Hawaii cruise choices

[sterling2]

We are hoping Dave and Leialoha are on the STAR at the end of February -- we were on the GRAND in March with Makani E -- they are great and wouldn't mind a bit being with them again -- just thought Dave and Leialoha would be fun -- plus we loved sailing out of SF.

[Makani E, Hawaiian Duo]

Aloha gang!

We can't wait to get our ship assignment for the next Hawaii season. As soon as we hear, we'll post it.

 

 

Aloha!

Kimo & Lokelina

Hawaii Ambassadors

"Makani E"

"Fair Winds Duo"

Edited July 4, 2014 by Makani E, Hawaiian Duo

[puerto penasco lady]

I have done this cruise both out of San Pedro and San Francisco, enjoyed both. Also, experienced both Eula and Makani E.....both were great. just love all those sea days on these round trip cruises.

 

Brenda

[helenb]

Aloha gang!

We can't wait to get our ship assignment for the next Hawaii season. As soon as we hear, we'll post it.

 

 

Aloha!

Kimo & Lokelina

Hawaii Ambassadors

"Makani E"

"Fair Winds Duo"

 

Thank you! We will be on the lookout for your post! We hope you will be able to join us over the holiday cruise!

[sassyredhat]

We are booked for 2016 on the Ruby. :)

Pat

[Working 2 Cruise]

We are booked for 2016 on the Ruby. :)

Pat

 

So are we! Can't wait to try the Ruby!!!!

[JonV]

I would definitely choose the Star. I was on the Grand in Jan/Feb to Hawaii and it is the first Grand Class Ship from 1998 so it will be 17 when you sail. It is not as nice as the later Grand Class ships like Diamond and Star which have a better arrangement of the dining rooms.

 

Sounds like you choose Grand and just be aware that the Pacific is usually a rough ride as it was for us for about 2.5 days enroute to Hawaii.

 

Makani E, Kimo & Lokelina were fantastic and spread the Aloha Spirit from day 1.

 

Aloha gang!

We can't wait to get our ship assignment for the next Hawaii season. As soon as we hear, we'll post it.

 

 

Aloha!

Kimo & Lokelina

Hawaii Ambassadors

"Makani E"

"Fair Winds Duo"

[sterling2]

We were on the Grand in March -- very enjoyable cruise -- nothing wrong with the ship and Makani E were great!

[FritzG]

We are also looking at the 15 day to Hawaii for next year. Our choices seem to be the Grand out of SF or the Ruby or Star out of LA.

 

Our personal preferences would be SF, since we both want to see it, but I'm scared of the Grand due to so many negative reviews. We love the sea days but don't feel like we'd enjoy it as much on a ship that has lots of flaws due to aging.

 

We've done the Ruby 3 times and feel like it's home. We're not afraid of being on the Ruby for 8 sea days!! We'd also love to try a new ship, so perhaps the Star. Is it a lot smaller?

 

Thoughts?

 

That's a tough choice. We love SF and sailing under the Golden Gate Bridge was on our bucket list. I'd do that at least once even if I had to go on the Grand.

 

But we much prefer the Ruby over the Grand. We were on the Grand in April, 2013, and it was our least favorite ship. We've been on the Ruby 5 times with a ta scheduled for September, and we love the ship.

 

We'll be taking a winter cruise to either Hawaii or the Panama Canal. If we go to Hawaii it will definitely be on the Ruby out of LA.

[Colo Cruiser]

Aloha gang!

We can't wait to get our ship assignment for the next Hawaii season. As soon as we hear, we'll post it.

 

 

Aloha!

Kimo & Lokelina

Hawaii Ambassadors

"Makani E"

"Fair Winds Duo"

 

 

Sounds great! Thanks for checking in. :)

[Cruise Raider]

We chose the LA departure since we were able to get non stop flights from Boston. No non stops to SF and with a Feb flight I am paranoid about weather delays and missing connections so this's works out best for us. We are cruising to Hawaii and it will be great!

 

We sailed once from LA out on the Golden -- sister to the Grand and more on the lines of the same age than the Star. We had a fantastic trip -- so much so, when the Star came to San Francisco, we booked this itinerary again, albeit, one extra day. While I have never sailed on the Grand, on the Star Princess cruise, it was really not so great. I have sailed on the Star twice now and found the crew and staff to be far less stellar than that of the Golden. There was absolutely no Hawaiian entertainment onboard as we experienced when on the Golden and then no Mexican theme at all once we made it to Ensenada. The food was the worst I have ever had on any cruise on the Star. It was a totally different experience than our initial cruise over to Hawaii on Princess. Although the Star is much newer than the Grand, I would probably choose the Grand over the Star....although I would always choose sailing under the breathtaking Golden Gate over sailing out of LA. Guess that is why I haven't repeated that Hawaii cruise out of SF since that one on the Star.

I am sure you will have fun on Grand....good choice.

[IdahoCruises]

Have to agree....we were on the Grand last October to HI and everything was great, including the food...

 

That being said, we enjoy cruising out of SF as it is easier for us to get there....or Seattle...

 

We are lucky to take an occasional cruise and make of it what we want....nothing better than being on the water for us....

[Thrak]

SF vs LA: SF WINS

 

Grand vs Star:

 

Star: Central Staircase / Skywalkers

 

Grand: No Central Staircase / Alfredo's

 

Winner: GRAND: ALFREDO'S

Love the Grand Princess Pizza at Alfredo's and can easily live without the central staircase. Don't use Skywalker's in the evening as it's LOUD, LOUD, LOUD. Skywalkers can be very nice for reading in the day with spectacular views but they seem to keep it really cold in there during the day.

[sterling2]

SF vs LA: SF WINS

 

Grand vs Star:

 

Star: Central Staircase / Skywalkers

 

Grand: No Central Staircase / Alfredo's

 

Winner: GRAND: ALFREDO'S

Love the Grand Princess Pizza at Alfredo's and can easily live without the central staircase. Don't use Skywalker's in the evening as it's LOUD, LOUD, LOUD. Skywalkers can be very nice for reading in the day with spectacular views but they seem to keep it really cold in there during the day.

 

Agree with you about Alfredo's. We are booked on the Star for next February -- will miss Alfredo's -- the pizza was wonderful!

[Gimer]

Aloha and a belated Happy 4th of July. Fran and I had such a great time last February, we booked Star out of San Francisco for the Nov. 24 cruise. Here's how I see it. Elua has been on Diamond, Golden and Star out of LA. With Grand doing Hawaii from LA, I see Elua on Grand. Makani E was on Grand last season, I now see you two on Star. I hope!!!!! Fran is still taking hula classes and she is also teaching Hanalei Moon to a class of 18 ladies. We love your Hawaiian Culture and your friendship. Hope to see you in November. Malasadas are not the same here. Stan

[SoCal Cruiser78]

[quote name='CruiseBrian']...San Fran airport is frequently delayed so make sure you have plenty of time...[/QUOTE]

I used to live near SFO, so I can second and third that! LAX can get fogged in also, but not as often. If I were counting on boarding a ship in S.F. on the same day I fly, I would fly into SJC or OAK and pay the extra cab fare as they both have fewer fog delays. The other Bay Area airports are not always feasible for int'l passengers, so if using SFO I would definitely arrive a day early. Edited July 6, 2014 by Ryndam2002