RCCL cruiser on NCL to Hawaii?

[NoVa Mimi]

I am wondering if it would be a huge mistake to go on a NCL cruise to Hawaii. We love RCCL so much, but my son has always wanted to go to Hawaii for his HS graduation. We were going to do Princess next summer (08), but unfortunately, they will no longer be going to Hawaii in the summer months. My only option is NCL. We currently have a B2B (OS 1300) booked on AOS (I loved those routes so much!), but this will be for him not for my DH or myself. He is very content and happy with the current plans of going on AOS, but I would love to figure out an option for Hawaii. Another option is we could go for college graduation (who knows when that will be), or during a college break. I even asked him if he'd like to take an extra week off for Spring break and go then, but he just does not want to miss any school. I'd love thoughts and or suggestions! Thanks! :)

[petel]

IMHO - YMMV but! looking at your cruise history - well, I just don't see how you and especially your high school graduate would be happy with NCL. My advice - if you want Hawaii for a graduation present then fly - don't cruise. You can arrange an island hop that fits your budget and schedule. Keep the RCI B2B and enjoy the cruise.

 

Enjoy :)

[Brad1185]

I think you will be sorry. I love to talk cruises and on a recent plane flight from Hawaii there was a couple just off one of the NCL Hawaii cruises. They had nothing good to say.

 

I have tries NCL twice, to me the cruise line is an absolute joke. If NCL was my only choice, I would never cruise again.

 

Go the the CC cruise reviews on their main page, and read all of the NCL Hawaii reviews, you will not see many who liked it.

 

We go to Hawaii every year and granted the NCL pricing will be cheaper, but we love the resorts and would rather experience Hawaii that way rather than a cruise.

 

Princess did have a 15 day this summer LA to Hawaii RT, too bad they are not doing that itenery next summer.

[YogiDog]

I would definietly do it. We did it 2 summers ago and the itinerary is so port intensive you are barely on the ship. Think of the ship as a comfortable. floating taxi/hotel that gets you place to place. We did Pride of America and weren't thrilled by the ship however we did spring for a nice suite and that really helped us forget about missing RCCL! We did pre-cruise on Waikiki beach for a few days so jet lag didn't kill us on the first few days on the ship.

 

BTW, my kids were 15 and 14 at the time and are die-hard RCCL fans and they were so busy in each port it worked out fine.

[Cheryl H]

I was also researching Hawaiian cruises. I read quite a few unhappy reviews about NCL and there's no way I'll get my husband to go RCCL with the 4 at sea days just getting there.

 

Then I started researching all the beautiful resorts there are. I think we are going to try to book 1 week in Maui. I'd like to stay at the Westin Kaanapali and at the Grand Wailea. Both got excellent reviews on Expedia and Travelocity. I have a whole list of things I want to do while there. I'm not sure if I would get to see them all if we were on a ship.

 

Then hoping we get to go back for a week at Kauai. Hoping to stay at the Kauai Marriott Resort and the Grand Hyatt.

 

I already have an itinerary for both trips all typed out. Now we just have to save the money to go! Ha!

 

If it were me, I'd do the B2B that you already have reserved. Then maybe fly over to Maui with your son for a non-cruise vacation.

 

Have fun on whichever you decide!

[Arizona Cruz Chic]

Go over to the NCL threads and read reviews and post a few questions.

Then make your decision.

 

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[mikedw]

If you want a traditional cruise experience then you have to do one of the longer ones from the west coast. Cruising around Hawaii whether it be on NCL or before on American Hawaii Line has never been a traditional cruise experience. We've done groups before on both lines around Hawaii and we don't sell it as a regular cruise at our agency and we never have any complaints. It's a floating resort hotel, it get's you from port to port and after being on the island all day, you eat and go to bed. Most clients have told us that by 9:00 pm the ship is deserted, everyones exhausted from the day and in bed. If you want to see Hawaii inexpensively then go NCL. If you want to see Hawaii, have alot of sea days and the traditional cruise experience then take another line.

[NoVa Mimi]

Thank you all for your words of wisdom! I knew I would get some great input from you all :) I think we'll keep it as is and go on the B2B on AOS and try to get to Hawaii with Tahiti at another time (that way I can try to get to Tahiti, since we'll be so close and all ;) ) The all inclusive resorts also sound great, that way we'd be able to actually see/do more rather than having to pick one thing to do or see. Thank you all again!