I was watching a documentary the other day, and there were people taking ship to Hawaii in the 1960s. Is it still possible to take a (civilian) ship (cruise/liner) to Hawaii?
Yes, but it’s very expensive and takes a long time. And it’s pretty rare, as most people now opt to fly.
I can try to dig up specifics, but you can probably Google as easily as I can.
Why wouldn’t it be? I don’t know of any specific lines operating, but there’s no reason you couldn’t.
I just did a quick search on Travelocity, and didn’t find much in the way of point-to-point travel, such as Los Angeles to Honolulu one way. All results I got were for multiple-night stays aboard the ship which makes stops at all the islands. And very little info on departure ports. So very little was offered on travel alone. The packages offered were full vacations in themselves. But at prices starting at $999, it’s pretty competitive with airfare.
Johnny, is this question purely academic, or did you have something specific you wanted to do?
Purely academic.
Which is not to say that I’ll never go to Hawaii. 
I have a different view of vacationing than many people. For example, my mom’s idea of a vacation was to go someplace and stay in a nice hotel. A friend went to Hawaii last year and stayed in a hostel as a base for his kayaking and snorkeling. He was amazed that people were staying in huge hotels just steps from the beach and the beautiful water, and spending their time in the hotel swimming pool or just looking at the ocean. I think that vacationing should be an adventure. Better to travel round with a backpack and without a plan, than to stay in a hotel. And ‘getting there is half the fun’. It seems to me that taking a ship would be more fun than taking an airplane.
But at the moment, I’m just curious.
People are amazing.
I remember watching a game show where a contestant won a Hawaiian vacation. The hotel, on Waikiki Beach, touted itself as “So full of amenities that you never have to leave the hotel.” On wonders what the point is. If you can’t take the Wikiwiki bus up to the North Shore for some Shave Ice, why not just vacation in Terra Haute?
I’d think it’d be a mighty long, mighty dull cruise. Think of it - you’re going halfway across the Pacific with no intermediate stops. No wonder there’s not much market for it.
According to the Cunard website, the QE2 & QM2 take about 6 days to reach England, and I think that’s actually a shorter distance than the West Coast to Hawaii. I can’t imagine trying to keep myself amused for six straight days in a floating hotel - even a truly mammoth one, like the QM2.
If you google “cruise from San Francisco to Hawaii”
The First non advertisemennt hit is a Norwegain 10 day cruise $1600, first 6 days at sea. It stops at many of the Islands days 7-11 … doesn’t seem to be a round trip though.
There are others too.
Didn’t we just have a thread about cruise lines not being allowed to cruise FROM American ports TO American ports? F’rinstance, you find a lot of cruises from LA to Puerto Vallarta, but almost none from LA to Seattle. Something to do with foreign shipping not being legal to use for internal transport, I think it was.
Hubby and I have done it twice wonderful! Once on Princess and once on RCCL.
Its not that expensive. about $100/day. that encludes everything but alcohol. Best vacation I’ve ever taken.
We did have a storm with 25 foot seas, but thats a story for another time.
I think that only applies to foreign registered ships. Albeit more expensive and technically difficult, there is nothing preventing a US registered cruise ship from traveling LA to Seattle or San francisco to Honolulu.
There is usually quite a bit to do on a cruise ship. My wife and I went on a 4 day cruise in Feb (Catalina, CA & Ensenada, Mexico) and found ourselves worn out from trying to do even half of the activities that we thought would be fun.
IIRC Carnival offers a 13-14 day round trip to Hawaii with stops at several islands. I will have to check when get home.
Quote from tdn
I live just outside Terre Haute and they don’t have ANY nice hotels. 
That has to be the saddest thing I’ve ever heard. Not about the hotels, but about where you live.
Would you like some money or something?
Sure! No checks, though. Just cash.