Hawaiian Experience onboard Emerald Princess.

We have never been to Hawaii and we are thinking of going on Emerald Princess on one their Pacific cruises that include stopovers in four Hawaiian islands including Hilo and Honolulu.

The trouble is, their stops seem so short (like so many other cruises) and there seems to be relatively little time to do all the visits and have all the experience we would like to see and do the Hawaiian islands.

On Oahu, we would like to take an excursion to see part of the island, as well as to experience a luau at the Polynesian Cultural Centre but as the stopover in Honolulu is not an overnight stop, we would not be able to do both.

We would like to ask experienced cruisers who have been on board Princess ships, especially the Emerald Princess, to Hawaii:

1) If you have only one excursion to go to on each of the four Hawaiian islands, Hawaii, Maui, Oahu and Kaua'i which ones would you recommend?

2) We read in the latest winter issue of "Journey", the Princess in-house magazine on Hawaii, and it mentioned that "the aloha spirit continues back on board with hula dancing, ukulele lessons, lei-making workships , cuisine inspired by the South Pacific , and even Polynesian language classes". Did you experience them on your Hawaiian Princess cruises and how did you find these Hawaiian activities on board?

3) Apart from the Emerald Princess, we understand the Grand Princess also visits the Hawaiian Islands. What are your experiences between the Emerald Princess and the Grand Princess?

We have never been to Hawaii and we are thinking of going on Emerald Princess on one their Pacific cruises that include stopovers in four Hawaiian islands including Hilo and Honolulu.

 

The trouble is, their stops seem so short (like so many other cruises) and there seems to be relatively little time to do all the visits and have all the experience we would like to see and do the Hawaiian islands.

 

On Oahu, we would like to take an excursion to see part of the island, as well as to experience a luau at the Polynesian Cultural Centre but as the stopover in Honolulu is not an overnight stop, we would not be able to do both.

 

We would like to ask experienced cruisers who have been on board Princess ships, especially the Emerald Princess, to Hawaii:

 

1) If you have only one excursion to go to on each of the four Hawaiian islands, Hawaii, Maui, Oahu and Kaua'i which ones would you recommend?

 

2) We read in the latest winter issue of "Journey", the Princess in-house magazine on Hawaii, and it mentioned that "the aloha spirit continues back on board with hula dancing, ukulele lessons, lei-making workships , cuisine inspired by the South Pacific , and even Polynesian language classes". Did you experience them on your Hawaiian Princess cruises and how did you find these Hawaiian activities on board?

 

3) Apart from the Emerald Princess, we understand the Grand Princess also visits the Hawaiian Islands. What are your experiences between the Emerald Princess and the Grand Princess?

If you want to experience Hawaii, fly there and stay three or four days on each island. A cruise will be a cruise experience with some nice port stops and interesting sites in Hawaii, by that's it. Also, be aware that the crossing from CA to Hawaii is usually not tropical for the first few days. We have done both 15 day Hawaii cruises, a crossing from Sydney and the 28 day RT L.A. We liked them all, but there are lots and lots of sea days. If you like sea days you will like these cruises.

I only see two Emerald Princess cruises that stop in Hawaii, a Pacific crossing from Sydney or Auckland to Vancouver and a couple of 28 day South Pacific RT L.A.. On the crossing there are only 2 stops in Hawaii, Hilo from 8am to 6pm and Honolulu from 7am to 11pm. The 28 day Hawaii/South Pacific cruise has 4 stops Hilo, Honolulu, Maui and Kauai.

In Hilo the volcano tours are very popular and interesting if you have never seen a volcano. The town of Hilo is small, takes a few hours to walk through it.

The most popular tours in Honolulu are the Arizona, with a downtown tour of other sites, and the Polynesian Culture Center which can include a luau.

In Kauai the tour that caught our interest was the TV/Movie set tour. But, there are many more.

In Maui the only organized tour we ever took was a walking tour of Lahaina. On our last few visits to Lahaina we just walked around the town. One time we were able to see whales right from the ship. There are whale watching excursions at certain times of the year when the whales are there, Mid Dec to Mid May. We did visit other sites when we were there at a hotel.

The Grand and Star Princess also do the 15 day RT Hawaii. On these cruises they have Hawaiian Ambassadors that conduct the Aloha Spirit Program, which includes what you mention above. There will be a small charge for lei making materials. Since the Emerald only stops in Hawaii for a Pacific Crossing and a 28 day South Pacific Cruise in my opinion there will not be Hawaiian Ambassadors on board. There could be some Hawaiian themed activities run by the cruise staff.

Take a look at Celebrity Solstice out of Vancouver. She does a one way where you could then spend an extra week or so in Hawaii. I wouldn't want a westcoast return cruise to be my first visit to Hawaii, way too short.

We have done several Princess Hawaii cruises. One being the 28 day Hawaii/Tahiti and the others being the 15 day roundtrip out of LA. LOVED them all. One of those was on The Grand.

These cruises will give you a taste of Hawaii and then you can decide if you want to fly there and spend more time on the islands of your choice.

If you do the Polynesian Culture Center, it will take up most of your day. But, you could get up early and go into Waikiki for awhile before you go. They have a great Hop On Hop Off system. You go to the "hub" in Waikiki and choose which route you want to do. Some take you out as far as Sea Life Park and the North Shore. Well, worth it. Inexpensive and you get to enjoy the view instead of driving.

Oh Hilo, I'd suggest the Volcanoes and Akaka Falls tour. Usually with a stop at the Macadamia Nut Farm.

Maui - we always spend time in Lahaina just walking around, eating shave ice or gelato (or both) shopping, etc. Some nice little places to have lunch. Sometimes we take a whale watch or some kind of Catamaran excursion.

Once you disembark the tender, everything is right there. You can go ashore and find plenty to do. If it's your first time, a tour around the island would be perfect.

Lots of Hawaii activities on your Sea days. Lots of Aloha Spirit throughout the whole cruise. The late night in Oahu, usually will have local performers coming onboard and performing for the evening show. From kids to adults. Very enjoyable if you're back onboard.