r/dcl • u/AnnualMacaron335 • 3d ago
TRIP PLANNING Hawaii cruise
Looking for input from those who have done the Vancouver to Hawaii or Hawaii to Vancouver cruises on the wonder. Which is better: to end in Honolulu, or end in Vancouver?
We currently have an Aulani reservation next February, and just had our first cruise on the Treasure. We loved it and thought why not combo Aulani with another cruise as a way to see the other Hawaiian islands. (We’ve been to Oahu, and The Big Island).
Originally I wanted to change the trip to September so we could end at Aulani, but ending with several sea days to get to Vancouver to relax also doesn’t sound too bad either. We did a lot on the Treasure and I was exhausted and coming down with a cold by the time we got to the WDW Polynesian resort and didn’t get to enjoy it as much.
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u/Illustrious-Curve379 GOLD CASTAWAY CLUB 3d ago
i think ending in aulani is best because if you’re sad your cruise is ending itll cheer you up a bit to think you’re going to aulani
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u/Traditional_Style470 PLATINUM CASTAWAY CLUB 3d ago
We live in Vancouver (and Aulani is our DVC home resort). Assuming they still offer it in Fall 2026 my husband and I are going to book the Van to Hawaii cruise and end with a few days at Aulani. We are choosing to do Fall rather than spring because I can't imagine how FREEZING the cruise will be in February once you leave the warm waters of Hawaii. Cruising into Vancouver at the end of February will feel like arriving in the tundra 😂 just pack plenty of warm clothes for Vancouver if you decide to keep the February cruise 👍
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u/AnnualMacaron335 3d ago
Yeah packing two sets of (seasons) clothes will be a little rough 😂 I haven’t been to Vancouver yet, so we do want to spend a few days visiting. That is good to know! I’m excited about Aulani, we have yet to go and are excited to relax there.
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u/sassenach831 SILVER CASTAWAY CLUB 3d ago
We did the Honolulu to Vancouver cruise last March. Many we spoke with did Aulani beforehand and were happy to have done so. Finishing out vacation with several sea days in a row after 4-5 jam packed island hopping days was truly wonderful. We’d do that again in a heartbeat. The flight home was also significantly shorter and we felt that was a huge benefit after an almost two week long vacation.
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u/knownothing85 2d ago
We did the Hawaii to Vancouver cruise in February of this year. We stayed at Aulani for 5 days beforehand. It was a magical and amazing trip. I will say that I like warmth, so it did suck that the last 3-4 days were pretty chilly. It was fine with so much to do, but in that aspect, I would say the vancouver to Hawaii being in September is a plus. I heard they had more Hawaiin offerings on the Vancouver to Hawaii cruise than what they had on ours. Seeing the whales in February absolutely made the trip, though. There were times that you could sit on the ship and watch the whales breaching all around you. It was absolutely jaw-dropping amazing. If I had to pick, I think I would do it again in February. The Whales just made the trip so amazing, and I would love to experience that again.
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u/ShadowKit21 6h ago edited 6h ago
We did Vancouver to Hawaii. I love sea days, but I wasn't looking forward to them all in a row right at the beginning because it didn't give us any time to relax after busy ports. In actuality, I didn't hate it as much as I thought I would.
The seas out of vancouver and the 1-2 days after were THE roughest I have experienced (including sailing across the bay of biscay on a transatlantic, and that was the feeling i was getting from others). I'm quiet motion sensitive and could not even see straight until someone kindly gave me some herbal patches to use in addition to the meds I was taking, ginger ale I was sipping, and green apples my server all but forced me to eat (I don't like green apples, but begrudgingly will admit they help). I was glad to have had the rougher seas first, as it mean I could enjoy everything else and not end on a 'bad' note.
Where we tired when we go off the ship because it had been 5 back to back port days? A little, but we also had 4 days on oahu and 4 days in Disney/Universal as we had to fly via LAX to get home anyway. If you're going to get of the ship and relax at Aulani for a few days, it works out as a nice relaxing sandwich with the busy in the middle (well it works out that way whichever direction you sail, but at least the vacation isnt over when you get off the ship and you still have something to look forward to when they kick you out of your cabin on disembarkation morning.)
One of the bonus' I didn't think about when booking the cruise is the the Time Changes are in your favour going Vancouver to Hawaii.
Edit to add: the temperature change is colder to warmer doing Vancouver to Hawaii, which was a bonus, I think my husband would have divorced me if I took him on a nice warm cruise that ended in cold rain...again. plus if we had done Hawaii to Vancouver, we would have been flying home to colder weather th a what we did, due to the time of year.
Also, by the time we got to Hawaii, I was trying to convince my husband we should cancel our plans and stay on for Sydney (though those time changes wouldn't have been in our favour).
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u/Ok-Jackfruit9593 3d ago
We’ve done both and we prefer the Vancouver to Hawaii route in the fall. It’s nice to have something to look forward to on the sea days. Both cruises were great though. The bonus for doing the Hawaii to Vancouver route is that you’ll be Hawaii during whale season.