caseylou

My husband and I would like to go to Hawaii.
I am not fond of long airline trips so I was thinking of cruising from San Diego to Hawaii on the Celebrity Infinity for 14 days in Nov. 05. Is this practical? What are the drawbacks? If we were to rent a condo, what area would you recommend that we would have good accesibility to some of the other islands. We are both in our early 60's.
I would appreciate any advice. Thanks

sceneisle

If the purpose of the trip is to see Hawaii, I would fly there. If you take the cruise, over half of your 14 days are going to be spent at sea. This leaves very little time to enjoy the islands. On the other hand, if you enjoy the "cruise-life" over land trips, take the cruise and make the best of your limited time in port(s).

Knowing

I agree with sceneisle. Hawaii is a long flight, but chances are you won't sample much of the hawaiian food or really get the experience. I was recently on a cruise to Bermuda. I enjoyed it and felt as though I saw the things I really wanted to see, but there were things I missed and it was just too easy to go back to the ship for meals and missed what I feel was probably a great opportunity to try some of the places we saw.

Lori

I would recommend flying to the islands and picking 2-3 of them and actually getting to stay put and get a feel for them. Cruises are OK (never did Hawaiian cruise but have been to the Hawaiian Islands 14 times and cruised Caribbean) but you do not spend a great deal of time anyplace on a cruise.

You don't say where you are flying from but from the west coast the flight is not bad - from other parts of the U.S. it is long but you can break it up with an overnite in CA.

What islands you visit depends on your personal tastes. Waikiki is not for everyone, but it is fun to visit and Pearl Harbor is a must. My personal favorite is Maui, but I also love the Big Island and Kauai too. I'd suggest renting a condo on one of these islands and staying a week in one place. There is much to see and do on all. Flying back and forth for day trips to other islands is time consuming and not worthwhile in my opinion. You would be better off staying 3 days in Waikiki (to get over jetlag, etc.) and then going to Maui for a week and either the B.I. or Kauai for another week.

simonv

I agree with everyone above. If your focus is on taking a cruise with pretty ports as nice bonus, then cruise is great. But if your main thing is to get to know the islands, then you'd be better off going to two or three islands. I can't stand Waikiki, so I just fly to the Big Island or Maui if it's winter, and Kauai if it's summer and stay there for a week or two. But as you've never been there, you probably would like to spend a few days in Oahu. November is a great time there. Where to stay depends on what you are looking for. The charactor of any particular island changes depending on if you are on north shore or south. The climate generally is different. Do you want action? Then stay around Lahaina in Mauii. More quiet native flavor? North shore of Kauaii, Hanalei or Kapa'a, or Hilo in Big Island are the place. Golf? Upscale resorts? Choice is endless. The best guidebooks I've found are from Wizard Publications www.wizardpub.com, "Maui Revealed", "Hawaii Big Island Revealed", "The Ultimate Kauai Guidebook". Wherever you go in Hawaii, you'll have a great time.

Athena39

If you are in your early sixties, you are young! Young enough to see a lot of Hawaii in two weeks by flying there. You can do a package that will include all your airfare, transfers and hotels. OR . . . and this would be my choice . . . pick two islands and spend a week in a condo at each one. Get to know the place. Go gorcery shopping, drive to beaches that are off the beaten path, eat in the local restaurants. Do that and you will be back! The Hawaii that you see on a cruise is not the real Hawaii. It's like looking at postcards.

Budman

I'm looking at the same cruise. 14 Days from San Diego with a Viranda for the two of us during the same timeframe would be about $4100.

Considering food, lodging, and entertainment, 7 of the 14 days would be at sea, vegetating, with the other 7 days getting a good flavor of the islands, for a future visit.

Hold

Hi Caseylou: You did not say if you are a veteran cruiser. The fastest any line makes this trip takes at least 5 days at sea. If you've never sailed before I would NOT suggest attempting such a cruise as this is truly open seas cruising and I'd hate to see you seasick for that long.
There is another option, fly to Hawaii and take one of the many 7 day cruises. That way you avoid the long sailing in open seas and get the flavor of 4 or 5 islands which you can later go back to if you see one you really like (on another vacation later).
If you have never been to Hawaii, staying on just one island can be delightful if you enjoy exploring, etc. or, to some people it can be confining.
You asked about accesibility to other islands, this is not very easy since you either take a ferry (which can be quite a ride) or travel by plane.
If you've never sailed or been to Hawaii, my advice would be the option I listed above. These cruises will almost always have a guide on board who will do educational talks about each island, etc.

triathlete

My vote is condo for Hawaii. There are some really good deals out there (try www.undercovertourist.com). In 14 days, you could easily do multiple islands.

caseylou

Thanks for all your input. Budman I think you and I are on the same wave length.
We are going from Ensenada 11 days then fly from honolulu to San Diego and spend 3 days there.
Everyones ideas are great. I have taken two cruises before and have had no problems with seasickness.

I'll let you know how it works out.

Hold

Have a GREAT trip caseylou, and do post when you get back.

Budman

Caseylou, what cruise are you considering that leaves from Ensenada and ends in Hawaii. It might interest me.

lesm

I have done both, and would definitely recommend the condo over the cruise in Hawaii. The real problem with the cruise is that the ports are boring and in bad locations, relative to the fun/interesting activities on the islands. I would recommend either the villas at Kapalua (be sure to request on that is oceanfront because some of the condos on the golf course are hit or miss as far as quality). Another good location is the condos at the Wailea. The Grand Champions condos are the best, but the ones in the Elua and Ekolu areas are also nice. If you want to visit other islands, Kauai and Lanai are very nice.