Hawaii- buy cruise or land?

[FSUSammy]

We were looking into going to Hawaii next Sept. for our 1st year anniversary and I'm now thinking that it might be cheaper to cruise to hawaii. I noticed that the Island Princess goes to Hawaii and it semms like a great deal.

 

Would we be missing out if we cruised Hawaii instead of flying to Hawaii and doing all the island hopping on our own?

 

Thanks!

Sam

[sandy6622]

We loved cruising the islands. Did a land trip in 1987 and much prefer the cruise version.

[BJS]

We were looking into going to Hawaii next Sept. for our 1st year anniversary and I'm now thinking that it might be cheaper to cruise to hawaii. I noticed that the Island Princess goes to Hawaii and it semms like a great deal.

Would we be missing out if we cruised Hawaii instead of flying to Hawaii and doing all the island hopping on our own?Thanks!Sam

Have not cruised there but several couples we know have and this is what they reported to us: MISSED PORTS due to weather. :mad:

 

We have been there 3 times on land and if you have never been before you'll want to see the islands and enjoy the beaches. The only reason to cruise there would be to enjoy the ship with 10 sea days and only 5 port days. You can find many packages for land trips. The short time in the ports, if you even make the ports, will not allow you to see or do much and certainly no where near as much as if you go without cruising.

[ahracer]

I've done both several times. Honestly they are two different experiences. Both great but very different.

 

On a cruise you get to sample a little of each island but your actual time on the islands is not very much. The Island Princess is a great ship.

 

On land you are probably not going to have the time or money to visit as many islands but the places you do visit you will really have time to explore. Lodging and food can be very expensive.

 

IMO opinion if you have never been to Hawaii the cruise is nice because you can see which island you'd like to spend more time at for your next trip on a land vacation.

 

Bottomline is it really depends on what is most important to you.

 

Scott

[Cruisin'40]

We have been wanting to go to Hawaii but can't decide between cruising or land vacation. For those of you who have done both, which is more cost effective? I have heard EVERYTHING is expensive there.

 

I was hoping that Norwegian would get their American ships up to par, but it's not looking too good. With their itinerary at least you get to experience some of the night life on the islands.

[CruiseMark]

We did our honeymoon on the Big Island, rented a fantastic vacation home on the beach (for a very reasonable amount). Personally, as much as I love cruising, you'll never fall under the romantic spell of the islands unless you slow down and take the time to get to know whichever island you choose. The reason? The people. The whole pace of life (especially on the Big Island, which is a far less touristy experience than, say, Honolulu).

 

I was a bit jaded before going - it seemed pretty cliche to do Hawaii for a honeymoon, but by the time we left, I was completely surprised at how much the island affected us on an emotional level (in a positive way).

 

I'd go with the land version, rent a home so you can relax and aren't forced to wait in lines at restaurants all the time, then sit on your lanai and watch the sunsets with your lover without having to worry about embarkation times, dining room times, or time at all...

[ahracer]

We have been wanting to go to Hawaii but can't decide between cruising or land vacation. For those of you who have done both, which is more cost effective? I have heard EVERYTHING is expensive there.

 

I was hoping that Norwegian would get their American ships up to par, but it's not looking too good. With their itinerary at least you get to experience some of the night life on the islands.

 

IMO cruising is less expensive if you compare it to a similar land vacation. It is possible to stay and eat at inexpensive places in Hawaii but if you want to stay at a decent beach front resort you are going to pay for it. An oceanfront room at a nice resort is going to be in the $250-$400 a night range unless prices have come down since my last reservations.

 

Last time I was in maui a coke, muffin and banana from the hotel snack bar cost me $15.

 

 

Scott

[CruiseMark]

That's why we rent a house. It's just as easy to do as a hotel, but you don't have to pay those outrageous restaurant prices all the time. Granted, even the grocery store can be expensive, but we didn't think it was that bad at all (on the Big Island anyway).

 

For us, this worked out to be much less expensive than a cruise. Plus we got to set our own schedule, not adhere to 2500 other people's.

[ahracer]

Not a bad idea. Next time I go i'm going to look into a condo to help with the food costs.

 

Scott

[cruzinj]

Why go by land, if you can go by sea:)

 

 

And, from what I've heard- the Island is a magnificent ship!

[kruisey]

Have a roll call going for Island Princess September 23....we seem to have alot of Anniversary couples joining this one.Thought would organize a gathering one of the sea days for them.

Weather is good sea and land usually that time of the year.

The cost for all the services and seeing all the Islands is much cheaper than all by land....the food in the dining room dinner on board would cost you alot more by land....one good dinner in Honolulu at a first class hotel can cost you $200 for 2 one nite.....

[jnc411]

I vote land. I have been to all of the islands by land. And the last trip we did Maui, Kauai, and Oahu. We had condos (which I highly recommed ,over hotels) right on the beach in both Maui and Kauai with the use of a car (very easy to find your way around) on both islands and on Oahu we were 1/2 block from the beach and a short walk from the international market (wouldn't use a car in Oahu). If you go Land you see so much more of the islands , things you can't possibly have time to see on a cruise. And the islands are absolutly beautiful especially Kauai. And the road to Hana on Maui takes a day in itself. So my vote is Land. Either way have a great trip.

Cori

[mek]

I've done both. If you want to see more than one island, then I would go with a cruise. No packing, unpacking and wasted time at the airport. Great way to get an overview of all the islands. On the other hand, if you only want to go to one island, then I would do a land package and rent a car. Yes, Hawaii is expensive. A condo would help with the cost of meals, especially for breakfast and lunch. My husband and I don't eat much for breakfast, so we picked up some danish the night before and had it with coffee in our room before we started out each day. Also, we bought a inexpensive styrofoam cooler when we got there and made sandwiches that we took with us as we drove around the island. We had some picincs in fabulous locations! When the trip was over we threw it away. In the evening we splurged and had some great dinners out.

[rag doll]

I've been to Hawaii several times and it is a uniquely beautiful place with a completely different feeling than the rest of the states. As relaxing and enjoyable as I find cruising, visiting Hawaii is much more relaxing.

 

Staying on the land allows you the opportunity to take your time enjoying the beaches, seeing the sites and soaking up that aloha spirit.

 

Except for downtown Honolulu, getting around is easy by car and even downtown isn't too bad if you are used to city traffic and have a good navigator with you.

 

Cruising is awesome, but Hawaii just steals your heart!

[coiran]

I vote for land - we just completed a 3 week tour of 4 islands, Oahu, Big Island, Maui and Kauai - we got our air free with miles - We stayed in B & B,s (not on the beach, but close), rented cars and had a great time - cost was about $5000 - not too bad.

 

Ron

[rsjc]

I would have to say Land trip for sure. Hawaii is one of those places’s a day trip will not do. Yes it’s fun to cruise but you will miss so much and see very little by cruising the Hawaiian Islands. I would recommend doing a seven-day trip starting out on Waikiki Beach and experience the big city on the beach a few nights (wonderful nightlife just walking around) then go to Maui and stay on Ka’anapali Beach. Very awesome, the upper-end hotel chains are on this beach. Very romantic at night, there’s a sidewalk on the beach that’s about a mile long behind the hotels. You can walk to many different open-air restaurants from your hotel. Then just fly to any of the other Islands you want to see. We would just get to the airport around 7am to catch the shuttle to the island, rent a car and drive around fly back in time for dinner. We flew to the Big Island and Kauai, Kauai is hard to see by car, Helicopter trip is the best way after seeing everything by car you can. The Marriott is very nice there as well.

 

I love cruising and most likely will continue to cruise the Caribbean. Hawaii is an awesome place. I say land trip, but cruising it could be away for you to enjoy cruising and a way for you to check out the different Islands and decide from there which one would be worth going back to for a land trip. Hawaii is a very big place and it’s the USA. I never not one time felt myself looking over my shoulder like I do in most of the Caribbean ports.

[Liner]

We went a couple of years ago. This is what we did. Maui for a week, cruised the Hawaiian Islands for a week (with Fanning Island also...loved it!), then Honolulu for 3 nights. We stayed away from Wakiki Beach...that was a GOOD plan!

 

The cruise will give you a 'sampler platter' of the Islands, then you can decide where you like the best. We really enjoyed Kauai from the cruise, so this year we're going back to stay in Maui and Kauai!

 

Hawaii, as any island, it is hard to see everything when cruising. Land and cruise vacations are really 2 totally different vacation experiences.

 

One plus about the land vacation in Hawaii, is that you can still get out there on a boat and have that fun also!

 

You can't go wrong no matter what! Have fun on whatever it is you decide!!

[queenL]

We did both. 4 days pre-cruise in Oahu, 3 days pre-cruise in Hilo and then 12 day Hawaii cruise. I have absolutely no regrets. I appreciated the cruise because food etc is sooo expensive in Hawaii it was great to not have to worry about that. Plus some ports there are a limited number of things to do (Hilo)(Kona) so staying a shorter period of time was perfectly acceptable. The next time we cruise Hawaii we will combine it with a few days pre-cruise in Maui. There was so much stuff to do there we couldn't get to it all. Any way you choose Hawaii is AWESOME. By far the best place I have ever traveled to.

[MauiLuvr]

I've been to Hawaii twice, both on land-based vacations. First trip, we visited Maui for 10 days. The second trip, we hit Maui for 5 days and the Big Island for 5 days. Inter-island flights are quite reasonable on Aloha but, if you're going to do a land vacation, I definitely would not recommend trying to do any more than 2 islands (unless you're going to be there more than 2 weeks and that would cost some MAJOR cash).

 

As someone already mentioned, the Road to Hana (which we did on both trips to Maui) can take an entire day by itself. There is no way you're going to be able to experience it via a cruise excursion like you could on your own because you don't have the freedom to stop where YOU want to stop and stay a bit longer here and a bit less there. My favorite spot in Hawaii is, in fact, on the Road to Hana...it's called the Ke'anae Peninsula. There's nothing to do...no tourist attractions. It's just the beautiful scenery...black lava spires rising up out of the sea and the sea crashing violently against them and sending spray into the air. It takes my breath away.

 

Similarly, there is much to see on the Big Island, but it is spread all over the island and takes hours (and actually separate trips) to see. Rainbow Falls, Akaka Falls, Lilioukilani Park (probably spelled wrong), Volcanoes National Park and a beautiful beach (the name of which escapes me at the moment) are all places we really enjoyed visiting.

 

Here are some pictures of my 2001 visit to Hawaii:

http://members.aol.com/hoppnhutch/pictures2001.htm

[Lyndihop53]

Our vote--land, land, land

 

 

We just returned from Kauai on Tuesday. Rented a VERY nice (low key) condo, beachfront for less than $165/day for a one bedroom. If you cruise, you will certainly miss the fantastic seafood that the islands have to offer. If you are trying to save$$, then buy your own groceries, etc. and cook at the condo. On an average, we allow $100/day for food. Which is eating very well. That also included some drinks.

We have been to Hawaii in excess of 11 trips. Visited all the islands with the exception of Lanai. I can't fathom doing a cruise. You will have so little time to really explore the islands, it would be ashame.

To all you cruise lovers: yes we love to cruise, but Hawaii is done so easily on your own. Why not...the only suggestion I have is DON'T try to see all the islands in your first trip. We usually do two, one for 3 nights, the other 4.

Whatever you end up doing. You will really enjoy Hawaii!!!!!!!!!

PS: Blue Sky Tours has great land prices.

[lb1cruiser]

Having been to Hawaii 3 times on land trips and on a 10-day Caribbean cruise, I'd definitely say go for the land trip before you have kids. Hawaii was a very stressful trip for us (especially the 6-hour plane ride) when our kids were toddlers- but wonderful when it was just us. Since it's your 1st anniversary I'm assuming you don't have kids yet- so you could really enjoy renting a car and just cruising until you find a beach to snorkel or hang out on. There are so many things to see and do that take a lot of time there- especially on Oahu and Maui. BUT, when kids come along I think cruising is the only way to go- no stress at all and the kids programs make it fun for everyone.