Is it worth staying at Aulani for a day or two after a cruise?

[GaryDis]

We’re looking at the DCL repositioning cruise from Sydney to Honolulu, which is a 15 day cruise. We don’t want to fly back home (to Boston) immediately, so we know we’re staying 1-4 days in Hawaii. Two senior citizens, no kids, a few friends staying at the Hyatt in Waikiki the same time.

Is it worth staying at Aulani for a night or two? If it’s any longer, we’ll be spending some time in Maui, so it’s max 2 nights on Oahu. I haven’t spotted any discounts for people coming off the cruise. And last time we went to Hawaii, we stayed at Hilton Hawaiian Village and had a great time. So we’re waffling over the value of Aulani. The one thing we might do in Honolulu is visiting Pearl Harbor again, to see the submarine and museum, which we missed last time.

 

[Travel60]

Whether it's worth it or not is a personal decision. I'll just say that when we stayed at Aulani, a friend was staying on Waikiki Beach while her DH worked on the Navy base for a few days. We drove over to pick her up a couple of times and it was a LONG drive in terrible traffic. (Been a few years so maybe improved?) But if you plan on getting together with the others, consider that.

 

[HannaBelle]

We have stayed at Aulani pre-cruise and Hilton Hawaiian Village pre-cruise. There are pros and cons to both.

Aulani was not "ocean focused" and we had an ocean view room. You have to walk through the pool areas and restaurants to get to the beach. You cannot even see the ocean from ground level until you walk out to the beach. The resort is U shaped with the focus on their property. It is a drive to go to other touristy attractions on the island, that is not a bad thing if you just want to hang out at Aulani for a couple of days. If you want to explore Oahu, it is not centrally located.

Hilton Hawaiian Village is directly on Waikiki and very ocean centric, we had an ocean view room and it was amazing. The down side is that it is very commercial, lots of people and traffic, and the beach was not sand. It was small pebbles and shells. More dining options, an ABC Store close by and it was very urban.

We have sailed on Pride of America twice, and want to return to Hawaii but visit Maui for a week or 10 days.

 

[MagicDVC]

If your friends are staying in Waikiki, I'd want to stay near by to do things together. Aulani is 30-45 minutes away from Waikiki, so not close at all. Aulani is kind of out of the way, more like a destination than a base camp.

 

[monsterkitty]

I would stay in Waikiki instead of Aulani.

If you do go to Pearl Harbor, I highly suggest a tour of the Missouri as well.

 

[longboard55]

should be a fun cruise, Aussies like to have fun

 

[Paul Stupin]

I think Aulani beats Hawaiian Village, hands down. And for swimming, nothing beats the lagoons.

 

[_19disnA]

I would choose someplace closer to where your friends will be if you plan to do things together. Traffic can be an issue. Partly depends on your budget and what all you plan to do while there. Lots of places to stay with a variety of prices.

 

[monsterkitty]

I think Aulani beats Hawaiian Village, hands down. And for swimming, nothing beats the lagoons.

As an open water swimmer, I can think of a lot of beaches in Hawaii to swim in that beat the lagoons.

 

[Paul Stupin]

As an open water swimmer, I can think of a lot of beaches in Hawaii to swim in that beat the lagoons.

But, like most people, I’m not really an open water swimmer. And that can be dangerous as well. As my wife and I discovered snorkeling at electric beach the other day, there are currents in Hawaii that can make it not only difficult to swim and actually get anywhere, but also those that can take you away from the beach, and make it difficult to get back in. Of course not I’m not saying they are everywhere, and I LOVE the beaches in Hawaii. But the lagoons at Ko Olina are really one of a kind.

At Ko Olina you get the feeling you’re on another island, more like the tropical paradise a lot of folks envision when they think of Hawaii. You’re in an entirely different, beautiful island world at Aulani. Thats not the Waikiki Beach vibe, which is totally fun, but way busier and more urban. It’s also more overrun with tourists, and, for beachgoers, space on the sand is way way more limited because of both erosion and the fact that its relatively long and narrow.

 

[monsterkitty]

But, like most people, I’m not really an open water swimmer. And that can be dangerous as well. As my wife and I discovered snorkeling at electric beach the other day, there are currents in Hawaii that can make it not only difficult to swim and actually get anywhere, but also those that can take you away from the beach, and make it difficult to get back in. Of course not I’m not saying they are everywhere, and I LOVE the beaches in Hawaii. But the lagoons at Ko Olina are really one of a kind.

At Ko Olina you get the feeling you’re on another island, more like the tropical paradise a lot of folks envision when they think of Hawaii. You’re in an entirely different, beautiful island world at Aulani. Thats not the Waikiki Beach vibe, which is totally fun, but way busier and more urban. It’s also more overrun with tourists, and, for beachgoers, space on the sand is way way more limited because of both erosion and the fact that its relatively long and narrow.

I 100% agree you should only swim where it's safe. I'm very picky about where I swim in the ocean due to currents and will only swim in the more protected or calmer waters. I also get very cranky when I see people swim out into areas that aren't safe for their abilities.

If you ever get a chance to go to the Big Island, Waikoloa Beach is pretty calm.

Hanalei Bay on Kauai is my favorite place for an ocean swim.

 

[Donalyn]

On our trip to Hawaii, we split our Oahu time between Aulani and the Hilton Hawaiian Village - 50/50. For us, the time at Aulani was the restful part of the vacation - sitting by the pool, kids in the lazy river, having shave ice, seeing how Disney did Hawaii, etc. We didn't leave the resort, other than a trip to a Target for something that we needed. I would agree that it is not a great location for sightseeing, because it is way on the west side of the island (although, Pearl would be closer than Waikiki or other sights, as it is in between Aulani and the Hilton).

When we were in town at the Hilton - we also really liked it, but our focus was on seeing the sights. We didn't spend any time at the Hilton during the day - we were out and about.

Both have a lagoon - right?

Also - on the Pearl submarine... We didn't visit the Missouri when we were at Pearl, as we'd spent a number of hours on a different battleship a year before (and my DDs weren't up for another one), so we focused on the Arizona and the submarine. The sub that you can tour there at Pearl IS the sub that one of my uncle's served on during Korea. (So, even though we'd also done a sub the year before at the same military park, we had to do the one at Pearl.)

 

[BayGirl22]

We did the Pride of America cruise a few years ago and spent a couple nights before in Waikiki and I think 4 nights after at Aulani. The time at Aulani was perfect to relax after what is a fairly busy cruise (PoA is very different than a transatlantic, we were busy every day with no sea days). Our Waikiki days were when we explored and more urban.

I'd consider the following:
- Are you hoping this time to be relaxing and recovering or more sightseeing/active?
- How much time do you want to spend with those staying in Wakiki?
- Given its only 2 nights, you'll likely have only 1 full day to do either of the above, so what will you want/need more after a long cruise?

 

[cedricandsophie]

Love aulani but it is a drive and often bad traffic. And we have been all over Oahu so we never have to leave. We did the Honolulu to Sydney cruise last October. It was fabulous. I’m sure you will love it. Back then we stayed at aulani 3 nights before the cruise and just took taxis back and forth.

If you haven’t been to Australia beforehand have the time I’d encourage you to spend several days ahead of the cruise. When we landed in Sydney we did one night right at the pier overlooking the Sydney opera house and then flew to Christ church, the South Island of New Zealand, and did a driving tour for 6 days before heading home to chicago. New Zealand is one of the most amazing places you will ever see. Abd very easy to drive yourself. Just a recommendation