Opinions on whether I should keep Hawaii cruise or not

[AquaDame]

I'm firmly with team land based Hawaii trip. I haven't heard good things about the Pride of America and love the islands to bits (enough that we were married on Maui and go back frequently). The planes between the islands aren't puddle jumpers with Hawaiian as someone else said - I'd definitely take a look. FWIW I am also not a fan of flying... I can't remember the last flight I wasn't sure I was going to die on... but its worth it to travel. Nights ON the islands are wonderful. I love the ships too but you live in Florida and can see the ships anytime. No need to fly halfway across the world to get on one!

 

[FSU Girl]

It might not affect you but I know when I was there my circadians took a few days to adjust.
Thanks-we're happy although our threats to move to Tallahassee don't seem to excite her

HAHA don't do that to her. I was told I couldn't leave the state since I had bright futures and Florida prepaid so FSU was as far from home as I could get without leaving the state. I loved it there though, miss it.

I don't know how jetlag would be going that direction, I've only gotten it from going to and from Europe. It's usually only bad one day then I adjust.

 

[Anchors Away 2016]

The planes between the islands aren't puddle jumpers with Hawaiian as someone else said - I'd definitely take a look.

Fair enough. That was me that used that term. They are 100+ seat planes with two engines, and one Aisle, that are in the air for like 30-60 minutes, depending on which two islands. To me, that is jumping a puddle. Not that I mind personally, but the OP expressed concern with airplanes, and I just wanted to make it clear what they'd be doing, perhaps 3 or 4 times if they want to visit all the main islands. I agree, they should check it out and try to see how they'd feel about it. Hopefully, they can remember that these are safe planes with a long track record.

As for jet lag, big question is, "can you sleep on the plane?" If not, especially given that you got jet-lag going to Europe, jet-lag going twice as far to Hawaii is likely, but as you say, it can pass pretty quickly.

I hope I don't seem negative about this. I think she should go, whether it be land or cruise or both.

 

[mmmears]

Do Hawaii as a land trip instead. And do the Alaska cruise.

Totally agree with this. I've taken quite a few trips to Hawaii and for me, much as I do enjoy DCL, it would be a waste to spend more than half of your vacation getting there and then not be able to stay for a while. We've spent more than a week on Maui, Hawaii, and Kauai and I have to say that one day on each just isn't enough. Also, it's safe, easy to drive around, and there are some fabulous resorts on all the islands. I'd cruise Alaska instead, but that's just one person's opinion. Oh, and you don't have to go on a tiny plane to go from one island to another - the ones I've been on have been pretty big. I don't love long flights either (ok, I hate them) so for me if I'm going somewhere that's 10+ hours I usually make sure that I stay in that place for a good amount of time before I have to get back on a plane to come home.

 

[Dug720]

What would the hive-minds' thoughts be on a PoA cruise followed by several days at Aulani? I don't drive (I have a license but have not driven since moving to NYC 13 years ago and have no desire to suddenly drive in a new place and in a rental car), so renting a car is not an option for me. I'm wondering if the admittedly brief visits I'd get with PoA but pairing that with several nights at Aulani to chill would be something reasonable to consider.

 

[Intr3pid]

OP: How much time do you have at hand?

If two weeks or less, I wouldn't do more than two islands in a land-based trip. A week in each maybe. Remember you aren't just throwing your stuff into the trunk and driving to the next hotel; you would have to re-pack everything to go through airport security, sign in/out, and all.

The cruise will allow you to hit everything in one trip and then relax in one island at the beginning or end. Think of it as a week in one island, five days at sea, plus a few days to see the rest. You can rinse and repeat in the following year, and spend time in another island. The idea of the cruise is not just to visit Hawaii - but also to enjoy the ship, relax, visit multiple places in a guided setting without having to pack, etc.. The same reason people do the Med cruises.

So if the focus of your vacation is Hawaii, fly and spend a week each in two islands. And if you want to cruise, sample Hawaii, and enjoy one island, sail one-way and spend a week in that island.

 

[FSU Girl]

OP: How much time do you have at hand?

If two weeks or less, I wouldn't do more than two islands in a land-based trip. A week in each maybe. Remember you aren't just throwing your stuff into the trunk and driving to the next hotel; you would have to re-pack everything to go through airport security, sign in/out, and all.

The cruise will allow you to hit everything in one trip and then relax in one island at the beginning or end. Think of it as a week in one island, five days at sea, plus a few days to see the rest. You can rinse and repeat in the following year, and spend time in another island. The idea of the cruise is not just to visit Hawaii - but also to enjoy the ship, relax, visit multiple places in a guided setting without having to pack, etc.. The same reason people do the Med cruises.

So if the focus of your vacation is Hawaii, fly and spend a week each in two islands. And if you want to cruise, sample Hawaii, and enjoy one island, sail one-way and spend a week in that island.

The max we can take off from work is two weeks. If I plan it on a holiday I could get an extra day out of it. I'd love to sail and then spend a week, but sailing there takes up almost the full two weeks so we wouldn't really have much extra time to spend there.

 

[Anchors Away 2016]

What would the hive-minds' thoughts be on a PoA cruise followed by several days at Aulani? I don't drive (I have a license but have not driven since moving to NYC 13 years ago and have no desire to suddenly drive in a new place and in a rental car), so renting a car is not an option for me. I'm wondering if the admittedly brief visits I'd get with PoA but pairing that with several nights at Aulani to chill would be something reasonable to consider.

Some of my relatives did something like this a few years ago. I know some here don't like that particular cruise. My relatives seemed to enjoy it. Then, afterwards they spent a week on a single island (Maui, in their case). They enjoyed it very much, having had a chance to see all the islands a bit, and one island for longer. The cruise you mentioned does have more time "in the islands" than the DCL one does, so you get a little more time at each of the islands. Not enough of course, but really, as a fan of these islands, there is no such thing as enough, and too little time is way better than none.

If Aulani has appeal to you, then I think that would be a great place to focus your extra time on. As for not having a car, I personally think this isn't too much of a problem in Hawaii. Yes, there are some activities on some islands that a car is helpful/essential, but there are also bus tours and private tours to most things, so on any given island, you could base yourself at some nice (preferably centrally located) hotel, and then take tours to anything you really wanted to see.

Have fun!

 

[Dug720]

Some of my relatives did something like this a few years ago. I know some here don't like that particular cruise. My relatives seemed to enjoy it. Then, afterwards they spent a week on a single island (Maui, in their case). They enjoyed it very much, having had a chance to see all the islands a bit, and one island for longer. The cruise you mentioned does have more time "in the islands" than the DCL one does, so you get a little more time at each of the islands. Not enough of course, but really, as a fan of these islands, there is no such thing as enough, and too little time is way better than none.

If Aulani has appeal to you, then I think that would be a great place to focus your extra time on. As for not having a car, I personally think this isn't too much of a problem in Hawaii. Yes, there are some activities on some islands that a car is helpful/essential, but there are also bus tours and private tours to most things, so on any given island, you could base yourself at some nice (preferably centrally located) hotel, and then take tours to anything you really wanted to see.

Have fun!

Thank you! Yeah, because the Disney ones fall during the school year they don't work for me.

I had already been discussing ideas with my TA (who said she burst out laughing when she read my email where I mentioned it because she had just said to her husband that she wanted to do Aulani for her 50th just a year after mine) and initial thinking was do a few days at DL and then to Aulani, but I am thinking I like this one better. Maybe. I do see that PoA has studios - and I could do it the week before the one including my birthday and Aulani the week including my birthday.

 

[cruisehopeful]

I would cancel that cruise. I'd rather have the sea days be Hawaii days. I've visited the islands several times on land trips and I would visit much more if I didn't mind leaving my pets.

Do a land based trip or take the Pride of America around the islands and pick somewhere to stay before/after. It will be worth the long plane ride.

What would the hive-minds' thoughts be on a PoA cruise followed by several days at Aulani? I don't drive (I have a license but have not driven since moving to NYC 13 years ago and have no desire to suddenly drive in a new place and in a rental car), so renting a car is not an option for me. I'm wondering if the admittedly brief visits I'd get with PoA but pairing that with several nights at Aulani to chill would be something reasonable to consider.

That's a good idea. Personally, I am not a big fan of the area of the island where Aulani is and I need a car to go see the things that I do like about the island. Are your kids young? If so, you may be okay just hanging around that resort area. If not, all the action is in Waikiki and on the North Shore. There's lots of places to stay in Waikiki. The North Shore only has one resort, but there are tons of beach front homes for rent on VRBO and Airbnb.

 

[Dug720]

I would cancel that cruise. I'd rather have the sea days be Hawaii days. I've visited the islands several times on land trips and I would visit much more if I didn't mind leaving my pets.

Do a land based trip or take the Pride of America around the islands and pick somewhere to stay before/after. It will be worth the long plane ride.

That's a good idea. Personally, I am not a big fan of the area of the island where Aulani is and I need a car to go see the things that I do like about the island. Are your kids young? If so, you may be okay just hanging around that resort area. If not, all the action is in Waikiki and on the North Shore. There's lots of places to stay in Waikiki. The North Shore only has one resort, but there are tons of beach front homes for rent on VRBO and Airbnb.

Solo adult. Not into "action" such as shopping and bars. I don't believe in Air BnB or the like.

 

[MomOTwins]

If you can wait, Hawaii itineraries might be better once some of the new ships are released. I suspect one ship (e.g., Wonder) may just stay out on the west coast, and do more Hawaii trips. All just guesswork on my part, but I'd rather wait and do that personally. The length (and expense) of the flight between Hawaii and the east coast is a big deterrent for me, not to mention I don't love having to go all the way north to Vancouver either--I'd rather leave out of a California port

 

[pjacobi]

I don't know how jetlag would be going that direction, I've only gotten it from going to and from Europe. It's usually only bad one day then I adjust.

Most people find jetlag worse when flying East and "loosing" time. The worst jetlag for Europe is your first day in Europe. For Hawaii, the worse jetlag is your first day back home.


-Paul

 

[ryankski]

when I'm older and retire I plan to see the world by cruise lol.

Well, the coastal parts of the world

Do they have boats that go between islands? Like a ferry?

No they don't. I believe they used to but stopped due to the fear (or maybe actual incidents) the high speed ferries colliding with whales as they migrate in the area

 

[FSU Girl]

If you can wait, Hawaii itineraries might be better once some of the new ships are released. I suspect one ship (e.g., Wonder) may just stay out on the west coast, and do more Hawaii trips. All just guesswork on my part, but I'd rather wait and do that personally. The length (and expense) of the flight between Hawaii and the east coast is a big deterrent for me, not to mention I don't love having to go all the way north to Vancouver either--I'd rather leave out of a California port

That's a good point about the new cruises, I do think they'll shake up the itineraries somehow. Ya I wish it left from California, it would make the cruise so much easier to get to.

Most people find jetlag worse when flying East and "loosing" time. The worst jetlag for Europe is your first day in Europe. For Hawaii, the worse jetlag is your first day back home.


-Paul

that would make sense.

No they don't. I believe they used to but stopped due to the fear (or maybe actual incidents) the high speed ferries colliding with whales as they migrate in the area

Oh that would be bad to hit a whale, never even thought of that.

 

[mom4fun]

If you decide to cancel, you should give people a heads up on here. You would make some people very happy to get your booking.

 

[FSU Girl]

If you decide to cancel, you should give people a heads up on here. You would make some people very happy to get your booking.

I can do that, not sure if they are going back into inventory or not though since there are so many without room numbers. We decided to wait and see what the new 2020 cruises are if we do cancel it’ll be when we call to book our new cruise.

 

[FairestOfThemAll37]

If you can budget the extra day and cost of an extra night hotel, maybe think about flying to the west coast and spending the night then flying on to Hawaii?

Some people just want to get it over with, but I kind of hate layovers and start to feel exhausted and icky. I can do the 10-13hr flight to Asia fine as a nonstop but those same thirteen hours with a layover would put me over the edge. Whenever I can’t get a nonstop flight (for anything over 6-7hrs total), I fly into a city and stay the night. Being able to shower, eat something decent and rest is worth the extra day for me.

 

[HuskyGal]

I am booked on the cruise from hawaii to Vancouver and thinking about canceling too. I thought I was being clever by bypassing a long flight since we have little kids. I love hawaii and we’re going on our first cruise next month so I’ll find out how much we like cruising and sea days.

 

[DVC Doc]

What would the hive-minds' thoughts be on a PoA cruise followed by several days at Aulani? I don't drive (I have a license but have not driven since moving to NYC 13 years ago and have no desire to suddenly drive in a new place and in a rental car), so renting a car is not an option for me. I'm wondering if the admittedly brief visits I'd get with PoA but pairing that with several nights at Aulani to chill would be something reasonable to consider.

Just be aware that Aulani is in a somewhat remote area of Oahu and there are few dining options around the resort. Food at Aulani itself is very expensive, but there are a few places within walking distance (such as Roy’s). You could also take an Uber on a grocery run to the Costco which is very close by and has the best prices on the island. You can actually see many of the sights on Oahu without a car by booking with the tour desk at Aulani. These are excursions like you would book on DCL, and just like DCL come at a premium price. We did a combo horseback riding and catamaran cruise at Kualoa Ranch which was absolutely fantastic and a Disney/Aulani exclusive.