Hawaii 2020

[ahain]

i‘m on the 9 night and our onboard times are 6pm/11pm and 5:45pm. First seating is usually 5:45 right. I figure most who get off don‘t come back early. I can see these ports being not like the carribbean where many stay on board or come back afternoon.

Got it....I'm on the 10n, and as shown, times seem to be OK there

 

[NancyIL]

Oh man, do I feel the same way. Today was insanely stressful. In no way did I expect to commit as much time as I did to finding the right room for this cruise. It was absolutely insane. I wanted that Cat V room but now I’m having sticker shock and almost wishing I didn’t move from my GTD 5A

When I read that prices on Day 1 started at over $2,000 pp for the least expensive inside - I knew I wouldn't be booking this cruise! I was on a great 12-night cruise from Honolulu to Vancouver on Radiance of the Seas in May 2017, and I'd gladly sail with Royal Caribbean to Hawaii again. (https://secure.royalcaribbean.com/c...WAI=true&icid=hpnvbr_pagehe_fnd_hm_awaren_938)

 

[HappilyEverAfter80]

When I read that prices on Day 1 started at over $2,000 pp for the least expensive inside - I knew I wouldn't be booking this cruise! I was on a great 12-night cruise from Honolulu to Vancouver on Radiance of the Seas in May 2017, and I'd gladly sail with Royal Caribbean to Hawaii again. (https://secure.royalcaribbean.com/c...WAI=true&icid=hpnvbr_pagehe_fnd_hm_awaren_938)

You made it too easy to check the pricing for this
I looked at a 12 night (yes 12) from Honolulu to Vancouver 5 May 2019 - chose similar oceanview cabin, (deck 3) it's on Radiance of the Seas, refundable deposit (Royal also has a non refundable option that is cheaper but was trying to go as closely apples to apples as I could) $2400 less than the 10 night Hawaii we booked on the Wonder, deck 2 oceanview.
Now.. we can't go next May and 12 days is actually a bit long with our DS being out of school - but will definitely look into this further in 2020. The 12 night Radiance has Maui...

Edited to add:
Oh no Ovation of the Seas does a 10 night Hawaii Sep 2019... we loved Anthem of the Seas (sister ship) it's perfect for cooler sea days too... will definitely be checking that one out.
Oh why did you post this
haha

 

[southerngirl528]

Agreed but be very careful with your time. "Island time" is very real and it takes longer than you think to get around - especially if there happens to be an accident or you get a line of cars that are nervous drivers on tight curves. Freeway speeds are rare...

This is VERY, VERY GOOD ADVICE. We travel to Hawaii annually and because of the mountains in Hawaii there often are zero alternate routes if something like an accident or a rock or landslide, or a brush fire happen. And folks, they DO happen. if you rent a car, allow WAY more time than you think it will take. The ship WILL leave without you, and no one wants that.

Yes, we live south of Kona and find that ships choose Hilo with its large safe dock, over tendering families into Kona pier!

Lucky and blessed YOU!!!

 

[southerngirl528]

I booked a Cat V and felt same as you. But we've since checked out a few videos and the concierge deck and lounge on the Wonder are incredible. Plus with a popular sail and quite a few platinum cruisers on board, we'll appreciate the added benefit of having their reservation team to assist.

We're in. My DH is eyeing an upgrade to a Cat T but I can't imagine doing it. This was a big enough leap for me.

Agree! We just did a Cat T on the Fantasy last month and it was over the top fabulous! The room was unbelievable and the concierge hosts were stellar! The Wonder has that FABULOUS 2nd story glassed in lounge that USED to be part of the Cove Cafe but now is part of the concierge lounge. It is a truly gorgeous vantage point. You will love it if you stick with concierge. But you'll have a great time whatever you decide!

They may adjust dining times on these. They have done that in Europe before I believe.

I was told by DCL they do indeed change dining times for Europe in particular. I will be very surprised if they do not extend those port times at least a bit for the Hawaii cruise as they are awfully tight for the 10 night. And the time allowed for Maui is TEENY. Port adventures are showing options for Maui's fabulous luau (the best in the state IMO) as well as sunset on Haleakala. And there ain't no "hurrying" to get down off that 10,000 + elevation mountain! And sunset would be right at all aboard time. So far I do not see where the Maui shore adventures are saying "only for the 9 night cruise". But we shall see.....

 

[HappilyEverAfter80]

Agree! We just did a Cat T on the Fantasy last month and it was over the top fabulous! The room was unbelievable and the concierge hosts were stellar! The Wonder has that FABULOUS 2nd story glassed in lounge that USED to be part of the Cove Cafe but now is part of the concierge lounge. It is a truly gorgeous vantage point. You will love it if you stick with concierge. But you'll have a great time whatever you decide!



I was told by DCL they do indeed change dining times for Europe in particular. I will be very surprised if they do not extend those port times at least a bit for the Hawaii cruise as they are awfully tight for the 10 night. And the time allowed for Maui is TEENY. Port adventures are showing options for Maui's fabulous luau (the best in the state IMO) as well as sunset on Haleakala. And there ain't no "hurrying" to get down off that 10,000 + elevation mountain! And sunset would be right at all aboard time. So far I do not see where the Maui shore adventures are saying "only for the 9 night cruise". But we shall see.....

You need to start a thread on the Hawaii port adventures and things to know... I feel like I want to start writing it down already!
All of this sounds wonderful

 

[Bethany10]

Purely out of curiosity I tried looking up the Hawaii cruises today on the DCL site. NOTHING coming up, for a party of 2 or 4 (2A2K) is the boat truly full of previous cruisers? WOW.

 

[poison ivy]

We did a CatV on the Magic recently and loved it. Would have liked to get one for this cruise but none was available when our booking window opened. I think it is worth the extra cost because the Concierge hosts are usually terrific and very helpful.

Agree! We just did a Cat T on the Fantasy last month and it was over the top fabulous! The room was unbelievable and the concierge hosts were stellar! The Wonder has that FABULOUS 2nd story glassed in lounge that USED to be part of the Cove Cafe but now is part of the concierge lounge. It is a truly gorgeous vantage point. You will love it if you stick with concierge. But you'll have a great time whatever you decide!

Glad to hear you both loved the Concierge on the Magic and Fantasy. We've only done Concierge once before in 2013 on the Dream - in a Cat T and my DH has been trying to talk me into booking that category ever since. It's a big commitment to justify the added expense and I really went back and forth on it. I finally gave in to my DH's arm twisting. He is definitely the lounge lizard! But he's not done working on me to go for the Cat T. (provided one opens up)

We were spoiled on the Dream with the cabins adjacent to the lounge. The Wonder doesn't have that option, so I chose a stateroom between the Mid and Forward elevators which seemed the most convenient and easily accessible to the concierge area.

We just went online and viewed that 2nd story glassed in area as well as the private sun deck and I'm so glad we booked it. We're really looking forward to cruising Hawaii this way.

 

[quickcat]

You made it too easy to check the pricing for this
I looked at a 12 night (yes 12) from Honolulu to Vancouver 5 May 2019 - chose similar oceanview cabin, (deck 3) it's on Radiance of the Seas, refundable deposit (Royal also has a non refundable option that is cheaper but was trying to go as closely apples to apples as I could) $2400 less than the 10 night Hawaii we booked on the Wonder, deck 2 oceanview.
Now.. we can't go next May and 12 days is actually a bit long with our DS being out of school - but will definitely look into this further in 2020. The 12 night Radiance has Maui...

Edited to add:
Oh no Ovation of the Seas does a 10 night Hawaii Sep 2019... we loved Anthem of the Seas (sister ship) it's perfect for cooler sea days too... will definitely be checking that one out.
Oh why did you post this
haha

Okay stop! Now I have to look to see how much I could save! Hee hee!!

 

[HappilyEverAfter80]

Okay stop! Now I have to look to see how much I could save! Hee hee!!

I didn’t do it .... but I had to check since put in front of me hehe
Ovation of the seas by the way the 10 night and balcony too is about $2000-$2200 less (before our $300 obc from TA though) than Disney wonder 10 night in oceanview.
That’s for 2019 - they have May or Sept dates.

 

[FSU Girl]

I didn’t do it ....
Ovation of the seas by the way the 10 night and balcony too is about $2000-$2200 less (before our $300 obc from TA though) than Disney wonder 10 night in oceanview.
That’s for 2019 - they have May or Sept dates.

Most other cruises lines will be way less than Disney. I saw a round trip to Hawaii for Princess and the balcony was $4,000 so it was $3,000 cheaper than my current balcony and more days. But I feel like Disney delivers a better experience and is a step above the rest so I'm willing to pay more for the experience.

 

[HappilyEverAfter80]

Most other cruises lines will be way less than Disney. I saw a round trip to Hawaii for Princess and the balcony was $4,000 so it was $3,000 cheaper than my current balcony and more days. But I feel like Disney delivers a better experience and is a step above the rest so I'm willing to pay more for the experience.

Yes I’m content paying more for Hawaii with Disney.
Same for Alaska. I could be wrong but I feel like it will be even more special on those special sailings.
Now for Caribbean etc - we will cruise with royal or princess or whoever as well if the price is right.

 

[mousefan73]

This is VERY, VERY GOOD ADVICE. We travel to Hawaii annually and because of the mountains in Hawaii there often are zero alternate routes if something like an accident or a rock or landslide, or a brush fire happen. And folks, they DO happen. if you rent a car, allow WAY more time than you think it will take. The ship WILL leave without you, and no one wants that.



Lucky and blessed YOU!!!

Once we rented a car on Mallorca. On way back to our hotel we decided to take the coastal/ mountainous route. What took we had figured out to be 45 min almost 2.5 hrs!! Curvy, scary dirt roads. My DD said be happy it got dark, as I would have had a panic attack as we were very close to some coastal cliffs on those turns. We missed dinner that night .

 

[slg]

I hope they don’t double up shows on sea days! I want a different show every night! Hopefully unique shows since everyone on the boat is a repeat cruiser. I am hoping for the premium price we will get premium Disney! I wish it was this May....such a long time to wait!

 

[NancyIL]

You made it too easy to check the pricing for this
I looked at a 12 night (yes 12) from Honolulu to Vancouver 5 May 2019 - chose similar oceanview cabin, (deck 3) it's on Radiance of the Seas, refundable deposit (Royal also has a non refundable option that is cheaper but was trying to go as closely apples to apples as I could) $2400 less than the 10 night Hawaii we booked on the Wonder, deck 2 oceanview.
Now.. we can't go next May and 12 days is actually a bit long with our DS being out of school - but will definitely look into this further in 2020. The 12 night Radiance has Maui...

Edited to add:
Oh no Ovation of the Seas does a 10 night Hawaii Sep 2019... we loved Anthem of the Seas (sister ship) it's perfect for cooler sea days too... will definitely be checking that one out.
Oh why did you post this
haha

Just trying to be helpful! I enjoy cruising with Disney, but I won't pay top dollar to do so.

 

[HappilyEverAfter80]

Once we rented a car on Mallorca. On way back to our hotel we decided to take the coastal/ mountainous route. What took we had figured out to be 45 min almost 2.5 hrs!! Curvy, scary dirt roads. My DD said be happy it got dark, as I would have had a panic attack as we were very close to some coastal cliffs on those turns. We missed dinner that night .

You had me at Mallorca....

 

[lanejudy]

Purely out of curiosity I tried looking up the Hawaii cruises today on the DCL site. NOTHING coming up, for a party of 2 or 4 (2A2K) is the boat truly full of previous cruisers? WOW.

I checked early this morning and the 10-night had all categories at GTY. The 9-night showed in the list but apparently had no rooms available even for a party of 1. But nothing is showing for either cruise at the moment. So...yes, the ship is full. Now it is possible more "holds" made on the Gold or Silver opening days will drop-off. But as I said previously, I wouldn't expect a lot of inventory to become available immediately. With refundable deposits, people who might cancel are going to think on it a while. Inventory may pick up over time.

Enjoy your cruise!

 

[FSU Girl]

I checked early this morning and the 10-night had all categories at GTY. The 9-night showed in the list but apparently had no rooms available even for a party of 1. But nothing is showing for either cruise at the moment. So...yes, the ship is full. Now it is possible more "holds" made on the Gold or Silver opening days will drop-off. But as I said previously, I wouldn't expect a lot of inventory to become available immediately. With refundable deposits, people who might cancel are going to think on it a while. Inventory may pick up over time.

Enjoy your cruise!

I agree, I think if people cancel it'll be much closer to the sailing date when realistic life gets in the way of traveling and people know for sure they won't be able to go. This far out it's really hard to know one way or the other.

 

[ashleyacts]

I checked early this morning and the 10-night had all categories at GTY. The 9-night showed in the list but apparently had no rooms available even for a party of 1. But nothing is showing for either cruise at the moment. So...yes, the ship is full. Now it is possible more "holds" made on the Gold or Silver opening days will drop-off. But as I said previously, I wouldn't expect a lot of inventory to become available immediately. With refundable deposits, people who might cancel are going to think on it a while. Inventory may pick up over time.

Enjoy your cruise!

I have a question about non refundable concierge. If I decided to cancel after I've put down the deposit, am I able to move those funds to another cruise I currently have booked?

 

[lanejudy]

I have a question about non refundable concierge. If I decided to cancel after I've put down the deposit, am I able to move those funds to another cruise I currently have booked?

I believe you can "change the date" (important wording!) before PIF and move all funds paid to-date to the new cruise date. You can downgrade from concierge, but the original deposit amount that was tied to the initial concierge booking remains non-refundable.

I don't believe you can transfer the concierge deposit from the original cruise to another that is already booked as a completely different reservation. You can ask, but you are essentially cancelling the concierge booking, which is a forfeit of the deposit.

Enjoy your cruise!