Hawaii vs Greek Isles in August?

[sboston06]

Hello!

we are recently off a 7 day Bermuda cruise and still riding the high of cruising! We have a week in August with limited wiggle room due to other obligations but are trying to decide between the following two cruises: 

7 day Hawaii on Pride of America or 

7 day Greek Isles and Turkey on the Getaway. 
 

we’re flying from the east coast US so if we do the Hawaii cruise we’d be arriving in Honolulu the afternoon of cruise departure after a 12 hour nonstop flight. That’s the downside to that option. Due to scheduling we can’t fly in sooner. If we arrive at the airport at 1:40pm and embarkation is 7pm, is that cutting it too close? 
 

for the Greece option, the flights are crazy expensive. The timeline of the cruise is ideal as it embarks out on the Sunday. Again we’d be arriving in Athens that morning. 
 

We are usually super careful with timing flights and fly in a day ahead. Again, it’s not an option to do so this time. Has anyone been on these two and can advise on whether timeline is too close. We are a family with two in their 40’s plus an 8 year old girl. 
 

thank you! 

[Joanne G.]

I haven't been on either of these cruises, but I have cruised in Europe and around Hawaii, flying from the Midwest.  Both options for flying sound too close for me, but everyone's tolerance for risk - and tolerance for jet lag - is different.  

 

 

Edited April 20 by Joanne G.

[sboston06]

Thank you Joanne! That is my concern too. With the Greece cruise, we’d arrive at 10:40am and embarkation time from the port is 5pm. I know we’d have to be onboard 2 hours ahead of time as well. The Hawaii airport is much closer to the cruise terminal than it is in Athens but still seems crazy to fly out on such a tight timeline. I’m not sure if others usually fly close to embarkation or if we’re overly cautious. Traveling with a kid is pretty stressful even u see the best circumstances so trying to give ourselves the best chance of success. 

[puppycanducruise]

Arriving on the day of the cruise is fraught with perils.  Flights can be delayed or cancelled because of mechanical issues, crew problems, weather delays, etc.  Most of us like to get to the embarkation port at least a day before the cruise departs.  I think you are cutting it too close.  If you decide to do either of these options, make sure you have insurance. 

[mcmomny]

I have done both cruises, both are amazing. But they are totally different experiences.

 

What I can say about Greece in August, which is when we did it was super hot (100 degrees each day), humid and crowded as it was summer vacation time period. But very historical and port intensive. 

 

Our cruise itself had lots of kids and was booked solid. Each port was jam packed, not only with cruise passengers but other vacationers from around the world. So crowded we often went back to the ship early to escape the crowds and heat.

 

If we did Greece again I would go during school time to avoid the crowds, late fall or early Spring.

 

Hawaii we did in February, the rainy season and it sure did rain a lot!  But it was wonderful and comfortable temperatures. 

 

We rented a car at each port and did our own things and rarely encountered large crowds. 

 

The POA is basically just your floating hotel, not a lot of on board activities as the reason people take this cruise is to see Hawaii, very few people stayed on board other than meals and sleeping.

 

As already mentioned, not a good idea to fly in to any cruise the day of departure as too many things can happen to delay you and possibly make you miss your cruise.

 

For Hawaii we flew in 3 days early and the time difference was still kicking our butts even after boarding the ship.

 

Athens we went in 3 days early also so we would have time to sight see before the cruise.

 

I understand that this might not work with your tight schedule but you should try too fly in at least the day before your cruise to avoid the stress of being delayed or even missing your cruise

 

[ChiefMateJRK]

Have you been on an AK cruise?  The Encore itineraries this August leave on Sundays and the flights would be much easier.  Hawaii will still be there when you can cruise without a high risk/high stress day-of flight.

[The Traveling Man]

54 minutes ago, ChiefMateJRK said:

Have you been on an AK cruise?  The Encore itineraries this August leave on Sundays and the flights would be much easier.  Hawaii will still be there when you can cruise without a high risk/high stress day-of flight.

@sboston06 I agree with Popeye on this one.  Alaska is an excellent choice.  Your flights would be shorter, you could arrive a day prior to embarkation to reduce the possibility of missing your embarkation time, and you should have no problem booking a return flight on the Sunday when you disembark the cruise.  Save Hawai'i and the Mediterranean for times when you can take an extra day or two to truly enjoy the experience.

[Twolittleboys]

Like most, I would not choose either of those. The flight times are just too close.

 

I haven't been to Hawaii yet, but would not recommend Greece in August. Just too hot to enjoy (especially if you are coming from so far away).

 

Like others have said, I would recommend an Alaska cruise or Northern Europe. Maybe consider a different cruise line if you can not find an NCL cruise that fits in your schedule?

[sboston06]

Thanks all! We are pivoting to looking at other cruise lines who are sailing on the following day so we’ll have more of a time buffer. We have been to Alaska in 2015 so looking to try something new, though I agree Alaska is gorgeous! Appreciate the input!