Oldie55 Posted June 28 #1 Share Posted June 28 We are considering this cruise. We have never done a cruise this long or been to Hawaii. is it worth it to have a veranda? So many sea days - is there enough to do and how is the weather? How is club orange? Would really appreciate some feedback. We did a 9 day on the Rotterdam in February & really liked the ship. Thanks Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CruiserBruce Posted June 28 #2 Share Posted June 28 Welcome to Cruise Critic! "Worth it" is a totally subjective, personal idea only you can come to, as we don't know you. We never sail on HAL expecting HAL to entertain us 24/7. For us, its about relaxing and enjoying the sea. So we would likely note have an issue with that number of sea days. Weather can vary depending on the time of year, which you don't tell us. But generally, the first two days out of San Diego and the last two days coming back can be cooler, maybe cold. Note most of those Hawaii cruises sail in the West Coast's winter. The rest of the time can be nice to warm. Club Orange depends a lot on the ship...there are lots of threads here. So, without knowing the ship, hard to answer your question. 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CruiserBruce Posted June 28 #3 Share Posted June 28 OK, re-read the title of your thread...Koningsdam in January of next year. Koningsdam has the separate CO dining room...many speak very highly of it here. January is the depth of winter sailing out of San Diego. Absolutely nothing like Minnesota, but cool for the first two days, and the last two days. Most rainy time of they year in Hawaii, but that is usually not that dramatically bad. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dfish Posted June 28 #4 Share Posted June 28 We did that cruise at the same time of year this last winter. We did enjoy our balcony and we thought it was worth it. There were several times when we went and got lunch at the New York Deli or Dive In and brought it back to eat on the balcony. We were very lucky in that the weather was great. We enjoyed snorkeling in Kona and our trips to the volcanoes. On sea days they offered ukulele lessons and hula lessons. On the way back they continued the ukulele lessons for those interested. They had Aloha Sunset entertainment in the Crow's Nest with the hula dancers and singers. The people teaching the ukulele lessons were the Hawaiian cultural ambassadors and they imparted a lot of information about Hawaii. We found plenty to do on the sea days. A lot of that will depend on your individual interests. We would do this cruise again. 6 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sharon in AZ Posted June 28 #5 Share Posted June 28 We were on the same cruise as @dfish and really enjoyed the cruise. Yes, it’s a lot of sea days but there is so much to do. I went to several cooking shows and Hawaiian lectures. You can fill your days or not. Weather is up to Mother Nature. We were sailing during the “Pineapple Express” and had some wind and rough seas on our way to Hawaii. Lots of people and staff were seasick. No problem on the way back. Club Orange was wonderful but unless you are in a Neptune Suite it might be sold out by now. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
highscar Posted June 28 #6 Share Posted June 28 This will be my 6th time for this cruise. Nuff said? 2 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare Gail & Marty sailing away Posted June 28 #7 Share Posted June 28 It is a fun cruise so relaxing ... 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Oldie55 Posted June 28 Author #8 Share Posted June 28 Thanks everyone - 6 cruises to Hawaii I’m impressed! we need to see Hawaii - seems like a great idea to see multiple islands now that we have the time 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
highscar Posted June 28 #9 Share Posted June 28 @Oldie55 please do and enjoy. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hogladyrider Posted June 29 #10 Share Posted June 29 (edited) We also were on this cruise this past January. Our first visit to Hawaii and we absolutely LOVED all the sea days. We had a balcony. We spent a good bit of time on the balcony for us it is worth it. Now the sea days going to Hawaii were rough. The Captain said it was the roughest seas in his 22 years! We did not get sick at all. The seas returning to San Diego were very peaceful. There was always plenty to do on sea days. I enjoyed the Coffee Talks, people watching, soaking in a hot tub, sitting on our balcony, exploring the ship. The evening shows were also fun and we also enjoyed many movies in our room as well. We had coffee via room service every morning! I personally really enjoyed seeing the islands via cruise ship and would do it again in a heartbeat over taking a vacation on one of the islands. We did one ship excursion, snorkeling and whale watching (part of our HIA pkg) and then all other excursions we planned on our own. We visited a brewery in Kona and did a UTV adventure in Honolulu. We used public transportation and Uber or Lyft when needed. It was an amazing cruise and we could have stayed on for another 18 days! Life is short go for it! Edited June 29 by Hogladyrider 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare ottahand7 Posted June 29 #11 Share Posted June 29 We are booked in this cruise and Club Orange has been sold out since February when we tried to book. We love sea days and are used to rough seas so several days of rough seas won't bother us. It seems those sea days go by faster than port days with the activities and just plain relaxing. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CNSJ Posted June 29 #12 Share Posted June 29 We have crossed from Seattle to Hawaii (first part of a transpacific in October) and found the sea days to be great. We made great use of the balcony. For this trip, as its roundtrip from west coast, port or starboard side makes little difference as you'll have the Sun on your side one way or the other. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare mac_tlc Posted June 29 #13 Share Posted June 29 Our first HAL cruise will be this one ! Looking forward to our aft Vista Suite for all those sea days. It is convenient getting to Hawaii by only flying to San Diego. We will fly in three days early and enjoy the area a bit. mac_tlc 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sea42 Posted June 30 #14 Share Posted June 30 On 6/28/2024 at 7:56 PM, ottahand7 said: We are booked in this cruise and Club Orange has been sold out since February when we tried to book. You might want to try again around final payment time, there could be people who cancel their cruise making CO space available. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Coquitlam Cruiser Posted July 1 #15 Share Posted July 1 We booked this cruise this past spring. There was a limited number of mid ship cabins available. I believe only forward and some aft cabins still open for booking. This will be our third Hawaii cruise and it never gets old. We love the sea days. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
highscar Posted July 1 #16 Share Posted July 1 @Coquitlam Cruiser Ditto X 6. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ebtrip Posted July 4 #17 Share Posted July 4 We are on this sailing. This is our 4th time doing Hawaii r/t. We are in Club Orange, and yes it is full at this time. Having a balcony is subjective, but I would definitely consider it. Whale watching is wonderful in January. We are booked twice for once in Oahu and then Maui. Lots of fun things have been organized by a wonderful person. Should be a great experience for you. 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Oldie55 Posted July 4 Author #18 Share Posted July 4 Thanks again everyone! We have decided to push out our Hawaii cruise to October 2025 working with our pcc. We got club orange so we’re able to upgrade to aft veranda. They also have this package for early booking. Never have we booked out so far but she said more people are doing that now & she often finds club orange sold out. So hopefully it will all work out. Our down payment is refundable. Seems like time goes by so fast so…… 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare Gail & Marty sailing away Posted July 4 #19 Share Posted July 4 It will be a great cruise on that ship Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
leigh77 Posted July 7 #20 Share Posted July 7 How many "dressy nights" are on a 17 night round trip to Hawaii on the Koningsdam? 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Coquitlam Cruiser Posted July 7 #21 Share Posted July 7 Perhaps three but remember no tuxedos or gowns. Even ties are not required for men. Chic casual all the way for me. 2 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
highscar Posted July 7 #22 Share Posted July 7 Have you joined the roll call for your cruise? Lots of info there. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GTVCRUISER Posted July 7 #23 Share Posted July 7 I just did the Hawaii cruise from San Diego and back last December , this was my 4th time , best way to see the Islands 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ebtrip Posted July 7 #24 Share Posted July 7 8 hours ago, Coquitlam Cruiser said: Perhaps three but remember no tuxedos or gowns. Even ties are not required for men. Chic casual all the way for me. Thanks for the info. My husband hasn’t taken a jacket in many years as Viking Ocean and Celebrity don’t have formal nights. We haven’t sailed on HAL in about 5 yrs. We will bring a sports jacket this time. He’ll survive.. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare 0106 Posted July 7 #25 Share Posted July 7 16 minutes ago, ebtrip said: We will bring a sports jacket this time. He’ll survive.. My DH wears a pair of black dockers, a dress shirt and a tie for dressy nights. Occasionally, if we are on a warm weather cruise, it is a collared shirt without a tie. No sports coat needed. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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