Hawaii 2020 - Eurodam or Princess?

One thing I haven't seen mentioned is that HAL's fleet speed is a tad lower than Princess, so you'll likely end up with one

additional day a sea.

 

 

I'll not guess whether that's a plus or minus for you.

While that is true, they also do not call on Kona which most of the HAL itineraries include, also several HAL itineraries have two full days in Honolulu and late night in Maui - again, which Princess does not offer. To me - these justify the extra sea day and slightly longer cruise (17/18 days on HAL vs 15 on Princess).

. When doing an itinerary like the Hawaiian islands where 3 of the 5 major ports could be skipped, you have to be flexible with your expectations! For those who MUST visit certain ports/islands they may be better served by doing a land based, island hopper, type of trip

I am a HAL cheerleader BUT if you are visiting our Island State, I think it is preferable for you to consider NCL's 7-day cruise around the islands and supplement it with some land tours - unless you miss the 10-days (or so) sea-days from the West Coast to Hawaii.

It's finding a cruise that includes Kauai in my time frame that I can vacation that has been the so far struggle because Kauai is pretty much a must for me. .

NCL's 7-days around our Island State ports in Kauai and also has a one sea-day sail which takes you back and forth on the Napali Cliff side of Kauai. The ship sails from island to island during the late evenings and ports during the day,

I'm a three-star and about to get my fourth-star on HAL and love cruising on HAL. However I am a fairly-lifelong resident of Hawaii (78-79 years) and even taken my family on this NCL cruise around our island state.

No doubt that the NCL 7 day hawaii cruise is a great option - however for many mainlanders it can often end up being significantly more expensive that virtually any other means of visiting the Hawaiian islands due to high airfare from many parts of the US coupled with the high cruise fares NCL can command for this ship. I can do the HAL Eurdam March 2020 18 day cruise with the Explore4 offer, including air from ATL-SAN for less than any 7 day on NCL, w/o drinks package (illegal due to HI law) factoring in air from ATL-HNL ..... Given enough vacation time I would choose the HAL option over NCL almost any day due to the cost/benefit analysis, or island hop with inter-island airfare, hotels and car-hires instead for about 10-14 days for not too dissimilar a price to doing the Pride of America

No doubt that the NCL 7 day hawaii cruise is a great option - however for many mainlanders it can often end up being significantly more expensive that virtually any other means of visiting the Hawaiian islands due to high airfare from many parts of the US coupled with the high cruise fares NCL can command for this ship. I can do the HAL Eurdam March 2020 18 day cruise with the Explore4 offer, including air from ATL-SAN for less than any 7 day on NCL, w/o drinks package (illegal due to HI law) factoring in air from ATL-HNL ..... Given enough vacation time I would choose the HAL option over NCL almost any day due to the cost/benefit analysis, or island hop with inter-island airfare, hotels and car-hires instead for about 10-14 days for not too dissimilar a price to doing the Pride of America

Also for people who don’t like to fly, leaving and returning from the west coast is a great option for those people. We were a group of 8, two of the group do not fly anymore.

Additionally - Lahaina and Kona are both tender ports, so if seas are too rough they can also be missed. When doing an itinerary like the Hawaiian islands where 3 of the 5 major ports could be skipped, you have to be flexible with your expectations! For those who MUST visit certain ports/islands they may be better served by doing a land based, island hopper, type of trip

Honestly in the grand scheme of things I'd be happy with whatever because it's a cruise and I love cruising. I've always been a roll with the punches type of person when it comes to missing ports and while I'd be disappointed missing any port, It wouldn't ruin my trip. I've looked into land based vacations for Hawaii and none of them are within my budget like a cruise is. Getting to any part of Hawaii would be better in my eyes then not seeing any of it.

Though my dad and mom are both hinting they really want to do Panama Canal it's on their bucket list, so now that's on the table as well. So now I'm thinking I'll take them to Panama Canal and do a solo cruise to Hawaii since they've already been.

I am a HAL cheerleader BUT if you are visiting our Island State, I think it is preferable for you to consider NCL's 7-day cruise around the islands and supplement it with some land tours - unless you miss the 10-days (or so) sea-days from the West Coast to Hawaii.

I was looking to do a land & cruise tour through your man tours because I've heard great things about them. But it was just a little steep in price for the 3 of us, and it was crazy in price for solo. But honestly that would be a great vacation for me because I'd be getting land & sea, just wish it wasn't so pricey. lol

Both are fine. I prefer a two island 3 week stay without the cruise. Don’t get me wrong we love to cruise. Hawaii has a ton to see and do. Second most favourite trip after cruising

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To the OP - forget the cruise - fly and do a land tour. While I adore cruising, this is one destination that cruising is a waste of time unless you are totally into sea days.

If the priority is to see Hawaii, pick 3 islands. Stay there. Take the air shuttle between islands which is super efficient and cost effective.

Go to Kauai - take the plane tour of the island and see the magnificence of the Napali coast -breathtaking.

I have spoken to cruise patrons ashore that expressed regret there was so little time in Hawaii.

Up to you.

I have sailed to Hawaii four times, three on HAL and once on the Grand Princess. I love the cruise to Hawaii, and it was my husband's very favorite. Although Princess was very similar, I give the extra nod to HAL for service and the cabins.

We've done two Princess cruises to Hawaii, the first with CD Dave Cole ??? was fantastic! He is so enthusiastic about Hawaii, and it spread. The second not so much. It was o.k., but not as good as Dave Cole.

We also did one TP with HAL and visited two Hilo and Oahu. Pretty good, again not as good as Dave's voyage.

I like flying into San Diego and driving down the street to our hotel. Fast trip, and our hotel, Residence on Bayfront is right in front of the cruise terminal.