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Sapphire Princess sails from Los Angeles on a 14-day Hawaiian Islands itinerary in 2012.
As fans of Hawaii well know, the islands are great place to chill out, de-stress and generally slow down. These days, though, more people are doing so before they even arrive.
That’s because they’re boarding cruise ships on the U.S. West Coast, taking four or five leisurely days to cross the Pacific before visiting a handful of ports and then turning around for another leisurely cruise home.
“The pace is very different,” said Erik Elvejord, director of public relations for Holland America. “We’ve found that there’s a core audience among our guests that’s looking for that kind of product.”
They’re apparently in good company as more cruisers have been signing on for such sailings. According to the Hawaii Tourism Authority, more than 124,000 visitors arrived by cruise ship last year, an increase of 22.9 percent over the year before.
And 2012 promises to be a banner year, as well. In addition to nine Holland America sailings from San Diego — up from six two years ago — Disney will offer its first-ever Hawaii cruises with two sailings from Los Angeles. Princess, meanwhile, will be fairly criss-crossing the Pacific with 27 departures from L.A. and San Francisco.
San Francisco, in particular, is poised to become a hotbed of Hawaiian cruising with Princess offering seven sailings this year — up from zero last year — and eight in 2013. It’s hardly a coincidence that the city is about to break ground on a new $90-million cruise terminal that will open in 2013.
Although still a small market by Caribbean standards, the business is getting a boost from several quarters, including weak demand for Mexican Riviera cruises, the frustrations of air travel and the cruise industry’s embrace of homeporting.
“Mexico has been in decline since about 2006 — before the economic downturn, before the border violence,” said Stewart Chiron, aka The Cruise Guy. “The cruise lines couldn’t invest in new ports so all they could do was add more sailings,” a move which further eroded the profitability of the itinerary.
More recently, the problem has been compounded by concern over Mexico’s ongoing drug war, which prompted several cruise lines to suspend port calls in Mazatlan last year. Many have since reinstated stops there but, according to Bay Area travel agent Lynda Turley Garrett, “People are still thinking twice about Mexico.”
Some are also thinking twice about flying. “As airline tickets have become more expensive and fees have become more onerous, consumers have been looking for ways to cruise without having to include the airline component,” said Dwain Wall, senior vice president/general manager at CruiseOne and Cruises Inc.
That, in turn, may explain the concurrent drop in traditional intra-island cruises, in which visitors fly to Hawaii for seven-night sailings. Offered exclusively by Norwegian on a U.S.-flagged ship, those itineraries hosted 119,000 passengers last year, a drop of 2.5 percent from the year before.
On the other hand, cruising to Hawaii from the West Coast is not for everyone. At 14 to 15 days, such itineraries tend to be expensive and provide only cursory visits to three or four islands. They also take place on foreign-flagged ships, meaning they require short stops, usually in Ensenada, Mexico, to comply with maritime law.
And would-be passengers had better like sea days — lots and lots of sea days, as they typically entail four to five days each way.
Even so, say observers, the market is likely to stay strong for all of the above reasons and, perhaps, for one few might have foreseen.
“It never hurts when a movie comes out that’s set in a gorgeous place,” said Carolyn Spencer Brown, editor in chief of CruiseCritic.com. “I watched ‘The Descendants’ and thought, oh, I want to go back.”
John Borthwick/Lonely Planet Images
The Hawaiian Islands are the perfect vacation destination for travelers of all types.
More on Itineraries
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- Rio de Janeiro getting a makeover
- Rio de Janeiro offers fun for kids, too
Rob Lovitt is a longtime travel writer who still believes the journey is as important as the destination. Follow him at Twitter.
Leave a Comment:
This would be awesome. I live in LA and would love to take a cruise to Hawaii
Spending five days at sea each way is AWFUL! You cannot enjoy sunbathing on the cruise ship deck because it's windy and too chilly. You quickly get tired of the same old routine, food, people, view, and stupid or expensive activities on the ship. And if you get sick or there's an emergency at home, you cannot disembark the ship quickly -- shore is days away. There is nothing glamorous about so many days at sea -- trust me.
Use your precious vacation time more wisely and FLY to Hawaii, spending your days exploring the islands. I recommend that the first time you visit, focus on Oahu if you only have 3-4 days. I have both lived in the Hawaiian islands and visited many other times as a West Coast resident.
If you have several more vacation days, take a short flight to another island based on your interests: Maui if you want the touristy areas spread out; the Big Island if you want to see volcanoes and don't mind the long distances; or Kauai if you want to see lush green tropical forests and soaring cliffs with waterfalls. Try to book a flight directly home from the last island you visit.
If you want a good overall impression of the islands, fly to Oahu for a few days, then board a 7-day multi-island cruise to see the other major islands (Molokai, Lanai, and Niihau will not usually be included). Don't waste time or money on crowded shore excursions. Arrange to rent cars in advance at each port to visit the sights you most want to see. Then fly home again from Oahu.
I thought that flying one way to Oahu, exploring that island, and then taking a cruise that visited three other islands before cruising back to the West Coast would be fun. But the cruise back across the ocean was an awful waste of my time. Thinking about cruising one OR both ways? Torture!
What would I recommend as a wonderful vacation? Fly to Oahu, rent a car, rent a convenient vacation home or apartment, and do everything you want to do there over 3-5 days. Then fly to Kauai, rent another car and vacation rental, and relax more in the stunning beauty of that island. Fly home from Kauai or at least take a direct flight that doesn't need to change planes in Honolulu.
Read a LOT about your vacation choices, make sure that you're renting a valid rental place (don't get scammed on Craigslist etc.), and prioritize what you want to do. Have alternative plans for days that there might be rain all or part of the day. Read plenty of online reviews. And avoid the new, isolated Disney resort: it's horribly overpriced, away from everything else on the island, and stupid.
Great idea for a vacation this year! Sign me up!
Hawaii is such a beauty I live in LA I would love to go but would have to think about the longs days at sea.
If you like being trapped in a shopping mall for four days at a time, then you would enjoy this trip.
Myself, I would rather fly to Hawaii in a few hours and spend more time in the sand, than in a ship's casino or having cheap watches hawked to me - or eating the horrible food and paying $10 for a beer.
Cruising is not boating. It is not travelling. Most cruises give you only hours ashore at each destination.
Some people love it. Myself? I'd rather actually travel.
Fly to Hawaii and get a nice vacation rental. It will be much cheaper and you will enjoy more time there.
A Hawaii cruise was a letdown for my mother. There was little time in Honolulu and she missed the U.S.S. Arizona memorial. She had some time for shore excursion on other islands, but she was bored with the five days at sea to get to San Diego. I can't imagine two legs on the vast Pacific with no stops. You would be better off to island hop on the four major islands for two weeks, because you would see more scenery and not just looking at endless days of sea without any land in sight.
I took this cruise last year at this time and it's a great way to enjoy, relax and see multiple Hawaii islands.
Way more bang for the buck than putting up with airports, renting a car and staying at one place.
Awesome time.
Going with Holland America in 2 weeks time. Can't wait!
We traveled to Alaska with Holland America! We had an awesome cruise - Welcome to Honolulu!
If you want to cruise, then cruise. If you want to enjoy a destination, fly there directly. Combining the two gives you the worst of all worlds.
Has to cost a bundle that's for sure...4 or 5 days to Hawaii then same to return is around 10 days alone not counting the port of calls stay..guess its a 14 day cruise.....$$$$$$$ if you got it.
Just a few weeks ago, I booked my 85 year old grandmother and 5 of her friends on a 2 week cruise to Hawaii. Including airfare (but not including excursions), it was only $2500 per person for a two week vacation - and that was with a balcony room. They simply could not pass up that price to go to Hawaii in a slow-paced fashion. They dont care if they are at sea for 4 days each way.
I have cruised before and loved it. Either you do or you dont.
I'm getting ready to take this trip for the 3rd year in a row with my mom and my 2 kids. We love this trip!! All the sea days are so relaxing. I read books, take naps, watch movies, and my kids are always entertained with all the fun things there are to do.
Sounds great. When I was in the Navy the trip from San Diego to Pearl Harbor was considered a short trip. I used to love watching the sunrises and sunsets. Hope that I could take my wife on a trip like this.
Took the Golden Princess out of LA on this two week cruise last February. Met some really nice people and had a good time playing games and the food was pretty good even in the buffet. But the Steakhouse and the Italian place were both awesome. While the stops in the islands were short, that was the only thing that bothered me. We did take a tour at each of the four islands and had a great time. The guides were absolutely priceless.
I have no idea what some people are talking about. I am 36 and took a 15 day RT from San Diego in October 2007.. I was 32 then.. young and active. I never got bored on the 5 days out, or the 5 days back, nor did I spend money on board to stay entertained.
Maybe to those who do not enjoy being at sea, far away from land.. this would not be a good idea. However, I would do it over and over again. As far as price is concerned, the cruise was $2800 total for two in a balcony cabin when we went. ( got a decent deal ) Before we settled on the cruise we looked at flying and enjoying the islands for 6 days. WOW the 5 day vacation, with only seeing two places, airfare, decent hotel, meals, entertainment... umm we were looking at $4500 easy. I have always found cruises to be less expensive.
Cruising is for me.. I like to get a taste of a destination, and hopefully want to come back for more later. I think being on the ship is what is actually for me, and the destinations are just bonuses.. that is why I keep going back.