Hawaii to Alaska cruise
 

Has anybody went on a cruise from Hawaii to Alaska cruise? Which company did you use? Also, is it better to start in Alaska and end in Hawaii? We are looking at August 2025 is that a good time? Did you love it? Do you recommend it?

We have no experience cruising.

Do a search on YouTube. You can probably find some good reviews. I would highly recommend you use a travel agent as you will often get a better price, and/or some extras, than going through the cruise line directly and they will provide you multiple options. We like cruisesonly.com and Jen Ellis is our agent. There are a few cruise lines they don’t represent, and we book directly in those cases, so you need to do a bit of research on your own. We have gone from Hawaii to Vancouver (a week around Hawaii and then on to Vancouver). If you want to do the inside passage of Alaska then you might wind up on back-to-back cruises. Again, a travel agent can provide some options.

Foreign-flagged ships are not allowed to start in one US port and end in another (the Jones Act) without calling somewhere in-between so, since most cruise ships are foreign-flagged, so you may end up calling at Vancouver - no great loss

Such a route would generally be called a repositioning cruise, and they tend to be cheaper

The only such cruises I could find on Vacations To Go were by Norwegian (who I wouldn't recommend)

Been to both places but not on the same cruise.

We went to Hawaii in the winter to get away from winter but also to see whales. Not likely to see any in the summer. Summer is a great time to go to Alaska.

Why would you want to go to both on one cruise? Do not see any particular advantage. BTW for first cruise would you want so many sea days?

It could be because "repositioning cruises" (where they move ships from one area to another, depending on the season), as significantly cheaper...

We had a friend taks a trans-Atlantic cruise that move the ship from the Caribbean to Northern Europe (I think), and it was a bargain.

Of course, you were stuck on the ship the entire time and the seas were rougher, but she enjoyed it...

Here's one possibility...

Holland America Line's 28-day cruise aboard the Westerdam, Seattle to Seattle, August 31st - September 28th.

Click here...

Could be but for a first time cruiser do not think I would recommend lots of sea days

Totally agree! And the seasonal weather depending on the oceans/seas traversing

My wife and I have gone on three (3) Hawaiian cruises with Norwegian (NCL). Great cruises.

Have done Alaska twice. Both times with Royal Caribbean. Great cruises

Alaska to Hawaii? Great idea and I wouldn’t hesitate to sail NCL.

:spoken:I would strongly recommend you take a simpler cruise for your first trip to see if you like cruising.

I did a four-day cruise from Port Canaveral to the Bahamas for my first trip. It’s only a two-hour drive to the port and a minimal investment in time and money. I enjoyed it enough to take more cruises, but not everyone enjoys cruising.

we just did a 10 night celebrity cruise from Hawaii to Vancouver British Columbia in May. The weather was great in Hawaii, but was cold on the 5 sea days to Vancouver. The temperature was about 60° those five days. We love the sea days, but if it’s your first cruise, you might be bored. We spent one night in Vancouver and then got on a different celebrity ship for the Alaska cruise

If you have no experience cruising, I would start with a SHORTER cruise to see if you even like it. By consensus, it’s one of those things you either love or hate. If it’s not for you, you’ll be miserable on a long cruise in the middle of the Pacific Ocean! Much rougher than the Atlantic or Caribbean. There are 3/4 day cruises out of Canaveral. I’d start there.

Hawaii to Alaska, or anywhere for that matter, is a long long way. Cruise lines don’t like spending money just to cruise the ocean, with no stops for their passengers. I would think there are no scheduled cruises like that, by design. Except as one post said, to reposition.

We are doing this cruise in June of 2025 . 16 days . Starts in Hawaii sails to Alaska and disembarks in Vancouver.
Not sure how to pack . I hear there is a laundry package. Hard not to gain weight the food is plentiful especially breakfast.

Upon further review suggest shorter cruise for first time.

Norwegian has one for October 8-October 23 2024. If you go into NCL.com and put in Destination Alaska and Hawaii for October 2024 it will come up for your review.

Norwegian has one this October. Dates are October 8-October 23 2024. If you go into NCL.com and put in Destination Alaska and Hawaii and for Date put in October 2024 it will come up for your review.

That’s an interesting statement. I’ve been under the impression all my life that the Pacific was calmer than the Atlantic. After all, that’s why it is called the Pacific.

Why do you believe the opposite?

Think it depends upon where you are. Have crossed the Pacific several times west coast to Hawaii.

First day or two very rough than calm seas

Originally Posted by quarter man View Post
Has anybody went on a cruise from Hawaii to Alaska cruise? Which company did you use? Also, is it better to start in Alaska and end in Hawaii? We are looking at August 2025 is that a good time? Did you love it? Do you recommend it?

We have no experience cruising.

We cruise about once/year on average. If you haven't cruised before I would suggest taking a shorter cruise first to see whether cruising is for you. Not everyone likes it. Long cruises require acquiring both physiological and mental sea legs. Miami is the cruise capital of the world and there are numerous cruises leaving from Fort Lauderdale, Port Canaveral and Tampa. Taking a 5-7 day cruise out of a FL port that has at least one "day -at-sea" is a good introduction.
We found that NCL offers an excellent Hawaiian cruise the encircles the islands. The ship (Pride of America) is registered in the US and departs and returns to Honolulu. Because it is a US registered ship and travels only to US ports, they must comply with US labor laws and the vast majority of the crew are US citizens. We've done two Alaskan cruises (Princess and Celebrity) and linked a train trip to Danali and Fairbanks with one of them. The aquatic and land scenery and animal sightings were spectacular. If you do only one cruise I would recommend Alaska. Most of it occurs within the inside passage with maybe one day on the rougher ocean and every day is spectacular. From a number of considerations, not the least of which would be packing of clothing for the two environments, I would not try to do Hawaii and Alaska together.

As a lodge owner in Alaska it's imperative to book now for your plans in Alaska..we are booking up for 25 and getting inquiries for 26'

I agree 110%...

What does 110% really mean?

We have established that irregardless is a word but have doubts about 110%:spoken:

Same as 170% that Nate Bargatze talks about... (especially the 2:10 minute mark)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pL8kelqk9zw

Funny guy

Hello. I'm a travel advisor for over 40 years and live South of 44. I can help you with this cruise or any other. For this particular itinerary Norwegian is your best option. I can give you a call (or vice versa) to discuss different cabin options and price points if you like.

Keep in mind these are repositioning cruises so you will only find they transition the ship TO Alaska in the spring for the summer tourist season. There is not a "regular" Alaska to Hawaii cruise ship. That's not a popular route.

If you are going in August/September there will ONLY be repositioning ships FROM Alaska to Hawaii to get the ships there for the winter tourist season. You will "miss" the whale watching and popular tourist stuff in Alaska (you are in the shoulder season) and get to Hawaii just as the dry season is starting.

And--as others have pointed out...if you have no experience cruising you *definitely* meed to start with a shorter cruise with more stops.

Repositioning cruises are looooong trips with no (few) stops. Take a 3-7 nighter out of Tampa or Canaveral to make sure you are good with cruising.

It is like taking an RV--you may not want your first trip to be a long Florida to Alaska trip.

Good luck--figure about one pound per day for the cruise....LOL

There would be many more options if you booked back to back cruises starting in Vancouver, one going to Alaska and then another going to Hawaii.

For awhile, Port Canaveral was the busiest cruise port in the world and is currently number 2.

In 2023, Port of Miami had almost 7.3 million passengers, which was a record for the port and reclaimed its title from Port Canaveral as the world's busiest.

June 2025

Alaska & Hawaii: Kauai, Kona & Ketchikan
from Honolulu, Oahu

58 Excursions..

Repositioning is always out of season travel, and it's all ocean travel, no stops for enjoyment/travel, other than refueling if needed. the weather is seldom the vacation weather which cruising vacations are known for. . usually the opposite being out of season ocean travel.

the cruise lines are going for breakeven at best for cost, and if not break even, you are paying for the balance in the advertised tours . .

not interested unless i can drive. .