Which cruise line?

[DnR]

We just came beck from an Alaskan cruise tour with HAL. Although the cruise and land tour were breathtaking, the ship was clean, and the staff was very friendly, the demographic of the boat was too "old" for us. It seemed most were 60+. We are in our 40's and really enjoy the varying activities (trivia, nightclubs, etc.) that we get on Carnival. We are platinum cruisers. We want to do the Hawaiian islands and want to find the cruise line that will fit us best when we are not on land. We aren't wild partiers, but we do like to be active in the fun on board. Suggestions?

Edited June 20, 2014 by DnR

[punkincc]

In general, I think NCL might be a good fit for you. We love them because of their outstanding staff and the relaxation that Freestyle cruising allows you. We think their entertainment is second to none.

 

I think the POA, NCL's Pride of America is your best bet for Hawaii. It is an American Flagged ship, ( and mostly American crewed, which will make it a little different than their other ship's ) and the ONLY one to sail Honolulu to Honolulu round trip. The other cruise lines waste days of your time coming and going across the Pacific. Many people describe it an their "floating Hotel" for Hawaii. And that is not necessarily a bad thing in Hawaii. A ship like the Getaway, with all the bells and whistles would be wasted in Hawaii.

 

I think the POA gives you the most bang for your buck if your goal is to see Hawaii, and not to just simply lie in a deck chair on a cruise ship. The demographic of a typical NCL cruise is probably younger and with more families than a HAL ship in general, but it will probably be skewed a little older on the POA simply because the older crowd can afford Hawaii and has the time to go. But still with a good mix of families and honeymooners.

 

I will fore warn you that a Hawaii cruise is not going to be like any other. It is similar to an Alaskan cruise where the primary focus is the site seeing and not just to relax and party. Every day is a port day. The big island of Hawaii has 2 ports, and you overnight in Maui and Kauai so you get nearly 2 full days on each of those islands. A lot of people may stay ashore for luaus or dinner until late, rather than come back to the ship early for evening entertainment as they would on the typical Caribbean cruise. But, the shows and entertainment are there when you want them. And no worries about getting back for an early seating for dinner. Stay ashore as long as you want and then eat when and where you want back on board.

Edited June 20, 2014 by punkincc

[PCWalton1]

If you don't mind "wasting" a little time on board ship you can also consider a re-positioning cruise on Royal Caribbean or Celebrity either in the fall or the spring. Yes you will spend 5 days at sea either before or after the islands depending on which direction you go but for many of us that is a great way to disconnect for a while and is not wasted time. :p

 

Normally you will get a chance for stops on all four of the main islands with an occasional overnight. Since we live in Seattle and the ships leave/arrive in Vancouver B.C. it has the added convenience of flying only once. :)

[punkincc]

If you don't mind "wasting" a little time on board ship you can also consider a re-positioning cruise on Royal Caribbean or Celebrity either in the fall or the spring. Yes you will spend 5 days at sea either before or after the islands depending on which direction you go but for many of us that is a great way to disconnect for a while and is not wasted time. :p

 

Normally you will get a chance for stops on all four of the main islands with an occasional overnight. Since we live in Seattle and the ships leave/arrive in Vancouver B.C. it has the added convenience of flying only once. :)

 

Relaxation is never a waste of time:). My point was that if seeing the most you can of Hawaii is your primary goal, you will see more of it by flying over and cruising the islands, not spending 5 days of your time looking at water.

[PCWalton1]

Relaxation is never a waste of time:). My point was that if seeing the most you can of Hawaii is your primary goal, you will see more of it by flying over and cruising the islands, not spending 5 days of your time looking at water.

 

Either way, for a first timer a cruise is great as it give the opportunity to see the diversity of the main islands and maybe even help in the decision if planning out a land trip at a later date to that new favorite island. :)

[chiapet]

I would also say NCL POA ... lots of different shorex to choose from for this port intensive itinerary ... and still many activities onboard to participate in ;)

[dcikon2]

NCL should be your only option. We only at dinner 2 times while on board as we were off the ship doing activities. POA provides the best opportunities for doing things. Make sure to snorkel at Captain Cook's Monument when at Kuala-Kona. Zip-lining on Haleakala was a great experience.

[DnR]

Thank you all so much for the feedback. Our primary goal is to see as much of Hawaii as we can, so I think flying over is a better option for us. We love doing excursions and will probably spend as much time off the boat as possible. I've read so many varied reviews of the POA I needed to hear that people actually enjoyed it too!

[sportygirl731]

You will not regret ur decision with NCL POA ... Very port intensive. We spent every minute on the islands and came back exhausted to sleep and get ready for morning. Be sure to read and subscribe to the Hawaii boards. A lot of great and useful info on DIY days. Links for car rentals with discount codes.

 

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I997 using Tapatalk 2

[dcikon2]

I highly recommend flying into Honolulu a few days prior to your cruise. This will allow you to experience Waikiki and the island.

[Cruisin' Chick]

If you want to spend time in Hawaii, just fly over there and spend time actually there. If you want to combine a cruise with Hawaii, consider the Princess RTs out of the west coast, especially if you like sea days (like us) and hate flying (like me). You won't be bored. Seriously, Princess has a full-fledged cultural program so you don't forget you're on the way to Hawaii. And if Elua is on board, you'll be treated to beautiful live Hawaiian music every day plus you can take hula (from Leialoha) and ukelele (from Dave). They also give talks about all things Hawaiian. I believe that Princess has hired another couple to do the same on the other ship sailing from Hawaii.

[stewartmamone1]

In general, I think NCL might be a good fit for you. We love them because of their outstanding staff and the relaxation that Freestyle cruising allows you. We think their entertainment is second to none.

 

I think the POA, NCL's Pride of America is your best bet for Hawaii. It is an American Flagged ship, ( and mostly American crewed, which will make it a little different than their other ship's ) and the ONLY one to sail Honolulu to Honolulu round trip. The other cruise lines waste days of your time coming and going across the Pacific. Many people describe it an their "floating Hotel" for Hawaii. And that is not necessarily a bad thing in Hawaii. A ship like the Getaway, with all the bells and whistles would be wasted in Hawaii.

 

I think the POA gives you the most bang for your buck if your goal is to see Hawaii, and not to just simply lie in a deck chair on a cruise ship. The demographic of a typical NCL cruise is probably younger and with more families than a HAL ship in general, but it will probably be skewed a little older on the POA simply because the older crowd can afford Hawaii and has the time to go. But still with a good mix of families and honeymooners.

 

I will fore warn you that a Hawaii cruise is not going to be like any other. It is similar to an Alaskan cruise where the primary focus is the site seeing and not just to relax and party. Every day is a port day. The big island of Hawaii has 2 ports, and you overnight in Maui and Kauai so you get nearly 2 full days on each of those islands. A lot of people may stay ashore for luaus or dinner until late, rather than come back to the ship early for evening entertainment as they would on the typical Caribbean cruise. But, the shows and entertainment are there when you want them. And no worries about getting back for an early seating for dinner. Stay ashore as long as you want and then eat when and where you want back on board.

 

Thanks for sharing this wonderful information. I'm planning a trip to Hawaii and can use all the advice I can get.

 

Sent from my SM-N900V using Forums mobile app

[punkincc]

Thanks for sharing this wonderful information. I'm planning a trip to Hawaii and can use all the advice I can get.

 

Sent from my SM-N900V using Forums mobile app

 

Will be cruising Hawaii on the POA in two weeks! Any questions, let me know.:)

[CRUZBUDS]

Carnival is doing quite a few R/T from L.A. - you will still get an older crowd, as you always get on longer cruises, no matter what the line.

 

Aloha!

Edited August 2, 2014 by CRUZBUDS

[greatlakesgirl]

Will be cruising Hawaii on the POA in two weeks! Any questions, let me know.:)

Getting excited for you! Hope you come back and tell us how it went! :)

[CalifGirl67]

I'm so glad I found this thread as we are planning a trip to Hawaii summer 2015 and hubby doesn't really want to fly over ocean,silly I know! Anyhow, I'm not finding anything really good except in Sept/Oct of 2015 from Calif and we are in the South and thats too far off for hubby to wait for a vacation from work. We want to go for 20th Anniv in July so now I am looking at flying to Hawaii since hubby gave in :) and then cruising with NCL on POA and they also have some great pre cruise tours added in.

Just trying to figure the best price option. Do you think its better/cheaper to book with cruise line or a TA?? Suggestions? Thanks

[Cashew14]

We did the Hawaii cruise a couple of years ago on HAL. A lot of sea days and coming from Europe it was a long way!! The Hawaiian Islands were beautiful but I also wished we could have spent more time on the islands instead of having so many sea days on the ship. (also a few days were rather cold with the cruise being in November if I remember correctly).

If you are in your 40's and like a bit of fun then I would not recommend HAL as the night club was literally empty by 10:30 pm.

I am 50 and my partner is a young 62 and even we found it rather "dead" on the ship.

My favourite island was Kauaii and Maui but really wanted to see more of these islands and also would have loved to do the helicopter trip to Molokai.

 

I hope you have a fab time no matter what. :)

[punkincc]

I'm so glad I found this thread as we are planning a trip to Hawaii summer 2015 and hubby doesn't really want to fly over ocean,silly I know! Anyhow, I'm not finding anything really good except in Sept/Oct of 2015 from Calif and we are in the South and thats too far off for hubby to wait for a vacation from work. We want to go for 20th Anniv in July so now I am looking at flying to Hawaii since hubby gave in :) and then cruising with NCL on POA and they also have some great pre cruise tours added in.

Just trying to figure the best price option. Do you think its better/cheaper to book with cruise line or a TA?? Suggestions? Thanks

 

We have done both when booking cruises, but I can tell you I saved a bunch of money over the price with NCL direct by booking with a TA for this Hawaii cruise. Better perks for sure, like on board credit etc, and in our case the cruise fare was cheaper by quite a bit. ( I assume it was some kind of group rate ). You just have to check around and see who has the best deal. Make sure you are comparing the same cabin category or it will be very confusing. Don't just say balcony. Our big box store travel dept often has the best prices. It is worth buying the membership just to get the travel deals.

[CalifGirl67]

We have done both when booking cruises, but I can tell you I saved a bunch of money over the price with NCL direct by booking with a TA for this Hawaii cruise. Better perks for sure, like on board credit etc, and in our case the cruise fare was cheaper by quite a bit. ( I assume it was some kind of group rate ). You just have to check around and see who has the best deal. Make sure you are comparing the same cabin category or it will be very confusing. Don't just say balcony. Our big box store travel dept often has the best prices. It is worth buying the membership just to get the travel deals.

 

Well we used AAA TA for our last cruise a few weeks ago. So do other TA have better prices then maybe a AAA TA would? Ive had a few people tell me that some TA will give the prices they would get which is a huge savings. I want to find the best deal. Thanks

[cb at sea]

On a Hawaiian cruise, you'll be too tired to "party til dawn"....

 

A land vacation is the best way to see Hawaii and experience all it has to offer. Cruising is fine, but you don't have enough time to do anything but get a 'taste' of the islands. If you're flying there, just book hotels (the rooms will be MUCH nicer than any ship's!) and do a land tour! Hawaii is worth it!

[UATLB]

The best cruise for Hawaii is the 7 day ncl you stay over two nights and you get mixed passengers age wise

[CalifGirl67]

On a Hawaiian cruise, you'll be too tired to "party til dawn"....

 

A land vacation is the best way to see Hawaii and experience all it has to offer. Cruising is fine, but you don't have enough time to do anything but get a 'taste' of the islands. If you're flying there, just book hotels (the rooms will be MUCH nicer than any ship's!) and do a land tour! Hawaii is worth it!

 

 

I'm finding it to be very costly :( Just got off the phone with Norwegian and they have some great deals but WOW, the guy quoted me $6,700 and that was for 2 people including airfare,2 nights in Marriott hotel before cruise, then 9 days cruise.My AAA TA quoted me the same price without a cruise. Hubby said thats way too much $$$, Ive been to Hawaii b4 but back in 86 and he has never been and I thought it would be a great 20th anniv trip. May not be doing this now :( Anyone else have any other ideas for a 20th anniv trip, open to suggestions at this point.

[Cruisin' Chick]

Well we used AAA TA for our last cruise a few weeks ago. So do other TA have better prices then maybe a AAA TA would? Ive had a few people tell me that some TA will give the prices they would get which is a huge savings. I want to find the best deal. Thanks

 

Just to let you know, the people behind this website have a rule about naming TAs and discussing which ones have a better deal.

[CalifGirl67]

Just to let you know' date=' the people behind this website have a rule about naming TAs and discussing which ones have a better deal.[/quote']

 

 

Well sorry, I was not aware of this!

[Bluemlynn]

Just off the POA last week. The crew was great, always something to do on the ship, and the shows were really good! Rented a car at every port, so can't advise on the excursions. Yes, the cruise seems expensive at first, but I would not have seen the islands I did if I had to fly to each island, then get a hotel etc. also, Kauai would not have been a priority if I had to fly to each island however, that was my favorite island!! Would do same cruise again tomorrow if I could!!!