To cruise Hawaii or not to cruise??

[DisFam82]

Hello Everyone! I've been a fan of this site for a while, but this will be my first post. We are a family of 3, which consist of my husband, our 5 year old daughter, and myself. My daughter's first trip to Disneyland was when she was 3 and her first Disney cruise was when she was 4. We did a 7 day MR cruise on the Wonder, and fell in love with Disney cruising. When the Hawaii cruise was announced we booked an OV for $5700 with the on board booking discount. We were so excited because we've been wanting to go to Hawaii, plus this would allow us to experience all the things the ship has to offer. Final pymt is due in a couple of days and we are rethinking our family vacation. If we go on this cruise, it will be our longest and most expensive vacation. I am starting to worry about all the sea days and if we would want to be in Hawaii longer. Currently our options are:

*15 day hawaii cruise in April
*5-7 day hawaii trip (sfo-hnl)
*Our first Disney world trip
*4 days Disney world/3 day Disney Dream Cruise

If you had to choose one of the options above, which would you choose?

 

[stsomewhere]

I would choose Hawaii cruise.
I love the longer cruises. There will be plenty to do on sea days.

 

[ksucats]

Hello Everyone! I've been a fan of this site for a while, but this will be my first post. We are a family of 3, which consist of my husband, our 5 year old daughter, and myself. My daughter's first trip to Disneyland was when she was 3 and her first Disney cruise was when she was 4. We did a 7 day MR cruise on the Wonder, and fell in love with Disney cruising. When the Hawaii cruise was announced we booked an OV for $5700 with the on board booking discount. We were so excited because we've been wanting to go to Hawaii, plus this would allow us to experience all the things the ship has to offer. Final pymt is due in a couple of days and we are rethinking our family vacation. If we go on this cruise, it will be our longest and most expensive vacation. I am starting to worry about all the sea days and if we would want to be in Hawaii longer. Currently our options are:

*15 day hawaii cruise in April
*5-7 day hawaii trip (sfo-hnl)
*Our first Disney world trip
*4 days Disney world/3 day Disney Dream Cruise

If you had to choose one of the options above, which would you choose?

I think I would do a Disneyworld trip - 7 days at the park & no 3 day Dream cruise.

 

[ldo]

would your DD like the kids' club? If so, then I would do the 15 day cruise. $5700 for 15 days is a fantastic price--and, at 5 yrs old, my DD would have been in heaven to get to go to the kid's club on all those sea days! You can certainly break it up---Drop off after breakfast for 3 hours, pick up for lunch, go to a movie and then let her go back for a hour or so prior to dinner, then she could go to the show with you.
However, I have friends who have kids that do not like going to the kids' club. IF your DD does not like going to the kids' club, then I would not go on a cruise with a lot of sea days.

2nd option would be WDW with no cruise. There is so much to do at WDW besides the parks---Ft. Wilderness campfire with Chip-Dale sing-a-long (great for that age), 2 excellent water parks, DisneyQuest, great pools, etc.

 

[DisFam82]

Thank you for all the input!

My daughter enjoys the kid's club. There were times in the beginning she didn't want to go, but once she was there she didn't want to leave. On one of the last nights she made friends with a group of girls and they all asked their parents to leave and come back when the club closed. One of the things we didn't get to do on our last cruise was watch a movie. There was so much to do. I'm thinking with all the seadays we will have time for a few movies.

Has anyone cruised from LA to Hawaii? If so, how was the water?

 

[drewmer]

With kids I would do WDW adn possible a short cruise out of florida. There are more cost effective ways to see Hawaii than this cruise and the potential for rough seas would make a younger one truly miserable.

that being said I will be on the cruise because my DW and I love the sea days.

When we decide to do Hawaii well we think we will the the Star of America and actually see the islands

 

[disneymagicgirl]

I would pick any of them except the 15 night cruise. There is way too much time at sea and not enough on land, IMO.

 

[Justacruiser]

I would stick with Hawaii. I have never heard of anyone that did not have a blast on that cruise. Especially fo for $5,700. If you would consider air flights, car rental, lodging for the 4 days, it would be comparable with the $5,700 you are paying the days at sea. There will be dead time at sea, but you can space it out and enjoy the ship. Unless you or your family members must go-go-go, do the cruise. If go-go-go do a 7-nighter before you take a longer cruise.

 

[DVCinderella]

I have been contemplating the same thing. We are also holding a Hawaii ressie. I have twin 6yo's, and they have cruised twice with DCL (Wonder 4-days & Dream 5-days). Neither time were they crazy about the kids clubs, especially DD. We left them there once while we ate at Remy's and I felt so guilty. The kids really wanted to spend time with us. They loved the pools and the character interactions.

I agree with pp that 15-days is a long time at sea with children, especially with all those sea days. And what I'm contemplating is the cost. It's a lot of $$$ for what amounts to 4 days in Hawaii. I've been number crunching, and I could spend as much and see 3 islands over 12 days. So I think more than likely we will be cancelling Hawaii.

I assume you live on the west coast? My vote would be for a week at Disney World, or fly to Hawaii. I've read great things about Aulani.

 

[Yokelridesagain]

Comes down to this--

Do you want a long boat ride with some brief but expensive stops at beautiful ports, do you want to see Hawaii, or do you want to do something else?

I've spent over a week on each of the four main Hawaiian islands--for myself, I consider Hawaii to be a special and spiritual place, and there is no way that I would go there on a cruise ship. Among other reasons, there is no way that you can experience even a small fraction of what the islands have to offer on an 8-12 hour "port adventure".

Of the other options you list--

-O'ahu is the most crowded and my least favorite of the four main islands, but it is also the most practical choice for a family with a five year old. (Maui is reasonable as well.)

-I may get banhammered for this but I don't really like Disney World. Just way, way, way too many people. If going there is your daughter's fondest desire, though, it may be really fun for her.

So, if someone gave me $5700 to spend on a vacation of my choice with young kids--I would probably pick "none of the above" and go with a shorter cruise to somewhere else. Alaska is awesome if you haven't done it.

You really have to ask yourself if you're going to get bored being on the ship for 11 days or not. Personally, I would but some can't get enough of it.

 

[ldo]

To me, the 15 day cruise is about "the cruise" and getting to see some of Hawaii--like a buffet. If you love Hawaii, I would then suggest another tirp back when your DD is 8+ years old. There are a lot of great snorkeling trips, zodiak boat rides, hiking, etc. that are just too much for a 5 year old.
I have been to Oahu, Maui and Big Island with kids ranging from 3-17 years old. All islands are "doable." If I was doing air to Hawaii with a 5 yr old, I would stay in Oahu for a few days (DVC would be great---but it is sort of far from other sights). We have stayed at the Hilton in Honolulu many times--it is a great base for exploring and has a nice, non-crowded beach area, plus great pools. Then I would go to the Big Island and stay at the Hilton Waikoloa Village or one of the Hilton (HGVC) timeshares. The Hilton Waikoloa has great pools for kids, kids' activities, kids' club for babysitting, kids' meals, and a huge lagoon where a 5 yr old can try to snorkel in safe waters and even see sea turtles---my 3 yr olds loved this place and so did I! It is a short drive to great beaches, as well. We stayed for 8 days and were never bored.

 

[HyperionDreamer]

Call me crazy, but I'm gonna vouch for a longer non-cruise vacation in Hawaii, and a separate cruise some other time on a cheaper itinerary. We spent 4 days on Oahu and 3 on Maui a few years ago, and we still feel like we missed a lot. I've kinda winced at DCL's Hawaiian itinerary, just because the idea of spending only spending a couple of hours of each island made it seem like so much would be missed.

Maybe spend a few nights in Ko'Olina (if you can afford it) or Waikiki, and a few more in Ka'Anapali (Maui) or the Big Island, so you can see Hawaii properly, and then take a cheaper Caribbean cruise sometime to experience the Disney ships?

Just my $.02...

 

[Lexa]

I know my family, my kids and I know they will love this cruise. It will be the longest and most expensive for us too, but we are already PIF and very excited to go cruising to Hawaii.

 

[jdb in AZ]

The main advantage of cruising the Hawaiian islands is that you get to see four islands without unpacking/repacking and catching a flight between islands, which takes a bite out of your vacation time.

We've spent a week on Maui, then another land trip with three days on Maui and four on Kauai. And have cruised with American Hawaii (now out of business, unfortunately), and a Hawaiian cruise with NCL America (never again.)

Since we've been there/done that, we're excited about the Hawaiian DCL cruise next spring. We took the Panama Canal cruise last January and hoped that a 15-day cruise might be long enough. Nope. We went through withdrawal at the end of the cruise, and can't wait for all those days at sea to play on the ship.

Your mileage may vary.

 

[Keyser]

Final pymt is due in a couple of days and we are rethinking our family vacation. If we go on this cruise, it will be our longest and most expensive vacation. I am starting to worry about all the sea days and if we would want to be in Hawaii longer. Currently our options are:

*15 day hawaii cruise in April
*5-7 day hawaii trip (sfo-hnl)
*Our first Disney world trip
*4 days Disney world/3 day Disney Dream Cruise

If you had to choose one of the options above, which would you choose?

OK, let me throw out a few things to think about:
- The Disney cruise gives you 4 days "in" Hawaii (plus one in Mexico), along with 9 sea days. You will go to all 4 islands. A 5-7 day Hawaii flight will give you 4-6 days in Hawaii where you can actually do things, and you will want to do only 1 or at most 2 islands (unless you go for a full week and take the Pride of America cruise there). Those will be very different types of trips. Think about what you most want to get out of Hawaii, and that might tell you which of those options is better. For my wife and I, we realized that what we wanted to do in Hawaii would work much better with a few days on each of 2 islands rather than fewer days on more islands. But, I know other people who much preferred the cruising to different islands each day approach.
- You said you enjoyed cruising with Disney in the Mediterranean, so I'm guessing the at sea days won't be problems. But, you know your family better than any of us. As someone said, if your daughter would enjoy the clubs each day, it's different than if she wouldn't use the clubs.
- If this is your first trip to WDW, I would choose a full week at WDW over a 4-day WDW/3-day cruise. There is more than enough to do to keep you busy at WDW for a week. If you had already been to WDW, so that you felt OK with just hitting a few highlights, then the combo sounds better.
- As others have mentioned, although it's a lot of money overall, the per-day cost of the Hawaii cruise is not that high, if that's something you would enjoy. Depending on where you stay and when you go, the other options you mention could easily run you $3500 or more for half the time.
- The cruise (obviously) takes twice the time of the other options. For many, 2 weeks straight off of work would be hard to do, so that's not even an option. You don't say whether that's an issue for you. If you didn't do the cruise, could you do 2 other trips, and might that be better (though probably not cheaper)? Although a 2 week trip sounds nice, I think I would take a flight to Hawaii plus a week in WDW over a cruise to Hawaii, for example.

Really, it comes down to your own family's preferences, though.

 

[DisFam82]

I like the idea of seeing 4 islands without having to unpack and repack. We've been on two 7 day cruises, one with Disney and one with Celebrity. 7 days was a good amount of time to relax, but I definitetly had cruise withdrawals.

 

[DisFam82]

OK, let me throw out a few things to think about:
- The Disney cruise gives you 4 days "in" Hawaii (plus one in Mexico), along with 9 sea days. You will go to all 4 islands. A 5-7 day Hawaii flight will give you 4-6 days in Hawaii where you can actually do things, and you will want to do only 1 or at most 2 islands (unless you go for a full week and take the Pride of America cruise there). Those will be very different types of trips. Think about what you most want to get out of Hawaii, and that might tell you which of those options is better. For my wife and I, we realized that what we wanted to do in Hawaii would work much better with a few days on each of 2 islands rather than fewer days on more islands. But, I know other people who much preferred the cruising to different islands each day approach.
- You said you enjoyed cruising with Disney in the Mediterranean, so I'm guessing the at sea days won't be problems. But, you know your family better than any of us. As someone said, if your daughter would enjoy the clubs each day, it's different than if she wouldn't use the clubs.
- If this is your first trip to WDW, I would choose a full week at WDW over a 4-day WDW/3-day cruise. There is more than enough to do to keep you busy at WDW for a week. If you had already been to WDW, so that you felt OK with just hitting a few highlights, then the combo sounds better.
- As others have mentioned, although it's a lot of money overall, the per-day cost of the Hawaii cruise is not that high, if that's something you would enjoy. Depending on where you stay and when you go, the other options you mention could easily run you $3500 or more for half the time.
- The cruise (obviously) takes twice the time of the other options. For many, 2 weeks straight off of work would be hard to do, so that's not even an option. You don't say whether that's an issue for you. If you didn't do the cruise, could you do 2 other trips, and might that be better (though probably not cheaper)? Although a 2 week trip sounds nice, I think I would take a flight to Hawaii plus a week in WDW over a cruise to Hawaii, for example.

Really, it comes down to your own family's preferences, though.

You brought up some great points. The 2 weeks would use up most of my husband's vacation time at work. I guess we have to decide if we want a 15 day cruise vacation or a 7 day vacation in WDW or Hawaii. I was hoping 7 days in Hawaii or WDW would be half the price of the cruise, but it looks like it will be close to the price of the cruise.

 

[ldo]

If you are in CA and can get to the port for cheap/no airfare, then that is a big savings. Flying to Hawaii can add anywhere from $500 minumum (from CA with a big sale) to $1000 per person. Plus, inter-island flights are $100PP, plus rental car, etc. If you go for a week, there are many condos available that will keep your costs down, if you are willing to cook.
But, it would be impossible (at least very hard) to fly to Hawaii and stay at a decent place for 1 week for 1/2 price of the cruise.

 

[Rob S.]

I've spent over a week on each of the four main Hawaiian islands--for myself, I consider Hawaii to be a special and spiritual place, and there is no way that I would go there on a cruise ship. Among other reasons, there is no way that you can experience even a small fraction of what the islands have to offer on an 8-12 hour "port adventure".

I totally agree. If you want to see and enjoy Hawaii, you can't do that from a cruise ship. Over the span of 15 days you'll be lucky if you're on land for 15% of the time actually enjoying Hawaii. I would vote to fly to Hawaii if you want a Hawaiian vacation.

 

[ElenaRN]

I'm torn on what advice to give you.

I agree with most of the PP. 8-12 hours on each island is not enough time to see/do any of the cool things.

That said, any time in Hawaii is better than no time in Hawaii.