Hawaii Cruise

[MrsStanners]

Hi, I have so far only cruised with Royal Caribbean,  I’ve seen a lovely trip to Hawaii with Princess Cruises. Has anyone travelled with both and could offer any comments, how do the two companies compare?  Has anyone done the Hawaii cruise that could comment on it? It’s 15 days but 9 of those are at sea? 
‘Thanks for any feedback

[skynight]

44 minutes ago, MrsStanners said:

Hi, I have so far only cruised with Royal Caribbean,  I’ve seen a lovely trip to Hawaii with Princess Cruises. Has anyone travelled with both and could offer any comments, how do the two companies compare?  Has anyone done the Hawaii cruise that could comment on it? It’s 15 days but 9 of those are at sea? 
‘Thanks for any feedback

I'll start be saying we enjoy the Hawaii trip. Have done it many times. We enjoy the sea day activities. Seas can be choppy. Normally temperatures are not tropical the first and last two days. Not like the Caribbean where much of the focus is sitting around the pools. There are Hawaiian ambassadors on board. On sea days they have ukulele and hula instruction. At the end of the cruise those that participated, maybe 150, are in a show in the theater. They also have Hawaiian craft sessions, fees involved for the supplies. There are about 6 or 7 in the cruise director's staff. They run daytime activities such as Zumba (free), trivia at least twice a day with maybe a progressive cruise long trivia, karaoke, Voice of the Ocean similar to the Voice TV show contest and final show, other silly games like egg drop contests, cardboard boat building, ring toss, golf putting, all that kind of stuff. There will be informative (not port shopping), naturalist and port information lectures. Movies are shown some afternoons in the theater. Outdoor movies and video concerts run all afternoon with newer movies in the evenings. A different show each evening. Lots of selections for free dining which varies some depending on the ship. Of course the casino and bingo are always there to accept your donations. Bingo is now electronic. Does not appear to be as much fun as in the past. The 4 Hawaiian ports are nice with lots of choices for touring using ship's or private tours. Ensenada is an OK port. U.S. law requires they ship make a stop at a foreign port.

You will not find surf pools, rock walls, water slides, ice rinks, bumper cars on Princess ships.  

Edited October 31, 2019 by skynight

[exgman]

Skynight is right on. I’ve only done 1 Hawaii cruise but enjoyed it very much. You have to like sea days, which the wife and I do. When we cruise with kids and grandkids we the do Royal Caribbean big ships. More for the kids to do. Otherwise it’s usually Princess. 

[KeepCalmBearOn]

I've done Hawaii on HAL and Princess, doing Princess again in Feb, so obviously we enjoy it. Not sure which RCI ships you've been on, but Princess ships are mostly like the "middle sized" RCI ships. If you've been on Oasis or even Quantum class RCI ships, Princess doesn't have the bells and whistles that kids and teens love (flow rider, rock climbing wall, etc).

 

So I guess what I am saying is.... details matter, especially who is traveling. Princess is RT, RCI does one ways from Vancouver. We like the round trip.

[Potstech]

We looked closely at a Hawaii cruise but the long days at sea with only 5 days on land seemed not right FOR US.  We then decided on a land based visit to Hawaii and went to 4 islands in 10 or 11 days on an escorted cruise. Yes it was a little more expensive but we got to see and experience a lot more of the state than if just there for 5 quick days.  But each must decide on their own on how to visit places.  Enjoy your cruise when and if you go.

[clan]

We'e done the Hawaii cruise once and would love to do it again.  As others have said, you have to like sea days to enjoy this cruise.  I think Princess and Royal Caribbean's smaller ships are comparable in many ways.  Good luck with your decision!

[Potstech]

5 hours ago, Potstech said:

We looked closely at a Hawaii cruise but the long days at sea with only 5 days on land seemed not right FOR US.  We then decided on a land based visit to Hawaii and went to 4 islands in 10 or 11 days on an escorted cruise. Yes it was a little more expensive but we got to see and experience a lot more of the state than if just there for 5 quick days.  But each must decide on their own on how to visit places.  Enjoy your cruise when and if you go.

Meant to say an escorted tour instead of cruise.

Edited October 31, 2019 by Potstech

[jondfk]

We've done a number of the Princess 15 day Hawaii cruises from San Francisco, it's become a nearly annual thing for us so obviously we like them.

 

Since these only operate in the cooler months I'll agree that the first day or two going out and the last day coming back can be quite cool.  We tend to bundle up and make a stand against the cold on the outdoor decks - but that's not how most folks handle those days.  Instead, most will remain inside and take advantage of lectures (quality will vary), movies and the excellent Princess Hawaii enrichment teams.  You might learn a bit of ukulele, how to make a flower lei, a few things about island food and much about the culture and history of the 50th state.  

 

The ship will be operating at it's full potential with special lunches (pub lunch for example) offered during these sea days.  Dining rooms will serve 3 meals (on port days luncheon is skipped).  All of the formal nights will occur (3 of them) while making the transit to and from the islands.

 

There will be loads of other largely indoor activities.  As the ship reaches warmer climates activities shift outdoors.  

 

As noted elsewhere you do have to love sea days to really enjoy these cruises.  

 

Current ships in the rotation are all from Princess 'Grand' class.  At the moment Grand Princess is operating out of San Francisco.  Ruby Princess from Los Angeles.  In the future Grand will depart the west coast / Ruby will take over in San Francisco / Star Princess will take over Los Angeles.  Grand and Star are amongst the oldest ships in the Princess fleet, Ruby is some years newer.  Lest anyone think I'm knocking her - Grand is in fact my personal favorite Princess ship - but the fact is she's just passed her 20th birthday.  Star will exit the fleet after her '20/'21 season.  It's possible she'll be replaced in Los Angeles by a Royal class ship - but my bet is it'll be another Grand class ship either Crown or Emerald Princess.  It's not clear to me whether some of the Hawaii ports, notably Kauai, can accommodate a Royal class ship.