Help Me Understand 9 Days @ Sea and Only 4 Days in Hawaii (and no overnight)?

I understand that some people don't like to fly but what about others that take these cruises with the hopes of seeing a lot of Hawaii. One day in each port does no justice to these beautiful islands.

I'd rather skip one of the islands and get an overnight to really take in the beauty and sights or elongate the itinerary to 21 days with multiple days at each island.

I don't get this itinerary either. But - to each their own.

It’s all about the beauty of multiple days at sea combined with seeing the amazing Hawaii. Think of how many people take and love transatlantic crossings. This is a ‘there and back’ with a nice ‘rest stop’ in the middle.

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I don’t disagree—we spent three glorious weeks in Hawaii a few years ago and loved every minute.

And on Dec 23,we are going on the cruise you describe and question. . .why? Here’s MY answer.

**i want a trip with no decisions for the holidays. No worries about hotels, packing, decorating, restaurants or anything except what kind of fun to have.

**I adore sea days and imagine I will finish 5 or 6 books

**because we HAVE been to Hawaii, I know exactly how I want to spend the port days. A friend in one, a museum we missed on another, a favorite beach at a third.

**VALUE. it is RT from our home port of SF. I can pack whatever I want and no extra transportation costs. At about $230 per night for both of us for room, food and entertainment, it is a relaxing bargain.

In other words, I am not missing anything and getting what I want and need from 15 days away from home and the office

Chacun son goût as the French say. To each his own taste!

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My view is, if I don’t like an itinerary, I don’t book it.

15 days is doable for folks still employed. Adding overnites could stretch the itinerary to 20+ days Could Princess fill the ship? At what price? Don't see it happening

I like the 15 day Hawaii cruise for the same reason I liked the 28 day Hawaii and South Pacific cruise. It's mostly a "sampler" of the islands (but that's all one gets on a Caribbean cruise as well) and we love the sea days. The 18 days of the 28 day cruise are sea days. Not a problem... I'd take a cruise to nowhere and be happy. If one really wants to "get to know" the Hawaiian islands or the South Pacific Islands or the Caribbean Islands then take a flight and stay for a while. We love to cruise and the "sampler" is good. If one does these cruises multiple times then the "samples" can be different each time. Flying to Maui or somewhere and staying can be great but, on a cruise, they provide the room, the room service, the steward service, the meals... It's nice to have someone take care of us. :D

Cruising will never be the way to "get to know" any place. For that one must actually visit and spend time in a location. Thinking one "knows" Australia because of a cruise would be crazy!

If it weren't selling, the several (at least 5 or 6, a couple with more than one ship) cruise lines that offer the cruise won't be doing it...Seems pretty obvious to me.

Love Hawaii, hate flying, especially long flights. We've been to Hawaii for land vacations, and now this is the perfect combination of lots of relaxing sea days and a great destination. No long flight, if we break up the flight from the east coast to SFO. We use one day to visit friends who have retired to Oahu, and the other shore days to sight see in a leisurely manner. To each his or her own, we happen to be great fans of sea days.

We're doing this cruise in Feb of 2020. I absolutely hate to fly. Four to five days on a ship going and coming is like heaven to me. That's the only way I'll ever return to Australia as well. We've been to Hawaii numerous times (I used to live in San Francisco) but we're looking forward to this cruise. I just wish the ship were stopping in Kona but oh well, we've been there. Having to fly from the east coast to the west coast is about the most flying I'm willing to do.

I’m doing this itinerary in October and I can’t wait! Love the sea days and it’s nice to have the ports in the middle. I still work so 15 days is about the max I can do at one time.

It would be nice to have an overnight......however.

There are very few overnights on most Princess cruises.

If you want to "get to know" a place, fly there and spend time there exploring. We like the sea days, we love sitting out on our balcony, enjoying the ocean, some wine and snacks. We're taking a 15-hour flight to Australia. We've flying in 4 days early to see the sites, boarding the ship, cruising the Fiji Islands, then boarding a plane for another 15-hour trip home. It's either or. We like the Hawaiian cruise, we mostly walk every where we go and we see a lot more of the country than if we boarded a bus and was herded here and there. We know where to go on foot to see sea turtles, whales, have lunch, and walk back to the ship. If I want to see all of Maui, I'd book a condo and see it. I don't like staying in one place so that's not for me.

It’s always a balancing act, we are doing Hawaii round trip out of Sydney next year, would we like more than a day in each port? Sure. But when flying is out you do the best you can with what you have.

Bragging=Most people would rather come home and tell all their friends, family and co-workers that they have been to 4 Hawaiian islands than one or two islands.

Good Business= Leave 'em wanting more. Not seeing everything an island has to offer gives you reason to book another Hawaiian cruise with Princess

More good business= the ship can sell more bingo cards and drinks on sea days than on port days.

The more cruises I take, the better I like sea days. I took the same 28 day cruise out of LA as Thrak mentioned above plus I also took it in 2012. The 8 consecutive sea days at the end of the cruise can be a bit much for some. I would prefer they just visit 2 of the Hawaiian islands at the start of the cruise and then visit the other two on the way back home thus having only 4 consecutive sea days between port visits.

There are more positive reasons for booking a (Princess) cruise to Hawaii roundtrip than not. In addition to all of the above, what about the Hawaiian Ambassador program with hula and ukulele lessons, port talks, themed activities, etc.

Compare that to flying over ($$), baggage fees ($), hotel accommodations ($$), food for the land portion ($$), etc.

With NCL, the itinerary is one to be very envious of, but there are no activities, a floating hotel, and (only in my opinion) the lack of service.

I've been on several cruises over and back. I spent half of my life growing up on the island, and frequently still visit.

If you don't find this to be your cup of tea, there are many options out there to visit the islands. If you do a land tour, you have flight fares (to and from), baggage fees, island hopping airfare ($100/per island), hotel accommodations (at $200+ a night), transportation and excursions. Granted, some of these costs do overlap.

Good luck. I believe you will have many posts on this wonderful voyage. Too bad Princess decided to only run one a month. Keeps the cost higher.

There are more positive reasons for booking a (Princess) cruise to Hawaii roundtrip than not. In addition to all of the above, what about the Hawaiian Ambassador program with hula and ukulele lessons, port talks, themed activities, etc.

 

With NCL, the itinerary is one to be very envious of, but there are no activities, a floating hotel, and (only in my opinion) the lack of service.

 

We did the POA last year, don't care about Ambassador program or basket weaving onboard, yes the NCL cruise was just that-a floating hotel perfect for HI.

PS: Not even a NCL cheerleader.

It’s all about the beauty of multiple days at sea combined with seeing the amazing Hawaii. Think of how many people take and love transatlantic crossings. This is a ‘there and back’ with a nice ‘rest stop’ in the middle.

 

 

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Yes, this is how I think of it too.

I think Hawaii is best done as a land vacation....go and see and explore at your leisure! A cruise, especially from the W. coast, takes WAY too much travel time. If all you want is a cruise...fine, but if you are actually interested in the Hawaiian Islands, you will simply fly there, and explore!

No one size fits all. I cannot imagine a worse trip: a long flight followed by two nights in a hotel, then a short flight fillowed by two nights in another hotel, then another short flight followed by two more new nights at a third hotel (packing and unpacking at each) -then doing the same some more - then a long flight back to the west coast.

I think I’d prefer unpacking just once, enjoying some relaxing sea days each way, and settling for several 8 hour visits on different islands.

I understand that some people don't like to fly but what about others that take these cruises with the hopes of seeing a lot of Hawaii. One day in each port does no justice to these beautiful islands.

 

I'd rather skip one of the islands and get an overnight to really take in the beauty and sights or elongate the itinerary to 21 days with multiple days at each island.

Hi

I find your uncertainty curious.

I actually did a similar cruise with 5 Hawaii stops, as well as Ensenada on return trip from Long Beach and enjoyed it very much.

What I find curious is that this site is devoted to cruising. Sure you could go to any destination and spend time there to enjoy the country, city, or whatever, but that's not a cruise. Your observations that, "one day in each port does no justice to these beautiful islands", would be equally true of most ports of call (even the ones that aren't islands). So are you questioning the concept of cruising as a way to travel, or is it just that you feel some places you shouldn't cruise to? Isn't the opportunity of being able to go somewhere on a cruise the chance to determine if a future trip might be of interest to traveler?

We have been to Hawaii several times and have done the roundtrip cruise there once. I enjoyed the cruise but wished for more time in the islands as well. We like sea days, but even for us there were a lot, especially since we had a lot of cool rainy weather on the sea days.

I am sure a big part of the reason for th 14 or 15 day intineraries, as someone mentioned, is because more people are able to take this length cruise, due to work or other obligations.

I'd love to take one of the 28 or so day cruise of the South Pacific, but they are almost always in fall or spring, which doesn't work well with our construction business.

You take this cruise because you love sea days. We’ve lived in Hawaii for 10 years.

It’s not the land days, although we’ll enjoy them. We love sea days.

You take this cruise because you love sea days. We’ve lived in Hawaii for 10 years.

It’s not the land days, although we’ll enjoy them. We love sea days.

Agree. As someone said you go for the love of sea days. If you want to tour Hawaii fly there and back. Almost all cruise lines do it this way. Otherwise you would have to double the length of the cruise. Mike

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I think Hawaii is best done as a land vacation....go and see and explore at your leisure! A cruise, especially from the W. coast, takes WAY too much travel time. If all you want is a cruise...fine, but if you are actually interested in the Hawaiian Islands, you will simply fly there, and explore!

I concur.

For some, 15-day (RT West Coast)Hawaiian cruises are as much about (if not more about) the ship being the destination rather than the islands.

Some may enjoy the extra sea-days for the opportunity for some serious R&R.

Speaking for myself, I too enjoy a sea-day here or there, but I get bored after 2-3 sea days in a row. It's for that reason that I likely won't ever do a Hawaiian Island (RT) nor a Trans-Atlantic for that matter. At least not while being a qtr. century away from avg. retirement age -- Where having the time to vacation still comes at a premium.

To me, It's much more immersive to go to a Hawaiian Island for a week (or two) and get to experience more of the island(s) than what can be achieved from a single day in port.

Cruising is a great vacation option that we are fond of, and it's one that we like to keep in our arsenal of vacation choices. However, it is not our only option. We still like to mix in some land-based vacations as well.

Cruiseline loyalty statuses can wait....