If you have never been to Hawaii, staying on just one island can be delightful if you enjoy exploring, etc. That way you avoid the long sailing in open seas and get the flavor of 4 or 5 islands which you can later go back to if you see one you really like (on another vacation later). There is another option, fly to Hawaii and take one of the many 7 day cruises. If you've never sailed before I would NOT suggest attempting such a cruise as this is truly open seas cruising and I'd hate to see you seasick for that long. The fastest any line makes this trip takes at least 5 days at sea. Hi Caseylou: You did not say if you are a veteran cruiser. Wherever you go in Hawaii, you'll have a great time. The best guidebooks I've found are from Wizard Publications 'Maui Revealed', 'Hawaii Big Island Revealed', 'The Ultimate Kauai Guidebook'. Golf? Upscale resorts? Choice is endless. More quiet native flavor? North shore of Kauaii, Hanalei or Kapa'a, or Hilo in Big Island are the place. Do you want action? Then stay around Lahaina in Mauii. The charactor of any particular island changes depending on if you are on north shore or south. Where to stay depends on what you are looking for. But as you've never been there, you probably would like to spend a few days in Oahu. I can't stand Waikiki, so I just fly to the Big Island or Maui if it's winter, and Kauai if it's summer and stay there for a week or two. But if your main thing is to get to know the islands, then you'd be better off going to two or three islands. If your focus is on taking a cruise with pretty ports as nice bonus, then cruise is great. You would be better off staying 3 days in Waikiki (to get over jetlag, etc.) and then going to Maui for a week and either the B.I. Flying back and forth for day trips to other islands is time consuming and not worthwhile in my opinion. I'd suggest renting a condo on one of these islands and staying a week in one place. My personal favorite is Maui, but I also love the Big Island and Kauai too.

Waikiki is not for everyone, but it is fun to visit and Pearl Harbor is a must. What islands you visit depends on your personal tastes. it is long but you can break it up with an overnite in CA. You don't say where you are flying from but from the west coast the flight is not bad - from other parts of the U.S. Cruises are OK (never did Hawaiian cruise but have been to the Hawaiian Islands 14 times and cruised Caribbean) but you do not spend a great deal of time anyplace on a cruise. I would recommend flying to the islands and picking 2-3 of them and actually getting to stay put and get a feel for them.

Hawaiian vacation packages with cruise