I know this has been asked before... Cruise vs. Aulani

[KBinCO]

We've taken one Disney Cruise, almost 2 years ago. A 7 night Western Caribbean on the Fantasy. We LOVED it. Our girls, 4 and 5 at the time, LOVED it. It has always been our hope to do one again, but it's not financially plausible for us to do so every year or so. We had hoped to get one in this year, but a last minute out of town wedding it taking the vacation days I had set aside for the cruise.

So, I thought maybe 2017... but that's also our 10 year anniversary and we are now kicking around going to Aulani. We have never been to Hawaii. If we go in the off season, the cost is nearly the same.

So, obviously the cruise board will be a bit biased, but if you've done both, would you recommend Aulani? I just don't want to go to Aulani and wish we'd done a cruise instead, but also think it may be fun to do something we've never done before.

 

[abdgeek]

We've taken one Disney Cruise, almost 2 years ago. A 7 night Western Caribbean on the Fantasy. We LOVED it. Our girls, 4 and 5 at the time, LOVED it. It has always been our hope to do one again, but it's not financially plausible for us to do so every year or so. We had hoped to get one in this year, but a last minute out of town wedding it taking the vacation days I had set aside for the cruise.

So, I thought maybe 2017... but that's also our 10 year anniversary and we are now kicking around going to Aulani. We have never been to Hawaii. If we go in the off season, the cost is nearly the same.

So, obviously the cruise board will be a bit biased, but if you've done both, would you recommend Aulani? I just don't want to go to Aulani and wish we'd done a cruise instead, but also think it may be fun to do something we've never done before.

If you're ready to go to Aulani, I wouldn't worry about not doing a DCL cruise--they aren't going anywhere. I've done 6 DCL Cruises(2 Med, Alaska, West & Eastern Caribbean, Mexican Riviera) and I've been to Aulani twice(one of my home resorts w/DVC). The first time I visited Aulani was for a week. The second time I visited, I only spent four days at Aulani and spent a week each on Maui and The Big Island. l love Aulani, but keep in mind that it is in Ko Olina and not the Waikiki area. To see most of the things there are to see in Honolulu you will need a car or will need to book an excursion if you don't want to drive yourself. The key is deciding what you want to see when you are in Hawaii and planning from there.

 

[wendydarling33]

Aulani is kind of isolated from a lot of the attractions on Oahu. It's great if you just want to go one place and chill for a week. Otherwise I'd recommend splitting a stay between there and maybe Waikiki or another island. To me, it has a lot of similar aspects to a cruise with the kids club and activities available but definitely not as overtly "DISNEY" as the cruise (ie less characters). The big difference between the two for me is that I really enjoy the all inclusive aspect of the cruise. But the bigger rooms at Aulani are also nice!

 

[cisobe]

I live here on Oahu, and I agree with the others. Aulani is good for a couple days, but your money is better spent staying somewhere else if you want to get out and do stuff. Aulani averages about $400 a night, and that's with our Kamaaina rate. You can find decent hotels in Waikiki or on the neighbor islands for about half that.

We try to go to Aulani once a year, and typically stay one or two nights, and just hang out at the pools. This past january, we stayed 3 nights because my office gratiously paid for it as my 10 year work anniversary. 3 nights felt like a long stay. We tried all the restaurants, hung out at the various pools, did movies on the lawn, etc, and by our last day, the kids were ready for something else.

On the other hand, we did a 14 nt EBPC last year, and while it felt like a long time, we still felt like we missed a lot of things. Our first 7nt was the same as well, and dcl kinda has us hooked...

 

[AZMermaid]

We went to Aulani for a week last year. We did one day exploring North Shore/Botanical Garden/Dole Plantation. Other than that, we stayed at the resort. It was hands down the best vacation we have had. It was amazing. My kids were 3 and 4 and LOVED the kids clubs. I will say, if they had been older especially, we should have/could have done one more day off the resort. When we go again, we may stay in Waikiki for 2-3 nights and use that as our base for exploring the island and then move to Aulani and never leave!

 

[cmph]

We decided to take a parks break (mostly) this year and just went to Aulani and are going on our first DCL cruise at the end of the year. We LOVED Aulani. Loved loved loved. There is no way we could ever go there for just a night or two. We stayed 8 nights and did a lot all over the island, but getting the kids to leave the resort was rough some times. DD asked if we can go there instead of the parks from now on. I'm very, very curious to see which trip wins out, after we've completed our cruise. I'm sure there are more activities on DCL, but there was a good amount at Aulani, enough to go with the water activities for sure. And if your kids like water, Aulani wins that, with all the pools/water park features, and beach available every day. I can't guess which one will be my family's trip winner, so I won't hazard a guess for you - but I just wanted to comment partially to hear what others say, and also to say - might as well try it and see which you prefer, like we are doing! I figure, we can't go wrong with either!!

 

[MissDaisyofTexas]

That's a tough choice! We've been on 5 DCL cruises and last year we went to Aulani. I would recommend Aulani for something different. We loved the laid-back vibe of the entire area, and the kids' club was great! We stayed 2 nights in Waikiki, and then did a few day trips from Aulani. I have a trip report if you want to see some of the things we did: http://savingforadream.blogspot.com/2015/03/hawaii-trip-report-part-11-last-day-in.html

 

[cruisehopeful]

Hawaii was my favorite place to vacation. I only say "was" because I might like Alaska more at this time.
Aulani is situated in an area that is pretty far from most things you'll want to do/see on the island other than Aulani itself. Hawaii is a very expensive vacation. Things like food, rental car, gas and then admission fees to place or tours add up quickly. It's totally worth it, though. I'd take a Hawaii vacation over DCL most of the time. For me, Hawaii is a very busy and somewhat exhausting vacation. I am not one who lounges at the resort. So, when I really need some time to chill out and not have to do anything, DCL works well for me.

 

[lorimay]

Last year we were lucky enough to get both in with the Hawaiian cruises Disney offered.
We spent 5 nights in Aulani prior to the cruise.
It was wonderful!! We booked a Pearl Harbor tour through Aulani and that was the only time we left the area.
We had booked a car, but changed our minds when we heard about all the traffic to and from Waikiki.
We were not ready to leave Aulani after 5 nights I can tell you that, we will definitely go back and do a week sometime in the future.

** they had this offer last year for Sept. and I see it again this year as well: 5 nights with 30% of the rooms, also we were given a free character meal and $50 a day room credit, which was very nice.

I love DCL and understand why you are having a hard time deciding, either one you choose, your family will have a great experience.
Enjoy!

 

[CampbellzSoup]

Love Aulani - but if I had the choice Disney Cruise:

• Your food is included so you don't have to worry about it.
• Different daily locations to see and do things
• A different show DAILY.
• TONS more to do for adults

Again I love love Aulani - but a cruise is the best.

 

[Drusilla99]

We've done 5 cruises and just did our 1st stay at Aulani last week, for 7 days. We actually voted on this when we got home. Dh voted to do Aulani again instead of a cruise because he likes to just lay at the beach and HATES doing the pictures I insist on during a cruise. My dd14, dd16 & I voted for the cruise because we love pictures, the availability of (& included) food, the different ports we can go to, vibe, and the Disney feel, which we felt, Aulani lacked.

 

[EllinK]

We have done 5 cruises with DCL and stayed at the Aulani once. It was awesome. We did 3 days in Waikiki and 4 nights at Aulani. I wished we had stayed at Aulani the entire time. As others have mentioned, it is out of the way and you will not see any tourist attractions unless you rent a car and pay the exorbitant parking fees. And the food is very, very $$$ (we either ate off site -- hello Monkeypod and Roy's -- or we ate quick service, which was fine). It was beautiful and relaxing. My son, who isn't great socially, had an amazing time. He was always playing some game in the pool with a bunch of kids. He was at the upper age range for Auntie's (kids club) so he was able to check himself in and out (they always called to let you know that he had arrived or he was leaving). We had an amazing vacation. It you haven't been to Hawaii, go! As Cruisehopeful said, it's a tie between Alaska and Hawaii for best vacation spots. (This year we are returning to Alaska on DCL!)

 

[mommy2allyandaveri]

We have done 3 Disney cruises and Aulani once. I would chose a cruise any day if the costs were close. For all of the reasons listed above AND Aulani wasn't disney enough for me. Other than characters and a couple of disney touches in the room it just wasn't disney. There weren't many mickeys, few disney decorations, and no disney music playing. My favorite things about DCL is disney music always playing in the halls and I feel like it's all disney all the time!

Plus if you really want to, you can do a cruise and not spend a dime on board or in port (except mandatory tips)

 

[BCV23]

We've been to Aulani twice and absolutely love it. Twelve DCL cruises under our belt with more booked. We love both vacations. Both are very relaxing for us. Disney customer service is at its best. Aulani is beautifully themed but the theme is Hawaii with subtle Disney touches. Perfect IMO. Incredible attention to detail. The only downside to Hawaii for me is the length of the flights. If you plan to dine out, restaurant meals are expensive.

I read often that Aulani is out of the way but completely disagree. It is of course farther to get to downtown Honolulu or Waikiki but I have limited interest in either. It is easier to get to to the North Shore. To get to the East coast, it is a lovely drive without dealing with downtown traffic. Pearl Harbor is in between Honolulu and Aulani. Seems easier to me to drive there from Aulani than downtown.

Very different vacations IMO but both are wonderful. Happy planning.

 

[mathgeek]

We've been to Aulani twice and absolutely love it. Twelve DCL cruises under our belt with more booked. We love both vacations. Both are very relaxing for us. Disney customer service is at its best. Aulani is beautifully themed but the theme is Hawaii with subtle Disney touches. Perfect IMO. Incredible attention to detail. The only downside to Hawaii for me is the length of the flights. If you plan to dine out, restaurant meals are expensive.
Very different vacations IMO but both are wonderful. Happy planning.

This pretty much how I felt too. Six cruises with 4 more booked and 1 trip to Aulani. The customer service at Aulani was absolutely top notch. The resort itself was beautiful, and the attention to detail was incredible. I loved how the Imagineers incorporated the Hawaiian culture with some Disney touches.

We have done 3 Disney cruises and Aulani once. I would chose a cruise any day if the costs were close. For all of the reasons listed above AND Aulani wasn't disney enough for me. Other than characters and a couple of disney touches in the room it just wasn't disney. There weren't many mickeys, few disney decorations, and no disney music playing. My favorite things about DCL is disney music always playing in the halls and I feel like it's all disney all the time!

Interesting. One of the things I loved was the Disney music in the elevators that had been changed to Hawaiian. I thought that was a really neat touch. One of the CM's on one of my tours at the resort said it's Hawaiian with some Disney, not the other way around, and I completely agree with that.

All of this said, Aulani was wonderful, but I won't make the same effort to get back there that I will to cruise again. Aulani can wait a few years before I go back (plus it will take that long for me to bank enough DVC points to go back b/c I won't pay OOP for Aulani like I do for DCL). I think I expected more relaxation time there, and I did not get that b/c there was so much to do.

 

[jburge12000]

We are heading off on our 8th cruise next month and we have a timeshare in Kawaii that we use every other year. We vacation other places as well but the cruises and Hawaii are my families favorites. My kids are 13 and 10 now. We always do a few days after a week in Kauai on one of the other islands and last time we stayed at the Marriott that shares the beach/lagoon with the Aulani. I did not realize until we arrived that it was right next to the Aulani. If I or my kids had never been to Hawaii before I would consider going to Aulani since they love Disney, but I would not do it now. It is very different from anywhere else we have stayed on the islands and not really our kind of Hawaiian vacation. We prefer to have a quite beach, absolutely love going to the beaches on the North Shore of Oahu, but Aulani is anything but quite. We sneaked into the Aulani to check it out and the amenities looked amazing and they definitely had a lot of thinks for everyone to do on the beach. However, my wife was trying to relax on a lounge chair with a book, a little hard to do when the Disney staff is blaring the bull horn to tell some one their time with the paddle board is up and to come into shore. We are off to Hawaii again this spring break and I asked my kids about staying a few days at Aulani, and they both said no, said they would rather go to Maui or the Big Island then do a few days at Aulani, they said it just fells more Hawaiian at the other places.

 

[OKW Lover]

Very difficult question to answer. We've done 14 DCL cruises (plus several more on other lines) and 3 Aulani visits (totaling 22 days) and I don't think I'd even compare the two. To me its kind of like asking if you'd rather eat a good steak or go to a Broadway show. Both can be great experiences.