First time Australians- Hawaiian Cruise
 

Hello all!
First time poster here, soon to be a first time cruiser too!

My husband and I have been saving up since our wedding (almost a year ago!) for a honey moon. We would really like to do a Hawaiian cruise (I would love to see Peal Harbour in particular) and were looking for recommendations..

We live in Rural South Australia so would need to take at least two flights to get to Sydney or where ever the cruise departs from.

We have only been on the one overseas trip (to Fiji) so are still fairly new to all this!!

We saw the 7 day Hawaii cruise on the Pride of America which seemed pretty good (and relatively cheap) but after having a nosey around this sight, maybe it is not the best??

What cruise would you recommend to us?

Would we be better flying over, cruise, fly home? Or Cruise from Australia to Hawaii and fly home? Or... ??

When you pay for a cruise is everything included? ALL food? Including Snacks?
What about things like massages, drinks, room service, movies etc?

Also thought about before or after the cruise, flying to New York (or somewhere) as have always wanted to go and since we were so close it might be worth it?

Thanks SO much in advance, We have NO idea about any of this!!!

I am not aware of any cruises to Hawaii that sail from Australia.

Much of the criticism about the Pride Of America came when Norwegian Cruise Line had 3 ships in Hawaii. They got burned and went to the one ship, and quality improved. I'd go on the Pride with no hesitation.

But to be honest, and this is sacrilege for a cruise website, if I wanted to see Hawaii I'd fly there for a land vacation.

How much time do you have for a cruise ?
Princess has a 35 day R/T from Sydney
Most others you will end up on the west coast of Canada or USA
Most are 20+ days

Princess has an 11 day next Feb from Tahiti to Hawaii

The POA is the only one that does strictly the Hawaiian islands as you have discovered

If you have a short time frame I would fly

Welcome to cruisereviews.com. As others have mentioned, there are few choices of cruises from Australia. There may be some companies that operate cruises closer to you, yet I am not aware of them. So, I will address your other questions.

Food in the main dining room and snacks are included. However, most ships have a second restaurant, that you may hear referred to as a specialty restaurant, that charges an additional fee, usually between US$15-$30 per person. Massages (or any spa treatment) and drinks are not included. Room service is often included, yet a gratuity of a few US$ is expected. As for movies, you won't have to pay for those scheduled on your cabin TV, but you will, in most cases, pay for any movies you rent from the library or other area that rents movies.

New York is quite a distance from the west coast of the U.S.--generally a six-hour plane ride if you are able to get a non-stop flight. If your travels take you to the western U.S., I suggest San Francisco as a more reasonable alternative if time is an issue.