Help Needed for Aulani Trip in September

[tigergrad]

My husband and I are planning a trip to Hawaii in September. Waiting on the 7 month window to open. I need helpful suggestions to make this a memorable trip. We will be celebrating our 32nd anniversary. Our baby will graduate high school in June and be off to college next fall, so we'll have an empty nest. We have waited to take this trip until all our children have moved out. We want it to be a once in a lifetime trip without the once in a lifetime price. We live in SC and would most likely be flying out of ATL. We will be reserving an oceanview studio at Aulani for no more than 5 days. We have played with the idea of adding a Hawaiian cruise to our stay. Looking at costs- it will most likely add about $4000-4500 to our cost. We also thought about staying a couple of nights at Disneyland at VGC (on points) to break up the long flight. I'm guessing about $1500 for this. Would you spring for a cruise or the Disneyland stay? I don't mind spending the money- just don't want to waste it. Any other suggestions?

 

[Pooh2]

We celebrated our 30th last year at Aulani. We stayed 9 nights last Sept in an ocean view studio but would have been good staying longer!
We did touring in the morning, floated in the lagoon in the afternoons.
The cruise sounds like a great addition to the trip.
After our stay at Aulani, we stayed 3 nights at the Disneyland Hotel (our first visit to DL). It was a great way to break up the travel back to NH. That is a very long flight!
Happy Anniversary and Empty Nesthood to you!

 

[DenLo]

We did the NCL Pride of America cruise plus a stay at Aulani afterwards. I think the POA cruise gives you a nice overview of the Hawaiian islands, especially when your time is limited. And since you say this will be a once in a lifetime trip, wouldn't it be nice to see other islands?

There is a lot to see around the Hawaiians. We are planning on adding a trip to the Big Island before our stay at Aulani in 2016.

 

[Anal Annie]

We just went last summer and spent 3 n at VGC followed by 7 n at Aulani then 3 n on Maui. This was my 5th trip to Hawaii and the first time stopping in CA on the way to break it up. It was definitely a better jet lag adjustment coming from the east coast (DC area) to stop-over but I wish we'd had enough points for another night or 2 in CA. VGC is a beautiful resort and the parks were fun to visit for our "Disney Fix" but 3 n was not enough time to fully enjoy the resort. Delta flys direct from ATL to HNL so that may be a good option for you to look into. For us, adding the stop in CA added a significant amount to the cost of our flights (I think we spent close to $1,300 pp but that included hopping to Maui and returning from there rather than back thru HNL). Having been to Hawaii so many times now I would definitely recommend trying to island hop to another island for a few days. We always visit 2 or 3 islands on each trip. Each island is unique and special and it's too far to go and too costly to GET there to not explore other islands while you're there. Island hopping for 3 or 4 nights to another island would not be as expensive as adding a cruise. I think you need to plan for a 2 week trip!! You could do 4 or 5 n at VGC, 5 n at Aulani then island hop for 4 or 5 n to another island. That would be perfect and would give you time to relax in each spot.

 

[cleophus12]

We did the PoA and Aulani two years ago and loved it. The worst part of the whole trip is the long flight (and we are from NC), so if the price of the cruise is comparable to DL, I'd definitely recommend the cruise while you are there. The PoA is not the most luxurious of all cruise ships, but it is very lovely and comfortable. We had absolutely no complaints. If you are truly going to make this a once in a lifetime trip, I'd add on the cruise. The cruise is a wonderful way to get a taste of the other islands. They are all somewhat different, and it is fun to see what makes each one special. Have a wonderful trip no matter what you decide.

 

[Glent59]

My husband and I are planning a trip to Hawaii in September. Waiting on the 7 month window to open. I need helpful suggestions to make this a memorable trip. We will be celebrating our 32nd anniversary. Our baby will graduate high school in June and be off to college next fall, so we'll have an empty nest. We have waited to take this trip until all our children have moved out. We want it to be a once in a lifetime trip without the once in a lifetime price. We live in SC and would most likely be flying out of ATL. We will be reserving an oceanview studio at Aulani for no more than 5 days. We have played with the idea of adding a Hawaiian cruise to our stay. Looking at costs- it will most likely add about $4000-4500 to our cost. We also thought about staying a couple of nights at Disneyland at VGC (on points) to break up the long flight. I'm guessing about $1500 for this. Would you spring for a cruise or the Disneyland stay? I don't mind spending the money- just don't want to waste it. Any other suggestions?

We will be celebrating our 31st anniversary this year, been empty nesters for a while, we too are heading to Aulani in September . ( also waiting for the booking window to open )we are actually bringing the extended family, and decided on 9 nights ( this is our first trip to Hawaii, but everyone said longer is better..). we have also done several cruises, and always feel rushed if its less than a 5 day cruise... I vote for the Grand Californian for a few days.... We are from upstate NY, and making Oakland our stopping point to break up the flights...( 11 1/2 hour flight from JFK excites NO ONE!! ).

Good luck and maybe we will see you there!

 

[sandyam76]

For our first trip, which we also thought would be a once in a lifetime trip, we also did the cruise after our stay at Aulani. We did 9 days at Aulani and we even wnet for a balcony! Hey once in a lifetime right!! The cruise was great and obviously so was Hawaii, so great that we went back the next year for another 10 days at Aulani...and are going back this year for another 10!! We can't get enough!! I would def add on the cruise, like previous posters have said it gives you an opportunity to see the other islands!! Enjoy!! ALOOHA!!