HGVC Hawaii resort/cruise questions

[rkotowski11]

Hello,
I am brand new to HGVC, but I have been doing a lot of homework. We are looking to go to Hawaii in 2022 and taking my wife's family as a 50th wedding anniversary gift to her parents...total of 8 or 9 people most likely. We have 10,000 bonus points to utilize.
Trying to figure out the order of how to book. We could book the cruise now it looks like. How easy will it be for me to get a booking on Honolulu for the 3 days prior to the cruise at one of the resorts? How far out will the resort schedules open up for June of 2022? Should I make sure I get the resort booked correctly and then book the cruise...not sure if cruises would sellout by then? Also, are there better deals on cruises at certain times of the year?
I was pricing out cruises as well...on Norwegian's website. I also look at the RCI booking system on-line last night. Then, it sounds like I can book through HGVC as well. What is the best deal most likely? It sounded like the HGVC option would get me extra club points which sounded good. They made it sound like they will be the best overall package.
One other thing...true or false that I can use club/bonus points on a cruise? Should I?
I have been reading many other threads on this forum though and it seems like this is a good resource for me going forward. I may have some other posts...

Thanks in advance,

rkotowski

 

[GT75]

What is the best deal most likely?

Welcome to TUG. In general, your best deal is to utilize HGVC club and bonus points for HGVC bookings. But you should price it out for yourself.

 

[alexadeparis]

For the cruise it’s probably cheapest to go through a cruise agency like cruises only for best price, you can get a HGVC room 276 days from check OUT, not check in, but I would book the cruise first and lock in a good price/perks, and make sure you can get a block of cabins near each other. We had booked on the Pride of America for August 2020, obviously that didn’t happen. That cruise is pretty expensive and pretty quick to book up because it is the ONLY one that starts and ends in Hawaii so I wouldn’t wait, also I believe right now they have a special with included perks and $100 deposits on most bookings. I just booked a 2023 Bermuda cruise. So if I were you I would lock that in now.

 

[pianodinosaur]

@rkotowski11:

Welcome to HGVC. I have been on 8 cruises total. Seven of them have been via HGVC club redemptions. It seems to me that the most economical use of HGVC club points is for timesharing. I could only take so much time off from work, I like cruising, so using club points for cruising was a good option for us at the time. Now that I am retired, I would rather use my HHONORS American Express card to book a cruise via CruisesOnly on the HGVC website.

COVID has really put a damper on our travel plans. We had to cancel a 10 day Greek Island Cruise with Royal Caribbean scheduled for August 2020 via an HGVC redemption along with a 5 day stay in Rome via a HHONORS redemption. We rescheduled for a 12 day Holy Land Cruise for May 2021 out of Rome. However, it is still unclear if that will have to be cancelled as well. For 10000 HGVC points you could take out two, 2 bedroom timeshares in Hawaii during Gold season. This could house up to 12 people. For 14000 HGVC points you could do this during Platinum season. However, Hawaii has some very restrictive COVID regulations at this time. I hope everything will be OK by 2022.

Happy travels and welcome to TUG.

 

[SmithOp]

I’ve booked through HawaiianAir, the prices seem to be a direct passthru from the cruise web site. Right now NCL has 30% off and 5 free add ons, Black Friday deal. I booked an Alaska cruise on a BF deal a few years ago and didn’t see price drop much before the cruise. Some people like to book last minute for great deals, best if you live near a cruise port.

https://www.hawaiianaircruises.com

You can put together a package deal with airfare and hotel.



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[tompalm]

I live in Hawaii and have done the seven day cruise around the island and lots of my friends on Oahu have done that several times because it is so easy to jump on and off in Honolulu. They offer some great deals when you you buy inside 30 days, but otherwise, the price is the same all year round. If the cruise is not full two months in advance, they start dropping the price and keep dropping it until it gets full. During the off season or the months of April, May, September and October is when you can get the best price. Those are also the best months of the year to travel to get the best price on airfare, rental cars, etc.... So, if planning more than two months in advance, you pretty much have to pay the price listed and shop around for the best price. Vacationstogo.com usually has the best deals or go to Costoc travel online.

Regarding which timeshare, it depends on what you like to do and Waikiki is like going to Vegas With lots to do. I love Vegas and Hilton is what I would buy. It is the most flexible and also has the best beach in Waikiki. They have a timeshare down by Beachwalk and also building a new tower down by the zoo. If you like nightlife and going out to eat a lot, the Beachwalk location might be better. But the Hilton Hawaiian Village is best for the beach. You could try different locations each year. If you jut want to get away for a nice quiet vacation, the Marriot might be better. But, you could go to a Hilton timeshare on the big island for that And they are easy to get.

 

[rkotowski11]

Good info. I did a lot of shopping around this weekend. We are trying to make sure my wife's brother is coming for sure. The current black friday deals are very nice, but only look like they apply for 2021 cruises only...not sure if I should I should chance it and wait until next Black Friday or not. Does Norwegian usually have Black Friday deals each year? Or, was this more because of Covid and trying to spark more bookings. We tried to put together a budget this weekend...to make sure we have saved enough for the whole trip. I will be doing more pricing all week to see what kind of deals may be out there or I could wait a little longer.

How much do club points increase year to year at the resorts? I was looking at the point charts for the Honolulu resorts to get an idea of how many points it will take for us to get what we need. I am definitely enjoying the process of planning for our upcoming trips. We go on a trip every year at least with our boys. With the addition of the American Express cards for Hilton Points and the points we get from the timeshare we got, this is going to be fun piecing everything together.

I like having this site as a possible source for information too. I appreciate the help.

 

[GT75]

How much do club points increase year to year at the resorts?

None, they are fixed in the contracts.

this is going to be fun piecing everything together.

Agree with you on that. As long as you continue looking at it like that then you will be fine. One thing to remember, booking TSs isn't like booking a hotel or something else. What I mean is that the best availability is when the club season opens ( usually 276 days before check-out) for in-demand resorts such as HHV. After that, you will only see the left-overs.

 

[presley]

For all info regarding cruising, I suggest visiting the forums on cruisecritic.com. Normally, the Hawaii cruises are full for the closed loop cruise by Norweigen and therefore, those cruises have a lot less in the way of deal and specials. Since cruising has been off the table for a while now, that might be different when cruising with Covid restrictions reopens.

I discourage you from using your Hilton points for cruising unless you are booking very last minute and have expiring points. The best bang for your buck is booking directly from the cruise line and paying cash for their specials. Once you start trading your timeshare points, you have extra fees for the trades and it gets messy if for some reason you have to cancel or one person backs out. Again, that's all stuff to look at when cruising with covid restrictions becomes a thing. For now, you can book your cruise with cash, make sure you are agreeing to something that has a cancellation policy that is acceptable to you and then you can continue to shop around and do a cancel/rebook later if you feel like you find a better deal.

 

[SmithOp]

NCL has BF deals every year, and sales every week or two, sign up on the web site and get on their email list. I wouldn’t worry about waiting if you are looking at 2022.

CruiseCritic is a good resource, sometimes too much info.

NCL also has an affiliate relationship with casinos if you are a frequent gambler like me . Its called CAS Casino at Sea. They hand out free cruise coupons at the casino, or you can call the NCL CAS number and they will generally give you a free inside studio cabin, then you can pay just the difference to upgrade to a higher level. I did it last year, ended up paying $600 for a balcony cabin on a 7 day out of LA to Mexico. The CAS offer includes free drink card in the ship casino.

If you are concerned about others commiting to the trip, have them book their own cabin. With the timeshare you can change or cancel the reservation up to 30 days prior and use the points somewhere else. With the cruise you might end up with a credit or losing the deposit.

Personally I would just book 2 island trip and skip the cruise, you could easily get Waikiki and Waikoloa by booking right at 9 months. Those two island would give you a nice taste of Hawaii, then later you could do Maui if it ever opens for HGV ...

If you can’t get Waikiki, staying in Waikoloa is another option, its easier to book inside the 9 month mark. Its only an hour inter island hop to Oahu to catch the cruise.


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[tompalm]

I just took a look at the prices for 2021 and they are way too much. I would never pay more than $1500 and would not go. The price you see in the attached for $1900 are for airline employees and very discounted with the buyer not being able to select a room and taking whatever is left over. But, if they don’t sell out, the price usually drops to that rate and sometimes a few dollars lower. One other option is to take a cruise from the west coast and get off the ship in Honolulu. You loose four days at sea and not good if your time is limited. But, that can save some money if you live on the west coast.

Unless you can get something more reasonable, I agree to spend a week on two different islands. I like the big island the best and it is definitely the best if you go with Hilton. There are three timeshares in the WaiKoloa area that are excellent and two of them allow use at the hotel resort at the link below. This was rated the number one resort for families in travel magazines for several years. Also, there is lots of do on the big island. But, this area is not a beach area and has a lot of volcanic rock along the coast. So, do your beach thing in Waikiki.

Hilton Waikoloa Village | Big Island, Hawaii Resort on the Kona Coast

Hilton Waikoloa Village

www.hiltonwaikoloavillage.com

 

[rkotowski11]

This is a gift and thank you for my in-laws (they literally have watched our kids for 10 years now and they always help us with so much)...they have been talking about going to Hawaii and doing a cruise...so that is what our focus is as it kind kills 2 birds with one stone. We like to pack our vacations with as many experiences as possible...not sitting on a beach. We will leave our room by 8am each day and probably won't get back until 8 to 9pm at night. We are definitely going to spend 3 days in Honolulu prior to the cruise exploring as much as possible. There may be a trip to the beach for a few hours to experience that, but not necessarily the big focus unless there is some activity or some sight-seeing opportunity along with it. We have flexibility...we are going to focus on anything in mid to late June or early August. If something comes across that is a good deal in June, we will jump on that. Or, we will keep watching and see how August develops. We should have about 5 cruise dates we could go on.

Which website...if any...shows me what rooms are available on each date easily? I can keep an eye on things that way.

Thanks

 

[BingoBangoBongo]

We had a similar sized group do a cruise (not Hawaii) for my inlaws 50th and we got them a larger room with a small balcony where we could all gather before dinner most nights and have drinks and snacks + take some pics with them. They enjoyed having everyone together there too.

 

[tompalm]

This is a gift and thank you for my in-laws (they literally have watched our kids for 10 years now and they always help us with so much)...they have been talking about going to Hawaii and doing a cruise...so that is what our focus is as it kind kills 2 birds with one stone. We like to pack our vacations with as many experiences as possible...not sitting on a beach. We will leave our room by 8am each day and probably won't get back until 8 to 9pm at night. We are definitely going to spend 3 days in Honolulu prior to the cruise exploring as much as possible. There may be a trip to the beach for a few hours to experience that, but not necessarily the big focus unless there is some activity or some sight-seeing opportunity along with it. We have flexibility...we are going to focus on anything in mid to late June or early August. If something comes across that is a good deal in June, we will jump on that. Or, we will keep watching and see how August develops. We should have about 5 cruise dates we could go on.

Which website...if any...shows me what rooms are available on each date easily? I can keep an eye on things that way.

Thanks

The best deals are usually early June. Also, July and August, it starts getting hot and not good.

The price of cruising should get cheaper in 2022. That seven day cruise around the islands is not a highly rated ship and if you are a cruiser, you will be better off jumping on a ship departing Hawaii for the west coast. They stop in Maui and the big island. I like Celebrity or Princess. The Norwegian ship that goes around the islands does not have very good service. But, it takes you to all the islands and worth doing if your objective is to see all the islands. I recommend renting a car at each port and not doing the herd tours. Most rental car companies will pick you up at the ship and drive you to the airport. Wait until next year to reserve your cruise. I paid $400 pp in 2010 for an outside cabin. That same deal was $900 last year in the off season. June or the summer months cost the most. But, expect to pay $2000 for an outside cabin during the summer in 2020. But who knows what will happen. It is all about supply vs demand. Keep looking at a transit cruise.