doubledobles Posted April 18, 2012 #1 Share Posted April 18, 2012 We are very loyal O customers (22 cruises, coming up on 23) but want a cruise to Hawaii without stopping in Tahitti and some other place. We feel like traitors but wonder if anyone out there can suggest the best cruise line to take to the Hawaiaan Islands and back to San Diego or LA. We have requested this itinerary of O for years, to no avail. So I'm asking for input from other O cruisers who have done a Hawaiian cruise. Thanks for your help! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bruin Steve Posted April 18, 2012 #2 Share Posted April 18, 2012 We are very loyal O customers (22 cruises, coming up on 23) but want a cruise to Hawaii without stopping in Tahitti and some other place. We feel like traitors but wonder if anyone out there can suggest the best cruise line to take to the Hawaiaan Islands and back to San Diego or LA. We have requested this itinerary of O for years, to no avail. So I'm asking for input from other O cruisers who have done a Hawaiian cruise. Thanks for your help! Celebrity will be doing San Diego-Hawaii-San Diego 15 nighters on the 1800 passenger Century: Day 1 San Diego, California -- 5:00 pm Day 2 At Sea -- -- Day 3 At Sea -- -- Day 4 At Sea -- -- Day 5 At Sea -- -- Day 6 At Sea -- -- Day 7 Honolulu, Oahu, Hawaii 7:00 am 11:59 pm Day 8 Lahaina, Maui, Hawaii 8:00 am 11:59 pm Day 9 Kailua-Kona, Hawaii, Hawaii 8:00 am 6:00 pm Day 9 Kilauea Volcano coast, Hawaii 11:59 pm -- Day 10 Hilo, Hawaii, Hawaii 7:00 am 4:00 pm Day 11 At Sea -- -- Day 12 At Sea -- -- Day 13 At Sea -- -- Day 14 At Sea -- -- Day 15 Ensenada, Mexico 7:00 pm 11:59 pm Day 16 San Diego, California 6:00 am -- We were on Century this past Christmas/New Years in Australia/New Zealand and really enjoyed it...the oldest Celebrity ship but still very well maintained...also their smallest ship (aside from the one in the Galapagos)... They also have some dates doing it from Los Angeles: Day 1 Los Angeles, California 4:00 pm Day 2 At Sea Day 3 At Sea Day 4 At Sea Day 5 At Sea Day 6 At Sea Day 7 Honolulu, Oahu, Hawaii 7:00 am 11:59 pm Day 8 Lahaina, Maui, Hawaii 8:00 am 11:59 pm Day 9 Kailua-Kona, Hawaii, Hawaii 8:00 am 6:00 pm Day 9 Kilauea Volcano coast, Hawaii 11:59 pm Day 10 Hilo, Hawaii, Hawaii 6:30 am 2:30 pm Day 11 At Sea Day 12 At Sea Day 13 At Sea Day 14 At Sea Day 15 Ensenada, Mexico 5:00 pm 9:00 pm Day 16 Los Angeles, California 7:00 am Holland America has a slightly longer one that also goes to Mexico on the Zaandam: Day 1 San Diego, California -- 5:00 pm Day 2 At Sea -- -- Day 3 At Sea -- -- Day 4 At Sea -- -- Day 5 At Sea -- -- Day 6 Hilo, Hawaii, Hawaii 12:00 pm 8:00 pm Day 7 Lahaina, Maui, Hawaii 7:00 am 11:00 pm Day 8 Honolulu, Oahu, Hawaii 7:00 am 11:00 pm Day 9 Nawiliwili, Kauai, Hawaii 7:00 am 3:00 pm Day 10 At Sea -- -- Day 11 At Sea -- -- Day 12 At Sea -- -- Day 13 At Sea -- -- Day 14 Ensenada, Mexico 8:00 pm 11:59 pm Day 15 San Diego, California 7:00 am -- Princess does it as well...form LA and from San Francisco...Disney has at least one of those runs from LA--but I don't know if any typical Oceania cruiser want s to do that one...Carnival does it--and I wouldn't touch that one with a ten foot pole! I don't think any of the "luxury" lines currently has that route in its inventory... So, the above group are your choices...Personally, I would go with Celebrity, HAL being the alternative choice... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
doubledobles Posted April 18, 2012 Author #3 Share Posted April 18, 2012 Thanks Steve for your all your wonderful input. We were looking at Celebrity because they have butler service, but dinners are not open seating and you must eat at 6 or 8 pm. My husband hates that regimentation, so we will continue to look at your other suggestions. We are thoroughly spoiled by Oceania. How I wish they would do a simple Hawaiian Islands cruise instead of Mexico!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bruin Steve Posted April 18, 2012 #4 Share Posted April 18, 2012 ...dinners are not open seating and you must eat at 6 or 8 pm. My husband hates that regimentation, so we will continue to look at your other suggestions. Actually, Celebrity now offers a "Select Dining" option for open seating... We have it for our upcoming Eclipse cruise in July... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare LHT28 Posted April 18, 2012 #5 Share Posted April 18, 2012 Princess also have open dining but not on their R-ships Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
oceansandseas Posted April 19, 2012 #6 Share Posted April 19, 2012 Husband and I did a cruise from Los Angeles to Hawaii in February 2012 on Cunard Queen Victoria. Lovely ship. They will probably do the same again next year, (I know they did it in 2011 and again in 2012 and the cruise was full in 2012). Take a look. Maybe Cunard Queen Elizabeth will do that cruise also. There are 2 seatings for dinner on Cunard ships. However if you are in either the Princess Grill or Queens Grill, you can eat whenever you wish and also eat whatever you wish. There are separate smaller dining rooms for each of the grill class. Those categories also have butlers. We enjoyed our cruise and we were in a balcony cabin. I would say that Cunard is comperable to Oceania. They do have formal nights on Cunard, but there were not that many on the Hawaii cruise. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
doubledobles Posted April 19, 2012 Author #7 Share Posted April 19, 2012 I never thought of Cunard, so thanks, I will check into it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
orchestrapal Posted April 19, 2012 #8 Share Posted April 19, 2012 I never thought of Cunard, so thanks, I will check into it. Read the most recent reviews on their board and it will save you the trouble of even considering. We have a friend on the current world cruise who is Diamond with Cunard and reports that the current cruise (he also went 2011) is comparable to a bus tour. Quality all through the experience has really gone down. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bruin Steve Posted April 19, 2012 #9 Share Posted April 19, 2012 Cunard does NOT have any Los Angeles-Hawaii-Los Angeles itineraries on its current schedule. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare LHT28 Posted April 19, 2012 #10 Share Posted April 19, 2012 Cunard does NOT have any Los Angeles-Hawaii-Los Angeles itineraries on its current schedule. They are going Feb 2013 for 36 nts but includes NZ & other islands;) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bruin Steve Posted April 19, 2012 #11 Share Posted April 19, 2012 They are going Feb 2013 for 36 nts but includes NZ & other islands;) Specifically why I didn't include Cunard originally and discounted them now...The OP wrote with some specificity: ...want a cruise to Hawaii without stopping in Tahitti and some other place...if anyone out there can suggest the best cruise line to take to the Hawaiaan Islands and back to San Diego or LA. That Cunard 36 night itinerary goes like this: Day 1 Los Angeles , California Day 2 At Sea Day 3 At Sea Day 4 At Sea Day 5 At Sea Day 6 Oahu , Hawaii Day 7 At Sea Day 8 At Sea Day 9 At Sea Day 10 At Sea Day 11 Pago Pago , Samoa (Independent State of) Day 12 Apia , Samoa (Independent State of) Day 13 Cross International Dateline , World Day 14 At Sea Day 15 At Sea Day 16 At Sea Day 17 Auckland , New Zealand Day 18 Napier , New Zealand Day 19 Wellington , New Zealand Day 20 Christchurch , New Zealand Day 21 Cross International Dateline , World Day 22 At Sea Day 23 At Sea Day 24 At Sea Day 25 Papeete , French Polynesia Day 26 Bora Bora , French Polynesia Day 27 At Sea Day 28 At Sea Day 29 At Sea Day 30 At Sea Day 31 Maui , Hawaii Day 32 Hilo , Big Island of Hawaii Day 33 At Sea Day 34 At Sea Day 35 At Sea Day 36 At Sea Day 37 Los Angeles , California Sure it visits Hawaii and comes back to Los Angeles...but only after giving you TWENTY-FOUR at sea days and visits to Samoa, Tahiti, New Zealand and everywhere else in the Pacific! You might as well get on any ship in Los Angeles...and, if you just stay on board a few years, eventually it will take you to Hawaii and bring you back to LA!! This itinerary just doesn't seem to come close to matching the OP's request...The Celebrity, HAL and Princess itineraries are right on point: Los Angeles or San Diego to Hawaii and back to LA or SD... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JimandStan Posted April 19, 2012 #12 Share Posted April 19, 2012 Cunard does NOT have any Los Angeles-Hawaii-Los Angeles itineraries on its current schedule. Of course not, the only cruise ship in the World (at present) that would be permitted to sail between those ports is the Pride of Aloha, because she is staffed by Americans and was registered in the U.S.. The United States does not permit foreign flagged ships to sail directly between American ports, so they typically "stick in" a short stop at Ensenada or one of the non-U.S. Pacific islands in order to make it work. Unfortunately even with those additional ports, a Trans Pacific crossing is generally too long, too rough and generally too boring to ever be a commercial success in the long run. MANY Companies (some of them heavily subsidized by the U.S. Government) have tried it People make the mistake of thinking "I liked a Trans Atlantic crossing, so I will probably enjoy sailing the Pacific". It is a very different animal. The motion of the ocean is different somehow. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mexfolkart Posted April 19, 2012 #13 Share Posted April 19, 2012 We would also love a good Oceania Cruise to Hawaii!! Sherry & Kimber Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare LHT28 Posted April 19, 2012 #14 Share Posted April 19, 2012 Specifically why I didn't include Cunard originally and discounted them now...The OP wrote with some specificity: . You said Cunard does NOT have any Los Angeles-Hawaii-Los Angeles itineraries on its current schedule. I am just pointing out that your statement is untrue They do have one but not what the OP is looking for lyn Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
oceansandseas Posted April 20, 2012 #15 Share Posted April 20, 2012 My goodness Bruin Steve, what did I do to upset you so that you used such strong replies. I read what the poster said. In 2011 and 2012, the Cunard Queen Victoria left Los Angeles, went to 4 of the Hawaiian Islands and returned to Los Angeles. I thought that was what the poster was asking for. I was on the 2012 voyage and enjoyed it. It was a sold out cruise. I therefore said that it might be again offered in 2013 and she could check it. I was not aware that the 2013 cruises for Cunard had been offered yet. However, I am glad that you mentioned that the cruise in 2013 goes further and is for 36 days. Looked into it and it looks great. Might be the cruise that we take next year. Sailing on the Pacific was not really that rough. However I do not mind a bit of movement. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bruin Steve Posted April 20, 2012 #16 Share Posted April 20, 2012 My goodness Bruin Steve, what did I do to upset you so that you used such strong replies. I was not upset...and nothing I wrote was intended to be "strong" or mean or ill-spirited in any way... I was trying to be as helpful as possible to the OP--who was looking for something VERY SPECIFIC--a Southern California to Hawaii and return cruise which did NOT go to Tahiti and other such places...for someone who would prefer to have done it on Oceania--but Oceania doesn't offer one... Celebrity does it...as does HAL...Princess does some as well...and Disney and Carnival...and, for the foreseeable future, that is it...With those choices, IMHO, Celebrity may be the best choice... Cunard MAY have been very nice when you did it...BUT, FOR THE PURPOSE OF ANSWERING the OP's specific query, Cunard is irrelevant...Perhaps they return to such an itinerary two years from now, if at all...BUT they currently do not have it scheduled... And I was not directing my comment to you or AT you... All I was doing was pointing out that the only Cunard itinerary that even comes close was NOT fitting within the OP's specific parameters--which was that the cruise only go to Hawaii and back (yes, JimandStan, obviously, they also have to stop briefly in Ensenada to come within US law--but you do realize Ensenada is not all that great a departure from So Cal...We can drive there and back for lunch!)... My comments were to point that out--that discussion of Cunard was moot...NOT to express"anger" toward you, personally, or any other poster. I was trying to help narrow down the OP's focus to help the OP more quickly find what exactly they were looking for...not to go off on a tangent, searching through cruise lines that don't currently do their desired itineraries... If you somehow took that personally, I am sorry...It was not intended to be personal... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
oceansandseas Posted April 20, 2012 #17 Share Posted April 20, 2012 I will accept your apology. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
markshale Posted April 22, 2012 #18 Share Posted April 22, 2012 We go to Hawaii every year, but by plane. Not too sure why anyone would want to be on a ship when it is so easy to rent car and do your own thing. Rooms are so much larger in a five star hotel like the Four Seasons on Maui and Hawaii. Many fabulous restaurants to choose from on these islands. The land experience is so much richer. The Hawaiian people are wonderful hosts. Just chatted with a cruising friend at the gym who just got back from a cruise to Hawaii. They did not enjoy all the time at sea like some of you above have stated. Traveling from island to island if you want to is not difficult. The airports are small and easy to get in and out of. If you have a lot of time to devote to the trip and want to see it all spend three nights on Hawaii, Maui, and Kaui, each. Spend two or three nights on Oahu, but be prepared to be in a big city. We have done Oahu as a day trip once from Maui just to see Pearl Harbour and other top attractions. Flying out the first thing in the morning and back in the late evening. It was a long day, but we were back in paradise at the Four Seasons Maui in time for bed. The most relaxing way to see Hawaii is to pick an island, take your time and enjoy. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pacheco18 Posted April 22, 2012 #19 Share Posted April 22, 2012 We go to Hawaii every year, but by plane. Not too sure why anyone would want to be on a ship when it is so easy to rent car and do your own thing. Rooms are so much larger in a five star hotel like the Four Seasons on Maui and Hawaii. Many fabulous restaurants to choose from on these islands. The land experience is so much richer. The Hawaiian people are wonderful hosts. Just chatted with a cruising friend at the gym who just got back from a cruise to Hawaii. They did not enjoy all the time at sea like some of you above have stated. Traveling from island to island if you want to is not difficult. The airports are small and easy to get in and out of. If you have a lot of time to devote to the trip and want to see it all spend three nights on Hawaii, Maui, and Kaui, each. Spend two or three nights on Oahu, but be prepared to be in a big city. We have done Oahu as a day trip once from Maui just to see Pearl Harbour and other top attractions. Flying out the first thing in the morning and back in the late evening. It was a long day, but we were back in paradise at the Four Seasons Maui in time for bed. The most relaxing way to see Hawaii is to pick an island, take your time and enjoy. You took the words out of my mouth. I cannot imagine cruising in Hawaii. You want to be on land and get into the "aloha spirit." You want to soak up the atmosphere. You want to sleep on land, eat on land and drive around and sit on the beach, see the sights, sip mai tais and do so many things. I cannot imagine being on any ship in Hawaii. One day in an island port in Hawaii is like one day in a port Paris or Florence. BTW - Oahu is my favorite island -- it is much more than Pearl Harbor. The west coast (Ko'Olina) is gorgeous and you must spend time on the wonderful North Shore. Pick an island or two -- any of the islands as they are all terrific -- and enjoy. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ChatKat in Ca. Posted April 22, 2012 #20 Share Posted April 22, 2012 One of the things to be aware of in Hawaii is that in some of the islands you tender; That is not ideal because on a ship with 2000 passengers it can take a couple hours out of your visit; I would much rather do Hawaii with a land trip; On Maui, you need a full day just to see Haleakala or drive the island; You can go to some of the islands and stay at one hotel for a couple days and move to the other side of the island for a different experience - like having two vacations on one flight; Lot's of options for timeshares or luxe hotels and great food. (We prefer Hawaii to Tahiti) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
doubledobles Posted April 22, 2012 Author #21 Share Posted April 22, 2012 We go to Hawaii every years too (via air), only this time we want to cruise to Hawaii for a change, I don't see what's wrong with that or why anyone would criticize us for that. We enjoy the sea days on a TA, this way we can enjoy the sea days on a trip to Hawaii. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pacheco18 Posted April 22, 2012 #22 Share Posted April 22, 2012 We go to Hawaii every years too (via air), only this time we want to cruise to Hawaii for a change, I don't see what's wrong with that or why anyone would criticize us for that. We enjoy the sea days on a TA, this way we can enjoy the sea days on a trip to Hawaii. I don't think any of us was criticizing you. I guess your post implied (or we read it as implying) that this is how were you planning to see Hawaii for the first time -- which is why some of us discouraged a cruise in favor of a land vacation. In fact, that is exactly what you have done! If you love sea days you get the best of it all -- the cruise with plenty of sea days and some of the magic of Hawaii. Sounds like a good plan to me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JimandStan Posted April 22, 2012 #23 Share Posted April 22, 2012 Actually, I was criticizing the choice of crossing the Pacific by ship. Not because it is a bad idea to travel in that part of the World, but because experience has shown that it just cannot be counted upon to be a pleasant sea journey. Why do you think that no cruise line does it on a regular basis, except as a way to get their ships in or out of the Hawaiian Islands? :rolleyes: I hate to beat a dead horse, but the Matson Lines, who are the best known name in Pacific Shipping (still today), could not make it work even with government subsidized ships AND a contract for carrying the mail, because of the basic flaws of the route. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RetiredFL Posted April 22, 2012 #24 Share Posted April 22, 2012 I hate to disagree with you (Well, I don't really:D) but we had a friend who was a purser on the Matson Line, I believe the old Lurline, and he told us the crossing was great but that government regulations eventually did in the passenger business due to so many regulations for an American Flag ship. The advent of airplanes and the two week vacation also made people switch to airplanes to be able to spend time in Hawaii. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LuAnn Posted April 22, 2012 #25 Share Posted April 22, 2012 Actually, I was criticizing the choice of crossing the Pacific by ship. Not because it is a bad idea to travel in that part of the World, but because experience has shown that it just cannot be counted upon to be a pleasant sea journey. Why do you think that no cruise line does it on a regular basis, except as a way to get their ships in or out of the Hawaiian Islands? :rolleyes: I hate to beat a dead horse, but the Matson Lines, who are the best known name in Pacific Shipping (still today), could not make it work even with government subsidized ships AND a contract for carrying the mail, because of the basic flaws of the route. You state that this is not an ideal cruise because of the seas...yet we have done this twice...from SD R/T and the Pacific was like a lake...not always the case...and it will be perhaps damp and a little bit rough the first day or two out of SD...but nothing that should discourage CCers from doing this!!! And we have done the Alaska to China T/P and that was great as well....as well as the T/P from LA to Sydney...Have you done those??? I sometimes think that you make some pretty general statements...when you haven't done the cruises???? LuAnn Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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