Booked Hawaii but not with Carnival :(

[dyson]

ok guys and Gals I booked..... I have been asking for help for the longest time.. and ended up going with a recommendation I didn't think I would... so I guess that showed me...

 

We wanted to go to Hawaii but we had Issues, < more than normal >

You see DW just started with a new company and where I could get 15 days off in a row she could not.

so that took care of most cruises. We were hoping that carnival would do the 12 day again in 2012 in April. But they seem to have only done it in Sept.

 

So we had two options Royal Caribbean in April that goes from Hawaii to Vancouver.

 

or Norwegian 7 day Hawaii loop.

 

here are my two choices,

With Royal I could get two rooms inside < not connecting but side by side> the cruise is longer, and Honestly it looks like Royal is more family orientated but I could be wrong PLEASE TELL ME....

The cruise itself would be about 1500.00 cheaper total

 

With Norwegian You get more Hawaii time < 7 days vs 5>

We would have two obstructed ocean view rooms that connect < thats a plus for the wife . but the cruise is more expencive by almost $1,500

But I sorta have the feeling that they are maybe a little more adult cruising. they don't seem to have may children things going on and they have all these pay extra to eat here restrants, And I admit I am used to the carnival inclusive feel. I expected maybe one or two would be extra but all except the MDR and Buffet are extra.

 

 

I like the idea of more Hawaii time, BUT I want the family to have a good time. and I am honestly scared that Royal would be more family orientated am I wrong ??

 

One last thing.. Our anniversary is February 29th < leap year> and the Norwegian option we would be on the cruise during our anniversary

They royal would Be in april

 

and as for air fair do you think it would cost about the same to get a round trip to Hawaii as it would a one way and a return from Vancouver?

 

Either way it will be a long flight, going from Jackson Miss

 

 

So alll in ALL HELP!!!!

 

this will be out first Big cruise and I want it to be right

[sassyredhat]

I would go with Royal Caribbean.

Granted, I've only been on one of their ships, but I sailed that ship twice. Radiance is our favorite ship. Everything was great--food, service--ship.

Yes, there are alot of families, but there are also alot of adults with no kids in tow.

We think the onboard experience is almost as important as the ports. We have sailed the Hawaii itin. twice, and are booked for the 3rd time.

If you posted what ship you were thinking of, I missed it. Hope this helps.

Pat

[Parkay]

Since Carnival is out of the questions completely, I would post this on the NCL and/or RCCL boards, not carnival. You will probably get more people who have done these cruises there.

[cruisy-suzy]

I sailed NCL Pride of America in Oct. 2007. It was wonderful! We prefer fewer kids onboard, and I didn't see very many at all on our cruise. So it might not be the best choice for your children.

 

It was really nice to have the ship as our floating hotel overnight at Maui and Kauai. I have not ever sailed RC or done a west coast to Hawaii itinerary so I can't give you any opinion on that.

 

Happy cruising,

[MissDiva1]

You will be in a different port each day with NCLA thus family time will be busy in ports with family.......you don't have to eat at the pay restaurants that is an option like Carnivals steak house and chefs table.

If price is of no concern I would cruise on NCLA for all the ports........

[Sobrooks387]

We sailed the NCL Pride in Hawaii and did not like it. I don't like the freestyle dining, and with 11 people it was a hot mess. Even though we requested to sit together - it didn't happen until Thurs night. The service in the dining room was so slow that we missed the shows. The all american crew was lazy and over worked and openly complained. I have to say that they were understaffed and that it was not fair to the staff or the cruisers.

 

My daughter and family booked a room for 2 adults and 2 children (one of them being an infant) and were given a room with one full size bed. The room was so small that they couldn't even bring in a roll a way bed. When we boarded on Sunday they told them that they could not change them to another room until Tuesday when they docked in Maui (some people get on and off there).

 

We have been on 6 cruises (3 NCL, 2 RC and 1 Carnival) and loved the Carnival one the best. The problem with cruising Hawaii is that there are so few boats and not much of a choice. We did enjoy going up to the volcano and the boat turning 360 degrees, so no matter where you were on the ship, you were up close and comfortable. The Hawaiian islands are the best and cruising is a great way to see them. Have fun and enjoy your vacation.

[DebJ14]

Go with the Royal Caribbean. Much more family oriented and sorry NCL fans I think their food is the worst at sea.

[T. Advisor King]

Your posting obviously relates to a previous one that contains all the information (kids?) that I either didn't read or don't remember, so I won't even attempt to tell you whether I think the extra $1,500 is worth it for you.

 

As for the travel, I'd think Hawaii return would be in the ballpark compared to one way in to HNL, then one way out of YVR. There isn't much in the way of return discounts these days. You'd think the Vancouver flight would be a lot less, but air travel out of Canada is notoriously expensive due to their system of airpot taxes (where often the fare after taxes is close to double the published fare before taxes). Consider looking at flying out of Bellingham, Washington (BLI), which is about 45 min south of Vancouver.

[GottaLuvCruising]

Here's another vote for Royal Caribbean and the Radiance (great ship). I am so not a fan of "freestyle dining" and not impressed by NCL entertainment either. While I'd love the extra time in Hawaii, I'd still rather have the sea days.

[nlt46]

Or flying out of Seattle, which is a vacation spot itself. We really enjoyed Seattle. I like NCL a lot. I will say that Carnival's food is better in the MDR, but NCL's speciality restaurants can compete with any of them. I did NCL for HI. We were on the Dream. It was really nice to visit all the different islands. Really, I don't think you could go wrong with either company. They are just different choices; both are good.

 

Nancy

[RumpunchGirl]

I did the NCL 7 day 2 years ago. We went in March and there were many kids on board. We didn't travel with kids. So, I don't know what was on board for the young ones. Here were my observations: This is a very Port-intensive cruise. You are in port everyday. We were hardly ever on the ship. We left early every morning to see as much of Hawaii as we could and came back in time for dinner. There was a lot of Japanese folks on board and all announcements were done in English and Japanese. This cruise and it's ports are a very popular destination in Japan. It was very interesting. I felt that the ship, Pride of America, was mostly a floating hotel for us. It's a beautiful ship but we were going, going, going all the time and didn't get to really enjoy it. I'm glad I went as it gave me a taste of the 4 main islands of Hawaii. I hope this helps!:D