Originally Posted by
tkeppers
Hi...OP here again.
First, a sincere THANK YOU to everyone who took the time to post a reply and help out a newbie. There is some great stuff here that I would not have thought of on my own and this information will be very helpful.
To clear up some confusion - no, this is not going to be a 2-day trip. More like a 9-day. Our 10-year anniversary is this year and I thought it might be special to do a 7-day cruise around the Hawaiian islands (on Norwegian's Pride of America). It seems like a great way to see as much of Hawaii as possible in a short amount of time. The cruises on this ship depart and arrive on Saturdays. So I was thinking we could fly in on a Thursday, do the beach-bum thing at Waikiki for a couple of days and recover from jet lag, and then do the cruise. Fly back that Saturday night (or possibly early the following Sunday).
This is the front-runner plan so far. Other options include doing Europe this year (and saving Hawaii for next year) or taking a Hawaiian cruise from Vancouver to Honolulu so I'd only have to worry about redeeming miles for a one way trip.
Thanks again...you guys are wonderful!
Let me offer you my 2 cents - a Hawaii cruise is NOT the way to see Hawaii especially for first timer.
Hawaii is a place that really requires you to be on land in order to explore her beauty.
A cruise would only drop you off at the area near the port which often is not any area that makes you feel like you are in Hawaii. Also, other than HNL, there is really no public transport to speak of on the other islands - a rental car is a MUST in order to explore the islands and a cruise simply would not provide you enough time to explore.
On top of that, the NCL Pride of America is really a very very old ship. NCL at one point a few years ago had several ships prying the Hawaii water thinking it would make big business - it turned out people did not come in drove as it hoped - one of the reasons is, Hawaii is really not suitable for a cruise for a cruise you could only enjoy the shorelines from afar, and some time around the port - but the really beautiful land, mountains, cliffs, waterfalls, beaches, etc etc you have hardly any time to explore with a port call.
With a 9 to 10 days trip, you would be far better off by visiting 2 islands - flying in to one, and leaving from another. Given you have never been in Hawaii, you would want to do HNL and either OGG or LIH (Maui or Kauai). The latter are the 2 islands that would appeal to most then the KOA (Hawaii - aka Big Island). If you like great beaches and more upscale feel, then Maui is better. If you like laid back, slow pace and more "old Hawaii" like, then Kauai is better.
3 to 4 days on an island is good for an overview. My suggestion is to visit Oahu and Maui - they are more suited for the occasion for this trip.
In any case, enjoy the trip and happy anniversary!