Hawaii
 

My wife and I, 2 seniors, would like to visit Hawaii. WE would like to fly into Honolulu and take a 7 day cruise and then spend some extra time in Honolulu. When is the weather better- in July, September or February? Is NCL the only cruise line that starts and ends in Hawaii?

Hi Barney. You might want to post this on Fodor's Cruises forum for knowledgeable responses on crusing Hawaii. Also, www.cruisecritic.com is a good site fo advice, objective information, as well as searching available cruises. No, NCL is not the only cruiseline for Hawaii. July and September will be slightly warmer (Highs in the mid-to-high 80's) than February (Highs more likely hovering about 80 or so) but you can search for more precise info on typical weather at either www.visithawaii.com or www.weather.com or www.wunderground.com

Having said all that, if your desire is to see several Hawaiian islands and really experience them, I do not personally think a cruise is the way to go, unless you are uncomfortable renting a car. Also, Honolulu is so urban you won't get the feeling of being in an island paradise if that is where you spend all your "land time"....on the other hand it is the one place you can due without a rental car. In addition, you don't say where you are coming from or whether using FF miles, but even from the West Coast, flying to Honolulu is more costly than flying, say, to Miami or even possibly to San Juan for a Caribbean cruise. If cruising is your priorty (vs. seeing Hawaii) consider a Caribbean cruise as that water is more beautiful than Hawaii, you'll have more choices of cruise lines and styles and might pay less, plus have interesting shore excursions.

If you really want to experience Hawaiian Islands, consider staying about 5 days on each of two islands such as Maui + Kauai and renting a car.

NCL is the only *local* cruise that I know about. I wouldn't want to spend days of my vacation at sea if it was Hawaii I wanted to see! LOL

The NCL cruise is not a posh experience, but it is the only sane way to see highlights of three islands in one week. My DH and I did some cruising in the Caribbean while we 'scouted' islands we wanted to visit on longer stays. I'd take a plain-jane cabin on Pride of America and rent a car at some ports for DIY touring.

In July Hawaii is bursting with families while kids are on vacation from school. September is the hottest month and a bit of an off-season, with somewhat lower rates. February has the whales and the whale-watchers, adding to the snowbirds escaping mainland winters, and has some of the highest rates of the year.

One week = One island. Ten nights = Two islands. Two weeks = Three islands. Big Island of Hawaii needs more than a week if you want to enjoy both sides.

In summer, you can stay in many locations. In winter, stay south on Kauai, Oahu, and to some extent on Maui.

Only Honolulu has adequate public transportation, but I'd still want a car for convenience and to drive Oahu's pretty east and north shores.

Sorry, I gave the wrong website with "visitHawaii.com".... meant to type www.gohawaii.com

When we drive out of the airport in Lihue and head toward Nawiliwili on our way to get a burger (a tradition) before heading to Poipu, I always feel sorry for the people who get off a cruise ship at the port in Nawiliwili. It is NOT the prettiest part of the island, in fact it is down right ugly. Kalapaki beach is NOT a nice beach and some people only see that. Hey, maybe that is a good idea, the place is getting very crowded so if people think it is unattractive, they won't stay.....:) That being said, Summer is busy busy busy with families and February, well it is winter even in Hawaii and not as warm albeit warmer than Wisconsin! September is nice and not as crowded as July. I guess it depends on whether or not crowded bothers you. You WILL have to rent a car if you are on Kauai but if you only have a few hours, that could be expensive. If you stay in Waikiki area after your cruise you will not need a car as there is great public transportation. However there is more to see on Oahu than Waikiki so renting a car for a daya trip around the island is nice. I can highly recommend that you take in Shangri La - the Doris Duke Estate. Outstanding tour = tickets available only at the Honolulu Art Museum. Also the Iolani palace on Friday at noon has a band concert outdoors with Hawaiian singing and hula. Quite lovely and the tour inside the Palace is great.

We stayed 6wks in Hawaii on the Big Island and Kauai. Our base on the Big Island was Kona and we saw cruise ships most days. Downtown Kona is lovely with the market and outdoor cafes but most on the cruise ships saw only that. To really experience the Islands you need to rent a car and drive to different areas, actually LIVE there for a period of days instead of living on a cruise ship. Just my humble opinion.