Cruises from Honolulu

Honolulu Harbor on Oahu has welcomed passenger ships since the days of the great ocean liners, when the Aloha Tower was the tallest building in Hawaii and greeted arrivals with music and lei. Today its role is unusual: it’s home to the only large cruise ship sailing a year-round, inter-island itinerary in Hawaii, Norwegian Cruise Line’s Pride of America.

Because Pride of America is registered in the US, it doesn’t have to visit a foreign port, so it can spend every day of the week in Hawaii instead of the four or five sea days that West Coast round trips need. A typical week visits Kahului on Maui, Hilo and Kona on the Big Island, and Nawiliwili on Kauai, with overnight stays on Maui and Kauai and a scenic sail along Kauai’s Nā Pali Coast. Other lines begin or end two- to three-week Hawaii, Tahiti and transpacific voyages in Honolulu, mainly in spring and fall.

Honolulu is perfect if you want to see several islands without booking inter-island flights or changing hotels. The trade-offs are a long, expensive flight for most of North America, jet lag on the first day, and busy, tightly scheduled port days that leave less beach time than a resort stay.

Honolulu has two cruise terminals on the downtown waterfront, a few minutes’ drive apart. Pride of America uses the Pier 2 Cruise Terminal, toward Kakaʻako, while visiting and repositioning ships typically use the Honolulu Cruise Terminal at Piers 10 and 11, beside the Aloha Tower Marketplace. Check your documents for the pier. Porters take checked luggage at the curb, then you go inside for security and check-in. Arrive in your assigned window; Pride of America’s embarkation day is Saturday, and the afternoon can be busy as passengers arrive from overnight flights and hotels.

Waikiki, 15 to 20 minutes from the piers, has the widest choice of hotels, from budget to beachfront luxury, and many restaurants and bars. Kakaʻako and Ala Moana, between Waikiki and downtown, are closer to the terminals, with newer hotels and street art. Downtown and Chinatown have a few hotels within walking distance of the piers. For a resort feel, Ko Olina on Oahu’s west coast is about 30 to 40 minutes away.

Pride of America sails from Honolulu every week of the year. Hawaii’s weather is warm year-round, with a wetter season from about November to March and humpback whales offshore from December to April, a highlight of winter cruises. Summer and the Christmas holidays are the busiest and priciest periods. One-way Hawaii, South Pacific and repositioning voyages on other lines start or end in Honolulu mainly in spring and fall, when ships move between Alaska, the West Coast, Australia and Asia.