Hawaii and South Pacific Cruise

One ship alone circles the Hawaiian islands round trip from Honolulu, and an 1886 law explains why. Every other Hawaii cruise sails from the American west coast or Canada and runs fifteen nights or more. The South Pacific is a different trip altogether, visited from Papeete aboard small ships.

Why one ship alone circles the islands

Norwegian's Pride of America is the only ship linking the Hawaiian islands in a loop from Honolulu. About two thousand one hundred and eighty guests, Saturday departures, roughly fifty voyages a year.

The reason is the Passenger Vessel Services Act, an American law of 1886. It requires a ship carrying passengers between two American ports to fly the American flag. The world fleet sails under foreign flags for tax and labour reasons, which disqualifies it. The Pride of America flies the American flag thanks to an exemption Congress passed in the early 2000s, and she remains the only one.

The consequence for every other ship: they must add a foreign call. A round trip from California therefore stops at Ensenada, in Mexico, and one from Seattle at Vancouver. That call exists to satisfy a law rather than to serve the trip, and it is better known before you read it on the itinerary.

The island loop, without a single sea day

Seven nights, four islands, five ports: Honolulu with an overnight, Kahului on Maui with another, Hilo then Kailua-Kona on the Big Island, and Nawiliwili on Kauai with an overnight.

The loop runs without a single sea day. You wake each morning to a different island, which makes for a full pace and a real saving of time. The overnights let you dine ashore and watch a sunset from somewhere other than a deck. Kailua-Kona is a tender port, which matters for anyone with reduced mobility.

Cruises from the west coast

These usually run fifteen nights or more, with four or five sea days out and as many back. The voyage appeals to people who like crossings and disappoints those who want time ashore: across fifteen days, you spend five in the islands.

It is also the way to arrive by sea without stacking up flights, and cabins often sell for less than on the inter-island loop.

The South Pacific: another trip

French Polynesia is visited from Papeete, aboard small ships that reach lagoons closed to large vessels. Paul Gauguin and Windstar hold this ground, with Moorea, Bora Bora, Raiatea and Taha'a on the programme, sometimes the Marquesas on longer voyages.

Fiji, the Cooks and Tonga join extended itineraries, often combined with Australia or New Zealand. The dry season, May to October, stays the safest window; the wet season brings heat, humidity and cyclone risk.

When to go

Hawaii works year-round. Winter brings humpback whales from December to April, peaking in February, along with a rougher sea on the north shores. Summer gives calmer water and high-season fares. April, May, September and October strike the best balance of weather, price and crowds.

For Polynesia, aim at the dry season. January to March run hot, humid and exposed to tropical depressions.

What you are not always told

The time difference is the heaviest of all our products: six hours between Montreal and Honolulu, and the flight runs westward, so the first night costs you. Arrive two days before embarkation rather than one.

Hawaii is expensive ashore, on a par with major American cities. Ship excursions are often matched by local operators, and renting a car for a day sometimes costs less than one excursion for two people.

Polynesia calls for a budget of another order, and Montreal to Papeete ranks among the longest journeys a Canadian can undertake. A land stay before or after the cruise often changes the ratio between the cost of getting there and the time spent on the ground.

Getting there from Canada

Honolulu takes one connection, usually through Toronto, Vancouver or an American hub, for about twelve hours door to door. Papeete needs a west coast connection, often Los Angeles or San Francisco, and the journey passes twenty hours.

In both cases the one-night rule becomes a two-night rule. A missed flight to the Pacific is recovered the next day, rarely the same one.

To compare itineraries and lines against your own profile, reach an advisor at 1 866 628-6241. See also our cruises and cruise lines, our other destinations and our transatlantic crossing guide.