Anyone ever went on a cruise for Hawaii. If so give me some feedback please. Thinking of dong this for HM.
MrsQ-in2007
Posted:
Member since
Re: Hawaii
My FH and I went last year on an NCL cruise of all four of the major Hawaiian islands. We loved it! We flew from JFK to Oahu on a connecting flight (the times worked out best for us and we had a break from sitting! Direct is 10.5 hours). We flew out the night before the cruise left, stayed in a hotel in Waikiki (Waikiki Beach Marriott - BEST beds ever!), woke up the next morning, went to Pearl Harbor, came back and played on Waikiki Beach, got our bags and went to the cruiseship to check in around 4pm - perfect timing because we missed all the big lines and made it just in time for the safety drill.
Cruise left from Oahu, went to Kauai for 2 days (really 1 1/2 days because the second day it leaves around 1 or 2pm), then went to Hilo on the Big Island, then to Kona on the Big Island, then on to Maui for 2 days (MAUI IS THE BEST ISLAND in our experience). After Maui it departed back to Oahu. We did a TON of stuff, some through the cruiseship excursions (definitely more expensive this way), some on our own, some through other excursion companies (definitely recommend this route if you do your research beforehand!).
It was a wonderful trip, we got to see all the major islands and on our second day in Maui, we took a trip out to the island of Lanai and it was honestly the best day we've ever had while on vacation. Since it was March, we say whales! Also spinner dolphins. We played on a private beach, ate some good food, etc etc.
The only thing with the cruise is that the rooms are not very big at all (unless you can afford a suite!). We didn't spend a lot on food since we would eat breakfast and dinner on the cruiseship every night. I would recommend it.
Also, I would highly recommend the NCL cruises because they depart from and return to a Hawaiian island so you don' t lose any days being 'at sea' - not my idea of a Hawaiian vacation! As much as we LOVE Princess cruise line, their Hawaiian cruise leaves from LA, you have a few days at sea, never an overnight on any of the islands (just about 6 hours on each), then you have to go to Christmas Island or Kiribati... too much time traveling, not enough time on the islands.
