Hawaii or Caribbean?

[sunraiser]

DH and I try to plan a vacation by cruising either to Hawaii or Caribbean. He had visited both destinations, but I had not. He tried to convince to Caribbean. He said that Caribbean (especially Half Moon Cay and Southern Caribbean) can easily beat Hawaii. There are white sand beach everywhere in Caribbean. Hawaii was not impressive him too much.

 

Which one is better - Hawaii or Caribbean?

[AAAAmerican]

Location is vital in the decision.

 

Flying from here from any of our 4 major airports within 20 miles of here is a direct fly time of 11-12 hours..

 

From CA it is only 6..

 

Cruising is so much nicer than flying we have 3 major cruise ports within 20 miles from here too.

 

So depending upon your location and if you have a buget you have to abide with then they are determining factors in your decision..

 

HI ((IMHO)) is a wonderful place with so much diversity as well a wonderful American State with the worlds best Coffee and the only State it grows in.. Macademia Nut trees take 20 years to yield and there they are in abundance .. a vivid dark green as well.. I never have seen that shade in all of IRE either...

 

 

 

So I guess in all things considered I myself like HI.

 

The caribbean is a wonderful joy in many ways but I like being on the vessels more than many of the islands there...

 

So much in diversity in many things ...

 

Go to each if your able to a few times that way seeing ;) is believing...

 

AK too what a wonderful joy and adventure and no other place in the world is like it.. not even Salikan Island.:eek:

[PerculaClown]

Here's why:

 

People of HI friendlier, IMO.

Everyone speaks English.

Can see red lava flowing.

Cell phones works.

Car rental, (easier to to rent cars)

More diverse of Sea life (if you like to snorkel)

[cool change]

Love them both. If I lived on the west coast, I would probably go for Hawaii. We spend a lot of time in the Caribbean because it is wonderful and does not require a lot of travel.

I have been to Hawaii twice, never by cruise ship. I would love to see it from the sea. Also, Hawaii can be quite expensive by land. Having meals provided for while cruising would be a benefit.

[Sage]

We have been to the Caribbean and to Hawaii. Remember the Caribbean will be hotter, more humid, and will mostly involve shore excursions that are water based such as snorkeling and trips to the beach. We found Hawaii to have more diverse shore excursions such as museums, volcanos, beaches, the only royal palace on US soil.

[Krazy Kruizers]

Have done both as well.

 

You have to decide if you want more beaches or more sight-seeing.

[happy cruzer]

My experience is that the Caribbean trips are less expensive than Hawaii. However, the only way I would ever go to Hawaii is on a ship. For me staying on land in Hawaii is just too expensive. On a ship, it will be more expensive than the Caribbean but at least affordable.

 

I loved my Hawaii cruise. It is unique, I think it is prettier than the Caribbean and the weather is nicer. There are many scenic drives and flights in Hawaii. We did a flight over Napoli Coast and Waihemea Canyon???, Napoli coast is probably the most beatiful place I have ever seen but I haven't got to any other pacific island so I can't compare to those. There are nice beaches and you won't be bothered by really pushy sales people in the streets or beaches.

 

The Caribbean has alot of variety. Remember you will visit different diverse cultures - Mexico, islands that have a British, French, spanish, or Dutch heritage. You will get the good and the bad with the diversity. And you will have to research each island seperately because they are so different.

 

I would have to ask the question differently - which cruise to I want to take at this time with the assumption that I would get to do the other later. If I had the funds and did not mind the flights, I would pick Hawaii just in case I didn't have the funds later.

 

Oh yea, when you get to the Caribbean, you'll have to decide Western, Eastern, Southern, or Panama Canal. But that will be fun too.

 

Enjoy!

[jhannah]

How well do you enjoy sea days? Cruising to Hawaii involves lots of sea days in a row ... going and coming. If you relish those days, then the Hawaii cruise is probably the one for you.

[LolaWiz]

Hawaii is a special place to me. I love it there, i want my ashes to be scattered there when i die, however, i have never cruised there.

 

The caribbean is nice, aqua water... in my opinion, a perfect place to cruise. I do not want to get flammed for saying this but there are very few places in teh caribbean that i would want to go on a land based vacation to though. I felt safer (most of the time) anyplace in hawaii.... not so with the caribbean.

 

So, if you want to cruise to relax and enjoy each other... the caribbean (not to say it cannot be done in hawaii too) but in hawaii... there will always be too much to see and not enough time.

[kryos]

I'm not sure where you live, but I am on the east coast of the U.S. Clearly Caribbean is the cheaper cruise and is a nice cruise to boot. However, nothing beats Hawaii in my book. The cruise is longer (more relaxing sea days), the ports are more varied ... lots to both see and do. Port days in Hawaii tend to be longer, and the cruise itself is just much more elegant. When you have a lot of sea days on any cruise of two weeks or longer, there is just a different type of environment onboard. People are friendlier, they want to get to know you, days are relaxing because everyone isn't rushing around ... it's just a much nicer cruise.

 

Caribbean on the other hand is more rushed. Yes, you do have sea days, but they are usually only one at a time ... two at the most ... with port days stashed in between. You also get a different kind of cruiser on the shorter Caribbean runs. Depending on the length of the cruise, you'll get more families and groups traveling together. Caribbean cruises are very, very economical and thus are very attractive for families with kids. So ... in general, people won't be as friendly because, quite frankly, the cruise for them represents quality family time ... time meant to spend within their own groups ... no outsiders welcome. And that's most understandable. On a port-intensive Caribbean cruise, you generally won't have as many activities going on ... even on sea days ... because people aren't as prone to participate as they would on a longer cruise. Thus, you don't have as many opportunities to meet new people. Oh, of course, you'll have Bingo and the casino and shows and maybe even a passenger lip synch or talent show ... but nothing out of the ordinary as you would get on a Hawaii run where the CD has to fill all these blocks of sea days.

 

So, I would say do what you can afford at this time. Hawaii, unless you live on the West Coast is gonna clearly set you back more ... not just the cruise, but the air and probably at least a one-night pre-cruise hotel stay. I wouldn't dream of sailing out of a west coast port without arriving the day before, whereas I routinely fly to the port on the morning of embarcation for Florida ports. The Hawaii cruise itself will cost more than the Caribbean ... because the cruise is longer. Hawaii will cost a lot more for everything you do on shore as well ... because simply Hawaii is a more expensive place to visit.

 

But, the Caribbean can easily be done on the cheap. Heck, I've seen some "last minute cruise specials" that offer seven-day Caribbean cruises for little more than $499 per person in the cheaper accommodations. You'll never in a million years get Hawaii for less than two grand a person.

 

The best way to look at it is to figure you'll do both at some point. So, do the one now that you can afford, and then make plans for the other at some later date.

 

But the bottom line is to enjoy! Remember ... a cruise is a cruise ... it really doesn't matter very much where the boat is going. You can have fun even if it was heading off to Siberia. :)

 

Blue skies ...

 

--rita

[sandiego1]

Hawaii is one of my favorite destinations. I've been to Oahu once (that was enough!), Kauai 3 times, Maui and the Big Island each twice. The islands are so different from each other and all offer a wide range of activities. I've never been on a cruise to Hawaii so I really can't compare it against the land vacations I've done there.

 

As other posters have previously written, it's not cheap. A decent hotel will cost around $400-500/night. However at least it's less than Bora Bora and Moorea (my absolute favorite place) where the top price we paid was $1,000! Luckily we had frequent flyer tickets and a few free hotel nights so the avg cost was brought down to be more in line w/ Hawaii costs.

 

Anyway, back to your original question. I don't think you can see enough of each of the Hawaiian islands adequately on a cruise. We spent 10 days on the Big Island last yr and it wasn't enough time to do everything I wanted. It was our 2nd trip there and there are still places we haven't visited yet. We were so short time, that we didn't even go back to Volcano National Park on that trip. Many of the Carib islands we've cruised to are small enough that I felt my 1 day visit was sufficient. There's no way I'd feel the same way about a cruise to Hawaii.

 

My recommendation would be to go to the Carib on a cruise and save your pennies for a land trip to Hawaii in the future.

 

However, any vacation is a good vacation so you really can't go wrong w/ your decision. Best of luck to you.

[kakalina]

sandiego1 is correct so far as it goes. We are taking our sixth cruise to Hawaii and we adore it. Yes there is a lot to see, but with each new cruise we see new and different areas. The ship always stays overnight in Honolulu so we have more time there. If you book your excursions on line prior to going you can get a better deal and save some money.

 

Whereever you go have a wonderful cruise. As sandiego1 said Moorea is the most beautiful place on earth, but thats another cruise.

[jtl513]

Hawaii was not impressive him too much.

 

How much of HI has he seen? Just Oahu? As Sandiego1 just said, all the islands have different "personalities". and I agree heartily that one day or even two in a port is not nearly enough to get a flavor of each island. IMO it's better to cruise the Caribbean and island hop in HI by air ... typically $80 pp and 50 - 90 minutes between any 2 islands. The only thing you'd really miss is cruising by the Kilauea lava flows on one evening. :)

[jtl513]

Cruising to Hawaii involves lots of sea days in a row ... going and coming

 

Or they could fly to/from Honolulu and just cruise around the islands by NCL Pride of XXX ... but personally I would NOT recommend NCL!! :D

[mrskmirolla]

Rita stated " You'll never in a million years get Hawaii for less than two grand a person."

 

Well my husband and I went to Hawaii, granted it wasn't on HAL, but we got a great deal. Yes we live in California, but we flew to Hawaii and boarded the ship the same day we flew in. We rented cars at the different Islands for next to nothing. But we did it all for less than $2000 for the 2 of us. It can be done, you just have to really research. We saw more of the Islands by renting a car and doing our own thing than the passengers on the ship. In fact after the first Island we told a couple and they tried it and was so happy with the results. So it can be done:D

 

Kathy

[RuthC]

DH and I try to plan a vacation by cruising.... Which one is better - Hawaii or Caribbean?

These are two totally different types of cruise: the Caribbean is ports with some sea time; Hawaii is cruising, with some port time thrown in. The focus is not the same.

Are you interested in visiting islands? Going to the beach, or enjoying the history and culture of the places you visit? Then the Caribbean is better. If you want to enjoy the shipboard amenities, with a break for some land vacation type stops, then the Hawaii cruise would fill the bill better.

Do you agree or disagree with the statement: "Sea days are the best days"? That will give you your answer.

[Cruisechik]

Hawaii would get my vote. We cruise twice per year, usually Caribbean.

 

Last Thanksgiving, we cruised Celebrity Infinity 14 day RT San Diego and I loved, loved , loved it! I was concerned about the sea days but they were great. DH lived in Hawaii for a couple of years, so it was not new to him but he loved it, too. Hawaii provides diverse activities: we toured Volcano National Park, did a shark adventure (in a cage, amazing), snorkled, took surfing lessons, rented cars and toured. Something different on each island. Our cruise was very reasonably priced. We booked a balcony as soon as the cruise was released and got a great deal. We had to wait for 15 months!! It was my daughter's favorite cruise. BTW, we paid less than $2,000 per person, quite a bit less.

 

 

We plan to do another cruise to Hawaii. If I find another great deal like Celebrity, I'll book that - airfare to San Diego is not much more for us than Florida and can be cheaper. Go figure, we are on the East Coast. If not, we'll use DH's FF miles and fly to Hawaii and consider the dreaded NCL.

 

In the meantime, we continue to cruise the Caribbean and love it, too.

[PerculaClown]

Cruise in Hawaii is great if you don't do NCLA's "pride of " ships. I just got back over 1 month ago... Let me just tell you it was 4 thumbs down (including my feet) Do yourself a favor Avoid NCLA like the plague!!!

 

Thank goodness I just booked Noordam!

 

Unfortunate NCLA is the only line that allows most time on HI islands. If you still want to do go on NCLA be prepared to treat it like a Days Inn, and just go back there to sleep.

 

I've posted a review on NCLA forum, let me know if there's interest, I'll forward a link. (Let me just warn you it was bad, very bad)

[AlohaPride]

I'm not going to say which cruise you should take (because I'm obviously biased). I'm not sure why your DH didn't like Hawaii. But he has said he doesn't want to come here, and if that's the case I wouldn't force him. He obviously wants to do the Caribbean.

 

So, my question to you is, would you want to come to Hawaii at the expense of your DH's enjoyment, or would you want BOTH to enjoy the cruise and pick the location he obviously wants?

[sunraiser]

Thank you for all opinions. We from west coast - Los Anegeles. Sometimes I find some very good deals on the internet. If we go Hawaii, we will cruise "Pride" ships. We are very active couple, and do not want "see day". It's much easier to manage the budget by cruising.

The "pride" ships are "known" for services. I cruised to N. Europe last year and really enjoyed it. We were not a picky couple, but we expected to have a good decent meal from the ship after a long excursion day.

 

PerculaClown, please forward your link to me. I want to read about it.

[hammybee]

Given you are in California and want to maximize your port time, NCL is the way to go. Aloha Air has some great bargains out of SNA and LAX. NCL will give you the most time on shore, at the best price, with no sea days. It is a very different experience than you get on HAL, not better or worse, just different and more conducive to port intensive intineraries.

[PerculaClown]

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=412225

[AlohaPride]

Thank you for all opinions. We from west coast - Los Anegeles. Sometimes I find some very good deals on the internet. If we go Hawaii, we will cruise "Pride" ships. We are very active couple, and do not want "see day". It's much easier to manage the budget by cruising.

The "pride" ships are "known" for services. I cruised to N. Europe last year and really enjoyed it. We were not a picky couple, but we expected to have a good decent meal from the ship after a long excursion day.

 

PerculaClown, please forward your link to me. I want to read about it.

 

:eek: I think you're mistaken. Pride XXX ships are not known for service. You can read the reviews on this website and see that. I think these cruises are better known for their location and the fact that they are American Flagged ships rather than their service.

 

Of course, I would love it if you visited my great state. I just worry that your DH wont be too happy coming back here if he disliked it so much the last time.