hawaiian cruises

Your 3 basic Hawaiian cruise options
1. Cruise all the way

• Cruse from the West Coast to Hawaii.
• The same ship visits several islands.
• It then sails you back to the West Coast.

Figure on about 15 cruise days (the majority will be sea days).

2. Cruise/fly combo

• You cruise from the West Coast, visit several islands, and then fly back to the West Coast.
• Or you do the reverse (fly to and cruise back).

Plan on 10 to 12 days (four or five will be sea days). One advantage of a cruise/fly combo is you can enjoy a pre- or post-cruise land vacation in Hawaii.

3. Honolulu to Honolulu cruise

• Fly from the West Coast to Honolulu.
• Board ship in Honolulu, visit several islands, then disembark in Honolulu.
• Fly home.

By law, only Norwegian Cruise Line can offer it. The week-long itinerary begins and ends on Saturdays. Like option #2, this option is pre- and post-cruise vacation friendly.

Another option
You arrive and depart Hawaii on a trans-pacific or round-the-world cruise.

More tips & insights on Hawaii cruise itineraries
What are the top 5 must see islands?

1. Kauai
2. Maui
3. Big Island of Hawaii
4. Oahu
5. Molokai

Helpful Hawaiian cruise pointers
Getting around
Renting a car is the most rewarding way to explore most islands. This is especially true for Oahu, Maui, and the Big Island.

Avoiding tour-bus crowds
Visit highly popular attractions before mid-morning or in the late afternoon.

Hawaiian climate
The Hawaiian Islands are blessed with balmy year-round temperatures. But there are some factors to take into account:

• Summer vs. winter
  Summer runs from April through November, with temperatures averaging 27ºF (80ºF). Winter stretches from December through March, with temperatures averaging about 24ºC (76ºF).
• Rain
  It rains more in the winter, but brief tropical downpours can occur (usually around noon) any time of the year. Then the sun rules the daytime sky again.

Medical issue
If your cruise ship will be sailing between Hawaii and the North American coast, and you have a serious health condition that could possibly require an emergency helicopter evacuation to a land hospital, then be aware:

There will be nothing between the islands and the coast except the ocean. You'll be out of helicopter reach for several days.

Interesting Hawaiian facts
First inhabitants
Hawaii was unknown to mankind until about 1500 years ago, when the Polynesians arrived. Europeans didn't know about it until 1778 when Captain Cook found it (a year later natives killed him in a dispute).

President Obama
The 44th president of the United States was born in Honolulu on August 4, 1961.

Hawaiian population
Today it's over 1.3 million. The population is expected to reach 2 million by 2050.

Majority race
Hawaii has none. Everyone's a minority, including Caucasians, who make up just one-third of the population. The next three in the rankings are citizens with Japanese, Philippine, and Chinese ancestry.

Hawaiian alphabet
The written language has just 12 characters.
Seven consonants:
H, K, L, M, N, P, W
And five vowels:
A, E, I, O, U

Remoteness
Hawaii is the world's most remote well-populated land. North America, the nearest continent, lies 3800 kilometers (2400 miles) away.

Origin
Ancient undersea volcanoes created the Hawaiian Islands. The eight principal ones (in order of age) are Kauai (5 million years old), Niihau, Oahu, Lanai, Maui, Kahoolawe, Molokai, and the Big Island of Hawaii (500,000 years).

Multiple volcanoes
Islands like Maui were formed when lava flows connected two or more volcanoes.

Hawaii's future island
Scientists predict that the large, active undersea volcano name Loihi will breach the ocean surface south east of the Big Island in 10 to 100 thousand years.

Pineapple
The fruit icon of Hawaii is native to the southern Caribbean, not Hawaii.