Metro Vancouverites can experience an awe-inspiring cruise that stops in Hawaii before visiting the South Pacific this fall.
The "36-Day Tahiti, Hawaii & South Pacific Crossing" voyage by Princess Cruises starts at just over $100 per day, offering one of the best deals out of the Lower Mainland on an upscale ship. The price includes meals and entertainment, too (see slide two).
The five-star Royal Princess features the cruise line's largest top-deck pool with an evening water and light show, mini-golf, movies under the stars, renowned spa treatments, a disco, nine bars, tennis and much more.
The voyage overnights in Vancouver on Saturday, Sept. 21 and then sails to Victoria on Sept. 22. It spends a couple of days at sea before sailing under the mesmerizing Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco. Guests will enjoy a full day in the city from 7 a.m. to 10 p.m.
After another day at sea, the cruise makes a couple more stops in California in San Diego and Los Angeles before sailing five days out to Hawaii. The cruise stops in Honolulu and Kona before spending another five days at sea en route to the South Pacific islands.
Guests can enjoy an overnight in Tahiti before stopping in the Society Islands. After three days at sea, the cruise stops in American Samoa before sailing through the International Dateline.
The voyage includes three stops in New Zealand before arriving in its final stop, Sydney, Australia, on Oct. 28
| Date | Port | Arrive | Depart |
|
Sat. Sept. 21 |
Vancouver | Embark | |
| Sun., Sept. 22 | Vancouver | 1 a.m. | |
| Sun., Sept. 22 | Victoria, B.C. | 8 a.m. | 9 p.m. |
| Mon., Sept. 23 | At Sea | ||
| Tues., Sept. 24 | At Sea | ||
| Weds., Sept. 25 | San Francisco, CA | 7 a.m. | 10 p.m. |
| Thurs., Sept. 26 | At Sea | ||
| Fri,, Sept. 27 | San Diego, CA | 8 a.m. | 6 p.m. |
| Sat., Sept. 28 | Los Angeles (San Pedro), CA | 6 a.m. | 11:59 p.m. |
| Sun., Sept. 29 | At Sea | ||
| Mon., Sept. 30 | At Sea | ||
| Tues., Oct. 1 | At Sea | ||
| Weds., Oct. 2 | At Sea | ||
| Thurs., Oct. 3 | At Sea | ||
| Fri., Oct. 4 | Honolulu, HI | 7 a.m. | 11 p.m. |
| Sat., Oct. 5 | Kona, HI | 9 a.m. | 7 p.m. |
| Sun., Oct. 6 | At Sea | ||
| Mon., Oct. 7 | At Sea | ||
| Tues., Oct. 8 | At Sea | ||
| Weds., Oct. 9 | At Sea | ||
| Thur., Oct. 10 | At Sea | ||
| Fri., Oct. 11 | Papeete, Tahiti | 8 a.m. | |
| Sat., Oct. 12 | Papeete, Tahiti | 4 a.m. | |
| Sat., Oct. 12 | Moorea, Society Islands | 7 a.m. | 5 p.m. |
| Sun., Oct. 13 | At Sea | ||
| Mon., Oct. 14 | At Sea | ||
| Tues., Oct. 15 | At Sea | ||
| Weds., Oct. 16 | Pago Pago, American Samoa | 7 a.m. | 4 p.m. |
| Thurs., Oct. 17 | At Sea | ||
| Fri., Oct. 18 | Crossing Int'l Dateline (Cruising) | ||
| Sun., Oct. 20 | At Sea | ||
| Mon., Oct. 21 | Tauranga, New Zealand | 7 a.m. | 6 p.m. |
| Tues., Oct. 22 | Auckland, New Zealand | 6 a.m. | 7 p.m. |
| Weds., Oct. 23 | At Sea | ||
| Thurs., Oct. 24 | Picton, New Zealand | 8 a.m. | 6 p.m. |
| Friday, Oct. 25 | At Sea | ||
| Sat., Oct. 26 | At Sea | ||
| Sun., Oct. 27 | At Sea | ||
| Mon., Oct. 28 | Sydney, Australia | 6 a.m. |
Booking your stateroom with Princess Cruises
Guests can choose between four stateroom categories on the Royal Princess. Prices before taxes and fees start at $3,278 per person for an interior and go up to $14,578 for a suite. For this sailing, taxes, fees, and port handling expenses are $707.29 per person; they are added once you select the stateroom (see slide three).
The cheapest option is to allow Princess to select the stateroom (this saves about $100 per person). While large cruise ships don't tend to rock that noticeably, stormy weather might create some noticeable movement. If you experience seasickness, you may want to choose a mid-ship stateroom (they tend to be more sturdy).
Interior staterooms for two people start at $7,969 with all taxes and fees or $3,984.94 per person. The per-person, per-diem price works out to $110.69 (see slide four).
Not only does that cost include your transportation on a beautiful five-star vessel, but it also includes meals, entertainment, snacks, and lodging. The only thing it doesn’t factor in is alcohol, but you may opt to purchase a drink package that can reduce the cost of your spending.
Booking flights to Vancouver from Sydney, Australia
A flight home to Vancouver International Airport (YVR) from Sydney Airport (SYD) departs at 5:25 p.m. on Oct. 28 and costs $937 booked through third-party supplier Jettzy. The itinerary includes stops in Brisbane and Taipei but provides ample time to get to the airport post-cruise and costs nearly $400 less than typical flights, according to Google Flights (see slide five).
Alternatively, a way to shave hundreds off the cost of the return flight home - and enjoy more time in Hawaii - is to book two separate flights. The first is direct from Sydney to Honolulu and the second from Honolulu to Vancouver.
A Jetstar flight departs Sydney at 5:25 p.m. on Oct. 28 en route to Honolulu; the flight costs $264 with third-party ly.com but you may want to book it direct with the airline for $327. Ly.com may not have English-speaking representatives (see slide six), which travellers should take into consideration for addressing any issues that may arise with their trip.
You can spend as many days in Hawaii as you like after you arrive since nearly all of the returning WestJet flights to Vancouver cost around the same at $143 (see slide seven).
The price (if booked directly with both airlines) is $470 or about $467 less than booking a one-way home from Sydney to Vancouver.
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