Hilo cancelled on February Hawaii cruise

[Cat_Lover3]

We are booked on the Golden for a cruise to Hawaii next February. I was just informed by TA that they have cancelled the stop in Hilo with no explanation or whether or not they will add another stop. This means we will have an extra sea day and only three stops in islands. Wondering now if it is worth it. Checked Princess website but nothing there about this. Any ideas why they would do this?

[Toto2Kansas]

That is strange. I know our October cruise has had the ports switched around a bit since booking, but no ports cancelled so far. Hilo is one of the great highlights as it is so easy to get to Volcanoes National Park. Very weird that they would just cancel Hilo, and no idea why.

[yyjguy]

I think Kona substitues for Hilo.

[mr green]

I think Kona substitues for Hilo.

 

If that's the case you may get the chance of seeing the lava floes meeting the sea, IF the timing is right.

 

john

[Carolyn R]

Odd. They dropped Kona as a port being it is a tender port and is often missed because of high surf. There is no chance of seeing lava flow if Hilo is eliminated.

[whatcruiseisnext]

....not to cruise to Hawaii. We LOVE cruising and have beenn on 22 Princess cruises with 23, 24 and 25 boooked. BUT...I would never cruise to Hawaii. IF you want to see the islands, you can see much more of the islands just by flying there and SPENDING THE TIME ON THE ISLANDS not as sea days. If you are going for the sea days....then the cruise would be the way to go. Personally, I love sea days but will get them in the Caribbean if I so desire. Taking a 14 day cruise to Hawaii and having only 3 ports with the possibility of maybe missing some of those is not my idea of seeing Hawaii. Hawaii is GORGEOUS. Save your money, pop for the airfare, research and investigate and you can get some darn good deals on Priceline as far as hotel rooms. This past April/May we stayed right on Waikiki Beach at the fabulous Shearton for $125/night on Priceline. Got a room at Kauai Beach Resort on Kauai which was also fabulous for $120/night(got an upgrade from a pool view to an ocean view). The Outrigger on the Big Island (booked through the hotel website) and the Hyatt Regency on Maui through Priceline were also great deals for us. We saw Hawaii and we experienced Hawaii for the entire vacation not just a few days. When all costs were added it was cheaper to DO Hawaii as we did...including air, inter-island air, meals, car rental and hotels. Hawaii is so easy to do on your own. With research and planning, it is by far cheaper. The interisland flights on Hawaiian air take less than 1/2 hour. So allowing to get to airports and back you need to block out say 3 hours on the the day you go to another island. Not difficult at all and you see way more of the islands. Please don't flame me.....this is just my opinion and preference. I know that some people prefer to cruise to Hawaii.

[zoncom]

Pull up Hawaii cruises on an online discount sites. Found 5 other choices that do ports.

[COMBOY]

We are booked on the Golden for a cruise to Hawaii next February. I was just informed by TA that they have cancelled the stop in Hilo with no explanation or whether or not they will add another stop. This means we will have an extra sea day and only three stops in islands. Wondering now if it is worth it. Checked Princess website but nothing there about this. Any ideas why they would do this?

 

The other option is maybe two 2 days/overnight in one of the ports like Kauai, or Maui. Maybe Kona is being substituted. We just don't know. Could be operational issues with the pier or harbor in Hilo? Maybe Hilo raised the port fees and in protest Princess pulled out like we saw in Alaska several years ago. Only Princess know the real reason and maybe they simply don't want to discuss it. Unfortunately, cruise line have every right (per your ticket contact) to pull any port at any time with out any explanation nor compensation (however they usually refund any port taxes if that stop is cancelled). At least they did inform you up front that Hilo was cancelled.

[RickEk]

I just checked with a friend who works at Princess and he says that there is no alteration to the Hawaii cruises... I suggest that the OP talk to their TA again... :rolleyes:

[vcgeno]

....not to cruise to Hawaii. We LOVE cruising and have beenn on 22 Princess cruises with 23, 24 and 25 boooked. BUT...I would never cruise to Hawaii. IF you want to see the islands, you can see much more of the islands just by flying there and SPENDING THE TIME ON THE ISLANDS not as sea days. If you are going for the sea days....then the cruise would be the way to go. Personally, I love sea days but will get them in the Caribbean if I so desire. Taking a 14 day cruise to Hawaii and having only 3 ports with the possibility of maybe missing some of those is not my idea of seeing Hawaii. Hawaii is GORGEOUS. Save your money, pop for the airfare, research and investigate and you can get some darn good deals on Priceline as far as hotel rooms. This past April/May we stayed right on Waikiki Beach at the fabulous Shearton for $125/night on Priceline. Got a room at Kauai Beach Resort on Kauai which was also fabulous for $120/night(got an upgrade from a pool view to an ocean view). The Outrigger on the Big Island (booked through the hotel website) and the Hyatt Regency on Maui through Priceline were also great deals for us. We saw Hawaii and we experienced Hawaii for the entire vacation not just a few days. When all costs were added it was cheaper to DO Hawaii as we did...including air, inter-island air, meals, car rental and hotels. Hawaii is so easy to do on your own. With research and planning, it is by far cheaper. The interisland flights on Hawaiian air take less than 1/2 hour. So allowing to get to airports and back you need to block out say 3 hours on the the day you go to another island. Not difficult at all and you see way more of the islands. Please don't flame me.....this is just my opinion and preference. I know that some people prefer to cruise to Hawaii.

 

I disagree.

 

My wife and I went to Hawaii an the Sapphire in March (click for my review) and it was an incredible experience. Loved the ship. Loved the sea days. Loved not having to think too much. Enjoyed our port days and felt we got a good sense of the Islands should we decide to go back for a land based vacation. I would do it again in a heartbeat. Glad that it appears they are still stopping in Hilo.

[mina]

I just checked with a friend who works at Princess and he says that there is no alteration to the Hawaii cruises... I suggest that the OP talk to their TA again... :rolleyes:

 

Whew -- glad to hear that!!

[Cruise Junky]

....not to cruise to Hawaii. We LOVE cruising and have beenn on 22 Princess cruises with 23, 24 and 25 boooked. BUT...I would never cruise to Hawaii. IF you want to see the islands, you can see much more of the islands just by flying there and SPENDING THE TIME ON THE ISLANDS not as sea days. If you are going for the sea days....then the cruise would be the way to go. Personally, I love sea days but will get them in the Caribbean if I so desire. Taking a 14 day cruise to Hawaii and having only 3 ports with the possibility of maybe missing some of those is not my idea of seeing Hawaii. Hawaii is GORGEOUS. Save your money, pop for the airfare, research and investigate and you can get some darn good deals on Priceline as far as hotel rooms. This past April/May we stayed right on Waikiki Beach at the fabulous Shearton for $125/night on Priceline. Got a room at Kauai Beach Resort on Kauai which was also fabulous for $120/night(got an upgrade from a pool view to an ocean view). The Outrigger on the Big Island (booked through the hotel website) and the Hyatt Regency on Maui through Priceline were also great deals for us. We saw Hawaii and we experienced Hawaii for the entire vacation not just a few days. When all costs were added it was cheaper to DO Hawaii as we did...including air, inter-island air, meals, car rental and hotels. Hawaii is so easy to do on your own. With research and planning, it is by far cheaper. The interisland flights on Hawaiian air take less than 1/2 hour. So allowing to get to airports and back you need to block out say 3 hours on the the day you go to another island. Not difficult at all and you see way more of the islands. Please don't flame me.....this is just my opinion and preference. I know that some people prefer to cruise to Hawaii.

 

I completely agree with you on this. Hell would have to freeze over before we did that itinerary. It's just not enough time IN Hawaii. Maybe it's because we're on the westcoast and air is easy and cheap but we just can't see doing it on a cruise. I did enjoy Pride of Hawaii's itinerary as it had two overnights and did a Napili Coast afternoon cruise, an evening Lava Flow, and stopped in Kona.

[Working 2 Cruise]

I disagree.

 

My wife and I went to Hawaii an the Sapphire in March (click for my review) and it was an incredible experience. Loved the ship. Loved the sea days. Loved not having to think too much. Enjoyed our port days and felt we got a good sense of the Islands should we decide to go back for a land based vacation. I would do it again in a heartbeat. Glad that it appears they are still stopping in Hilo.

 

Ditto. Loved that cruise so much, we are going back in November. The itinerary seems to have a very small change, i.e., getting into Hilo at 9:00 a.m. instead of 8:00 a.m., and arriving in Ensenada at 4:00 p.m. instead of 2:00 p.m. Now, I really don't understand some of those posters... The OP asked a question, it was answered, but they absolutely had to give their two cents about not cruising to Hawaii... Was that really necessary?

[sandyj55]

I received an email from my TA today and mine said that the stop in Hilo would be from 9 to 6 instead of being 8 to 5. Also there would be a different arrival time in Mexico...we would arrive at 4 instead of 2pm but no stops were cancelled. Our sailing is Jan 18 to Feb 1..

Hopefully there was a misunderstanding about the times and you willl still get your stop in Hilo.

[mina]

I do have to add my support for the West coast round trip to Hawaii. Although I have been to hawaii only once, I really have no interest in doing a land vacation there -- too many people, too much stress too much go, go, go. (In my opinion). I am just as happy to spend the days at sea with a few nice stops where I can see something interesting to break up my relaxing vacation at sea. I would not assume that all people are taking this cruise cause they want to sight see in Hawaii.

[Astro Flyer]

I completely agree with you on this. Hell would have to freeze over before we did that itinerary. It's just not enough time IN Hawaii. Maybe it's because we're on the westcoast and air is easy and cheap but we just can't see doing it on a cruise. I did enjoy Pride of Hawaii's itinerary as it had two overnights and did a Napili Coast afternoon cruise, an evening Lava Flow, and stopped in Kona.

 

Ditto. Loved that cruise so much, we are going back in November. The itinerary seems to have a very small change, i.e., getting into Hilo at 9:00 a.m. instead of 8:00 a.m., and arriving in Ensenada at 4:00 p.m. instead of 2:00 p.m. Now, I really don't understand some of those posters... The OP asked a question, it was answered, but they absolutely had to give their two cents about not cruising to Hawaii... Was that really necessary?

NO cruise will give a thorough experience anywhere...that never happens. It's a brief introduction to new places where we can return to spend more time in the future. We spend a lot of time in Maui but like 'funinla' enjoyed the LA roundtrip cruise to Hawaii. It's a good combination of relaxing sea days & a day on some of the other islands we visit infrequently.

[cruzinwithprincess]

We have done the Hawaii cruise twice, but during each cruise we also went to the French Polynesia. Hawaii is nice and I would recommend everyone should visit at least once, but we prefer the French Polynesian islands.

 

It doesn't get any better than that (Bora Bora, Raiatea, Moorea). Our Heaven on Earth!!!

[Princess Patches]

Ditto. Loved that cruise so much, we are going back in November. The itinerary seems to have a very small change, i.e., getting into Hilo at 9:00 a.m. instead of 8:00 a.m., and arriving in Ensenada at 4:00 p.m. instead of 2:00 p.m. Now, I really don't understand some of those posters... The OP asked a question, it was answered, but they absolutely had to give their two cents about not cruising to Hawaii... Was that really necessary?

 

I agree with this post. I have been to Hawaii numerous times, two of those times by cruise ship and the rest on land tours. I currently have the Sapphire booked for December. Each type of vacation is fun, exciting, and has something special to offer. It is wonderful to be able to visit Hawaii, whether it is on land tour or by cruise ship, you are very fortunate. The advantage of the roundtrip cruise from LA is no flying and an easy drive to the port for us locals. You get lots of calm sea days with nothing to do but read and relax and you still get to see four of the islands. What could be better I ask you?

 

I think the OP's TA must be wrong. The Hilo port schedule and the Princess website still shows the Golden and the Sapphire stopping in Hilo for many months to come.

[RickEk]

I received an email from my TA today and mine said that the stop in Hilo would be from 9 to 6 instead of being 8 to 5. Also there would be a different arrival time in Mexico...we would arrive at 4 instead of 2pm but no stops were cancelled. Our sailing is Jan 18 to Feb 1..

Hopefully there was a misunderstanding about the times and you willl still get your stop in Hilo.

 

It sounds like they may be delaying arrivals in certain ports to allow for the ship to sail slower and thereby save a bit of fuel. I guess that I'd rather have some possibly shorter port stays than a reinstatement of the fuel supplement. ;)

[Cat_Lover3]

Just checked with my TA and she confirmed what has been posted here. No cancellation of Hilo, only time in port change. Thanks for all the posts.

[High C's]

Ditto. Loved that cruise so much, we are going back in November. The itinerary seems to have a very small change, i.e., getting into Hilo at 9:00 a.m. instead of 8:00 a.m., and arriving in Ensenada at 4:00 p.m. instead of 2:00 p.m. Now, I really don't understand some of those posters... The OP asked a question, it was answered, but they absolutely had to give their two cents about not cruising to Hawaii... Was that really necessary?

 

LOL - no kidding!!!! To each their own. Now, if any of these people with such strong opinions want to pay for my trip.......

[Cruise Junky]

NO cruise will give a thorough experience anywhere...that never happens. It's a brief introduction to new places where we can return to spend more time in the future. We spend a lot of time in Maui but like 'funinla' enjoyed the LA roundtrip cruise to Hawaii. It's a good combination of relaxing sea days & a day on some of the other islands we visit infrequently.

 

Granted no cruise will give you an indepth experience...BUT with limited vacation time taking two weeks off work for 4 days in Hawaii isn't for us. I can cruise the Med for 12 days and get 9 or 10 ports so the ratio is just way off on a Hawaiian cruise. I like sea days and would consider a one way to Hawaii so I can get off and spend another week in the islands. I just can't imagine sailing 5 days there and 5 days back when I can be there in 5 hours.

[Cruisin' Chick]

I disagree.

 

My wife and I went to Hawaii an the Sapphire in March (click for my review) and it was an incredible experience. Loved the ship. Loved the sea days. Loved not having to think too much. Enjoyed our port days and felt we got a good sense of the Islands should we decide to go back for a land based vacation. I would do it again in a heartbeat. Glad that it appears they are still stopping in Hilo.

 

I agree with this post. I have been to Hawaii numerous times, two of those times by cruise ship and the rest on land tours. I currently have the Sapphire booked for December. Each type of vacation is fun, exciting, and has something special to offer. It is wonderful to be able to visit Hawaii, whether it is on land tour or by cruise ship, you are very fortunate. The advantage of the roundtrip cruise from LA is no flying and an easy drive to the port for us locals. You get lots of calm sea days with nothing to do but read and relax and you still get to see four of the islands. What could be better I ask you?

 

I think the OP's TA must be wrong. The Hilo port schedule and the Princess website still shows the Golden and the Sapphire stopping in Hilo for many months to come.

 

 

I agree. I'm not big on flying and have already done the land trip twice to Hawaii -- one on a 9-day tour of three islands and the second for my honeymoon. But the on-board experience on the Golden for our second RT from LA to Hawaii was tremendous. I look at it as an excellent two week cruise with the islands thrown in as a bonus.

 

My little one's two times in Hawaii were on those cruises...she's not quite at that enjoying the scenery stage, even as a teen.

 

For those who never been to Hawaii, this cruise gives a taste of the state. If you feel inclined, you can later on book a land trip to the island(s) of your choice so you can spend more time.

[billie5]

It's a shame the best Hawaiian cruise seems no longer to be: 7 days touring the islands followed by 2 days each way to Kiribati and 1 day on Fanning Island. That was the old itinerary of the NCL Wind, a great tour of Hawaii as well as a day on a superb South Pacific atoll. Well, technically 4 degrees north, but who's counting. Despite the incredible beauty of the Hawaiian Islands, I thought the atoll was the high point of the cruise.

 

Bill

[Astro Flyer]

Granted no cruise will give you an indepth experience...BUT with limited vacation time taking two weeks off work for 4 days in Hawaii isn't for us. I can cruise the Med for 12 days and get 9 or 10 ports so the ratio is just way off on a Hawaiian cruise. I like sea days and would consider a one way to Hawaii so I can get off and spend another week in the islands. I just can't imagine sailing 5 days there and 5 days back when I can be there in 5 hours.

 

I completely understand why you'd prefer days in Hawaii vs a cruise. When I was working with limited vacation time, we only spent time in Hawaii & not cruising there. That maximized our enjoyment of Hawaii & we still enjoy our days in Maui. Being retired & not having to fly to a cruise is a bonus for us. So we enjoy Hawaii either way & are lucky to be able to cruise or to stay in Maui.

 

Whether by land or by sea, there are some great options for everyone to enjoy Hawaii. :D

 

Maybe when you have more vacation time, hell could freeze over & you might be able to enjoy a Hawaiian cruise like us. :p