Land or Sea for Newbies

[teapot44]

Thinking about Hawaii for our 20th aniversary. Never been there before. We've cruised the caribbean 3 times and love it a lot. Wondering what's best to do: Cruise from the west coast?
fly there and cruise the islands? Or fly to an island (we'd love to see Oahu's North Shore)and go from there?
We love beaches/ water activities and excusions Not real big on shopping or latenight life.
Any ideas on what would be good for two "rookies"?
Thanks

[ERtraumanurse]

Hello Teapot,

I would for sure go to Hawaii - I am returning for the first time in 18 years and I can hardly wait - the islands are beautiful and unique.

I have also travelled the Carribean extensively - but even teh nicest islands there do not comapre to the Hawaiin islands.

If it is affordable - I would fly to Hawaii first and tour Oahu and then cruise.

I am cruising for the first time so I cannot offer you any tidbits on that.

I hope you make the decision to go to Hawaii - you won't regret it [img]http://messages.cruisecritic.com/infopop/emoticons/icon_smile.gif[/img]

Norwiegan Wind - to Hawaii - ahhhh Paradise
[img]http://escati.linkopp.net/cgi-bin/countdown.cgi?trgb=000000&srgb=00ff00&prgb=4169e1&cdt=2004;5;8;17;30;00&timezone=GMT-0800[/img]

[spleen93]

This is always a difficult decision. If you plan on having this be the be-all and se-all trip to Hawaii, it'll be hard to do it as a cruise - an activity extensive land trip may be better. If you want to get a sampler of different islands and the respective flavors, doing a cruise from Hawaii going around the islands would be a good choice (as in NCL or NCL America). And if you don't like NCL or want to not have to fly both ways, then doing an one-way or a roundtrip from the West Coast may be the best choice.

Spleen

<a href="http://www.escati.com/counter98/free_time_codes.htm">
[img]http://escati.linkopp.net/logos/time98.gif[/img]</a>
[img]http://escati.linkopp.net/cgi-bin/countdown.cgi?trgb=000000&srgb=00ff00&prgb=ff00ff&cdt=2004;6;9;17;00;00&timezone=GMT-0500[/img]  until RSSC Navigator - Canada - 6/04

Carnival Conquest - W. Caribbean - 10/03, Celebrity Infinity - Alaska - 6/03, Ocean Princess - Alaska - 7/02

[daWoods]

I've just booked our fifth trip to Hawaii. Can't get enough of that place. They've all been land vacations because there's so much to see and do. Haven't cruised the islands, but a friend has. While she loved the cruise, she wanted more and went back for two weeks last year. You'll only see a small bit of the islands on a cruise. If you can afford it, a combo might be the answer.

Island Princess Feb. 2004
Grand Princess Feb. 2002
Norwegian Sky Feb. 2001

[bobnsandi]

My $0.02 worth would be to take the NCL Pride of Aloha cruise rather than trying to fly between the islands. My reasons...
[list=1]
<LI>Flying, even interisland, is a [B]major hassle[/B] and you'll "waste" a day of your vacation each time you try it. Get up, pack, check out. drive to airport, turn in rental car, check in, get hassled by TSA, wait for flight, fly, land, get luggage, get car, find hotel, check in, unpack... Whew!
<LI>Cruising, all this is done while you sleep. You unpack and pack just once. Go to sleep on one island and wake up on the next. You have the whole day to explore.
<LI>From a $$$ point of view, it's very economical to cruise compared with current interisland airfares.
[/list]
True, you don't have enough time to do any of the islands in depth, but for someone who only has a week and wants to see as many islands as possible, this [IMHO] is the very best way to do that.

Whatever you do, enjoy your vacation.

June & Dec '03 [I]Norwegian Star[/I]
June '00 [I]Columbia[/I] / [I]Matanuska[/I]
Mar '97 [I]Star Clipper[/I]
Oct '81 [I]Azure Seas[/I]

[SweetEmi]

Either Aloha or Hawaiian had a 7-day interisland pass before. Not sure if they are offering it now, but it is worth a look. But, I agree with Sandi...

Emi

NCL Star-08/31/03 in Hawaii!
NCL Star-11/13/04 to Mexico!
Alaska summer 2005!

[teapot44]

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><font size="-1">quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by ERtraumanurse:
Hello Teapot,

I would for sure go to Hawaii - I am returning for the first time in 18 years and I can hardly wait - the islands are beautiful and unique.

I have also travelled the Carribean extensively - but even teh nicest islands there do not comapre to the Hawaiin islands.

If it is affordable - I would fly to Hawaii first and tour Oahu and then cruise.

I am cruising for the first time so I cannot offer you any tidbits on that.

I hope you make the decision to go to Hawaii - you won't regret it [img]http://messages.cruisecritic.com/infopop/emoticons/icon_smile.gif[/img]

Norwiegan Wind - to Hawaii - ahhhh Paradise
[url="http://escati.linkopp.net/cgi-bin/countdown.cgi?trgb=000000&srgb=00ff00&prgb=4169e1&cdt=2004;5;8;17;30;00&timezone=GMT-0800"]http://escati.linkopp.net/cgi-bin/countdown.cgi?trgb=000000&srgb=00ff00&prgb=4169e1&cdt=2004;5;8;17;30;00&timezone=GMT-0800[/url] <HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

[teapot44]

Thanks to all with your insight. We'll start saving our pennies and decide what to do later. I like DaWood's idea of a combo. Maybe that's a good way to go.Next Monday, we're off with another couple to cruise the Bahamas on Majesty Of the Seas (RCL). Our next one could be Hawaii!
Thanks again
E & D

'93 Nordic Empress
'95 Monarch of the Seas
'02 Adveture of the Seas