Best cruise line for Hawaii?

Question

Which is the best cruise line for Hawaii? I found 2 options -

1) 14 nights cruise from California or

2) 7 days cruise from Honolulu

Thanks for sharing your experiences / opinions.

Answer 1

You can't go wrong with Royal Caribbean, 14 days is indeed a long time but you'll have a blasted. I would do the 14 nights. I did it last year.

Answer 2

You actually have two questions for us to answer 1) which cruise line is best and 2) how long a cruise should you take???

Here's my opinion.

I have been to Hawaii by air 5 times and thus have seen pretty much all of the islands, some 2 or 3 times.  Hawaii is pretty enough for you to spend time there and/or go back again (and again).  Norwegian Cruise line has a monopoly on cruises that originate in Hawaii but three other cruise lines (Celebrity, Holland America and Royal Caribbean) offer longer round trip cruises from the West coast of the US.

You need to decide whether you are more interested in cruising or more interested in seeing Hawaii.  If you primary interest is in cruising then take one of the cruise lines from the West Coast, all three are great cruise lines.  If you take the west coast cruise you will not have the option of an extended stay in Hawaii.  You will get an introduction to the activities in Hawaii and I do not believe as much time to really enjoy Hawaii the way you would with a stay on one of the islands.  You will have time to do some tours but not the time to sit on the beach in Maui and watch a sunset (gorgeous!!).  You may or may not have time to do the 35 mile downhill bike ride on Haleakala mountain on Maui, or drive the Road to Hana on Maui.

On the other hand if you take the NCL cruise around the island you will probably have the almost exact same stops as on the longer cruise,  but also the option to extend your stay in Hawaii before or after the cruise.  Each time that I have a gone to Hawaii I have arranged my trip to include visiting at least two islands, usually Oahu (with Pearl Harbor and all of the crowds) and also Maui which has beautiful beaches and a lot fewer people (plus the bike ride which I have done twice).    

One of the things that you can do when you stay there, vs cruising around the islands, is arrange for day and/or overnight trips to the other islands.  I have used a company called Roberts several times.  They have packages with air, car and hotel, or air and car or tour.  Flights between islands run about every 30 minutes all day.

NCL has the "freestyle" cruising which I personally don't care for (its really only different for dinner ... no assigned time or table or waiter) but I still go on their cruises.  But I prefer the other three cruise lines I mentioned ahead of NCL; been on RC and Celebrity.  So you need to decide what's more important, cruising or seeing Hawaii up close.  Since I have seen Hawaii, I have already booked the 15 day RC cruise from San Diego to Hawaii for next year.

Answer 3

My friend and I took the seventeen day circle Hawaii cruise on Holland America's Rotterdam several years ago.  It sailed to and from Los Angeles.  It was the best vacation ever!  Five days sailing to and from (which we really enjoyed) and seven days to do five ports on four islands.  The food and the service was five star all the way.  The entertainment was first class and so many activities we couldn't do them all.  We aren't drinkers, but the clubs were so nice and the music so good we did a lot of club hopping in the evenings.  We always wanted to go to the midnight buffet, but were so tired we never made it.  We did go and bring trays of great food back to our cabin to eat while we were comfortable in our P.J.s and could talk about the day and plan the next.  I want to do it again!!!!

Answer 4

cruise from california... royal caribbean, or princess, or celebrity.

cruiseclues.com

cruisecritic.com

Answer 5

Unless you really enjoy cruising, 14 nights is a long time to be aboard... Although some of my favorite cruise lines sail this itinerary :)

If you want to spend more time exploring the Islands of Hawaii, I would go NCL with a pre/post hotel stay...

I recieve mixed reviews from my clients regarding NCL Hawaii sailings.. some enjoyed NCL.. others did not, ( food & service being the biggest complaints ) they did all agree it was the most economical for a family to see the various islands

HTH

Answer 6

Well NCL has the best itinerary for the Hawaiian Islands, however some people love that cruiseline and their freestyle dining and their service while others love it. NCL is the only cruise line that goes to all the Hawaiian Islands, and they do two week cruises I believe from numerous coastal destinations in California. I would think that if you dont want to fly all the way out to Honolulu as its a long flight like some 13 hours or more then the 14 nights cruise from California would be your best bet; however, if you dont mind the flying and cannot afford to take the extra week off then the 7 night cruise might be better. If it was me I would do the longer cruise, so I would have more time away on vacation, but I would choose the best price and the best itinerary, meaning, the cruise line that goes to the most islands. Good luck.