Looking for a cheap, 7 day cruise to Hawaii?

Question

Where can I find a cheap 7 day cruise to Hawaii, that is scheduled for December 07 or January 08, for 3 people. I know I heard on the news the other day that January-March is "wave season" where the cruise lines give out great deals but how do I find them? I've tried, Royal Caribbean, Princess Cruise Lines, Norwiegan (sp?) Cruise line, and Carnival and I haven't found a 7 day cruise yet. Anyone know of a travel agency online that could help or where to go for a great deal?

Thanks

Answer 1

Unfortunately, the cruise lines are not going to offer a "great deal" so far in advance. If they see a ship is not filling up and you are getting close to the sail date, the cruise line will throw out great pricing.

This happens the week before or directly after a busy, holiday sailing.

I would think the week just after New Year would offer great pricing, but probably only a month or two before the sailing date.

But the you have the issue of getting discounted air fare, which could be a problem so close to a holiday.

Answer 2

You'll be looking a long time.

Answer 3

The only cruise line that offers deals for booking that far in advance is Disney. They raise prices as the ship fills, but generally don't give any other specials. Since you are looking at almost a year, the other cruise lines may not be offerring great discounts wet. It is wave season right now for travel plans, but I find that most agencies give a better discount than the cruise line directly. Most lines will offer room upgrades, etc. all year.

I use Cruising Company and they usually have pretty good deals, or group rates for a lot of cruises.

As for lines, Carnival is the cheapest line. NCL is one of the best for Hawaii, but not everyone likes the freestyle cruising.

Another suggestion is to get your air seperately. My agency doesn't charge for air, but it is packaged, so if you want the air that way it runs more than you can usually get it directly from the airline. I like to have it packaged together, so it doesn't really matter. But, you can save half of the ticket price by book your air on your own. If you do a one way cruise, which is what I would suggest since you are wanting a somewhat short cruise for Hawaii, you will get to see more of the islands but your air will run a little higher.

For options, NCL offers two 7 nights cruises. They both visit Honolulu; Hilo; Maui (Kahului); Kona; Kauai and depart from Honolulu and are round trip. They are starting at just under $900 per person. But, that will not include any insurance, transfers, air, taxes, etc. and it is for the lowest category. So it will probably go a little over your budget, but if you get one room you may still be OK.

Carnival doesn't offer any cruises for your dates and they are 12 night, so they wouldn't work anyway.

Royal Caribbean also doesn't offer anything for your dates, but they are longer than you want and I think a little more expensive as well.

Princess' cruise are too long as well.

So this is what I was able to find quickly. I would look into NCL, they are really good with Hawaii cruises and I think that is the closest you will be able to find for your preferences.

I would suggest looking into a travel agent, one thing is for sure, you almost definitely will not pay more than what you can get on your own.

Good luck

Answer 4

NCL America (a subsidiary of NCL) is the only cruise line that offers 7 day cruises of Hawaii.  These are typically round trip from Honolulu.  Every other cruise line offers 10+ day sailings around or to Hawaii, but they do not offer 7 day Hawaii sailings.

However, NCL America only offers Sunday and Monday departures and the dates you list are a Saturday and a Tuesday.

Booking this far out for Hawaii is actually a VERY good idea.  Hawaii is very popular so it becomes harder to find sales as you get closer to the departure date on Hawaii itineraries.

However, what is going to make it difficult for you is the hard dates you've set.  In your case, you need to shift your departure dates either one day forward or one day back in order to even find a sailing.  However if you an add a little more flexibility you may be able to stumble on a terrific deal.  Many times, the same itinerary can be several hundred dollars cheaper if you can sail a week earlier or later than you were first looking at.

Call a travel agent that specializes in cruises and they can help you out.  I recommend Cruise Planners at 888-286-9827 over an internet site since you'll be talking to a live person, plus there's not service charge for dealing with them!

Answer 5

I've been on 5 sailings with major cruise lines, and the worst part (for me) on each of those trips was (is) the "day at sea" where the ship is between ports for 24 hours.  So, for me, if you were to leave California for Hawaii, then that would be at least 2 maybe 3 full days at sea, 1 or 2 days in Hawaii, then turn around and go home.

Unless you like "days at sea" you might reconsider this particular cruise vacation.

Answer 6

I am not exactly sure what you consider to be cheap but check out the two websites below and I'm sure one of them should be in the price range your looking for. I was in Hawaii in June of 2006 and would love to go back someday. Actually it would be awesome to take a cruise around the different other islands. Well have fun and next time you go, take me!(lol)