South Pacific cruises from Honolulu to Tahiti and Australia

Every South Pacific cruise from Honolulu is a one-way trip. You sail to Papeete, Tahiti, in 11 to 13 nights, or cross to Sydney or Brisbane in 16 to 28 nights, and fly home from there. Our schedule lists 9 Tahiti sailings and 6 crossings to Australia.

On November 14, 2026, the Tahiti trips started at $1,464 to $12,200 per person and the Australia crossings at $1,589 to $11,054. Those are the cheapest cabins Cruisebound listed, with taxes and fees. On some ships the cheapest cabin left is a suite, so check the cabin type before you compare two fares.

On the state's berth calendar read November 14, 2026, every one of these departures up to May 13, 2028 was scheduled at Pier 2, Honolulu Harbor's primary cruise terminal.

Honolulu to Tahiti cruises: Norwegian Spirit and Silver Whisper

A Hawaii to Tahiti cruise from Honolulu means Norwegian Spirit or Silver Whisper, and the ship decides most of the itinerary.

	Norwegian Spirit	Silver Whisper
Line	Norwegian Cruise Line	Silversea
Guests	1,972	392
Nights	11 to 12	13
Leaves Honolulu	May, June, August, September and November 2027; May, July and September 2028	September 20, 2027
Hawaii stops first	Two or three of Maui, the Big Island and Kauai	None
French Polynesia stops	Bora Bora, Raiatea, Moorea	Nuku Hiva (Marquesas), Rangiroa, Moorea, Raiatea, Taha'a
Ends	Papeete	Papeete
From, per person, November 14, 2026	$1,464	$12,200

Guest numbers are from Norwegian's and Silversea's ship pages, read November 14, 2026 (Norwegian's figure is at double occupancy). Months and ports are from the sailings on sale that day.

Norwegian Spirit spends the first days in Hawaii, at Kahului on Maui, Hilo or Kona on the Big Island, or Nawiliwili on Kauai, then crosses to Bora Bora, Raiatea and Moorea before Papeete. The Hawaii stops change with the date. Only the September 2027 and May 2028 sailings call at Kauai, and the August and November 2027 sailings stop at just Maui and Hilo. Norwegian's Hawaii page also mentions South Pacific sailings that start in Papeete and visit Hawaii, the same trip in reverse. This site lists only departures from Honolulu.

Silver Whisper skips the other Hawaiian islands and heads for the Marquesas first, calling at Nuku Hiva, then Rangiroa, Moorea, Raiatea and Taha'a. Silversea lists it at 392 guests, about a fifth of Norwegian Spirit's 1,972.

The table at the end of this page lists every Tahiti sailing with today's fare, and the South Pacific cruises page lists them too.

Honolulu to Sydney cruises: the crossings to Australia

A Honolulu to Sydney cruise is the long way to the South Pacific. Every crossing ends in Sydney except Ovation of the Seas, which ends in Brisbane.

Ship	Leaves Honolulu	Nights	Ends	Stops on the way	From, November 14, 2026
Coral Princess	January 29, 2027	28	Sydney	Nawiliwili (Kauai); Pago Pago (American Samoa); Suva and Dravuni Island (Fiji); Port Vila and Luganville (Vanuatu); Rabaul, Kiriwina Island and Alotau (Papua New Guinea); Cairns, Airlie Beach and Brisbane	$11,054
Celebrity Solstice	September 28, 2027	18	Sydney	Moorea, Papeete and Raiatea; Tauranga, Auckland and Bay of Islands (New Zealand)	$2,452
Royal Princess	October 1, 2027	21	Sydney	Kona (Big Island); Papeete and Moorea; Auckland, Napier and Wellington (New Zealand)	$7,259
Anthem of the Seas	October 6, 2027	17	Sydney	Papeete, Moorea and Uturoa (Raiatea); Tauranga (New Zealand)	$2,488
Celebrity Edge	October 10, 2027	17	Sydney	Pago Pago (American Samoa); Apia (Samoa); Suva and Lautoka (Fiji); Mystery Island (Vanuatu); Noumea (New Caledonia)	$3,476
Ovation of the Seas	November 17, 2027	16	Brisbane	Moorea, Papeete and Uturoa (Raiatea)	$1,589

The routes split into two groups.

• By way of Tahiti. Celebrity Solstice, Royal Princess, Anthem of the Seas and Ovation of the Seas all stop at Papeete and Moorea, and all but Ovation go on to New Zealand. If you want Tahiti but have more time, these are the alternative to a Papeete one-way. You fly home from Australia instead.
• By way of Samoa, Fiji and Vanuatu. Celebrity Edge and Coral Princess take the western route. Coral Princess is the only crossing outside the fall, and the longest: it adds Papua New Guinea and three Queensland ports before Sydney.

Every crossing is also on the transpacific cruises page, with fares updated daily.

Do you lose a day crossing the date line on a cruise from Honolulu?

On the way to Australia, yes. NOAA's Ocean Service describes the International Date Line as roughly following the 180 degrees line of longitude through the mid-Pacific. Crossing it westward moves the date forward one day. Sydney and Brisbane are on the far side of the line from Honolulu, so on every crossing to Australia one date is skipped on board. You get it back on the flight home, when crossing eastward moves the date back a day.

The Tahiti trips don't change the date at all. Tahiti Tourisme says Tahiti is in the same time zone as Hawaii, so your watch in Papeete shows Honolulu time.

Ending your cruise in Papeete: Faa'a airport and flights home

Tahiti Tourisme places Tahiti-Faa'a International Airport (PPT) near Papeete, and the airport calls itself the only international airport in French Polynesia. Its airline page, read November 14, 2026, lists these routes to the United States:

Airline	US city from Tahiti
Air Tahiti Nui	Los Angeles
Air France	Los Angeles
United Airlines	San Francisco
French Bee	San Francisco
Hawaiian Airlines	Honolulu

The same page lists Air Tahiti for flights to the other islands of French Polynesia, if you want to stay on after the cruise.

The airport's access page says the taxi rank is in front of Terminal 1, and private drivers wait in reserved bays. The nearest bus stops are on the ring road outside the airport, in both directions. The page gives no fares.

Do US citizens need a visa for French Polynesia?

No, not for a stay of up to three months. The French ministerial order that governs entry to French Polynesia (arrêté of December 29, 2011, Annex II, in force on November 14, 2026) exempts US nationals from a visa for stays of up to three months in any six-month period, unless they come to do paid work that needs a local permit. The airport points out that French Polynesia is not part of the Schengen area, so it has its own entry rules.

When you leave the ship in Papeete, you enter French Polynesia. The State services in French Polynesia list what a visitor from outside the European Union must be able to show for a short stay:

• A passport valid at least three months past the date you plan to leave French Polynesia, issued within the past ten years, with at least two blank pages.
• The purpose and length of your stay. For tourists, the page gives hotel or cruise bookings as examples.
• Means of support, such as an international bank card or cash. No minimum amount is given.
• A way home. The page gives a ticket back to your country of residence or a travel insurance certificate as examples.

Your flight home from Faa'a covers the last point. For the documents to bring on board in Honolulu, see Hawaii cruise documents.

Do you need a visa for Australia after a cruise from Honolulu?

Yes, and you need it before you arrive. For a US passport holder on vacation, that means the Electronic Travel Authority (ETA, subclass 601), which the Department of Home Affairs describes as a temporary visa. Home Affairs lists the United States among the passports that can apply, and names going on a cruise among the things the ETA covers.

• Apply in the Australian ETA app. On November 14, 2026, Home Affairs charged an AUD20 service charge for using the app and no other fee.
• Apply from outside Australia. You must be outside the country both when you apply and when the ETA is granted.
• One application per person. Each family member applies separately, children included, even if they are on your passport.
• It lasts 12 months, or until your passport expires if that is sooner, with multiple entries and stays of up to three months each time.

Home Affairs says most applications get an answer straight away, and suggests you don't make travel arrangements until the ETA is granted. Apply before you book the flight home from Sydney or Brisbane.

New Zealand stops: the NZeTA

Celebrity Solstice, Royal Princess and Anthem of the Seas call in New Zealand on the way. Immigration New Zealand names cruise ship passengers among the travelers who may be able to get a New Zealand Electronic Travel Authority (NZeTA) instead of a visa. On November 14, 2026, its page put the fee at NZD 17 and up, asked travelers to allow 72 hours, and said an NZeTA is valid for two years. Its visa tool tells you whether your passport needs an NZeTA or a visa.

For the other countries on these routes, such as Fiji, Vanuatu and Papua New Guinea, check your cruise line's travel document guidance for your sailing.

Passport for a one-way cruise from Honolulu

Bring a passport book. US Customs and Border Protection defines a closed-loop cruise as one that returns to the same US port on the same ship, and a trip that ends in Papeete, Sydney or Brisbane does not. You also fly home from abroad, and CBP says the passport card is not accepted for international air travel.

Tahiti or Australia: which South Pacific cruise from Honolulu fits?

• Hawaii and Tahiti in under two weeks: Norwegian Spirit, with two or three Hawaiian ports before Bora Bora, Raiatea and Moorea.
• The Marquesas on a small ship: Silver Whisper, the only Tahiti trip on our schedule that calls at Nuku Hiva.
• Tahiti, then New Zealand: Celebrity Solstice, Royal Princess or Anthem of the Seas.
• Samoa, Fiji and Vanuatu: Celebrity Edge in the fall, or Coral Princess in January if you have four weeks.

To see which visiting ships are in Honolulu on a given day, and at which pier, use the ships in port calendar. The full schedule has every departure, the Hawaii round trips on Pride of America included.