Cruise Insider: Hawaii

Cruise tips from an ex-cruise employee: Hawaii

Aloha!! A friend recently asked me about cruising to Hawaii. She wondered: When is the best time to go? What routes are best and what cruise line is the best to take? Also, why on earth are the 15-day Hawaiian cruises the same price as 7-day cruises?

When is the best time to go?
Most years, Hawaiian cruises aren't offered year-round. Princess cruises, for instance, sometimes offers their 15-day itineraries from LA during the late fall/winter until early spring. This is because they move their summer Alaska fleet southward during those months (as it's impossible to sail Alaska in the winter) to sail the warmer climates of Hawaii and Baja Peninsula/Central/South America.

Winter time is actually an ideal time to go to Hawaii. The winds kicked up over the pacific create Big surf season on Oahu. Be sure to check out the north shore! Also, winter is calving season for Humpback whales in Hawaii. You'll see them breaching all around the islands. It is truly majestic. Be sure to go whale watching while on Maui - amazing!

Cost?
Cruising Hawaii is expensive. You're either paying for a 15-day international cruise, or a 7-day American-based cruise (see section below on 7-day cruises). Either way, expect to pay a bare minimum of $1200 per person (as of the time this was written). That's for an inside cabin, based on double-occupancy.

Don't forget to factor in your airfare. If you're from the US, round-trip flights are cheaper than multi-leg flights, and flights to LA or San Francisco are going to cost MUCH less than flights to Vancouver (Canada) or Honolulu. All together unless you live in the Hawaiian islands (and if you do, why go on a Hawaiian cruise to begin with?), a 15-day Hawaiian cruise from LA or San Francisco will cost much less than a 7-day cruise from Honolulu. I know, weird, right?

Why so many 15-day Hawaiian Cruises?
Cruising Hawaii is unlike cruising anywhere else for a plethora of very technical, legal reasons.

Let me explain. Sometime in the 1500's a maritime law was enacted that stated that a ship must visit at least one foreign country before returning to it's port of origin, unless the port of origin is the ship's registered home country. Elsewhere in the world, this is not really an issue, but along the Pacific coast of the US, finding a nearby foreign country to make port in means visiting Canada or Mexico - both trips of no insubstantial distance.

So as a result of that law, there are two or three types of cruises offered to Hawaii:

-15-day dual crossing cruises, typically embark in LA, cross the pacific (5 sea days), spend 4-5 days in Hawaii and then cross the pacific again (5 more sea-days), stopping in Ensenada Mexico for three to four hours to fulfill that crazy law. (Princess most consistently offers cruises of this type, and from time to time I've seen Celebrity offer similar itineraries.)

-7-day cruises departing Honolulu, Hawaii. One cruise line currently runs these cruises - Norwegian. Norwegian registered a couple of their ships in the US several years back in order to sail the Hawaiian Islands without needing to cross the Pacific. One of the stipulations for ships operating under the American flag is that a certain percentage of the crew must be American. This is problematic for cruise lines as Americans cost (much) more to pay and are used to working (much) less than many of the nationalities cruise lines typically hire. Having American-registered ships actually cost Norwegian quite a lot of money until they ironed out their operating costs. The result, after a few years, is that it costs as much to sail for seven days on an NCL cruise among the Hawaiian islands as it does to sail 15-days RT from LA. (I don't know about you, but I'd take the longer cruise any day...)

-Every so often you'll see an itinerary sailing from Vancouver or Victoria to Honolulu. (Royal Caribbean)

-World cruises and Tahiti itineraries also sometimes stop in Hawaii. (Various cruise lines)

Other tips:
If you're going to sail trans-pac (across the Pacific), be aware that the waters are rough! I've sailed trans-pac for months at a time and there is always at least one point in each crossing where the boat starts tossing and turning like crazy. The waves are huge. I always enjoyed it. But if you get sea-sick, be sure to sail on a larger boat, the bigger the better! And pick a cabin centered (horizontally and vertically) in the ship. If you enjoy the crazy rocking, like me, pick a cabin at either end, as far forward or aft as is available and as high up as available. Fun!!

-Ten sea-days is a LOT of sea-days. There are typically a ton of activities to participate in on boats, but if you bore easily, again, be sure to pick a larger (newer) boat as it will have more things to do onboard.

Island Princess through the Palm trees at Kona's Magic Sands beach

Bon Voyage!

Have any questions for Christy? I love helping people find the perfect cruise! Leave me a comment below.

The Departure Lounge: The Gap Year

 

The Departure Lounge: The Gap Year

By Christy & Mary of My Life in Scotland

Christy

One major consideration that stops many people from an extended travel break is work. Jobs are important. Let's face it, if you're a working professional you've probably spent ages in school, and a lifetime at work in order to get to where you are on the proverbial job ladder. Perhaps you're like me: I've finally reached a good place in my work life - I feel valued, I have my own office and, even though I work too much and sometimes my job stresses me out, I like my job. I'm building a retirement fund. My student loans repayments are well under way, I've got some savings and my car is paid off. (Yes, the savings and the car will be used to pay for my trip.) I'm at a good point in life in general.

So maybe you think it seems foolish to take a sabbatical and jeopardize it all at this point. I mean, what happens if things change while I'm gone? What happens if I lose my job while away, because I'm away?

Well. I happen to agree, on paper, it does seem like a dumb idea to take an extended trip at this point in my career. But the point I'm at in life is the same point that most people come to: Now is the time when many people take on some sort of larger risk - marriage, children, a mortgage, a business venture, etc.

This trip is essentially the same thing: A gamble, a gamut, a business venture. That's how I'm looking at my gap year (gap six months) - as an investment in my future. Sure, it's a costly investment, but most are, and when push comes to shove, it's only money. Experiences and expertise are the true salt of life. In fact, they're what really matter. Experience is what makes us specialists, artists, cultivators, teachers; human. And this particular experience, for me, will help to grow me, my perspective and give me more to offer to my life and my employer in the future.

Perhaps you don't have an employer that will let you take a sabbatical. If so, do you really want to work for a company that doesn't value your well-being and support your dreams? Sure, jobs are hard to come by these days, but truly if taking a break is important to you, then you'll figure out the job situation when you get home.

Perhaps you're worried about how said gap will look on your resume.
I say, a gap travel year is a year as an entrepreneur of life.

So what are you priorities? Decide. Decide what is important to you.

Let's see what Mary, of My Life in Scotland, has to say about taking a gap year:


Mary

Taking a Gap Year is very popular here in the UK. Prince William even took one before he started University. It is quite common to take some time off after you graduate and go volunteer around the world. Travel. Experience life. Then come back and hunker down at school. It makes sense to me! I think this should be more common place in the United States. But hey, enough about that. How do you fit in a gap year anyway?

My husband took a Gap Year when he was 29 yrs old. He actually quit his job, grabbed his savings, and went to a language school in America. He was living his dream. He wanted to learn English and he was done putting it off. This decision has shaped nearly every major decision he's made since. His life would not be the same if he didn't throw caution to the wind and leave for America. Now he's been speaking English for 11 years and he's fluent. A shop attendant actually asked him last week if he was American! Many doors have opened for him since learning English.

There is much to consider when taking a year, or whatever time you deem appropriate, off of your professional life. Is it something you can fit in? I personally believe that if you want to do it, then you will.

I took some time out of school to work onboard cruise ships. I really loved this experience. I need to write more about it because I learned so much about myself and about the world while cruising the Caribbean. Not to mention it was some of the most fun I've ever had in my life. I also took 18 months to serve a mission for my church in California. It was an experience that shaped me to the core. I paid my own way and worked hard. These are experiences I'd never trade for millions of dollars. If you take a gap year you too can have experiences you'd never trade.

Have any comments or questions for Christy or Mary? Talk to us! Leave us a note below!