Hawaii Cruise on RCI

[RC Tim]

I am trying to decide if a Hawaii cruise is the way to see Hawaii. I notice a lot of the time on the cruise is just getting TO Hawaii, or traveling away from Hawaii.

Can anyone share their experience with the Hawaii Cruise?What was the good and or poor (or lesser) point?

 

Thanks

:D

Edited September 27, 2018 by RC Tim
correct

[Clarea]

Royal's cruises that stop in Hawaii are just intermediate stops on repositioning cruises.

 

Check out NCL. they have a cruise line that specializes in Hawaii. Note that these start and stop in Hawaii.

[Qstrom]

My wife and I have been to Maui once.....we've decided next time a two week cruise out of LA (our home port) makes more sense since airfare is so expensive. My sister paid to fly the Hawaii then took that Norwegian cruise around the islands.....they paid like 12K total......sounds stupid to me. We need to wait a couple of years before we can take two weeks off to do it but sounds like a better plan to us. We can get a cruise for the two of us for $3500 and not involve an airport.

[Rogueperson]

I've never been on a Hawaiian cruise, however, with Royal Caribbean or any other cruise line EXCEPT NCL, you either have to do a one way trip to Hawaii which averages about 10 nights, or you have to do a roundtrip from the west coast which is usually 15 or more nights.

 

The ONLY cruiseline that cruises around Hawaii from Hawaii is NCL because they have the only major US flagged cruise ship. That is the only way you can get a Hawaiian cruise for less than 10 nights and embark and disembark from the same port.

[Qstrom]

You'll need to use another cruise line though.......Princess does more to Hawaii......

[SFBayAreaShipLover]

I've never been on a Hawaiian cruise, however, with Royal Caribbean or any other cruise line EXCEPT NCL, you either have to do a one way trip to Hawaii which averages about 10 nights, or you have to do a roundtrip from the west coast which is usually 15 or more nights.

 

 

 

The ONLY cruiseline that cruises around Hawaii from Hawaii is NCL because they have the only major US flagged cruise ship. That is the only way you can get a Hawaiian cruise for less than 10 nights and embark and disembark from the same port.

 

 

 

If you enjoy nice sea time, then recommend doing a Princess or HAL cruise from the west coast. There lot of LA /San Diego, SF, and Vancouver depending on time of the year. With the Pride of America being a America flagged ship, it’s required to have American crew which get paid a much higher wage. They are allowed to have a small percentage of foreign workers to enable them to provide better service and fill slots on the vessel and are also paid America. Wages.

 

 

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[Desert Cruizers]

Royal use to have round trip Hawaii and we took one out of San Diego, but Princess still does the round trip out of San Pedro, San Francisco. I love the Round trips living in So Calif as I can drive to the port and not have air fare over and back . It comes down to whether you will enjoy the 4 to 5 days crossing by ship to get to the Islands or you prefer to spend more time on each Island and fly over and do land trips. The trip for the daughter & I next March in a balcony will cost us around 6 k on the Emerald Princess. Personally, I find Princess more expensive then other lines but they offer wonderful itineraries and very good service. If Royal offered the round trip I probably would have gone with them.

[mugtech]

Our idea is to take a cruise which ends in Hawaii and then take the NCL 7 day around the islands. As stated the NCL ship is flagged USA and this raises the cost, but it is a great way to see the major islands. Being retired gives us plenty of time to do 18 days on Ovation Sidney to Honolulu and then NCL. It also helps to have family living in Hawaii.

[Crazy planning mom]

I am trying to decide if a Hawaii cruise is the way to see Hawaii. I notice a lot of the time on the cruise is just getting TO Hawaii, or traveling away from Hawaii.

Can anyone share their experience with the Hawaii Cruise?What was the good and or poor (or lesser) point?

 

Thanks

:D

Took the NCL Pride of America cruise. There were no sea days but are at port every single day. It was a great way to see Hawaii. We also arrived 4 days early and spent time beforehand in Oahu. No regrets. it was $1500 per person for a balcony cabin when we went July 2017.

[J&L~SetSail]

There are really good prices for the May 2, 2019 Ovation 11 night Honolulu to Vancouver right now. I booked Tuesday-mid-ship balcony under 3K, Wow sale OBC, early non-refundable booking OBC plus TA OBC. Overnight in Maui.

[ATG]

We did the Vancouver to Hawaii a few years ago. It was 5 days at sea and then around the islands. We saw the big island, Maui, Kauai, and ended in Honolulu. We stayed a few extra nights there.

 

It was really nice, we saw the highlights on each island.

 

I would suggest doing it the other direction. See the islands and then relax on the sea days.

[eel]

Celebrity Eclipse is doing some Hawaii cruises in April 2019. The first one is a one-way from Vancouver to Hawaii and the other is a one-way back to Vancouver. There is also the Solstice repositioning cruise from Hawaii to Vancouver later in the same month.

 

By sailing Celebrity you get a C&A level match up to Elite.

[RC Tim]

 

By sailing Celebrity you get a C&A level match up to Elite.

 

I forgot about that! I will have to look in to that as well. thanks.

I saw $1500 balcony on another post, that is a decent price.... and I like the idea of flying and cruising back to unwind... I love the rest break of open sea cruising before having to get back to the grind.

[Hoopster95]

I am trying to decide if a Hawaii cruise is the way to see Hawaii. :D

 

If the red/bolded quote above is your primary criteria for your Hawaii trip.... then the answer is an overwhelming no.

 

I notice a lot of the time on the cruise is just getting TO Hawaii, or traveling away from Hawaii.

Can anyone share their experience with the Hawaii Cruise?What was the good and or poor (or lesser) point?

 

Thanks

:D

 

Cruise: 10 days on Radiance... 5 sea days + 4 port stops before reaching Oahu... 8 hours each port stop = 32 hours in Hawaii

Land vacation: Fly to Hawaii.... 10 days x 24 hours per day = 240 hours actually being in Hawaii.

 

A quote from a fellow CC'er on my Radiance-Hawaii review a few years ago:

https://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?p=48050618&highlight=However%2C+to+do+Hawaii%2C+you+REALLY+need+to+stay+there+and+island+hop.#post48050618

"We are avid cruisers (Diamond) and would have loved to do this as a cruise. However, to do Hawaii, you REALLY need to stay there and island hop."

In my humble opinion, having the experience of both cruising there as well as staying on land, Hawaii is not the place to visit via a cruise if you're wanting to immerse yourself into the islands and properly see the best Hawaii has to offer.

[Merion_Mom]

If the red/bolded quote above is your primary criteria for your Hawaii trip.... then the answer is an overwhelming no.

 

 

 

Cruise: 10 days on Radiance... 5 sea days + 4 port stops before reaching Oahu... 8 hours each port stop = 32 hours in Hawaii

Land vacation: Fly to Hawaii.... 10 days x 24 hours per day = 240 hours actually being in Hawaii.

 

A quote from a fellow CC'er on my Radiance-Hawaii review a few years ago:

https://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?p=48050618&highlight=However%2C+to+do+Hawaii%2C+you+REALLY+need+to+stay+there+and+island+hop.#post48050618

"We are avid cruisers (Diamond) and would have loved to do this as a cruise. However, to do Hawaii, you REALLY need to stay there and island hop."

In my humble opinion, having the experience of both cruising there as well as staying on land, Hawaii is not the place to visit via a cruise if you're wanting to immerse yourself into the islands and properly see the best Hawaii has to offer.

But it’s better than a sharp stick in the eye. 😀🤪❤️

[PCWalton1]

Sorry of I am repeating any previous posts.

 

If seeing Hawaii is the priority first trip could be on NCL Pride of America. That will give you an opportunity to experience all the major islands in a one week cruise. Then you could come back on land trips and explore the islands you found most intriguing. These cruises are available year round. As mentioned POA is a US flagged (crewed) ship with US wages so a higher cruise cost. Also that means round trip airfare.

 

A possibly cheaper alternative for the first visit is one of the ships transitioning between Australia and Alaska. Both Royal and Celebrity have such cruises. If you pick the right one you will get to stop at all the major islands and 5 days of at sea to boot either before or after the islands. These normally rune eastbound in April and westbound in September You may find the cost comparable to POA and then just need one way airfare. So overall it may be cheaper but it is more of a time investment, usually 10-12 day cruises.

[Hoopster95]

But it’s better than a sharp stick in the eye. ❤️

 

Haha! No doubt! :D

Like Bill and others have already said... if a cruise is as high on the priority list as actually "seeing" Hawaii without 5 days at sea not seeing Hawaii, then the OP's one and only choice is the NCL Pride I would suspect. To the 7 day Pride itinerary I would fully recommend adding 3-4 days on land in Honolulu as well.

[cb at sea]

A land vacation is the BEST way to experience Hawaii. There is WAY too much to see and do via a cruise. Hawaii is all about the islands....not about the ship or the cruise. You've GOT to be on the islands!!!

[h20skibum]

If your interest is in seeing the islands, then doing a land based vacation and island hopping is the way to go. I have made six trips to Hawaii this way, spending 3 or 4 days at each major island. You have much more time to explore.

 

Last year, we did our first round trip cruise to Hawaii from San Francisco on Princess. On these types of cruises, including those on NCL, you will only get a small taste of the islands. Just think of your time in port on Caribbean cruises, and that is what your time in port here will be.

 

Just remember, if sailing from the west coast, the first couple of sea days will be cold and choppy. If you are interested in what a 15 day cruise there is like, I did a review of that trip. Just expand my signature to find the link.

 

Enjoy your planning.

 

 

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[Giantfan13]

I understand that to see ANYPLACE, you need to spend some time there, that goes for Europe, the Med, the Baltics and most other places cruises go to. But we are talking about a cruise and a chance to see several Hawaiian islands, while staying in your floating hotel of a ship, with all meals and a great place to stay. Yes, the purists will knock anything, but we did an NCL cruise of Hawaii on the Pride of Hawaii, (now the Jade)and loved it.

So you want to know about it. Cruising the islands isn't much of a cruise. You go from island to island, so when they depart, the ship basically goes out, goes around in circles for a few hours until it's time to dock at the next island. So if you are huge into cruising then you will be disappointed. But, understand, the deal is Hawaii. On NCL we had 2 overnights and 4 islands. We arrived on Oahu 5 days early and spend great time on the island. For a great price, we saw and experienced 4 Hawaiian Islands, had a cruise where we were fed gourmet meals and had entertainment every night, all for just the cost of the cruise.

 

Anyway, we still think it was great so we just booked the Radiance of the Sea, for September, Vancouver to Hawaii and the rates are great. almost 1/2 of what NCL is charging. For us this is the best of both worlds as we love the sea days, (5 of them) and 5 Days to see the islands. Hawaii is VERY EASY to do on your own, very easy to just rent cars in each port and take off on your own. Everyone does it.

So go for it and see what all the excitement is about.

 

Cheers

Len

[Mikew0805]

I am trying to decide if a Hawaii cruise is the way to see Hawaii. I notice a lot of the time on the cruise is just getting TO Hawaii, or traveling away from Hawaii.

Can anyone share their experience with the Hawaii Cruise?What was the good and or poor (or lesser) point?

 

Thanks

:D

 

We loved ours. The time spent getting to, and coming back from Hawaii, was the relaxing part... the 6 days in the islands was a constant go go go. We want to do another, but will only do the longer round trip, so that is going to leave RCI out for our next one.

[George C]

We did a rccl Hawaii cruise a long time ago and loved it, it was from Hawaii to Vancouver, ncl is only line that just does Hawaii but will not cruise them again.

[BopRN]

We took the NCL Pride of America in Hawaii. We did not want to spend 5 days going & coming with only a few hours on each island. It was great and would highly recommend doing it that way. We flew into Honolulu, spent 1 night on Waikiki then boarded the ship. At the time, NCL was the only line that had the market on a 7 day cruise of the islands and that is why we chose them.

 

 

Now you need to know that this is NOT a typical cruising experience....more like a floating hotel. You will read that over & over. The ship is American registered and to be honest, the level of service was not comparable to a typical cruise. Lots of young American workers who were "hanging out" in Hawaii for a year or two. The positives were that the ship stays overnight on Maui & Kauai so you have 2 days on those islands. I planned our island days by reading on Trip Advisor....got off the ship, got rental cars (reserved before we went) and took off exploring the islands each day. On Maui, we went to an evening Luau which we loved. There is even a place to park your car near the ship when staying overnight. There are neat Hawaiian shows on board, narrated talks when sailing past certain things, cultural classes, etc.

 

 

When the week was over and people were flying home, they were exhausted. We were SO thankful that we stayed an extra week on Oahu to recoup and explore the island, relax on beaches, see Pearl Harbor (a must!), and just take things at a slower pace. There are many residents that have built little apartments on their property and rent them out very reasonably. We found 1 on VRBO and had the best time. It was in Kailua, a quiet residential area across the street from the beach...perfect! I highly recommend a day at the Polynesian Cultural Center on Oahu. Well worth the money!

 

 

Keep in mind that it is a 3-6 hour time difference depending where you live. So the 1st night we were up 24 hours! Some people were trying to cram in Pearl Harbor the same day as their flight home. That would have been hard and exhausting.

 

 

So I definitely recommend 7 days on the islands, however you can manage it. Even after being on Oahu for a week we were still stopping at beautiful overlooks on the way to the airport. So much to see!

[koolkat327]

We were planning on going to Hawaii to celebrate our 5 year anniversary. Our plan is to fly to Oahu on a Tuesday/Wednesday when flights are generally cheaper and stay in the Hilton Hawaii Village until the NCL cruise departs. Then do the cruise to island hop and see the other islands ending back in Oahu and leaving either Tuesday or Wednesday. I have a Hilton timeshare so that covers the hotel part and this way we get a broken up week to enjoy Oahu plus a week of cruising and island hopping.

Edited September 28, 2018 by koolkat327
spelling

[Rogueperson]

Our idea is to take a cruise which ends in Hawaii and then take the NCL 7 day around the islands. As stated the NCL ship is flagged USA and this raises the cost, but it is a great way to see the major islands. Being retired gives us plenty of time to do 18 days on Ovation Sidney to Honolulu and then NCL. It also helps to have family living in Hawaii.

 

This is an awesome idea. Whenever I have a month off, and the money to burn, this is a plan!!!