Best Time Of Year - LA to Hawaii Cruise

[Syracuse44]

I was wondering if anyone can tell me which of the winter months is best to cruise from LA to Hawaii. What time period can we expect rough seas over & back? Is there a rainy season in Hawaii?

 

Thanks for your help.

[Bucky3]

Look in the Reviews Section of Cruise Critic. You'll find lots of recent reviews over the past couple of months. Looks like it's pretty much LUCK OF THE DRAW as far as sea conditions are concerned.

 

We did the RT from LA in early December and had pretty rough seas coming and going, but Hawaii was beautiful. We did these crossings twice in September/October, and the seas were fine. We're going the end of April this year and hoping for calmer seas than we had in December. Reports from the last cruise were great.

[jaynak]

I'm afraid that Bucky is correct - it is luck of the draw. I researched this same subject over and over on this and other boards and couldn't come to any conclusion although there must be some sort of reliable statistics somewhere!

 

We traveled Jan 29/06 and the Pacific was like GLASS going over and returning. The islands were a perfect 75-85 degrees everyday - with only a sprinkle of rain in Hilo. However, the cruise before ours (I believe it was - may have been 2 before ours... ) was a rainy nightmare with dreadful seas. So there you go.. just book it and cross your fingers. There is nothing better than 4 days in a row at sea as far as I'm concerned! Jayna K

[CruisinMK]

January is the roughest month of the year for these crossings, with a couple weeks on either side also having rougher seas.

Say Dec 15-Feb 15 with January having the worst odds.

 

Many cruises will get through fine, weather is variable, but...

 

* You're much more likely to encounter rough sea days at this time than at other times of the year.

 

* A rough winter day can often be meaner than a rough day at other times of the year.

[Beach4me]

I did the Jan 26 voyage this year. While I LOVE the whales and would hate to miss whale season, I would never take this cruise in Jan/Feb again. If I were to book it, it would be Oct. If I wanted to go in Jan/Feb, I'd fly...which is exactly what I'm doing next year. Lived and learned...the expensive way.

[loosygoosy]

Syracuse 44: We're booked on the RCCL Radiance leaving LA on October 21 (14 day). I understand this is a good time to travel to Hawaii. But then again, anytime for a cruise is a good time! Good luck.