Hawaii Cruises

A Hawaii cruise is mostly a choice between two very different trips, and U.S. maritime law is the reason. Under the Passenger Vessel Services Act, a foreign-flagged ship can't sail between U.S. ports without a foreign call. So the big-ship round trips from Los Angeles, San Diego, San Francisco or Vancouver spend about four days at sea each way, stop in Ensenada, Mexico, or call in Canada to make it legal, and run two weeks or more. You get perhaps four or five island days in exchange for a lot of ocean.

The alternative is Norwegian's Pride of America, the only U.S.-flagged ship sailing the islands. It leaves Honolulu every Saturday on a seven-night loop with four calls on three islands - Maui, Hilo and Kona on the Big Island, and Kauai - overnighting on Maui and Kauai. The U.S. crew costs more, and its per-night fares are among the highest in Norwegian's mainstream fleet. But it is all islands, no sea days, and you fly in and out of Honolulu.

Which one suits you depends on how you feel about sea days. The long round trips appeal to people who enjoy the ship itself and want to skip the long flight; the sea days also let the clock change happen an hour at a time. Travelers short on vacation time, or who get seasick in open Pacific swell, are better off flying out and taking the week-long inter-island cruise.

Some voyages in this category go further: one-way crossings between Hawaii and French Polynesia or the South Pacific, which add more sea days and need passports and flights at both ends. Pride of America is not among the sailings listed here, but it runs year-round, so the inter-island week is available in any month.

Sources: govisithawaii.com, howtoliveinhawaii.com, cruisemapper.com