Honest opinion about sailing to Hawaii

My family is planning our next cruise for the upcoming year. Normally we sail out of Florida to the Carribeen. Yet this time Hawaii was thrown out as an idea for a cruise . I understand it's normally it's a longer cruise . But what would be better to see the islands , cruise or a land based vacation? We live in Midwest so flight cost is usually taken into account too , yet these types of trips are once in a lifetime as well .

So for all of you who have visited Hawaii both by cruise / land based vacation tell me your thoughts .

My family is planning our next cruise for the upcoming year. Normally we sail out of Florida to the Carribeen. Yet this time Hawaii was thrown out as an idea for a cruise . I understand it's normally it's a longer cruise . But what would be better to see the islands , cruise or a land based vacation? We live in Midwest so flight cost is usually taken into account too , yet these types of trips are once in a lifetime as well .

 

So for all of you who have visited Hawaii both by cruise / land based vacation tell me your thoughts .

A cruise will give you a brief overview of the four main islands . Cruises to Hawaii from the mainland have about 19 sea days and 5 port days . So unless you like sea days . It might be boring.

The other option is to sail on NCL's the Pride of America from Honolulu.

Here you get longer port stops and even some overnites . Add a couple of days pre or post in Honolulu to tour the island.

My family is planning our next cruise for the upcoming year. Normally we sail out of Florida to the Carribeen. Yet this time Hawaii was thrown out as an idea for a cruise . I understand it's normally it's a longer cruise . But what would be better to see the islands , cruise or a land based vacation? We live in Midwest so flight cost is usually taken into account too , yet these types of trips are once in a lifetime as well .

 

So for all of you who have visited Hawaii both by cruise / land based vacation tell me your thoughts .

We have lived on Oahu for a few years, and cruised from Oahu, around the islands and out to Fanning and back.

Are you cruising TO Hawaii or AROUND Hawaii? I would look at the itinerary very carefully. We had time to do one thing in each port. It was a nice taste of the islands, but we were able to enjoy so much more visiting the islands one by one later. That being said, you would spend a lot of time on ship if it was a cruise from the west coast to Hawaii and less time on islands. Each Island has such a different flavor, and flying from one to the other adds up (plus hotel) - you can't do that for the price of a cruise. Norwegian I believe now goes around Hawaii without having to go to Fanning - which was a rule back in 2004 - so you might now get more time in each port.

I would say if you can just cruise the islands (fly to Oahu) and have a good amount of time in each port, then cruise. The only thing I can think of that would be tough to do in one day would be a really good look at Volcano...but if you had an overnight in port of Hilo, that makes it easier. You cannot miss Volcano National Park. Hawaii is terribly expensive to eat, sleep and play...the cruise would make it more manageable.

Personally, I think a cruise to Hawaii is not worth it. There are 10seadays and 4ports. That's a lot of sea days! I would go nuts. So unless you absolutely love sea days I think Hawaii is better seen on a land based vacation.

We did it as 4 generations. Besides having those fabulous at sea days to catch up and relax as a family (4 cabins, 8 of us) we all had different interests on the islands and went our own ways - it was a great way to get an idea of each island. Since then I've done land based on Big Island (Kona) and heading to Maui in September - I knew I wanted to explore them more.

Every one of us (aged 13 to 80) loved the cruise!

We're definitely biased in favor of cruises to Hawaii----we've done three. As stated above, you have many sea days (to relax and/or enjoy ship activities) and only several hours to get the flavor of each port. Our "album" is probably not a full overview, but if you'd care to see what one cruise was like I'll leave a link below, to see the pictures full sized just click on one and follow the arrows through the slideshow (please feel free to skip the beginning portion of staying on the Queen Mary the night before and the day spent in Los Angeles the day after).

2015 HAWAIIAN CRUISE

Land based, for Hawaii...there is no way to see and do all on a cruise. Fly there..stay there...it's fantastic...cruise elsewhere!

I've been to Hawaii 3 times, each to a different island for a land vacation.

I think that you would barely get the feel of any one of the islands in a short port stop.

I also don't enjoy the idea of crossing the Pacific for so many days to get there. It is not the Caribbean!!(wavier)

I vote for saving for a land vacation there.

We took this cruise from San Deigo a few years ago,

And honestly I don't think I would do it again or not from that port.

that being said it wasn't the ports fault or really carnival's

It was the cruise itself. We were on the Spirit before they were moved to Australia as a matter of fact it was their last cruise so we had a lot of crew family which honestly we loved.

The crew was great and Stew the CD was good too.

So now you may ask yourself why wouldn't I do it again if everything was good.

its a 5 day cruise there, and 5 back. and its Cold and Salty I mean everything was coated. to the point if you tried to be on deck you were coated quickly.

We were used to the Caribbean cruse and honestly weren't warned about the drastic weather and temp difference .

5 sea days in the Bahamas is was different. And yes partially that falls on us for not doing our research. But I wish they had set our expectations with a little warnings.

The ship had to really move to get there and back and everyone got sea sick even me and I never get sea sick.

They actually had a jumper from the serenity deck and a medical evac and we missed the Mexico port because of all the delays. and again that's not their fault.

That being said Hawaii was wonderful, but if I had it to do again I would save the money and go back to Alaska. as much as a Beach Bum as I am that was my favorite

Many will say a land tour is best, but HI is expensive (there are ways to be cost effective). All depends on what you want. Can see a lot in the day your on each Island, two days on Hawaii.

From the West Coast most sail RT from San Francisco (Princess) or Los Angeles (Carnival or Princess). Sone sail out of Vancouver, ending in HI.

We enjoy sea days. The first two days going and the last two returning can be bumpy going across the currents. The middle two days the internet doesn't work so well.

On Carnival you'll have 15 different dinner menus, three sea days with breakfast and different lunch menus. Other sea days have the brunch menus.

We've done several HI land tours and are taking our second HI cruise there in October. A land tour is nice to see a lot, a cruise is very relaxing.

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Hi there

Our cruise was 15 days with 5 stops in Hawaii (4 islands) and a stop in Ensenada on the return leaving from Long Beach (Carnival). There are obviously many different lengths and itineraries to choose from.

We really enjoyed our cruise, but you have to be able to enjoy this many sea days. A lot of people feel bored.

You can obviously see more of the islands with a land based vacation, but then you wouldn't be going on a cruise.

Personally we didn't like the length of the flight so that was a consideration for us. Of course the longer a vacation is, the greater the cost, which can be a factor in deciding what to choose.

You can incorporate both options if your plans allow for it by taking a one way cruise. There are a few that leave from either Vancouver or Honolulu going only one way with stops around the islands so you can spend extra time around the islands either before or after your cruise.

No matter what you decide Hawaii is an excellent choice.

have a great time

Aloha

Hi there

Our cruise was 15 days with 5 stops in Hawaii (4 islands) and a stop in Ensenada on the return, leaving from Long Beach (Carnival). There are many different lengths and itineraries to choose from.

We really enjoyed our cruise, but you have to be able to enjoy this many sea days. A lot of people feel bored.

You can obviously see more of the islands with a land based vacation, but then you wouldn't be going on a cruise.

Personally we didn't like the length of the flight so that was a consideration for us. Of course the longer a vacation is, the greater the cost, which can be a factor in deciding what to choose.

You can incorporate both options if your plans allow for it by taking a one way cruise. There are a few that leave from either Vancouver or Honolulu going only one way with stops around the islands so you can spend extra time around the islands either before or after your cruise.

No matter what you decide Hawaii is an excellent choice.

have a great time

Aloha

There is so much to see and do in Hawaii that IMO, a cruise would not do it justice. How can you see the sunrise from the top of a mountain if you are not land based?

I have gone to Hawaii twice for 10 day and 2 weeks vacation, splitting each trip between 2 islands: Maui and Hawaii first, then Kauai and Maui. I could go back a 3rd time and still come up with new things to do and see.

It's a long way from the West Coast to the middle of the Pacific Ocean! I'd rather fly over that part than cruise.

We did Hawaii cruise a few years ago and are booked for another in November.

We had a great time and I loved the sea days, I also loved the rough seas. I enjoyed a taste of each island we visited.

The crowd on the Hawaiian cruise we went on was generally much older. Not complaining, just an observation.

We had a blast but we do love sea days, many people do not.

We love Hawaii and have enjoyed multiple land trips to the islands over the years. We completely agree that one cannot give each island justice through a brief one day port visit. There is simply far too much to see/do and each island has its own unique personality.

At the same time we enjoy cruising and have always wanted to experience the beauty of Hawaii from an ocean perspective, so this fall we are sailing on the Carnival Legend re-positioning cruise from Vancouver to Hawaii. It is a ten night cruise that will give us an opportunity to experience the islands in a new way. After the cruise concludes in Honolulu, we will spend two additional weeks in Hawaii visiting our favorite locations on different islands before flying home.

Best of both worlds...:o)

My family is planning our next cruise for the upcoming year. Normally we sail out of Florida to the Carribeen. Yet this time Hawaii was thrown out as an idea for a cruise . I understand it's normally it's a longer cruise . But what would be better to see the islands , cruise or a land based vacation? We live in Midwest so flight cost is usually taken into account too , yet these types of trips are once in a lifetime as well .

 

So for all of you who have visited Hawaii both by cruise / land based vacation tell me your thoughts .

For a first trip to Hawaii, I would recommend a cruise which gives a taste of each island & if possible to return for a land based vacation to your favorite island.

We enjoy sea days so the roundtrip from the West Coast is best for us (roundtrip LA on Princess) but if only going for a week then NCL would be the best option (maybe with a pre or post cruise stay).

During our first trip to Hawaii in 1981 we crammed all 4 main islands into a 2 week trip. But island-hopping resulted in too much of our time checking in/out of hotels, renting & dropping off cars and flying between islands. Now I prefer to island-hop on a ship and to rent a car to explore on our own (except on Oahu where we use their great public transportation system The Bus) to explore new things or to revisit favorite places.

There are pros & cons to either way and what's best for anyone else isn't necessarily what's best for you. ;)

Glad you asked for our "honest" opinions, as there is such a huge history of lies and false answers here....:D;)

I am in the land tour school of thought. If you have 15 days for a cruise from the West Coast, flying to Hawaii and doing a land tour, 15 days is a lot of exploration time.

We have been to Hawaii over 20 times, all times of the year, and never on a cruise. Land tours are great. Cruises are OK as an intro, but losing 8+ days sailing from the West Coast is not the most efficient way to see Hawaii.

There is so much to see and do in Hawaii that IMO, a cruise would not do it justice. How can you see the sunrise from the top of a mountain if you are not land based?

 

I have gone to Hawaii twice for 10 day and 2 weeks vacation, splitting each trip between 2 islands: Maui and Hawaii first, then Kauai and Maui. I could go back a 3rd time and still come up with new things to do and see.

 

It's a long way from the West Coast to the middle of the Pacific Ocean! I'd rather fly over that part than cruise.

By staying overnight on the cruise ship.

By staying overnight on the cruise ship.

Maybe on another cruise line, but the present lineup for Carnival doesn't have overnights on Maui (where the mountain is), or Kauai, or the Big Island. One of them stays over in Honolulu, bfd.

I've only done land based vacations to Hawaii, but have been several times. There is so much to see and I doubt you could really see a lot just stopping for a day here and there. But that said, you would not have to pack and unpack as you would by traveling by air to the various islands and a lot of your meals would be covered on the cruise. So there are pros and cons. One reason why I wouldn't want to cruise to Hawaii, is that I would feel like I lost sea days. You really do not want to stay on the ship when you're in a place as lovely and relaxing as Hawaii. I guess what I'm saying is weigh what's important to you. The cruise may be more economical than staying in hotels and getting other transportation between islands, but you would actually see more if you stayed on land for a few days on each island.

When we did our Baltic cruise, we appreciated having the ship to come back to each night and not having to pack and unpack, meals already paid for on board, etc. We also got a couple of sea days to rest and recuperate from all the walking and long hours we spent in the various ports.

I had only been to the Big Island of Hawaii for a company function in 2000, until I took the Spirit repo to Australia in 2012 (3 legs).

I think for a first timer, a cruise is the way to do it. You get to sample the islands and if you really like one, you can go back for a land vacation. I personally, love sea days and not having to worry about eating or entertainment every day.

We had 2 overnights on the repo cruise, Maui, and Honolulu. As Evandbob mentioned, some friends did take an excursion to the top of the mountain to see the sunrise in Maui.

I think it all depends on what you like. I dont' like to be in the same place for more than a day or 2...I like to keep moving and exploring new places, if only for a few hours. I can always go back for a longer visit.

We did 14 days leaving from San Diego. Visited Oahu, Hilo, Kauai and Maui.

I agree with other posters regarding sea days. The Pacific is not like the Caribbean, it was fairly cool for the first 3 days (we went in December) and also rockier than other cruises.

I also agree on doing a land based holiday there in order to fully enjoy what is on offer. The cruise was a snap shot of the islands. If we were to return, we would choose Kauai as our island to stay and do excursions to the other islands in order to get the most out of it. :)

I took the NCL Pride of America inter-island cruise in 2014. I'll keep this brief since this is the Carnival Forum. I was cruising on my own and stayed in one of the Solo Studios.

The cruise departed from Honolulu, so I arrived a few days early to get caught up on the jet lag and do some sightseeing (Arizona Memorial, circle island tour, etc.). The ship mostly sailed at night and spent days in port. We had a day and a half in Maui, so I was able to do the Road to Hana tour on one day, and the Haleakala sunrise tour on the next day. Next day was in Hilo on the big Island, and I did a full day tour to visit Volcano National Park. I went with a small private tour company, and it was amazing. That night, we cruised around to the west side of the island, and spent the next day in Kailua Kona. This was our only tender port. I didn't take an excursion, but took it easy that day and did some shopping and lunch. Then we sailed on to Kauai, for another day and a half. On the first day, I did a combination coastal/helicopter tour. I will never forget lunch on Hanalei Bay and the wonderful views from the helicopter. The second day was a half day trip to Waimea Canyon, but we had rain, so I was glad that I saw it from the air on the previous day. The ship left in the afternoon and sailed past the Na Pali cliffs. Wow!

Then the ship returned to Honolulu. I thought I got a wonderful taste of the islands on the seven day cruise, and would recommend it to anyone!

Maybe on another cruise line, but the present lineup for Carnival doesn't have overnights on Maui (where the mountain is), or Kauai, or the Big Island. One of them stays over in Honolulu, bfd.

I couldn't figure out why anyone thought it necessary to see Hawaii via Carnival, then realized this thread was apparently transferred from the Carnival Forum to the Hawaii Forum.

OP, I would recommend forgetting the transpacific cruise idea, you just waste too much vacation time. Either fly to Hawaii and then do the inter island cruise with NCL on the POA, or fly and do a land vacation.

We did a land vacation years ago, 4 days Kauai and 3 Maui plus a quick flight in and out of O'ahu. We really only saw 2 islands, and did not enjoy the 3 inter island flights, packing and unpacking, and hotel check in/outs. Ask yourself how many opportunities you will have to see these islands. Although we fell in love with Hawaii, it took us about 15 years to get back. And the islands are all so different. It would be a shame to miss any of them.

When we did come back, we flew into Honolulu and cruised inter island with the POA. Overnights in Maui and Kauai and two port days on the big island of Hawaii. We extended our stay on O'ahu by flying in early precruise, and staying extra days post cruise. We saw 4 islands total, soooo much more than we did on that land vacation. And no wasted time and energy getting there.

One thing I have found about hotel vacations is that you tend to get lazy. Late breakfast, lay around the pool, be lax about getting out to see anything. Not so on the cruise, where we were off the ship exploring from early am to very late on the overnights. We have done two POA cruises now. I'm still not willing to give up seeing any of those islands. And the option for an extended pre or post cruise stay on one of the islands is always there for extra exploring.

Glad you asked for our "honest" opinions, as there is such a huge history of lies and false answers here....:D;)

 

I am in the land tour school of thought. If you have 15 days for a cruise from the West Coast, flying to Hawaii and doing a land tour, 15 days is a lot of exploration time.

 

We have been to Hawaii over 20 times, all times of the year, and never on a cruise. Land tours are great. Cruises are OK as an intro, but losing 8+ days sailing from the West Coast is not the most efficient way to see Hawaii.

Hi C.B.

I don't see any "lies or false answers" here. They are just other peoples opinions...just as you have your own.

There was no mention of anyone having 15 days. No available time was stated, that is why depending on what the OP's plans allow there could be multiple options.

While flying direct would get you more time on land, it would exclude a cruise. Seeing that this site is cruise critic and the OP was considering a cruise, a combination of cruise and land vacation might be optimal.

again just an opinion