Hawaii Summer Cruises???

We are looking to do a Hawaiian cruise in 2013. I have been looking at the current bookings just to see what time of year I will be asking off from work. I have noticed most cruises are not during the summer months. Is there a reason for this? Are there any cruise lines that offer hawaiian cruises in July/August? We want to take our son but don't want him to miss 2 weeks of school. Thanks.

We are currently booked on NCL's Pride of America for 4/30/11. This cruise is offered year round/ POA is the only ship that flies under the American flag, so it can sail from Honolulu and back without having to visit a foreign port like other cruise lines. It is a 7-night cruise. Check it out. Maybe it fits the bill for you.

Traditionally, the non-US Registered ships only do Hawaii in the winter and early spring. In the summer they are mostly in Alaska. That is one reason we initially looked at the POA, as mentioned by the previous poster. I can only take vacation time from work for more than a few days from May 1 - Oct 31. No other ships are sailing Hawaii at that time! Once I studied the itinerary I was thrilled. No other ships spend as much "island time". The two overnights in the itinerary clinched it for me. To extend our vacation and have some relaxing "down time" we are spending 4 extra nights in Oahu, three pre-cruise nights at the Turtle Bay Resort on the north shore and one post cruise night in Waikiki.

At first I wasn't too excited about the POA due to iffy reviews, but as time went on and my research intensified I became very excited. Everything bad I have read in the past seems to have improved and the itinerary could not be better. It will not be a traditional cruise vacation. But for our first time in Hawaii I think it will be perfect!:cool:

I nudged Ginny a little to try this cruise:D I took the NCL Pride of Hawaii in 2007 which made me the cruise junkie I am today. I had a blast and I'm going again this July on the Pride of America. Since my anniversary is in July, I didn't want to wait until winter or go early in April for the Hawaii run from California coast. This cruise fits the bill. I highly suggest you book soon. We booked December 2009 for July 2011 sailing and got a great deal. The same cruise right now is going for about $1000 per person more so book early. I'm normally a Carnival cruiser but this cruise is the way to go for summer.

Major reason that on POA is in Hawaii during summer is that most major lines are using their ships in Alaska. First and last cruises of season from lines other than NCL are normally repositioning cruises. Then, some lines will be doing 14-15 R/T from West Coast.

I highly suggest you book soon. We booked December 2009 for July 2011 sailing and got a great deal. The same cruise right now is going for about $1000 per person more so book early. I'm normally a Carnival cruiser but this cruise is the way to go for summer.

I agree - we booked over a year before our planned PoAm cruise and the price is much more now - watch for a deal. NCL did have the upgrade special last week that was a good deal - not sure if that is still going on or not. You can also find deals with hotel days pre-cruise are included too - check around.

We have done Hawaii on NCL 2X and are going again this summer. Great way to see the islands.

I nudged Ginny a little to try this cruise:D I took the NCL Pride of Hawaii in 2007 which made me the cruise junkie I am today. I had a blast and I'm going again this July on the Pride of America. Since my anniversary is in July, I didn't want to wait until winter or go early in April for the Hawaii run from California coast. This cruise fits the bill. I highly suggest you book soon. We booked December 2009 for July 2011 sailing and got a great deal. The same cruise right now is going for about $1000 per person more so book early. I'm normally a Carnival cruiser but this cruise is the way to go for summer.

Yes, Lisa did give me that "little nudge" to book this cruise and I am glad we did. I also agree to book ASAP. We booked for this May in January of last year. Since then our aft balcony cabin was reclassified and the price for our cabin category is now more than double what we paid!:eek:

We sometimes go on cruises where the ship is as much a part of our vacation as the destination. But in Hawaii the destination reigns supreme. The added time in the islands is really only available on POA - and a LOT less expensive than accommodations, food & entertainment on the islands.

We are looking to do a Hawaiian cruise in 2013. I have been looking at the current bookings just to see what time of year I will be asking off from work. I have noticed most cruises are not during the summer months. Is there a reason for this? Are there any cruise lines that offer hawaiian cruises in July/August? We want to take our son but don't want him to miss 2 weeks of school. Thanks.

We just did the two week cruise on the Golden Princess last month. Our girl (8th grader) didn't miss any school days at all. As an Angeleno, this cruise fits my family well as we don't have to fly (we're an hour's drive from the Port of LA), we love sea days, we love the Hawaiian-based activities on the Princess RT (there's an Hawaiian couple -- she's a native -- who provide much of the "aloha" on the Golden with uke lessons, hula lessons, lei making, seminars), my hubby loves that he can bring his guitar onboard (he even saw the captain walk by his little nook one day, giving him a thumbs up). My only beef with this cruise (we've also done this on the Island five years ago) is that we had booked too late to get traditional dining. We didn't care much for anytime dining.

We've been to Hawaii for land trips twice before, but this cruise gives us so much more than just flying there.

We are looking to do a Hawaiian cruise in 2013. I have been looking at the current bookings just to see what time of year I will be asking off from work. I have noticed most cruises are not during the summer months. Is there a reason for this? Are there any cruise lines that offer hawaiian cruises in July/August? We want to take our son but don't want him to miss 2 weeks of school. Thanks.

While I can understand the reasons for a 14 day roundtrip from California, in that same 14 days I'm in Maui 4 days, Kauai 4 days, Hilo 2 days, Kona 2 days and Honolulu 1 day. For me the islands are more important than the ship.

Just weighing in with my two cents.

Hawaii's great to visit anytime of the year - and combining time in Oahu pre and/or post cruise with the 7-day cruise is a great way to make a 14-day summer vacation. There's so much to do in Oahu.

Our family loves cruising, but we would never trade sea days for days in Hawaii... Hawaii is just so special...

I can tell you we booked a number of cabins in February 2009 for a cruise this summer in July 2011. Booking early has proven very "profitable". The 1st 6 months after booking I watched prices almost daily. Twice we got a price reduction on most of the cabins and once on my cabin. (I'm in an AF mini suite.) Now, even the inside cabins are more expensive than the balcony cabins we all have. So, if nothing else, go ahead and book and if you decide against going, you can get refunded. As some others have mentioned, we are going with NCL and flying to Honolulu because we want to spend as much time on the Hawaiian Islands as possible and the idea of so many sea days is not for me/us. (Plus many of us do not have that much vacation time.) I have added some precruise days in Waikiki and 2 days post cruise as well. Good luck with your decision and planning.:)