Aulani and a Cruise combo

[PHILCT]

I am excited about booking a trip to Aulani DVC and combining it with a cruise around the other islands. Maybe 5 to 7 days at the DVC resort and 7 days on a cruise ship around the other islands.

I am NOT interested in a cruise that goes from the American Mainland to Hawaii, but rather a tour of the other islands only. I want to fly to Hawaii.

I hope Disney will get involved in such a combination trip.

But until then, is anyone else planning on booking with DVC Aulani, and also thinking of doing a Hawaiian Cruise ship tour, and through which one?

Thanks,

Phil

 

[lilpooh108]

I am excited about booking a trip to Aulani DVC and combining it with a cruise around the other islands. Maybe 5 to 7 days at the DVC resort and 7 days on a cruise ship around the other islands.

I am NOT interested in a cruise that goes from the American Mainland to Hawaii, but rather a tour of the other islands only. I want to fly to Hawaii.

I hope Disney will get involved in such a combination trip.

But until then, is anyone else planning on booking with DVC Aulani, and also thinking of doing a Hawaiian Cruise ship tour, and through which one?

Thanks,

Phil

There is only one cruise line which conducts roundtrip sailings from Honolulu, and that is NCL's Pride of America.

There are very specific maritime laws about cruising only US ports if the ship is registered elsewhere, which means that the cruise line would have to hire people qualified to work for US companies (i.e., get paid minimum wage) if it registers its ship here.

My understanding is that NCL's Pride of America is the only large scale passenger cruise ship that is registered in the United States.

 

[DenLo]

The Jones Act requires that a foreign registered ship that travels between one U.S. port and another U.S. port have a port of call in another country, but it excludes Mexico and Canada. NCL created a U.S. subsidiary company in which the Pride of America has been assigned (there used to be two other ships but they have be reflagged and renamed and returned to the regular NCL corporation). Pride of America is a U.S. flagged ship. And the employees are covered by U.S. employment laws and regulations, like minimum wage, worker's comp, social security, unemployment etc. I would think the number of hours in a work week is also affected (overtime after 40 hours). So that makes these cruise ships not as profitable. Many of the waiters and stewards on a foreign cruise ship are not salaried or hourly paid, but minimally paid ($50 a week) and the bulk of their income comes from their tips. So if a company not only has to pay a real salary, but benefits then it's hard to compete with foreign flagged ships that do not. And Disney's cruise ships are foreign flagged.

Awhile back there was a proposal to change the Jones Act but both the Bush and Clinton Administrations were opposed to it. I think it's because the Jones Act also affects cargo ships and airplanes. I also read that longshoremen unions and some other unions were against the changes as well.

So for now, although many of us would love to combine a stay at Aulani with a Disney cruise, it is very unlikely to happen.

Sometimes cruises will leave Vancouver and go to Hawaii or come from Sydney or Tahiti and go to Hawaii, but they are far and few between and usually seasonal, the beginning or end of the Alaska season (a repositioning cruise). We hope to do one of these one day. We are keeping our eyes open to see if one is announced for May or September 2012.

 

[DenLo]

BTW, the Jones Act also prohibits a cruise ship from letting passengers disembark in a U.S. port when they are violating the law. So if you were traveling from Los Angeles to Hawaii and back, you couldn't just get off the ship in Hawaii. The ship would be heavily fined for violating the Jones Act and so would every member of your party.

 

[PHILCT]

I'm guessing then NCL will get a slight increase in business from the additional Disney fans going to Aulini.

I just don't want to go across the Pacific via Canada or Mexico stops to go to Hawaii. And i need a larger adventure beyond Oahu.

Thanks for the info.

 

[DisneyStarWisher]

I think you can fly between the islands very easily, or so I've been told.

 

[CocosMeme]

We are planning on doing exactly that in fall of 2012. We have looked into the NCL's cruise and it looks good. We will probably book DVC first since it may be harder to get at 7 months and book the cruise either the week before or week after, depending on what is best availabe for the cruise. My TA says it will not be hard to get a good cabin 7 months out. I have heard no bad reports on the cruise.

 

[chainkid]

We just got back from hawaii where we did the NCL 7 day cruise after spending a week on Maui. Both the island and the cruise were wonderful. I also went over to see the Disney resort being built and right now it has a long way to go . The area is really remote except for a couple of upscale hotel chains. We stayed an additional week on oahu but liked the turtle bay area on the North Shore better than Kolina. It will be a beautiful resort when finished and it has a really nice gulf course surrounding it but it is quite a drive from the city itself. I loved staying in the city for a couple of days with no car . I highly recommend the cruise as a means of seeing alittle bit of all the islands. Inter island travel is pretty easy but will not be cheap..approx135 round trip plus baggage fees. Loved the American crew on the NCL ship ..very attentive and engaging with all passengers...much more so than any other cruise I have been on and this was my 15th but first on NCL. Best overall cruise experience I've had.

 

[TwinsFan]

It is odd seeing a good review of the US registered NCL ship sailing HAwaii. I have good friends that just returned this week that have echoed previous reports that the food and service on the Pride of America was horrible.

Other ships often cruise Vancouver to Hawaii or the opposite and CA to Hawaii or the opposite (with a cursory stop in Mexico to satisfy the Jones Act) These are some other options to consider.

 

[PHILCT]

Thank you for all your advice and the information about the Cruise ships that go to Hawaii.

I will be checking out the NCL site more.

Thanks, Phil

 

[rparmfamily]

http://travel.usatoday.com/cruises/...rip-cruises-to-hawaii-from-california/98588/1

Carnival is about to start a CA to HI route. I think only 2 trips though.

 

[bobbiwoz]

American Hawaii Cruise line went bankrupt. It was a great cruise!

 

[Simba's Mom]

The Jones Act requires that a foreign registered ship that travels between one U.S. port and another U.S. port have a port of call in another country, but it excludes Mexico and Canada. NCL created a U.S. subsidiary company in which the Pride of America has been assigned (there used to be two other ships but they have be reflagged and renamed and returned to the regular NCL corporation). Pride of America is a U.S. flagged ship. And the employees are covered by U.S. employment laws and regulations, like minimum wage, worker's comp, social security, unemployment etc. I would think the number of hours in a work week is also affected (overtime after 40 hours). So that makes these cruise ships not as profitable. Many of the waiters and stewards on a foreign cruise ship are not salaried or hourly paid, but minimally paid ($50 a week) and the bulk of their income comes from their tips. So if a company not only has to pay a real salary, but benefits then it's hard to compete with foreign flagged ships that do not. And Disney's cruise ships are foreign flagged.

Awhile back there was a proposal to change the Jones Act but both the Bush and Clinton Administrations were opposed to it. I think it's because the Jones Act also affects cargo ships and airplanes. I also read that longshoremen unions and some other unions were against the changes as well.

So for now, although many of us would love to combine a stay at Aulani with a Disney cruise, it is very unlikely to happen.

Sometimes cruises will leave Vancouver and go to Hawaii or come from Sydney or Tahiti and go to Hawaii, but they are far and few between and usually seasonal, the beginning or end of the Alaska season (a repositioning cruise). We hope to do one of these one day. We are keeping our eyes open to see if one is announced for May or September 2012.

Yes, DS learned about the Jones Act when he went to work for Princess and wondered why of about a thousand crew members, he was one of only about 10 Americans. BTW, in 2010, the Hawaiian cruise season ended in early May, and those ships are now up in Alaska (and there's a bunch of them!). They'll leave sometime in September. I also do wish Disney cruise line would find a way to incorporate Aulani into its cruise schedule, partly for me, and partly because DS would love to return to work for Disney and return to work in Hawaii.