what do i need to take with me as far as preparing for a 7 day cruise to Hawaii?

Question

My wife will be going on a cruise their, and she would love to hear from some eperienced cruisers as to how to prepare, or any other helpful information you all can share. Thanks

Answer 1

Sun tan lotion! Lots of it. A bikini. (Gee, I didn't notice if you were male or female.) or bikini trunks. That's all you should need. (Psst! Don't forget safety precautions! wink wink, tee hee)

Oops! you're married. Disregard all my above suggestions. LOL

Answer 2

The only cruise line that offers deals for booking that far in advance is Disney. They raise prices as the ship fills, but generally don't give any other specials. Since you are looking at almost a year, the other cruise lines may not be offerring great discounts wet. It is wave season right now for travel plans, but I find that most agencies give a better discount than the cruise line directly. Most lines will offer room upgrades, etc. all year. I use Cruising Company and they usually have pretty good deals, or group rates for a lot of cruises. As for lines, Carnival is the cheapest line. NCL is one of the best for Hawaii, but not everyone likes the freestyle cruising. Another suggestion is to get your air seperately. My agency doesn't charge for air, but it is packaged, so if you want the air that way it runs more than you can usually get it directly from the airline. I like to have it packaged together, so it doesn't really matter. But, you can save half of the ticket price by book your air on your own. If you do a one way cruise, which is what I would suggest since you are wanting a somewhat short cruise for Hawaii, you will get to see more of the islands but your air will run a little higher. For options, NCL offers two 7 nights cruises. They both visit Honolulu; Hilo; Maui (Kahului); Kona; Kauai and depart from Honolulu and are round trip. They are starting at just under $900 per person. But, that will not include any insurance, transfers, air, taxes, etc. and it is for the lowest category. So it will probably go a little over your budget, but if you get one room you may still be OK. Carnival doesn't offer any cruises for your dates and they are 12 night, so they wouldn't work anyway. Royal Caribbean also doesn't offer anything for your dates, but they are longer than you want and I think a little more expensive as well. Princess' cruise are too long as well. So this is what I was able to find quickly. I would look into NCL, they are really good with Hawaii cruises and I think that is the closest you will be able to find for your preferences. I would suggest looking into a travel agent, one thing is for sure, you almost definitely will not pay more than what you can get on your own. Good luck

Answer 3

Well, since I don't know what type of weather you are used to or what time of year you are going on the cruise, I will generalize and you can decide from there. Hawaii is Beautiful, Take a camera for sure. The weather is never cold if you are used to snow in the winter and never hot if you come from the desert. Some people think it is humid but I found it to be perfect. We went in Aug. the temp was approx 80 degrees. and with the breeze I never felt humid. I live in the desert so usually the slightest humidity makes me feel sticky. The average temp there is 80, around 78 in the winter, and at night it cools down about 10 degrees less than it was during the day. HOWEVER, being on a ship, on the water, at night the temp can feel much cooler with the breeze off the ocean, especially if you live somewhere that is very warm and dry. So you may want a light sweater.We took the 7 day cruise, and found that I over packed. But I didn't want to need something and not have it so.... We wore shorts and t's or tanks during the day. Slacks and shirts, skirts and tops at night, to dinner and shows. They don't allow jeans in the restaurants after 5 pm We took one semi formal outfit for the formal dinner night and pictures with the captain. ALL of our excursions were water related, so we wore our bathing suits a good part of most days. I took all my sandals, but really only wore 3 different pair. My husband took his tennis shoes and sandals, and mostly wore his tennis shoes. Except to the pool, he wore his flip flops. I brought our own beach towels, but found out that I didn't need them as there was always a steady supply at the pool. Sun screen is very very important, the sun on the ocean seems to be stronger or more intense or something. We tanned pretty quickly right through the sun screen, and burned if we didn't have it on. We each had two bathing suits with us, but as I said our excursions were all water related so we had one drying while we wore the other. I took a travel iron, so I was sure that my clothes wouldn't look wrinkled, Camera, with lots of batteries, and film if you are using a film type camera. I took rechargeable batteries and a charger. Of course take any meds you may need, and whatever type of pain reliever you use, It can be pretty pricey on board. All your sundries, make up, hair products, hair dryer, curling iron. They have the right plugs for all of that. I took some sea sick medicine but NEVER needed it. I wasn't sure how I would do on the ocean, but I never felt the least bit queezy. The ship was SOOO big it was like being in a little city. As I said I over packed so our suitcases were full, We ended up buying a suitcase to take home all the stuff we bought on the islands. I don't know which cruise line you are taking, we took Norwegian. But usually the web sites for each cruise line will give you all the info you need. Norwegian, was great , We sailed on Pride of America and had a Terrific Time. We actually came home and made reservations for the same trip next year. I know how excited you are. I hope I have helped you some. You will have a great time. ALOHA.

Answer 4

Bring some formal wear. You'll have two formal nights to use it. And, make sure you take the pictures. You might find they do a great job and if so you can blow it up on canvus.

Bring a few swimming suits (if you're into that).

Bring something to dance in.

Bring comfortable clothes & accessories. Don't forget medications, toiletries, and a camera.

Do not stress. Your cabin stuward will take good care of you. Review the daily activities on the ship and go to the things that sound fun to you. And, make sure you reserve your shore excursions now. You can cancel on board up to 24 hours before the excursion if you so desire.

Have fun.

Answer 5

Here's my recommendations based on the almost 20 cruises I have been on.

The dress on ship is casual all day until 6:00PM. So take swim wear, shorts, sandals, beach shoes, your snorkel equipment if you have it, sun glasses and sun screen, lotions, a cap or big hat for the sun, a book if you are a reader, your music player, sneakers and clothes to workout in if you like to use the gym, good walking shoes, your camera, and other personal toiletries.

Your cabin will have towels and soap provided, including pool and beach towels. It will also have a generic hair shampoo so you do not need to bring that unless you like a specific brand. They do not provide tooth paste, mouth wash or lotions. They DO provide a hair dryer.

After 6:00 PM they request that you wear "sports or resort casual" attire. That's attire that you would expect a person to wear in a business office, (like a bank employee), shirt with a collar, slacks, skirt, blouse, etc. You can still wear shorts and swim wear in the pools and spas but not in public areas like dining rooms and restaurants, show rooms, bars, casino, etc.

Most cruises have a formal night or two when you can wear your best stuff and get pictures taken, and maybe meet the ship’s Captain. The formal nights are REQUESTED not required attire. But most people do dress up in a tux for men and a long dress (any color) for women. Some men just wear a suit and tie and some women wear a nice dress but not a gown. You will not be denied access to the dining room or anything else if you choose not to dress up.

- Its best to pack using soft-sided luggage because with space limited in your cabin it fits under the beds better if its not hard sided luggage. Take a small carry-on bag for the last night of the cruise. On the last evening you will be required to put your luggage outside your cabin by about 2:00 AM so that they can start taking it down to the lower deck for offloading the next morning. So you will need a small bag for your toiletries and your clothes that you sleep in.

- Join the cruise club so that the cruise line will send you their specials and so that you can get discounts on future cruises with them. The discount will typically be $50 to $100 per person. If you will be celebrating a honeymoon, anniversary, or birthday during the cruise, be sure to tell them, they will do special stuff for that.

- Cruise lines charge a lot (about $15 to $25 per photo) for the photos they take so take your own photos around the ship when you get the chance, especially on the formal nights. Take your own camera and ask other passengers to take photos for you, they generally are very willing.

- The cruise lines do not allow you to bring alcoholic beverage on board, EXCEPT some do let you bring a bottle or two of wine or champaign. If you will be cruising on Princess, RC, Holland America, Celebrity or Carnival each person age 21 or older can bring on one bottle of wine or Champaign FOR YOUR CABIN.

- If you can take a six-pack of bottled water and soft drinks in your carry-on for your cabin. You will have to pay for both on the ship and its nice to have those handy in the cabin.

- If you are taking your cell phone, MP3 player or other item that needs to be plugged in take an extension cord as the plugs in the cabin are generally not in the best places and there are usually only one or two.

- Take a small bottle of hand sanitizer. There are generally sanitizer dispensers at the entrances of restaurants, the buffets and dining room, but some times the are not there or not working. The sanitizer helps prevent the spread of the Norwalk Virus that sometimes occur on cruise ships.

Answer 6

Have you folks been on any cruise Ships? Its Great. Any way being native pack light make sure you have swim wear and summer wear. The Natives are really helpful on that Cruise. Just be perpared to have fun and enjoy the weather,culture, the people, I am not sure if you are allowed to carry-on Sun Tan Lotion if you are Haole (white). Just the both of you go and have a great time. [e-mail] write Me ALOHA , FROM FLORIDA

Answer 7

Light clothes (shorts, t-shirt) for when you are onshore. Warmer clothes for on board - the air conditioner can be killer. Dress clothes for dinner and shows. Camera, toiletries, flip flops, everything you would bring on a regular vacation. My advise to you is simply to not over pack. Don't bring things you would never ordinarily use because the chances are you will not use them on the cruise.

Answer 8

some shades, a hat, suntan lotion, SLIPPERS not (flipflops), a swim suit, money ( i warn you, keep in your possession), lip balm, some casual clothes (there are some really nice restaurants here too), a camera or two, binoculars (its whale season right now), a protable fan with a mist sprayer, shorts, t shirt, tank tops, a razor (she might want to keep her legs clean and smooth looking since she's going to be showing it off most of the time), and a large suitcase! have fun and dont spend too much!

Answer 9

I found a checklist of things to pack/bring with you on a cruise:

http://cruises.about.com/cs/cruiseplanning/a/packinglist.htm

Answer 10

Meclizine is WAY better seasick preventer than Dramamine.

Also take MONEY, and swim fins, snorkle and mask... and flip-flops... and a waterproof camera...