Hawaii is out so now what.....

[Disneyhenry]

hey everyone, we planned on taking a big cruise during my DS 5th grade year, really wanted Hawaii but it’s sold out.
We have done EBPC when he was 7 and loved it! I am trying to decide what to choose please take my poll and give your input
Traveling will be Myself (in an EVC) DH, DS (age 10) and either one of his cousins who are the same age as him or maybe a friend of his sounds like if we do a cruise we have to get the cousin or friend a passport unless we do a B2B

 

[PrincessShmoo]

hey everyone, we planned on taking a big cruise during my DS 5th grade year, really wanted Hawaii but it’s sold out.
We have done EBPC when he was 7 and loved it! I am trying to decide what to choose please take my poll and give your input
Traveling will be Myself (in an EVC) DH, DS (age 10) and either one of his cousins who are the same age as him or maybe a friend of his sounds like if we do a cruise we have to get the cousin or friend a passport unless we do a B2B

How soon do you want to book? I'd keep an eye on the Hawaii cruises. It's entirely possible that people will cancel. If you don't have a special room/category you want, that could work.

Many cruise lines require minors traveling without parents/guardians to have a passport, even if everyone else doesn't have to have one. I'm not sure of DCLs stand on this.

 

[Disneyhenry]

Thx! I will keep watching, I am booking in just a few weeks. I took my nephew on a Merrytime time cruise last year, he loved it!!!! My niece has gone with us too but her momma went with us
I’ll keep my eye out

 

[jdb in AZ]

Thx! I will keep watching, I am booking in just a few weeks. I took my nephew on a Merrytime time cruise last year, he loved it!!!! My niece has gone with us too but her momma went with us
I’ll keep my eye out

Even if you book something else, you can still keep an eye on Hawaii until the paid-in-full date.

 

[o&smom]

I voted for WBPC, because we are taking this one, too. I do think you have a good chance of getting a spot on the Hawaii cruise if past years hold true. They sold out early, but had quite a few cancellations before cruise time. I hope you can find rooms for Hawaii. Whatever you decide, happy cruising.

 

[mike314]

Agreed with others, keep an eye on Hawaii you never know if a room frees up. I voted Other and say go Concierge on another itinerary!

 

[GPaLarry]

We keep hoping that one of the new ships (will settle for one of the current ones) will be permanently located on the West coast (we live in Oregon) and that cruises to Hawaii will become almost everyday events. If Hawaii, can Tokyo and/or Australia be far behind?? Of course, we are hoping the Mouse will open a "Land" near/in Astoria, Seaside or Cannon Beach, but that might be a stretch.

 

[dcassetta]

hey everyone, we planned on taking a big cruise during my DS 5th grade year, really wanted Hawaii but it’s sold out.
We have done EBPC when he was 7 and loved it! I am trying to decide what to choose please take my poll and give your input
Traveling will be Myself (in an EVC) DH, DS (age 10) and either one of his cousins who are the same age as him or maybe a friend of his sounds like if we do a cruise we have to get the cousin or friend a passport unless we do a B2B

Do you need an accessible room? Perhaps calling and seeing which of the cruises have an HA will help you plan.

 

[Canadian Girl]

I think some people will jump ship (pun intended lol) when the ebta itinerary comes out. They are both longer cruises and the TA might be cheaper for a few extra nights.Our Western TA was sold out last year until close to the PIF. A lot of cabins opened up then. People reserve them if they are thinking about it just to have it, but many do cancel at the end and move their deposits elsewhere. Hopefully the prices won't go up too much.

 

[FSU Girl]

If you really wanted to do a cruise to Hawaii I say skip doing a cruise and do just Hawaii instead. There is a lot to see and do there and you'd get to explore the islands more than doing the cruise. I also think closer to the sail date rooms will become available on the cruise so you can keep an eye on that.

 

[mousefan73]

someone can correct me if wrong, but I believe I read online when DCL last sailed Hawaii, the ships were some what empty. What happened was the first released the spring sailings and then later the fall sailings.. many preferred fall and switched. What was a sold out cruise at first, became a not sold out sailing.

 

[darnheather]

I'm between three things at the moment for 2020. Alaska in May (which is what I marked in the poll), Hawaii on our own (with 2 nights at Aulani but the rest in a cheaper military hotel), or Disneyland which we've never been to either. My kids like all three but wish Alaska cruise had more sea days as that is one of the best parts of the cruise for them.

Oddly, the price for all three is about the same as well depending on if we stay on property at Disneyland. But for Alaska and Hawaii money needs to be spent as soon as the dates become available whereas I can wait another year on DL. For now I'm going to reserve Alaska and the military hotel in Hawaii and make my decision later.

 

[Lisa Skier]

So NCL has a ship that sails between all the islands. It occasionally gets a bad rap but I completely enjoyed my trip and with two days on Kauai, Maui, and the Big Island you got to see a lot. Another thing I have done, in Hawaii, was to rent a house for a week to be able to see a lot of sites....and last but not least we spent three nights at the Aulani, this past March even though my mother lives about 10 miles away and we loved it.

 

[PrincessShmoo]

someone can correct me if wrong, but I believe I read online when DCL last sailed Hawaii, the ships were some what empty. What happened was the first released the spring sailings and then later the fall sailings.. many preferred fall and switched. What was a sold out cruise at first, became a not sold out sailing.

Well, that was actually in 2012, when DCL did round trip Hawaii out of Los Angeles. They only announced the spring sailing and it booked fairly well. When they added the fall sailing later, many "jumped ship" and made both sailings less than full.

The Hawaii cruises since then have been one ways out of/into Vancouver and I think they actually sold pretty well.

 

[AquaDame]

Since it is for him, and he really wanted Hawaii I voted for Aulani. Hawaii really is gorgeous and I feel the best way to "do" it is to be on land and enjoy those island nights!

 

[Minnie & Daisy]

Since Hawaii was your original choice, then I would say to go to Aulani. There is plenty of swim time and a lazy river. You can also go to a character meal. I think a 10 year old would love it there, as well as mom and dad!

 

[starvenger]

If you really wanted to do a cruise to Hawaii I say skip doing a cruise and do just Hawaii instead. There is a lot to see and do there and you'd get to explore the islands more than doing the cruise. I also think closer to the sail date rooms will become available on the cruise so you can keep an eye on that.

I agree with this. Do a 180 from the cruise experience - rent some places via Airbnb (or similar) on a couple of islands and enjoy the local life.

 

[o&smom]

I'm between three things at the moment for 2020. Alaska in May (which is what I marked in the poll), Hawaii on our own (with 2 nights at Aulani but the rest in a cheaper military hotel), or Disneyland which we've never been to either. My kids like all three but wish Alaska cruise had more sea days as that is one of the best parts of the cruise for them.

Oddly, the price for all three is about the same as well depending on if we stay on property at Disneyland. But for Alaska and Hawaii money needs to be spent as soon as the dates become available whereas I can wait another year on DL. For now I'm going to reserve Alaska and the military hotel in Hawaii and make my decision later.

One of my favorite things about our Alaska cruise was how relaxing it felt because many of our port days started quite late. It's almost like a part sea day.

 

[ofcabbagesandkings]

The Aulani is really nice. We didn't stay there because we stayed with friends who live in Oahu but I wish we had. Both the character breakfast and the dinner we had there were great, and it's a beautiful hotel and grounds. If you like the Animal Kingdom Lodge you will love Aulani.

 

[Shanti]

Alaska! It's beautiful!