship or destination you choose.

[Sunny AZ Girl]

We have been on several cruiselines with RCI being our favorite and we are booked with NCL for a May cruise. I know that the NCL cruise will not be like other cruise we have loved in the past, but we are very excited about being in Hawaii for the very first time!:D

 

I think Bucky3 hit it on the head with her advice - in order to see the islands with the least amount of stress, packing & unpacking and going to different airports, etc would take up a lot of time that would be better spent relaxing. If I were to choose a land vacation in Hawaii I would stay in one place for at least a week and not island hop. We may do that in the future, but for now I am excited to just see what all the different islands have to offer.:)

[Bucky3]

Forgot to say though we have not done the NCL cruise, I believe it does spend overnights twice, and that would be great! We would love to do this cruise, but we don't like flying anymore, so we have resorted to the RTs from LA, but NCL is the only line that cruises Hawaii during the summer months as far as I know.

 

I have read that NCL has a great pre-cruise package in Waikiki that handles baggage, transfers, etc. that would give you some extra time on Oahu, and I know our kids just loved the Waikiki Beach area. We have stayed at the Marriott there. and I think that's the hotel NCL uses, and it is a great location for the beach, reasonable restaurants, shopping, zoo, aquarium, etc.

[fleckle]

With a 10 day limit, you can either have a great cruise experience or a great island experience, but not both. As others have said, NCL gives you an easy way to have a brief visit to 4 islands, but it is not a true cruise experience. You get no sea days but rather just a moving hotel that provides transit from one port to the next. Unless you can afford the top suites, it is a rather mediocre hotel experience.

 

With your time constraints, if your priority is down time where you can chill and relax with good food and accommodations, then staying at a really nice resort would be the better choice -- if you prefer to visit one or two islands and have more time at each.

 

If you would rather have briefer visits to 4 islands, then NCL is probably your best bet, but then you end up running around at each port. You could just spend your days relaxing at a beach, of course, but you can do that almost anywhere. There is no real advantage in going around from island to island if you are not interested in exploring the unique features of each island.

 

Since you say you want a full cruise experience plus visiting Hawaii, if you can somehow manage to swing 14 or 15 days you can get both. By taking one of the ships that do the round trips to Hawaii from the west coast you can have the best of both experiences you want -- long leisurely days at sea to enjoy cruising and relaxing, plus the days in port to explore the islands.

[CruisingGoddess]

Hi all!

 

I have read over the first 10 pages on the boards. What great information, but now I am totally confused!

 

I was pretty set on going on a Hawaiian cruise with my family, DH - 46, me -43, DD - 15 and DS -11. We have never been to Hawaii before and thought that it would be a great way to get a feel for the islands.

 

So, here is my dilema:

 

We can pretty much only cruise in August, and have less than 10 days which limits the choice of cruise lines. Our only experience with cruising was on a Disney Cruise and the "cruise experience" was incredible. My whole family wanted to cruise again. It seems as if the only cruise is POA which many people refer to as a floating hotel. Would we be disappointed in the cruise itself?

 

We are a very active family and would love to see and do some cool things, but would also cherish some real down time to chill and relax. Would we be better of going to a resort and perhaps island hopping? Is Hawaii cruising easier, better?

 

If anyone has done both, I'd love to get your opinion.

 

It's kind of weird, I was positive that I wanted to cruise Hawaii.... now I'm not so sure?

 

BTW- I have been on a Royal Caribbean cruise before and loved it!

 

I haven't gone on my Hawaii cruise yet (we sail in November) but I feel that I should chime in since I've sailed Disney and Royal Caribbean before and made the same decision as you.

 

We chose NCL Pride of America because it is the only ship that sails roundtrip from Honolulu and thus does not have sea days. DH and I both work full time and we cannot take huge stretches of vacation days at one time. The cruises that leave from the mainland have a ton of sea days and I'd rather spend those days in Hawaii than at sea. We are spending 3 nights pre-cruise and 1 night post-cruise in Honolulu.

 

I have sailed Princess, Royal Caribbean, and Disney and I feel that Disney provides the best service so you are really spoiled by them. As you've probably read, you just need to consider the ship as a floating hotel and remind yourself why you picked that cruise over the others.

[sunshineminnie]

Thank you all so much for the input. We have lots of thinking to do.... :D

[Iwannabeatraveler]

I have also sailed Disney before. It is just a completely different vacation experience. As others have stated: Focus on what you will do on each island, and think of it as a floating hotel. It will not be any less of a vacation just different. Make sure all the parties involved know it will be a different non-Disney experience and have them help plan excursions that they can be excited about. Otherwise, focus on one or 2 islands and do it all land. Either way, you will have a wonderful trip. Good Luck with your decision!

[annecolorgreen]

I really went in with the "floating hotel" mindset but was pleasantly surprised at how fun the staff was on deck interacting with the cruisers and kids in the pools, etc... The evening shows were fun too (if you can stay awake, I'd recommend a day or so on the front end and back to give you some adjustment time).

 

If you wanted more time on Kauai, I've heard about people disembarking in Kauai instead of Oahu but you would miss the sail by then and have to get special permission but Kauai is a beautiful island.

 

Depending on how many islands your family wanted to visit, maybe dividing time at two islands or flying out for certain activities (I know you could fly from Maui to the Big Island to see Volcano National Park as an excursion kind of thing on a private charter) would suit your family better.

 

We loved the cruise but, for us, it wasn't about the actual cruise itself and it sounds like that is what you are looking for.

 

Hope this helps!

[boulders]

I've visited Hawaii many times, but have never cruised there. Whenever I look at cruising prices in HI, I get sticker shock. You can stay in very nice resorts, and there are some fabulous condo resorts in Hawaii, for much less than a cruise. When I look at your sail dates, I come up with a price of at least $900/night for one cabin for 4. You can get a very nice condo for $200-$300/night on the islands, saving the balance for some fabulous dinners and excursions. To me, staying on the islands is more relaxing since there's no rushing to get back to the ship on time.

 

With 10 days, I would recommend staying on one or at max, two islands. Airports in HI are much simpler to get through than mainland airports. They don't have the huge security lines that other airports do, or the massive walks from security to gate. At the Kona airport, it usually takes me 20-30 minutes to return my car, checkin and be waiting at the gate for my flight.

[sunshineminnie]

Thanks again for all of the replies. So, it seems to me that if we are looking for a cruise experience, we should do something else. I guess that we really could cruise at a different time and a different place.

 

And, if we want to see all of the islands..... the island hopping cruise is a great way to go if we have a different mindset about this particular cruise.

 

Or.... we pick an island or two and hang out and relax.....

 

So.... that leads to the big dilemma....

 

This more than likely will be the only trip we ever take the kids with us to Hawaii. After all, it's a great big world out there and lots of great places to see! What would be your recommendation..... island hop with a cruise or stay put and enjoy? What would leave us feeling like we really experienced Hawaii?

 

This is us:

 

We are not into crowds, and nightlife is not a priority. Although I can go, do and see all day, my family likes to chill a little more. We are really looking for great quality family time before me DD goes off to college.

 

We do like adventure, outdoors, history and just hanging out with each other. I dive and the rest of the family may get certified. My DH wouldn't be into laying at the beach EVERY day. I could see us snorkeling, taking surfing lessons, and doing some site seeing.

 

Any thoughts?

[Sunny AZ Girl]

Thanks again for all of the replies. So, it seems to me that if we are looking for a cruise experience, we should do something else. I guess that we really could cruise at a different time and a different place.

 

And, if we want to see all of the islands..... the island hopping cruise is a great way to go if we have a different mindset about this particular cruise.

 

Or.... we pick an island or two and hang out and relax.....

 

So.... that leads to the big dilemma....

 

This more than likely will be the only trip we ever take the kids with us to Hawaii. After all, it's a great big world out there and lots of great places to see! What would be your recommendation..... island hop with a cruise or stay put and enjoy? What would leave us feeling like we really experienced Hawaii?

 

This is us:

 

We are not into crowds, and nightlife is not a priority. Although I can go, do and see all day, my family likes to chill a little more. We are really looking for great quality family time before me DD goes off to college.

 

We do like adventure, outdoors, history and just hanging out with each other. I dive and the rest of the family may get certified. My DH wouldn't be into laying at the beach EVERY day. I could see us snorkeling, taking surfing lessons, and doing some site seeing.

 

Any thoughts?

Well, you sound a bit like us and we chose to cruise!:D My reasons are that since I also do not know when we will return to the islands (hopefully, Europe will be next) we can experience the different islands without changing hotels. Also, the different islands have different experiences (volcanoes in Hilo, snorkeling in Kona, mountain roads in Maui, etc) so we will be doing something different in each place. I can see how it would be easy to run yourself ragged on this itinerary, though. So we are trying to make sure that we alternate active days with laid back days and not try to do it all in one trip. We are also arriving in Oahu on Wednesday prior to our Saturday cruise and are planing on staying pre-cruise in a vacation rental in Kailua away from the crowds, Even though we do plan to spend one day in Honolulu to visit Pearl Harbor, etc we do plan to dedicate Friday before the cruise to just total relaxation. :) We will also spend one day post cruise in Waikiki to just chill.

[sunshineminnie]

Ginny - Thanks! I wish that you were cruising earlier so that I could see how you like it? :D

 

Do you mind sharing what kind of things you our planning for shore excursions or have you gotten that far yet?

[CruisingGoddess]

I've visited Hawaii many times, but have never cruised there. Whenever I look at cruising prices in HI, I get sticker shock. You can stay in very nice resorts, and there are some fabulous condo resorts in Hawaii, for much less than a cruise. When I look at your sail dates, I come up with a price of at least $900/night for one cabin for 4. You can get a very nice condo for $200-$300/night on the islands, saving the balance for some fabulous dinners and excursions. To me, staying on the islands is more relaxing since there's no rushing to get back to the ship on time.

 

Wow. What a difference! We are paying $282/night (during the cruise) for 2 people in a balcony cabin and we're also sailing Thanksgiving weekend so I suspect my cruise costs more than if we picked a different date. If you plan to see different islands, it seems to me that cruising is a lot more affordable than a land vacation.

 

sunshineminnie - In regards to price, a good travel agent can make the difference too. I've NEVER booked directly through the cruise line and have always found a better deal with a travel agent so make sure you look into that as well. When I booked my Hawaii cruise, the price was about $300 less than NCL. I just booked a Royal Caribbean cruise 3 days ago for next year and got $225 OBC more than Royal Caribbean was offering. I usually save $200-500 in discounted price or OBC by booking through a travel agent. Make sure you shop around before booking!

[riofriotex]

Do you mind sharing what kind of things you our planning for shore excursions or have you gotten that far yet?

 

Strongly recommend that you read some of the reviews that have been posted on this board by recent PoA cruisers such as annecolorgreen and vbmom87.

[fleckle]

.......So.... that leads to the big dilemma............... island hop with a cruise or stay put and enjoy? What would leave us feeling like we really experienced Hawaii?.......... Any thoughts?

Don't limit yourselves only to reading cruise reviews or you will get very narrow and restricted views of what the islands have to offer.

 

Since you have plenty of time, check out library books and DVDs on Hawaii and read about what is available to see and do on each of the 4 main islands. It is possible that you may even find some of the less well known islands (where the cruise ships do not go) appealing to you as well.

 

Also look up info about each island that interests you on other web sites in addition to cruise sites. Order the free brochures, for example

 

http://www.kauaidiscovery.com/

 

http://www.bigisland.org/services/

 

If you find one or two islands that especially grab your attention and appeal to you, then you will know where you really want to spend your time.

 

If you can't decide and find features of all 4 main islands appealing, but none especially more so than the others, then that would pull you toward the NCL cruise.

[pspercy]

Four people in an inside (not my idea of fun) looks like about $4900 for the week, or about $700/nt.

 

As someone said, you could rent a great condo on, say, Maui and have change for food or meals out. Kaanapali would suit as would down in Wailea/Makena. Quieter areas would likely be Poipu on Kauai for just one example.

 

 

This doesn't answer the question of whether to cruise or not tho', only you, knowing your family can decide that.

 

For an idea on prices see http://www.vrbo.com or rent a timeshare week someone isn't using http://www.redweek.com but there's dozens of rental sites. http://www.wizardpub.com has aerial photos and their comments on each island's offerings as a starter.

[stlfamof6]

We had the same dilemma and decided on POA. We are traveling in May with 4 kids (DH-45, me-44, DS-17, DS-14, DD-11, DD-5) and plan on this being the only trip to Hawaii with kids. We have always planned on a trip to Hawaii for our 20 year anniversary, but decided we just couldn't go without the kids. I visited Hawaii in college and have been to 4 islands (VNP but not Kona) but my husband has never been. We also sailed on Disney 5 years ago and don't expect this cruise to be anything like that one. It took me several months and a lot of time on this board to finally decide that I couldn't take my kids (or husband) to Hawaii and miss one of the highlights of another island (like Pearl Harbor and the North Shore, surfing in Maui, VNP, snorkeling in Kona, Lahaina/Kaanapali beach, Na Pali Coast by sea and by air and all the things in between). There is just no way to see it ALL any other way in the 11 days we have. We will plan on 1-4 hour, half day, adventure type excursions (no long scenic car rides except what we see along the way), but also leave time for relaxing on the beaches. I think we will try to be back on the ship every evening for dinner and ship activities in order to experience the ship as well. we will stay two days pre cruise in oahu and one day post.

 

If you are considering the POA cruise, I suggest you put the deposit down while you make your decision. It is refundable and they will adjust the price if it goes down (as I understood it). We put our deposit down in May '10 for a May '11 cruise, not knowing for sure if that is the way we were going to see Hawaii. We also need a family suite and as I understand it, they go fast because there are not many on the ship. The remaining balance isn't due until March '11. Spend the next several months reading up on the islands and the activities available at each port and then decide which way you want to experience Hawaii. It is certainly not the cheapest or most relaxing way to do a Hawaiian vacation, but most people don't visit 4 islands (5 if you count Kona and Hilo as two different islands) in 10-11 days. So, it seems to make sense for our family to do it this way.

 

good luck!

[riofriotex]

Don't limit yourselves only to reading cruise reviews or you will get very narrow and restricted views of what the islands have to offer.

 

Since you have plenty of time, check out library books and DVDs on Hawaii and read about what is available to see and do on each of the 4 main islands. It is possible that you may even find some of the less well known islands (where the cruise ships do not go) appealing to you as well.

 

I totally agree with this! I was only suggesting that the poster read some reviews of people who have already been on the PoA cruise, rather than asking people who haven't been on the cruise yet what their plans are for shore excursions.:)

 

After doing PoA, I would love to go back to Maui to the Lahaina area, and from there visit the islands of Lanai and Molokai (and preferably get to them by boat and not plane!).

[chipmaster]

IMHO if you want to cruise for cruising sake I'd avoid the Hawaiian cruise, the Caribbean or some of the other sailings where the larger ships with more amenities will enhance your "cruising" experience.

 

Hawaii is all about the various sites on each Island. IMHO unless one really must see 3 or 4 Islands in a week the land vacation with two islands and car rental is the way to see the place. Nothing beats two to three easy days driving and stopping on each Island. You don't have the convenience of one pack/unpack, but nor do you have the hassle of squeezing or tradiing off what to do with only one day in each port.

 

 

Happy planning

 

Hi all!

 

I have read over the first 10 pages on the boards. What great information, but now I am totally confused!

 

I was pretty set on going on a Hawaiian cruise with my family, DH - 46, me -43, DD - 15 and DS -11. We have never been to Hawaii before and thought that it would be a great way to get a feel for the islands.

 

So, here is my dilema:

 

We can pretty much only cruise in August, and have less than 10 days which limits the choice of cruise lines. Our only experience with cruising was on a Disney Cruise and the "cruise experience" was incredible. My whole family wanted to cruise again. It seems as if the only cruise is POA which many people refer to as a floating hotel. Would we be disappointed in the cruise itself?

 

We are a very active family and would love to see and do some cool things, but would also cherish some real down time to chill and relax. Would we be better of going to a resort and perhaps island hopping? Is Hawaii cruising easier, better?

 

If anyone has done both, I'd love to get your opinion.

 

It's kind of weird, I was positive that I wanted to cruise Hawaii.... now I'm not so sure?

 

BTW- I have been on a Royal Caribbean cruise before and loved it!