Cruise or Hawaii ?

[matt4hand]

So I am getting married on Sept. 20th and we are in the process of planning out honeymoon.

We are looking at a 7 day Western Caribbean cruise or going to Hawaii for a week? We live in Atlanta

Obviously the cruise will be cheaper but I'm wondering what you guys thought about the two?

[Tobra]

Hawaii, go to Maui, you will have far more fun

Contact Wainapanapa State Park and get a cabin, they do reservations by internet, but must do them FAR in advance. It is in Hana, sort of rustic, but like $10 a night per person, do a few days there, a few at a hotel in Lahaina or some other place. I got cancelled out on my trip there because of a Dengue Fever outbreak, seriously. Coolest little black sand beach I ever saw there, close to seven pools and Lindberg's grave. Get a CD that tells you what is along the road to Hana, listen in the car as you drive over there, it will distract you from wishing you had rented a 911 to make the drive.

Lot of stuff to see and do in Hawaii

[JavaBrewer]

Anything but a cruise. BTDT - never, ever, again.

[slodave]

How about a cruise to Hawaii?

[Moses]

Maybe the single biggest no-brainer of all time. You're going to Maui, Matt!

[Tobra]

Go see the sunrise on Haleakala, hike the crater or ride the cruiser down the hill.

If you go snorkeling, do not leave ANYTHING in your rental car.

Maui also has a pretty damn cool aquarium now too.

I would hazard a guess that you could get a pretty good list of stuff to do on Maui from this crowd

[LakeCleElum]

Originally Posted by matt4hand

So I am getting married on Sept. 20th and we are in the process of planning out honeymoon.

We are looking at a 7 day Western Caribbean cruise or going to Hawaii for a week? We live in Atlanta

Obviously the cruise will be cheaper but I'm wondering what you guys thought about the two?

+1 on Maui - Been there 5 times.

I've been on one cruise, I considered the boat a "Trailer Park with a Propeller!!!"

[pwd72s]

Go for the cruise...you too can enjoy legionnaire's disease...

[Gogar]

I'll be the voice of dissent, but only kind of.

HAWAII is expensive and the plane flight (especially from where you live) is LONG LONG LONG. You're looking at 10 hours on a plane from ATL.

Go to the BVI or something; you can fly to St. Maarten N.A. direct from ATL in 3 hours., and your flight will be $500 instead of $1kplus.


You can Do a Virgin Islands/ST. Maarten/St. Barths/Nevis or a Grenadines/Barbados CRUISE, but

DONT DONT DONT do a standard CRUISE SHIP crap-mobile. Everybody is right on the money as far as that goes.

Do a tall sailing ship or boutique yacht trip, like one of these.

www.starclippers.com
www.windjammer.com

IMO you will spend LESS money than Hawaii and have a much more unique experience. These kind of ships don't dock where the cruise ships do, so you don't have ANY of the cruise-ship touristy lameness that comes with a big boat. Most (like the Star Clippers) offer complete (meal included) packages, 5 meals a day. And not CHICKEN FINGERS like on Carnival or something.

Check this out just for fun:

www.bhtmcruise.com

Also, the guy who does our cruises also does unique Virgin Islands CATAMARAN charters as well, sleep 6-8 people and if you love boats and fishing and your wife can handle it, it's fantastic.

I Love Hawaii too, but it's a money pit and it (FWIW) still has a kind of USA vibe to it, and if you're not a Left-Coaster, the flight SUCKS.

[alf]

First off, Contragulations.

Second. Hawaii. Duh.

Do search, lots of great advise already given on where to go and what to do.

[Tobra]

ooo, windjammer cruise, good one

[KFC911]

I wouldn't be caught dead on a regular cruise (no one would probably notice anyways), but Gogar is spot on regarding some of the "theme cruises". I've been on several "Blues cruises", and a "Jam band cruise", and if you're into music, those are more fun and a bigger party than most can EVEN imagine. I can't say any more, because just like Vegas..."what happens on the boat, stays on the boat" .

[Scott R]

Cruise was the single worst vacation I ever took, crowded (and this was first class) people grazing all day, staggering drunks. Imagine being stuck in your hotel and you can only go out when they let you. Maui wins hands down, expensive but worth it.

[gassy]

Dude. Maui all the way. End of thread! Congrats man. Snorkel at Mile 14.

[scottmandue]

OK... I was forced to go on my first cruise this year and it wasn't so bad...
But I love Hawaii.

Now you may love the cruise... if you like being pampered, eating too much (the food was very very very good), lounging by the pool it might be for you.

But for me the choice would be between something not so bad and something I love.

BTW if you look into renting a condo or a small house by the week you can save a few bucks over staying in a Hawaiian resort.

Oh and also BTW all that "it is a big ship and it has stabilizers so you won't feel the movement" is BS! if you or your lovely spouse are prone to motion sickness I would recommend against it.

If the flight time to Hawaii is a problem (it would be for me, flying there from the west coast is just about my limit for seat time) how about going somewhere tropical on your side of the world?

[Gogar]

Hey I agree with EVERYONE that big cuise ships are a waste of time. LITTLE sailing yacht cruises, Catamaran trip, etc. are AWESOME.

[Neilk]

If you end up in Maui, snorkel around the island. Don't waste your money on a cattle boat to Molokini.

[carreraken]

Maui - we go every year in Feb. during the whale watching season. Plenty to do there.

[Porsche-O-Phile]

Did a cruise for our honeymoon and loved it. The experience was great. Yes the ports of call are tourist traps, but just plan your itinerary for the things YOU like and you won't feel bothered by it.

Never been to Hawaii. I'd like to go, but it seems like a massive tourist trap that happens to be an entire state. Very expensive (which is probably why I've never gone).

I have nothing but good memories of our cruise honeymoon. I'd do it again.

[scottmandue]

Cruise ships cheap? You guys didn't see my bar tab! (and mom and dad were on the ship so I was being nice!)

Food was included but not drinks.

Hawaii has two personalities... you can stay in a high rise in Honolulu and never see any culture or nature... or you can camp out at the volcano. Sure what you see advertised are the mega expensive resorts that are like Disneyland but if you get away from that (if you want to get away from that) there is also a lot of natural beauty to see and nice people to meet.