Hawaii or New England 2015

I'm trying to decide between going to Hawaii or New England next year. Has anyone done both of these and which one did you like the best. This might be our last big cruise for a while so I want it to be a good one. Either one we have to fly to departure port and pay for hotels before and after. What little research I have done both will work out close to the same price with cruise, air fare and hotels. One is Carnival and one is Norwegian. Thanks for any suggestions.

Done both, liked both. They are totally different so can't compare.

Also done NCL and CCL and would not choose to sail NCL again, but that is just my preference. Not big on the freestyle concept and the food is dreadful.

I have sailed both itineraries but on other cruise lines.

Both are terrific.

New England has much to see and a lot of history to take in as well.

Hawaii is about the beauty of the Islands.

Long term I would do both.

Keith

We have done both itineraries on different cruise lines.

Love both itineraries.

Having been to Hawaii a few times before we cruised there, I felt that there really wasn't a lot of time to see the beauty of the islands because of the little time that we were in port.

I would go with the Canada / New England cruise.

I'm trying to decide between going to Hawaii or New England next year. Has anyone done both of these and which one did you like the best. This might be our last big cruise for a while so I want it to be a good one. Either one we have to fly to departure port and pay for hotels before and after. What little research I have done both will work out close to the same price with cruise, air fare and hotels. One is Carnival and one is Norwegian. Thanks for any suggestions.

I would do the New England/ Canada. I say that because most of your time with Hawaii is sailing there and back. (since you said airfare was about the same I am assuming that you will be sailing from the west coast) And since you live in FL and can go to the beaches or the keys pretty much year round Canada and New England would be a nice change. The cruise has very frequent stops. I think we only had one sea day on our 7 day cruise. The Scenery was picture perfect (at least on our cruise) Which ever one you decide to do I hope you have a wonderful time!!!!

PS come back and let us know what you decide.

Thanks for the input. Things about both locations appeal to me. New England because of the cooler weather. I'm always glad to get away from this Florida heat. Hawaii because I know it's beautiful there, but not crazy about it being a hot climate.

The cruise I'm actually looking at for Hawaii is a repo with Carnival from Vancouver. The first 5 days are all sea days and then the next 5 are port days. Price is not bad either. We have sailed on the ship that does this cruise and we both really liked the ship and we prefer Carnival over NCL.

The New England cruise is better with Norwegian either out of Boston or Quebec. Lots of ports and only 1 sea day on a 7 night cruise. The fare is more expensive but air fare is cheaper. There are things we like about NCL also. I think the 2 Norwegian ships are either the Dawn and Sun.

Decisions! Thanks again for suggestions. I'll let you know when we decide. It might later in the year.

Hawaii deserves a land vacation...not a cruise...JMHO.

Which one are you considering on NCL? Is it actually Pride of America around the Islands? That's a very different cruise than just a regular NCL cruise. I have zero interest in Canada New England so would be biased but before people weigh in we should probably know which Hawaiian cruise you're actually looking at.

I'm trying to decide between going to Hawaii or New England next year. Has anyone done both of these and which one did you like the best. This might be our last big cruise for a while so I want it to be a good one. Either one we have to fly to departure port and pay for hotels before and after. What little research I have done both will work out close to the same price with cruise, air fare and hotels. One is Carnival and one is Norwegian. Thanks for any suggestions.

Done both loved both different times of year! I strongly recommend considering Norwegian and Holland America Line over Carnival and include Canada! If you must stay in the USA and only New England consider the Brilliance of the Seas or Grandeur of the Seas with RCI. Fall is best time for both!

Personally for my last cruise for a while I would consider the Veendam out of convenient Boston (airport pre-cruise night etc) and a post overnight in Quebec City! If I was doing New England and wanted some Canadian Spirits!

Of course if I had lots of money $$$ I would go in September on the Disney Wonder from Hawaii to Vancouver on Sept 17 and have had a pre-cruise land itinerary for a few nights (Big Island at the Hilton?) then onto Honolulu and the cruise that takes in Maui and Kauai! That way I get in my helicopter tour with Blue Hawaiian over top of the Volcanoes and a Pineapple treat to boot! :D

Or the Zaandam from Holland America Lines- Great itineraries and much nicer ships! :) It is 17 days from Vancouver and ends in San Diego (better be careful or you might run into me! LOL) :)

Would like to do the changing of the leaves type of cruise (NE/Canada) one same day. Our last three cruises were the RT LA/Hawaii one on Princess and it's probably my favorite itinerary (there's some we haven't done yet). I've been to Hawaii on land trips twice so this cruise is more about relaxing on sea days (even though there's so many activities) and Hawaii is the bonus for us.

Which one are you considering on NCL? Is it actually Pride of America around the Islands? That's a very different cruise than just a regular NCL cruise. I have zero interest in Canada New England so would be biased but before people weigh in we should probably know which Hawaiian cruise you're actually looking at.

The one I'm looking at for Hawaii is Carnival Legend repo cruise. It sails from Vancouver with 5 sea days and the five port days. We were in Vancouver in Deptember after our Alaskan cruise and really would like to go back so that gives us an excuse! The cruise fare is reasonable but the air fare is a killer to fly to and from Florida.

The New England/Canadian cruises are on Norwegian and either sail from Quebec south or Boston north. Cruise fares are higher but port intensive. Air fare is very reasonable.

Norwegian POA is quite a bit more expensive than the New England cruises and then with air fare it kind of prices us out of what I'm trying to budget for.

If only I was rich!! I would do both!

The one I'm looking at for Hawaii is Carnival Legend repo cruise. It sails from Vancouver with 5 sea days and the five port days. We were in Vancouver in Deptember after our Alaskan cruise and really would like to go back so that gives us an excuse! The cruise fare is reasonable but the air fare is a killer to fly to and from Florida.

 

The New England/Canadian cruises are on Norwegian and either sail from Quebec south or Boston north. Cruise fares are higher but port intensive. Air fare is very reasonable.

 

Norwegian POA is quite a bit more expensive than the New England cruises and then with air fare it kind of prices us out of what I'm trying to budget for.

 

If only I was rich!! I would do both!

If you lean towards New England/Canada, I would strongly urge you consider HAL.

Of your two choices, I'd go with the Carnival repositioning cruise. It will give you time to enjoy Hawaii after you disembark. If you want to go to New England/Canada, I'd suggest looking into Holland America and Princess.

Hawaii deserves a land vacation...not a cruise...JMHO.

The days in Hawaii are only a sample but you will see several islands.

If you want top see the fall foliage the best time is the last week in September and the first week in October. I feel sad to see tour busses up here (the White Mountains) with people looking at dried up brown leaves and bare trees.

I have sailed both itineraries but on other cruise lines.

 

Both are terrific.

 

New England has much to see and a lot of history to take in as well.

 

Hawaii is about the beauty of the Islands.

 

Long term I would do both.

 

Keith

Keith ,well said and "ditto".

Thanks for all the suggestions. Right now I am still so undecided about what I want to do. Hubby is no help, he just tells me to plan and let him know when.

I know Hawaii deserves more than just a few days there with only a few hours at each port. Kind of like Alaska. You needs weeks there, not days.

I've priced HAL, NCL, Carnival and Princess for New England/Canada. HAL is way over our budget and the other three are within. I'm not sure Princess is our cruising style as we are more jeans and T's than dressing up. It might be several months before I completely decide what to do but I have some good suggestions now. So thank you all very much.

I'll report back when we/I decide..

How about pricing Royal Caribbean for a Canada/NE cruise? They have several ships doing that run, from NJ, Baltimore and Boston. That would definitely be preferable to NCL, and would still fit into your style. (We did Princess out of Brooklyn for Canada/NE, and it wasn't as formal or stuffy as you'd think)

How about pricing Royal Caribbean for a Canada/NE cruise? They have several ships doing that run, from NJ, Baltimore and Boston. That would definitely be preferable to NCL, and would still fit into your style. (We did Princess out of Brooklyn for Canada/NE, and it wasn't as formal or stuffy as you'd think)

I did price RC and they actually have fairly good rates. I've got to sit down and look at which ports they go to and compare all of those. I know nothing about the Canadian ports so I need to research those. Still working on all of it. :)

I suggest New England/Canada. We did that cruise on the Caribbean Princess in 2010 and loved it. We were there a little to early to see a lot of fall color, but the ports of call and overall experience was great.

We sailed round trip from Brooklyn. I had booked a mini-suite but was offered a free upgrade to a full suite a couple of days before departure. I accepted the offer and we were delighted with the size and comfort. The biggest surprise awaited us as we stepped out onto the balcony and saw the Statue of Liberty. Our room was on the right side (starboard side)as you look toward the front of the ship. It made a wonderful sail away experience! We also saw it again when the ship returned to Brooklyn and docked in the same position.

You might enjoy seeing the slide show my wife made for her website with some of the pictures she took. Click on the link below to go to the page containing the slide shows. You will notice the page has a slide show for each port of call as well as a few of our suite.

Canada/New England on the Caribbean Princess

Happy cruising. It's a great way to travel!

If you are going for New England and eastern Canada, look carefully at the ports and the times in each port. Get as long a time as you can in Sydney and an overnight in Quebec City if you do not start or end there. The ports are more important than the ship on such a port intensive cruise.

Also check how many ships are in each port.

The leaves peak here in the second week of October. They were wonderful driving in Quebec on the 10th and at their peak in Cape Breton a few days later.