Planning for Aulani - Opinion please!

[gonzalj1]

Here's the situation. DW, DD (11), DS (8) and myself are planning a trip to Hawaii in August 2013. We've booked an NCL cruise for the week of 8/10/2013 and were hoping to pair that with a week at Aulani. We were wondering if anyone had ever done something like that and would folks recommend the week at Aualni before or after the cruise?

DW and I are torn as to whether we want to chill on Oahu for the week before or after. Seems to be pros and cons to both approaches.

Thoughts?

 

[kjd469]

Funny you should ask...DH and I just got off the NCL ship after spending 5 nights at Aulani first...it was a fabulous trip!!! I'm not sure whether I would recommend Aulani before or after...I think it would be great either way...It just worked out best for us to do it before. Please feel free to ask any questions re: Aulani or NCL and I'll do my best to help

 

[stlrod]

I'd say Aulani first to give yourself time to adjust to the time change and so you won;t be so "rushed" getting to the ship.

 

[SuperRob]

I'm going to respectfully disagree and say go to Aulani at the end. My wife and I took a Disney cruise for our honeymoon followed by a WDW stay. I know it's not apples and oranges, and NCL cruises aren't nearly like Disney's (I've gone to Alaska on NCL), but I think if we had ended with the Disney cruise, we would have been disappointed to have to go straight home after. Cruises pack a lot of excitement into a short amount of time. Having an Aulani stay at the end would be icing on the cupcake. But to each their own.

 

[gonzalj1]

Wow! Talk about a response! Thanks everyone for the info so far.

kjd469 - Can I ask if it was just you and hubby or did you have family with you guys? Also, did you feel that 5 days at Aulani was enough? Lastly, was this your first trip to Hawaii?

SuperRob - Thanks for the perspective. I can see your point.

stlrod - The point about being rushed getting to the ship is an important one. For us the flights would arrive in HNL at about 3PM. That only gives us 2 hours leeway to get to the ship. I'm not sure that's enough. Flying in the day before would mean a night's hotel cost plus food for dinner and breakfast the next day.

Lots to consider.

Keep em coming folks. Great info!

 

[kjd469]

kjd469 - Can I ask if it was just you and hubby or did you have family with you guys? Also, did you feel that 5 days at Aulani was enough? Lastly, was this your first trip to Hawaii?

This was just DH and myself...left the kids at home This was actually our second trip to Hawaii - we did the same NCL cruise 2 years ago and loved the itinerary so much we wanted to do it again...it's not that the ship is great, it's kind of dated and doesn't really have any exciting aspect to it - but it's the only one doing that itinerary so it kind of has a monopoly, and the food is pretty good as well. It is a great way to see a lot of Hawaii.

I would not recommend arriving the day of the cruise. Definitely you will feel rushed and depending on where you are coming from, the time difference may be an issue. That is why we did Aulani first, got completely acclimated to the time change and felt completely calm when boarding the ship.

We felt 5 days was plenty for Aulani, but it wouldn't have been a problem to stay for longer. We had rented a car at the airport, so we made trips to Kapolei (5 min. drive) for shopping and eating when necessary, and also 1/2 day trips to the Dole plantation, north shore, etc. If we weren't doing the cruise, I would definitely want to stay for at least a week.

 

[gonzalj1]

Good info kjd469. Thanks so much.

We're leaning towards Aulani first for the very reasons you mention. We think it would be hard, with the action level of the cruise, to adjust to the time difference (6 hours behind for us - We're coming all the way from New Jersey) while on the cruise.

Leaning towards a week to give us a day or so to adjust and then do the things we really want to do...

Pearl Harbor/Arizona
Poly Cultural Center
Relax by the pool/beach
Explore the resort
Luau
North Shore

Any other suggestions for things to do? How abotu places to eat? We're planning on doing plenty of eating in the villa due to the high prices in Hawaii but don't want to miss any must do's. Tough to balance budget and desire when it comes to a once in a lifetime trip like this.

 

[SuperRob]

I would not recommend arriving the day of the cruise. Definitely you will feel rushed and depending on where you are coming from, the time difference may be an issue. That is why we did Aulani first, got completely acclimated to the time change and felt completely calm when boarding the ship.

I agree with this point. My wife and I flew overnight (direct from our wedding reception!) to Orlando, and then got straight on the ship. We didn't sleep much on the plane, so after having been up for 36 hours, we looked positively MANIC in our embarkation photos.

We adjusted to the time change pretty quick (it's easier going west to east), but if we had to do it over again, we'd have tried to get in a day early. Coming in the same day doesn't leave much room for mechanical problems or delays, either. We were incredibly fortunate to have our flights go without a hitch, but that could have been heartbreaking to miss the first part of our honeymoon.

 

[gonzalj1]

stlrod,

Just noticed your sig. Seems you just got back from Aulani. How was it? Any tips?

 

[adminjedi]

I would do the cruise first to take advantage of all the food, and then Aulani where you can eat less!

 

[gonzalj1]

bump

 

[Jamie]

I have also done the NCL Hawaii cruise and am a cruise travel agent and a DVC owner (going to Aulani in Feb). I alway like doing the cruise before land. Maybe it's just us but going from the ships, to land, to air is just hard on the body. Being able to get off a ship and head to a resort for awhile is such a great feeling (kind of like opening all your presents at Christmas and then finding an extra one hidden) Besides after all that food on the ship you won't even care that you can't afford to eat when you get to Aulani.

 

[htmlkid]

Here's the situation. DW, DD (11), DS (8) and myself are planning a trip to Hawaii in August 2013. We've booked an NCL cruise for the week of 8/10/2013 and were hoping to pair that with a week at Aulani. We were wondering if anyone had ever done something like that and would folks recommend the week at Aualni before or after the cruise?

DW and I are torn as to whether we want to chill on Oahu for the week before or after. Seems to be pros and cons to both approaches.

Thoughts?

Although a little different. We are doing the DCL Alaskan Cruise the end of June then flying to Aulani for a week after. We felt that after the cold of Alaska we wanted the warmth of Hawaii afterwards.