Hawaii Cruises

[CeCe_]

For those who had taken the 15 days Hawaii cruise, would 9 days at sea too much?  Is there enough of activities to get pass so many sea days?

 

Thank you.

[suekel]

There is always something going on, I don't get bored on long cruises.  That being said, some activities won't happen in 2021 and they haven't announced plans for 2022 yet.  I'm going in December so it'll be interesting.  

[LACruiser88]

We have been on the Hawaii cruise about 10 times and we love it!  We also love the slow pace of sea days.  We'll be on the Grand to Hawaii on November 5th, we can't wait!!!

[skynight]

In the past we always enjoyed the sea days. Lots of activities, lectures, Hawaiian cultural program including uke lessons for beginners, hula, crafts, entertainment. If you plan of sailing in 2021 I expect there will be a limited amount of activities. For 2022 and onward the impact of covid on activities is unknown. The crossing to Hawaii can be cool and choppy. It does not get tropical until around the 3rd day out. bring a cover up like a sweat shirt and sea sick meds if you require them.

[CeCe_]

Sea sick meds... Thanks for the reminder!   

[StrawberryHill]

Sea days are the best, that is why we cruise

[Greg4502]

Been there, done that, would do it again. The days are broken up. Some over, Hawaii, some back. On my last cruise, it was 8 straight sea days, on the way back to home port. Enjoyed it.

[DiRonT]

We love this cruise.  Booked for Sept. 2022 and this will be our 5th time on this itinerary.  We really enjoy sea days, very relaxing for us.  Participate in activities, people watch, wander around the ship or just sit on balcony and read a book or just watch the water go by.  Fabulous!

[LH25]

We did this cruise in 2018, are planning it again in 2023.  I love sea days, were I can really just relax and unwind.  I didn't get bored in the least.  Hubby was OK, we were travelling with another couple and that helped.  I think he could have gotten bored otherwise.  There are lots of activities and I enjoyed them, he wasn't big on most of them.  Just not his interests.  If you like sea days, I think you'll be fine.

 

I will second the reminder to have some warm clothes.  We left out of Vancouver, and it was rainy and could those first few days out and then the last few back.  I packed for Hawaii, had to buy a few warmer things onboard, and it wasn't a great selection.

 

[greenie082756]

We love the longer cruises.

 

We find that doing nothing is just as good as doing something on this cruise to Hawaii.

 

We have done this cruise twice and plan on it again next April on the Grand.

 

You will enjoy it as everyone is so happy and relaxed.

[MishelleMcc]

Oh this is the best cruise EVER!!  (I know, I know... More "seasoned" sailors will disagree..  So many other cruises to go on...Ha!)

 

BUT, we did this cruise in Dec 2019 (Grand Princess) and LOVED LOVED LOVED it!!!  the multiple sea days were really the best experience!  Stress just melted away...  We lost track of the days!!! (imagine that!)

 

Yes, there is tons to do on board and although some things may change post-Covid, I am sure there will be plenty to do! 

 

We made great friends and have stayed in touch ever since!  We did not meet anyone who did not love this cruise!

 

I had a boss tell me one time,  that if you can vacation 2 weeks in a row - do it!  Because it takes multiple days just to decompress. 

 

Those first days at sea...  cool at first then getting warmer...  rain storms, sunshine and rainbows...  just experiencing everything or doing nothing at all! 

 

We loved it so much that we booked the same cruise - this time on the Ruby Princess - Jan 16 2022!!! 

[mtnesterz]

Everyone's different. As you've read above, some, like us, take this itinerary again and again. Some can't take those five sea days coming home. As mentioned, the first day or so out of the west coast can be rough seas.

Helps to plan things to do those five sea days eastbound. Make your stop in Ensenada something to look forward to. We liked the Casino tour and wine tasting.

If considering flying into LA and sailing from there, don't do the Feb 13, '22 as that is the day of the Super Bowl and the venue is right by LAX. Traffic will be nuts! Roll Call posters are saying hotels already booked up.

[roxievegas]

We have done the round trip to Tahiti out of L.A. which has 8 sea days coming back to L.A., we have also done the Trans Atlantic which is six sea days.  Make plans for your own time, not everything provided by the ship will be of interest.

I down loaded the "Game of Thrones" tv show on our ipad and and watched episodes when we had nothing to do.  We brought 10 -12 paperback books, which we leave in the ship library when we are done with them.  I bring our laptop computer which had games that my husband likes to play.  We also love the casino, but we have to limit our time and budget our gambling money

 

Before our next cruise i am getting a chess/checkers/backgammon board to take.

 

again, the ship has something scheduled all the time, not everything suits everyone.

[Thrak]

1 hour ago, mtnesterz said:

Make your stop in Ensenada something to look forward to. We liked the Casino tour and wine tasting.

 

We just walk through town to Hussong's Cantina and have margaritas. They aren't large but are quite good. Last time we had two each and then I asked for a shot of Cazadores. He must have poured at least a double. Total cost: $15 USD. As this was the only stop in Mexico I didn't have any pesos with me. I just left $20 on the bar and called it good. I imagine the bartender just chalked it up to another stupid over tipping gringo but, to us, it was simply a good deal. 😎

 

[HBCcruiser]

We are on the April Grand sailing out of LA. Is it worth booking the Sanctuary? 

[atobols]

My children say the Hawaii cruise is their favorite vacations, ever!  There are a lot of sea days but there are also a lot of different activities.  We did the Christmas/New Year cruise in 2018 and we've booked it again for this year.  It was basically cold and rainy from the minute we left the SF bay until we got to Hawaii.  It was the same on the way back.  I spent very little time our on the deck or on our balcony.  IMO, it's the perfect length.  We were all ready to get off the ship by the last day and were looking forward to going home.  

[Sea Hag]

We've only done this once, and it was great. We'll probably do it again. Never got bored.

[Coloradohawk]

Have enjoyed this cruise 3 times.  Going on the Ruby on November 7.  Can’t wait to do it again.

[caribill]

One of the nice things about cruising is that whether a sea day or a port day, you can do as little or as much as you want.

 

In our case, we find ourselves busier on sea days than on port days as there are plenty of activities from lectures to trivia to entertainment on board that we find worth attending.

 

So the number of sea days on a round-trip Hawaii cruise is not too many for us.

[CeCe_]

I enjoy reading everyone's respond and advice.  Thank you.  It sounds like a great cruise.  Is there any Luau feast or dances as pertain to being on Hawaiian islands?  I remember on the Ruby to Mexico a few years ago there were special Mexican cultural shows and meals while on ports.  We might need a separate land only Hawaii trip for do-it-ourselves around the island car trips, re-living our honeymoon on 4 Hawaiian islands years ago.

Edited June 24, 2021 by CeCe_

[Astro Flyer]

Princess has their Aloha Spirit Program of activities & cuisine. One of our favorite events is the Halau Hula Olana Folkloric Show performance by keiki (children) with adult singers & musicians. That’s performed twice during the late evening while docked in Honolulu in the Princess Theater.

 

https://www.princess.com/learn/cruise-destinations/hawaii-cruises/things-to-do/

 

There might be changes to the experience post pandemic for awhile and currently non Hawaii vaccinated air travel arrivals are required by Hawaii to have a negative COVID-19 test within 72 hours before arrival. That requirement is planned to be eliminated for fully vaccinated passengers when the entire state’s population achieves a 60% fully vaccinated rate. Hawaii was slow to begin to reopen to tourism & haven’t read about any plans here for reopening to cruises.

 

 

[skynight]

58 minutes ago, CeCe_ said:

I enjoy reading everyone's respond and advice.  Thank you.  It sounds like a great cruise.  Is there any Luau feast or dances as pertain to being on Hawaiian islands?  I remember on the Ruby to Mexico a few years ago there were special Mexican cultural shows and meals while on ports.  We might need a separate land only Hawaii trip for do-it-ourselves around the island car trips, re-living our honeymoon on 4 Hawaiian islands years ago.

Lots of activities, lectures, Hawaiian cultural program including uke lessons for beginners, hula, crafts, entertainment. If you plan of sailing in 2021 I expect there will be a limited amount of activities. No luau on board. Usually was a deck party with lots of passengers wearing Hawaiian shirts. Deck parties usually mean dancing with lots of line dances thrown in. Maybe some Hawaiian themed food selections in the Horizon Ct.. In the past lectures were informative about whales, nature, Hawaiian culture and so on, not shopping sales talks. But, there are separate shopping talks if you want to attend. Again in the past a local Hawaiian youth group came on board and put on a cultural show before sailing late evening from Honolulu.

There were tours which included cultural shows and luaus. 

[Astro Flyer]

https://www.princess.com/learn/cruise-destinations/hawaii-cruises/things-to-do/
 

Don’t know why in my previous post the Aloha Spirit Program didn’t post as this link.

[LACruiser88]

18 hours ago, HBCcruiser said:

We are on the April Grand sailing out of LA. Is it worth booking the Sanctuary? 

Usually the first couple of days and the last couple of days are not really "pool" days.  It can be cool to downright cold sometimes.  We usually avoid booking the Sanctuary for those days... 

[jondfk]

19 hours ago, HBCcruiser said:

We are on the April Grand sailing out of LA. Is it worth booking the Sanctuary? 

 

We've done this cruise 6x out of San Francisco always in December or January.  We've booked the Sanctuary every cruise (though the staff strongly discourage full cruise bookings as the first day or two and last day can be quite chilly).  We love it up there though and have rarely been rained out though we have been chased in for a half day here or there.

 

Going in April it will get warmer sooner though perhaps not quickly enough to buy you even one more day. I'd suggest paying close attention to the weather forecast in the days prior to boarding and making my decision at embarkation.  Given that most folks are afraid of being cold, these sailing do not typically book out the first day.