My husband and I are planning a trip to Hawaii in January for our 5th anniversary. We are considering regular island hopping or cruising on the Norwegan Star. Any advice on which is better for first time Hawaii travelers? If we chose the traditional island hopping, any advice as to an itinarary? We are in our 30's with no kids and like to travel "first class". Thanks in advance for your advice.

Keep in mind with the NCL cruise you're very limited in your time in port (until next July when the ship that's exempt from the Jones Act begins to sail). If you look at the itinerary, you'll see that it is basically one morning in Hilo, an afternoon/evening on Maui, and a day on Kauai. I think the cruise is a good option only if you enjoy cruising and just want to get a glimpse of Hawaii.

My parents went on a cruise and they enjoyed it, but they are older and have been to the islands several times. You will see more if you do a land trip. I'm more inclined to spend my entire time on one island instead of hopping. 11 days on one island would really allow you get around and see some things and also give you lots of chilling out time. I went to Kauai for the first time this past summer and absolutely loved it. We were there for two weeks. Being there that long really allowed us to slow down, get into "the groove" and enjoy ourselves. If you ever think that you may want to go back, you might want to consider just one island this time. Have a great time.

part of the beauty of every island is spending the nights there, star gazing. A wouldn't chose a cruise. I also think that you could comfortably visit two islands. You may want to choose two that are quite different from each other; Maui and Hawaii, or Oahu and Kauai.

Defintely LAND!! You'll miss the essence of the islands on a cruise. We personally LOVE Maui. That's where we normally stay. I'm having flashbacks right now. I just love that place.
You'll enjoy spending 11 days on land in Hawaii. It's just beautiful!!

The Star spends half of its seven days crossing to Fanning Island in the Republic of Kiribati (in order to comply with US law - the Passenger Services Act incidently, not the Jones Act.) Although you get to go to a (reportedly) lovely atoll in the Pacific, you're only there for a short time, followed by another couple of days on the ocean. Your port calls on Hawaiian islands are indeed short, but with a land-based trip you'd only manage to see one or two islands anyway, so your exposure to more islands might actually be greater from the ship than would be possible otherwise. Could be useful knowledge for a return trip.

The sea days can be wonderfully relaxing and if you haven't cruised you might find you'd enjoy it enormously. You might find that the cruise offers the chance to be "alone together" more than you might think, especially if you can swing a balcony cabin - the sound of the ocean going by is magical. I can certainly attest that the stars from the middle of the Pacific are fully the equal of those on the islands, unless you mean the Keck Observatory on Mauna Kea. Also, if memory serves, the Star doesn't have a casino, so the cruise might be relatively economical.

HOWEVER, with eleven days, I'd be tempted to do a combo. Go out ahead of the cruise for four days on one of the islands (my vote would absolutely be the Big Island) then fly over to Honolulu in time to get on the boat and sail away. An "open jaw" airline ticket, say to Kona and return from HNL, is easy to set up.

Happy planning and congratulations!

My memory of watching the 'cruisers' standing in the hot sun, in line, at the Kona pier, waiting to get on the launch to take them back to the ship....they were hot, cranky, and wasting their precious vacation. I vote for two islands, no cruise.

Relax, go out to dinner, be lazy, snorkel, etc; You also won't be in a tiny cabin.

I would go Maui and Big Island. There are Four Seasons on both islands.
Have fun!

I would recommend Maui and Kauai - and
stay at the Four Seasons in Maui and
the Hyatt Regency in Kauai. Or possibly
divide your time between Hyatt in Kauai
and the Princeville Resort. Check out
"Maui Revealed" and "The Ultimate Kaua'i
Guidebook" by Andrew Doughty and Harriett Friedman - and any other books
they may have written on Hawaiian islands.

I just did a similar trip in May for my 5 yr. (also no kids/30's/upscale). A cruise would be very difficult if you plan on seeing much of the islands. We spent 3 days Oahu, 3 Big Island and 3 Maui. 3 on Ohau was fine - time to see Pearl Harbor/Swap meet/Diamond Head and relax on the beach all while getting over jet lag. I would prbalbly add a day to the Big Island if planning to see all - we spent 1 LONG DAY 8am - 11pm driving around the entire island to see the volcano and get back to our hotel. Try to stay 2 nights in/near Hilo to view the volcano (a must at day and night)and 2 on the other side to do any beach/water activities (snorkeling etc) 3 days in Maui was also fine. Lahaini was a cute town, but not more than a day or even half a day - In my opinion the road to Hana was a complete waste of a day - not as beautiful as all the books make it out to be. Seven pools was great - bring lunch and a bathing suit and spend some time relaxing. All you Hawaii lovers will probably hate this, but I was not all impressed with Hawaii - while all the resorts are spectacular, Hawaii itself is not paradise. It reminded me alot like Florida and was very far (from NYC) to go for Florida. If I wanted a beautiful resort I could have gone somewhere alot closer. Go with an open mind and don't expect "Fantasy Island" and you will be fine.