hawaii or alaska?

[thefog]

wondering which cruise is best for your money?

[MadCnty]

I would recommend Alaska to anyone... It's truly beautiful, but Hawaii would be nice too, and I would go for it, since we have already done the Alaskan cruise...

That is a hard decision and if it were me, I would base my decision on what the airfare costs... Because from Indy to Vancover RT was over $600.00 per person :eek: . We got lucky and had vouchers for the flight before we booked, and that was the deciding factor for us...

[tinsel57]

They're both on my list but I booked Hawaii first. I know a number of people that have done Alaska and while all have raved about it I don't get quite the same reaction I get from people who do the exotic tropics. Tropics seem to evoke a heck of a lot of romance that I never hear mentioned about being in Alaska! I don't know if it's a mind game or the weather!

 

I think they're both worth the cost but entirely different (obviously!) experiences.

[abridalmaven]

The glaciers are melting, go before it is too late. We did both loved both.

[Fayecruises]

Gee this is a hard question to answer. I have done both. Alaska can only be done in the summer and also it is impossible to see the Inside Passage without going on a ship. Hawaii is incredible and can be done all year long . It is very very expensive to stay in Hawaii and the food is high so it is cheaper to stay on a ship and not fly from island to island

[stevecw]

I've done both. Both are great cruises, you won't go wrong with either. If forced to decide, I would give the edge to Alaska. The scenery is beyond compare.

[Kaylas Mom]

We've done both, too, and it is hard to decide. I think Alaska. Your really need to see Alaska from the water (followed by a few days to a few weeks on land) but, to do justice to Hawaii you need to spend at least a few days on each island. In fact, I have just abandoned the idea of another Hawaii cruise and am doing a two island regular land-based vacation to see and do all the more time-consuming stuiff we never get to do when we re only in port a few hours at a time. Also, it seems to me airfare to Hawaii and hotels there are getting cheaper....plus there are lots of deals out there.

 

By the way, my perfect retirement has me with a house in each and me going back and forth, just like the whales......

[superjerryw]

I have to agree with the last poster. Many of the sights of Alaska can only be seen from the water so a cruise is always nice although there are some great land based sights such as Denali National Park so a combined land and sea trip is really the best. As for Hawaii, there is a great deal to see on each island so a cruise where you only have one day on each island is really insufficient. NCL is the only cruise line that currently has cruises that start and finish in Hawaii so you spend more time in the islands. The other cruise lines sail one way from Hawaii to the west coast (or vice versa) and in some cases round trip from the west coast. In either case you spend a lot of time crossing the Pacific and not that much time in Hawaii.

[dougp26364]

Obviously we love Alaska having completed two sailings and booked a third. We have yet to sail Hawaii so I can't compare the two.

 

Keep in mind that with RCI, Hawaii is something like an 11 night cruise with either the first 4 or 5 night, or the last 4 or 5 nights spent at sea. Not something I'd care to do myself. Essentially, it's a two week vacation for us rather then a one week vacation like Alaska is.

 

Also there is the matter of airfare. In 2006, RCI is sailing Vision from Seattle. I can get RT tickets to Seattle for two in the neighborhood of $400 to $500 total. Hawaii, on the other hand, will run me $400 to $500 per person IF I could book RT to Hawaii. With RCI, I can't do that. One leg has to be to Hawaii and the other will have to be to San Diego (sailing from Ensenada) or Vancouver, BC. That jacks the cost up just a little more.

 

Eventually we'll do the Hawaiin cruise. Unfortunately, I see us sailing NCL rather than with RCI since they now have two ships doing 7 night RT sailing out of Honolulu. If we have time that will also give us a couple of nights to spend on the island and do a few more touristy things while we're there.

[kente]

wondering which cruise is best for your money?

 

 

ALASKA

[smrtypnts]

Kaylasmom: Someone suggested to me that I buy the Hawaii Entertainment book before booking hotels, etc. as you can get some better deals. Plus you can get coupons for the car rental and other stuff you may decide to do, like a helicopter ride.

[Kaylas Mom]

smrtypnts,

 

Absolutely! We always get a Hawaii entertainment book, even when we cruise there. We usually stay at the Hilton Hawaiian Village in Oahu and there are coupns in the Entertainment book for all the on-site restaurants there, plus loads of tours, etc. And, if you buy the book in the spring.summer, it's only $10. THis year, I am booking the Maui portion using the 1/2 price hotel club that's part of Entertainment. I am a big believer.

 

On airfares -- open jaws to Hawaii are usually the same price and give you the chance to see two (or more) islands while there. Shuttle hops between islands on Hawaiian Air or Aloha Air are so cheap. I just booked Kona to Kahalui, Maui for $66 each.