Hawaiian luau or menu onboard Princess?

Hi, I'm aware of some of the themed dinner menus depending on the destination (Alaskan, Caribbean, etc.). I haven't done a Princess cruise to Hawaii before...does anyone know if they do an onboard luau or have a Hawaiian themed dinner menu? My only previous Hawaiian cruises were back on the old American Hawaii ships the Constitution and Independence in the mid 80s. Sorry if this is already posted somewhere, I tried a search in Princess and Hawaii boards but couldn't find anything...

We were on the Island Princess in Jan/Feb and did not have a luau or and Island menu choices. We didn't even have fresh pineapple all the time. I was disappointed in this and surprised. I thought there'd be some Hawaiian fish preparations or something, maybe some kula pork. But, nope.

I would do the Luau instead of the ship. How often do you get to do one? Will you take pictures in the dining room that night to keep as a memory? I don't think so. We enjoy a Luau everytime we go to one.

Maybe others don't feel the same.

I would do the Luau instead of the ship. How often do you get to do one? Will you take pictures in the dining room that night to keep as a memory? I don't think so. We enjoy a Luau everytime we go to one.

Maybe others don't feel the same.

Maybe I misinterpretted the OP's question but I thought they were asking if Princess offered any Hawaiian fare or a luau on their 15-day voyages. That's what I was answering. I didn't think the OP was wanting to substitute the ship's offering for an island offering...I think they were just asking if the ship did something Hawaiian as they were familiar with American Hawaii, which did do Hawaii very well. In our case, Princess didn't. (You might as well have been on a Caribbean, Alaskan, or New England cruise! On the other hand, with American Hawaii, there was NO doubt that you were on a Hawaiian cruise - from the music, to the dress, to the food...the whole atmosphere was Hawaiian.)

I agree with you, Jeano222, you can't beat an authentic Hawaiian experience for a luau. I was just addressing the specific question about Princess and what they did or didn't do on the ship. I think that's what the OP was asking.

Sorry, I did misunderstand what the OP was asking. We did American Hawaii cruise in 1983 and there was a more Hawaiian atmosphere, however, compared to both the Celebrity 15 night and Royal Caribbean 15 night, we thought they did a great job making the cruise a total Hawaii experience. We are going again in October and can't wait.

Sorry, I did misunderstand what the OP was asking. We did American Hawaii cruise in 1983 and there was a more Hawaiian atmosphere, however, compared to both the Celebrity 15 night and Royal Caribbean 15 night, we thought they did a great job making the cruise a total Hawaii experience. We are going again in October and can't wait.

Didn't you love American Hawaii? I just loved the old ships with all the teak wood. And the officers were old school officers. I remember one of the officers doing a tour of the stars from the bridge. He used one of the high-powered flashlights and traced the constellations. It was great. And the food...the best we've ever had on a ship.

Anyway...what I wanted to ask is what ship you are going on in Oct. Couldn't tell from your post which line you thought did a great job making the cruise a total Hawaiian experience and which one you were going on in Oct. I've always thought that Royal Caribbean probably did the best job based on what I've read. (At least since American Hawaii is out of the market.)

Thanks for your input!

The first cruise we ever took was American Hawaii. The water was a little rougher than normal on our cruise and Ipent 2 days in bed with ship doctor giving me shots for sea sickness. It was so bad that I swore I would never cruise again and didn't for 18 years. Then we cruised once more on a new large ship and realized what we we had been missing and the rest is history.

We are sailing Serenade of the Seas October 5, 2007

Celebrity Infinity did a wonderful job making it feel like we were really Hawaii bound.

I love having the 4 days to cruise to Hawaii and then the 4 days back to San Diego. We never had jet lag doing Hawaii that way, it's a gradual change, although one night we had forgotten to change our watches and when we went to dinner that night, couldn't figure out why dining room door was closed and people were eating the entree.

Celebrity Infinity did a wonderful job making it feel like we were really Hawaii bound.

I have friends who did Celebrity and said the same thing. Have heard similar reports about RCCL. Sad to say (and sorry to report, OP) that Princess did not go out of their way to make this really feel like a Hawaiian cruise save a couple ukelele and hula lessons. It would have been rather easy to make the aloha atmosphere prevalent around the ship.

Does princess have hula dancers or Hawaiian theme parties or shows on board. What are the best excursion to go on. I want it to be relaxing.

Better yet, ask on the Princess board, here:

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/forumdisplay.php?f=197

But, as the OP hasn't posted in a week...

Does princess have hula dancers or Hawaiian theme parties or shows on board. What are the best excursion to go on. I want it to be relaxing.

As pointed out, you posted on an old thread. Please start up a new thread so your questions can be asked based on more recent cruises.

We've done three cruises to Hawaii on Princess but in 2005/06, 2010/11, and 2012/13, so can only answer what it was like on those cruises. But I'm guessing that Princess still invites a very talented hula dance troupe on board in Honolulu. It will be listed in the Patter for the Honolulu port and worth returning to the ship for the evening show (I think it was about 8pm on our cruises).

We also had an Island Night on each of the cruises, but the name of the party was changed to the "Ultimate Deck Party" by the second cruise. It would be on one of the port nights after the ship leaves port, with live music and dancing on the pool deck. Hopefully they still do those.

Also, on the in-cabin tv and also occasionally on the MUTS screen, you can watch movies set in Hawaii, from Pearl Harbor to Lilo and Stich. There's a Hawaiian cultural program on the Hawaiian cruises on Princess, with classes in lei making, uke playing, hula dancing as well as talks on topics such as tropical food, the Hawaiian language, etc. Princess has two or three musical duos who specialize in Hawaiian music so there should be one on your cruise (we were fortunate on our last two cruises with Elua on board).