Pride of America - April 7

Just got back from the Pride of America Cruise on April 7. These boards were soo helpful for us, wanted to post about it (also submitted a review)

I highly recommend the cruise, in fact my friend and I said we understand why people take it multiple times, we would go again. A great way to see Hawaii. All the staff was very friendly and helpful. Our cabin steward was great. The cabin was on the 8th deck - mid ship balcony and was great - larger then I expected - still small but bigger then I thought. Lots of room for your items - shelves, drawers, nooks to keep things. Plenty of hangars and shelves in the closet. . Definitely recommend a balcony - totally worth it. We met a family who used the kids club and said it was great, their 10 year old son loved it. The captain even came down to visit with the kids.

We mostly ate in the Aloha cafe - lots of variety for the buffet. Ate at Skyline restaurant once for dinner - that was one of the sit down restaurants - the less dressier one. Also ate at the Cadillac diner which is mainly diner food but good. Didn't see any of the shows, but used the spa once.

We arrived the day before on Friday (flew in from the East Coast so we spent the night in Los Angeles to/from to break up the flight) .

Stayed at the Best Western Coconut Waikiki (used points), it was a nice hotel -across the street from a canal and friendly staff. Rented a car with Hertz (had points to get a free day)

Had made reservations to see Pearl Harbor at 8am on Saturday, the morning of the cruise. (made reservations thanks to another post). Took a couple hours and since we still had time before we could board the cruise, we drove along the road through Wakiki and East along the coast - very relaxing, pretty views. Returned the car to Hertz (they had a free shuttle from their airport location to the pier)

Sunday (1st day in Maui): Booked a Road to Hana tour through Valley Isle Excursions. Got so many recommendations and helpful hints on this board, including this particular company. Definitely recommend them. Each bus holds 12 people - big comfortable seats. I was surprised only 3 buses came to pick up at the pier, thought there would be more people who booked with them from the ship. Our driver was Tim - he was great, informative and interesting. Stopped at many places, he even told us the best views for good photo shots. Good lunch too. Definitely glad we didn't drive too many narrow roads, one lane bridges and curves

Monday: (2nd day in Maui), we rented a car with Dollar, called to see about picking us up since it was the 2nd day but they had regular shuttles picking up at the pier. Left about 8:30am and there was virtually no traffic - drove to West Maui along the coastal road up to almost the end. Stopped at the scenic points along the way. Turned around and ate lunch at the Hula Grill in Lahaina in the Whalers Village shopping area. Great place to stop - gorgeous beaches, easy parking in the parking lots and shopping. The Hula Grill was great - terrific view and good food - at the barefoot bar - sand on the ground. Good stores in the shopping area too. On the way back stopped at Kmart to pick up sodas and snacks for the ship. Returned the car and got back on the ship.

Tuesday (Hilo) - rented a car from Avis (got picked up by shuttle) and drove to the Volcano National Park - the road was closed 1/2 way around due to increased gases or something like that - but we were able see alot. Walked through the lava tube, crater and other stops. Ate at the Encounter restaurant in Hilo, where a friend who lives in Hilo took us after going with us to the Park.

Wednesday (Kona) - didn't do any excursions, decided just to walk around Kona. This is the place where you get a tender from the ship to the dock. Took the $2.00 trolley to the end and back. Walked around the shops. Ate at the Kona Inn which also had a fantastic view and good food.

Thursday (Kauai) - booked a tour with "Kauai Photo Tours" which I highly recommend. Excellent and you don't even need to be a photographer to enjoy the tour. We had a great guide who took us to all these places for great photos and places we would have never found ourselves - in neighborhoods, at the end of dead end streets, etc.. They brought us to eat lunch at a good place called "Hanalei Taro & Juice Co in Hanalei

Booked through Roberts Hawaii for a luau that night - which was at the Smith Family Luau. Definitely recommend this luau - great gardens, food and show. Our guide on the photo tour said this particular luau was the best one in Kauai. We saw 5 or 6 huge buses take cruise ship passengers to another luau that they booked through the cruise. There were only about 25 of us from the cruise being bused via Roberts Hawaii, but the Smith Family luau was packed, I heard about 400 people

Friday (Kauai) - since this was a short day, we didn't book anything. Got up early and went to the beach (can catch a free shuttle to the small outdoor mall nearby and walk to the Marriott and beach- and can actually walk to it too). Then had lunch at Duke's another great view right at the beach and at the Marriott.

Saturday - we booked transportation from the pier to the airport through Roberts Hawaii for $7.00 each - very easy and recommend using them.

We didn't book any excursions via the cruise too expensive and lots of other companies to use, especially with recommendations via this board.

Everyone from the staff to the other passengers were very friendly. I definitely would recommend this cruise.

Here's a link to photos of our cabin and on the ship

http://travel.webshots.com/album/582654344dRAZrM

photo album of Hawaii

http://travel.webshots.com/album/582653825uXIsSn

Thanks for the mini-review!

Thx for review and photos!

Thanks so much. We are cruising on 4/21!!. I noticed that you had twin beds.......are all the beds twins? I was told by our travel agent that she requested a queen/king for us. Really don't want twins? Thanks.

Hi,

Enjoyed reading your review. We sail on the POA on 5/12/12. Have a few tours booked thru NCL and a couple private tours. The Smith Luau is sold out on my cruise. :(

Can't wait, this is our first time in Hawaii, will be be spending an extra week in Honolulu.

Elaine

Hey! We were with Tim too. He was fabulous and great at taking family/group shots at each stop. Loved his dog pic at the beginning!

We had a bit of a different experience on this cruise. I guess that goes to prove what they say on these boards!

Friday- flew in and stayed at the HHV. We were given an exceptional room in the Rainbow tower, high up, and the fireworks exploded in front of our balcony. Amazing! UsedHawaii123 - was quoted $23 but when we got there he charged us $29 after counting our 4 bags. We did not argue but did not use him for other transfers. BTW- he quoted us $24 to the pier from Waikiki. Taxi we got from the hotel was $16.

Saturday- boarded and had lunch, hung around until our room was called at 3PM. They had a little children's buffet set up for that day and it was sweet. I never saw it in action again but thought it was a great idea.

Sunday- Road to Hana- same thoughts at OP. Great tour.

Monday- Rented with Thrifty and went to Lahaina to whale watch with Captain Steve. He cancelled when we arrived for check in at noon and told us we could probably find somewhere else. He said 'high winds' but we suspect we were the only ones booked and it wasn't worth his while. We shopped and headed back to return the car.

Tuesday- Lava tour with Volvano Discovery. Amazing, simply amazing. We got right up to the lava watched it erupt many times. It was the highlight of our trip until the second day on Kauai.

Wednesday- Kona. We took the $5 (each way) shuttle to Turtle Beach. Loved the speach all the way there about not taking off our yellow wrist band. "if there is a tsunami, I will come and get you if you have the wristband on". :) If you do it they'll tell you there is no snorkle rental at the beach. Yes, there is so you don't have to rent it from them before you go. Nicer swimming beach just before this one, Turtle Beach is not good for swimming and the sand isn't nice.

Thursday - We had a doors off helicopter booked with Mauna Loa but again, last minute cancellation when we checked in. Too rainy on the other side of the island. We ran down to Blue Hawaiian and hopped on to there's and there was no rain at all when we hit the other side of the island. Not the same as doors off private tour but lovely just the same.

Friday- Skydiving with Skydiving Kuaui. What a way to celebrate Friday the 13th! First time skydiving, but not our last and you can't find a more beautiful place to do it.

Saturday- Day room at Outrigger on the Beach since we had a late flight. Great day on the beach, a little shopping and a shower before we left.

Loved Hawaii, it was our 6th time there but first cruise around the islands. It was a great way to see them all, I totally agree with that.

Honestly, we did not really like the ship. Freestyle cruising is not for us.

Food- We never ate at the Liberty or the Skyline since even when we tried to make reservations they said it could be up to a 20 minute wait. We saw the lines outside these rooms at prime time and it wasn't worth the bother. Did not care for the Cadilac Grill although it was far easier to get into. Buffet - The food, although varied, was quite salty for our tastes. When we asked the meat carver for a piece from the other side of the shank of beef (one side was really well done and the other looked nicer to us) we were asked, 'what's the difference?" and our request was not honoured. We ate at the Bistro the first night hoping for the 'sampler' but it was not offered. We asked when we made the reservation and he said he believed it was going to be there. Tepanyanki (sp?) was very nice and fun but the cover charge was more than what we spent at the Janpanese restaurant on the Hilton property!

Ship- We encountered crowds in almost every hallway. It didn't seem to have a nice flow to it. Front desk people were extremely nice when I asked about ice bucket liners. They couldn't do it but were very nice about it. Why? We passed by an open cabin door and saw a man soaking his foot in a bucket. Quick look but it stuck with us. By the end of the cruise I had gotten used to the colours everywhere.:D Best hairdryer in the room on any cruiseline we've travelled on to date.

Staff - I had read about the staff and knew to not expect a lot. Lovely people at the front desk. Nice fellow called half way through. Took a shuttle to Kmart on Kuaui and was delighted to see that the staff hung back until all the passengers were on first even though it was their time off. Yes, I found the staff at the buffet could have worked a little more instead of gathering in groups and talking. We didn't need to hear who snuck who into their room either. Hand spray guy got a little rude when he didn't see us use the robot sanatizer because he was busy with his own personal life. But all in all, I have seen worse!

Room Stewardess- this is where we really had issues. She did not introduce herself to us at all during the cruise. We actually didn't know it was a girl until the Friday when we had to call down to the front desk to ask that our room be made up at 3PM. The service was sproradic in both our rooms (we had side by side). Don't know how to put this nicely- she stole. Granted, it wasn't major but the fact remains that she took things and we have never encountered this in 14ish cruises and many land vacataions. We bought 3 boxes of cookies (20 each) from the Hawaiian Cookie Comapny. Each boxed was packed by us with our favourite kind. Single flavour in each box. By day 3 I thought mine was a little light since I had only had a couple so I counted and we left for the day. When we returned I counted again and sure enough some were missing. My boys thought I was taking theirs and we counted those too. Yep, next day(s) missing. Their cans root beer from the fridge too. We did not call down since we were there to enjoy the islands not spend a short enough holiday in an office with paperwork. Reported when we returned. For those who wonder - 15 from my son's room, 13 from mine. We stopped eating them to see how low she would take it!

There were a few other things that probably could happen anywhere and were just kind of the icing on the cake. We went to see all the islands and that happened. There wasn't a massive amount of ship time so other than putting us off NCL it didn't ruin our holiday.

Thanks so much. We are cruising on 4/21!!. I noticed that you had twin beds.......are all the beds twins? I was told by our travel agent that she requested a queen/king for us. Really don't want twins? Thanks.

They all have twin beds but if you have requested queen then they push them together and use queen sheets. The mattress pad is queen too so you don't feel the ridge as much.

We have had rooms where they did not make it up as queen and left it as twin beds. It takes minutes for them to fix it, just ask.

Hi, thanks for your reveiw and photos. Was just wondering about the Kauai photo tour. I am considering going this alone without the family. Is it easy to find, safe and reasonable? Also, how far do you go up the northern coast? Did you have a polarizing lens? Do you think the photos you got are worth it or can you do the same on your own? Thank you for any information you can give me.

Allison

Thanks so much. We are cruising on 4/21!!. I noticed that you had twin beds.......are all the beds twins? I was told by our travel agent that she requested a queen/king for us. Really don't want twins? Thanks.

The beds can be pushed together to become a double or whatever size they become one bed

Hi, thanks for your reveiw and photos. Was just wondering about the Kauai photo tour. I am considering going this alone without the family. Is it easy to find, safe and reasonable? Also, how far do you go up the northern coast? Did you have a polarizing lens? Do you think the photos you got are worth it or can you do the same on your own? Thank you for any information you can give me.

Allison

We paid extra to be picked up at the Anchor Cove Shopping center. There is a free shuttle that picks up from the pier and takes you to this small outdoor shopping center (and it's close enough to walk). Very easy to meet them, they worked around the ship and having to be back to make the luau. There were only 6 of us on the tour.

I'm not a photographer but my friend is. My camera doesn't have interchangeable lenses, but can do multi functions like change to manual, aperature, etc.. I couldn't get a polarizing lens to fit my camera but you can buy some or even rent lenses or cameras from the place. Not only did the guide take us to alot of places, he told us where to stand or how to compose the photos and how he likes the locations and why. He would tell us he would like a location because of the palm tree or other things

We went to the Northern part of Kauai. We even had a person who only came along with her husband and carried his equipment.

I really enjoyed the photography tour even as a novice

Hey! We were with Tim too. He was fabulous and great at taking family/group shots at each stop. Loved his dog pic at the beginning!

 

 

 

Room Stewardess- this is where we really had issues. She did not introduce herself to us at all during the cruise. We actually didn't know it was a girl until the Friday when we had to call down to the front desk to ask that our room be made up at 3PM. The service was sproradic in both our rooms (we had side by side). Don't know how to put this nicely- she stole. Granted, it wasn't major but the fact remains that she took things and we have never encountered this in 14ish cruises and many land vacataions. We bought 3 boxes of cookies (20 each) from the Hawaiian Cookie Comapny. Each boxed was packed by us with our favourite kind. Single flavour in each box. By day 3 I thought mine was a little light since I had only had a couple so I counted and we left for the day. When we returned I counted again and sure enough some were missing. My boys thought I was taking theirs and we counted those too. Yep, next day(s) missing. Their cans root beer from the fridge too. We did not call down since we were there to enjoy the islands not spend a short enough holiday in an office with paperwork. Reported when we returned. For those who wonder - 15 from my son's room, 13 from mine. We stopped eating them to see how low she would take it!

 

There were a few other things that probably could happen anywhere and were just kind of the icing on the cake. We went to see all the islands and that happened. There wasn't a massive amount of ship time so other than putting us off NCL it didn't ruin our holiday.

That's a shame to hear about your stewardess. We had a great guy - knew our names the first time we met him (surprised as he said he had 17 rooms), was very friendly, funny and nice. Good you complained about her.

I didn't expect much from the food - and it wasn't 5 star but wasn't horrible either - but at least a good variety

Were you with us on the Road to Hana on April 8?

Yep! We were the family of 4- adults in the back with teen boys sitting one up. You?

on the right side of the bus.

Oh, kinda makes sense......your pic's had single beds! Howdy!

Hey! We were with Tim too. He was fabulous and great at taking family/group shots at each stop. Loved his dog pic at the beginning!

 

We had a bit of a different experience on this cruise. I guess that goes to prove what they say on these boards!

 

Friday- flew in and stayed at the HHV. We were given an exceptional room in the Rainbow tower, high up, and the fireworks exploded in front of our balcony. Amazing! UsedHawaii123 - was quoted $23 but when we got there he charged us $29 after counting our 4 bags. We did not argue but did not use him for other transfers. BTW- he quoted us $24 to the pier from Waikiki. Taxi we got from the hotel was $16.

 

Saturday- boarded and had lunch, hung around until our room was called at 3PM. They had a little children's buffet set up for that day and it was sweet. I never saw it in action again but thought it was a great idea.

 

Sunday- Road to Hana- same thoughts at OP. Great tour.

 

Monday- Rented with Thrifty and went to Lahaina to whale watch with Captain Steve. He cancelled when we arrived for check in at noon and told us we could probably find somewhere else. He said 'high winds' but we suspect we were the only ones booked and it wasn't worth his while. We shopped and headed back to return the car.

 

Tuesday- Lava tour with Volvano Discovery. Amazing, simply amazing. We got right up to the lava watched it erupt many times. It was the highlight of our trip until the second day on Kauai.

 

Wednesday- Kona. We took the $5 (each way) shuttle to Turtle Beach. Loved the speach all the way there about not taking off our yellow wrist band. "if there is a tsunami, I will come and get you if you have the wristband on". :) If you do it they'll tell you there is no snorkle rental at the beach. Yes, there is so you don't have to rent it from them before you go. Nicer swimming beach just before this one, Turtle Beach is not good for swimming and the sand isn't nice.

 

Thursday - We had a doors off helicopter booked with Mauna Loa but again, last minute cancellation when we checked in. Too rainy on the other side of the island. We ran down to Blue Hawaiian and hopped on to there's and there was no rain at all when we hit the other side of the island. Not the same as doors off private tour but lovely just the same.

 

Friday- Skydiving with Skydiving Kuaui. What a way to celebrate Friday the 13th! First time skydiving, but not our last and you can't find a more beautiful place to do it.

 

Saturday- Day room at Outrigger on the Beach since we had a late flight. Great day on the beach, a little shopping and a shower before we left.

 

Loved Hawaii, it was our 6th time there but first cruise around the islands. It was a great way to see them all, I totally agree with that.

 

Honestly, we did not really like the ship. Freestyle cruising is not for us.

 

Food- We never ate at the Liberty or the Skyline since even when we tried to make reservations they said it could be up to a 20 minute wait. We saw the lines outside these rooms at prime time and it wasn't worth the bother. Did not care for the Cadilac Grill although it was far easier to get into. Buffet - The food, although varied, was quite salty for our tastes. When we asked the meat carver for a piece from the other side of the shank of beef (one side was really well done and the other looked nicer to us) we were asked, 'what's the difference?" and our request was not honoured. We ate at the Bistro the first night hoping for the 'sampler' but it was not offered. We asked when we made the reservation and he said he believed it was going to be there. Tepanyanki (sp?) was very nice and fun but the cover charge was more than what we spent at the Janpanese restaurant on the Hilton property!

 

Ship- We encountered crowds in almost every hallway. It didn't seem to have a nice flow to it. Front desk people were extremely nice when I asked about ice bucket liners. They couldn't do it but were very nice about it. Why? We passed by an open cabin door and saw a man soaking his foot in a bucket. Quick look but it stuck with us. By the end of the cruise I had gotten used to the colours everywhere.:D Best hairdryer in the room on any cruiseline we've travelled on to date.

 

Staff - I had read about the staff and knew to not expect a lot. Lovely people at the front desk. Nice fellow called half way through. Took a shuttle to Kmart on Kuaui and was delighted to see that the staff hung back until all the passengers were on first even though it was their time off. Yes, I found the staff at the buffet could have worked a little more instead of gathering in groups and talking. We didn't need to hear who snuck who into their room either. Hand spray guy got a little rude when he didn't see us use the robot sanatizer because he was busy with his own personal life. But all in all, I have seen worse!

 

Room Stewardess- this is where we really had issues. She did not introduce herself to us at all during the cruise. We actually didn't know it was a girl until the Friday when we had to call down to the front desk to ask that our room be made up at 3PM. The service was sproradic in both our rooms (we had side by side). Don't know how to put this nicely- she stole. Granted, it wasn't major but the fact remains that she took things and we have never encountered this in 14ish cruises and many land vacataions. We bought 3 boxes of cookies (20 each) from the Hawaiian Cookie Comapny. Each boxed was packed by us with our favourite kind. Single flavour in each box. By day 3 I thought mine was a little light since I had only had a couple so I counted and we left for the day. When we returned I counted again and sure enough some were missing. My boys thought I was taking theirs and we counted those too. Yep, next day(s) missing. Their cans root beer from the fridge too. We did not call down since we were there to enjoy the islands not spend a short enough holiday in an office with paperwork. Reported when we returned. For those who wonder - 15 from my son's room, 13 from mine. We stopped eating them to see how low she would take it!

 

There were a few other things that probably could happen anywhere and were just kind of the icing on the cake. We went to see all the islands and that happened. There wasn't a massive amount of ship time so other than putting us off NCL it didn't ruin our holiday.

This is a question for Sportsmum and Genealogyfan,

Sportsmum - you list a good variety of ships you've been on. Unfortunately Genealogyfan doesn't so I'm not sure if you can offer up any advice other than your excellent review.

We've set to go in Sept and it's been over 20 years since we've been on an NCL ship. The main reason we stayed with HAL was the experience just was much better. Unfortunately the 15 day trip out of San Diego is just not going to work for my DW. I do have many reservations about this trip and I am going with an open mind, but based upon Sportsmum's comments how she didn't like the ship h=and her acceptance of other issues, just leaves me wondering. The pictures look great but the room and verandah look to be as small as I am lead to believe they are.

I know Hawaii is the reason many are going and I would not post this question on the NCL thread. I guess i'm looking for the good things about the ship that I can hope for, but I'm not finding many. So I'll ask either of you for any insight.

Thanks,

Dan

I wouldn't have posted my experience on the NCL board. I'm chicken.:o

Yes, we've been on a variety of ships and we did NCL for the same reason as you. We had a week off of school and they wanted Hawaii. We did a land Hawaii holiday a year and a half ago so thought we'd see all the islands this time. We went in with our eyes open, much like you again. Open mind, don't expect a lot and hope to be pleasantly surprised. Each traveller on the same ship has a different experience.

We love HAL, Princess and Celebrity. We do not like anytime dining and like sitting down each night with the same server knowing we will not have to compete with a crowd. We love eating. We love Bingo as a family and spend $20 a night at the casino. We love the comedians, magicians and feature entertainers. We don't go to the production shows. On those nights we might push it to $30 at the casino! We like to go to the movies as a family too. The boys sometimes like to rent a movie in their room with room service. Reading on our balcony is heaven. If we sound alike then read on.....

POA- no casino, no bingo except a fun game about 9:15 one night, we did not attend. That's a Hawaii thing. No movie theater although a movie played at one venue at 10:30PM one night. Those were a little late for us as we got into the routine (dare I say boredom?) of early PJ's and bed. Up early though and didn't waste sunshine! We went to the one comedian show at 7:15 and he was great. We did not attend the 'adult' performance at 10:30 the last evening. We went to the Oh What A Night show (4 Seasons tribute) since the crew thing was directly afterwards. I thought we were going to see 'Fountains" that everyone says don't miss. The 4 Season show was great too, but not to the teenage boys taste! No "Fountains" show either. It was a here's your crew- weren't we wonderful to put up with you? thing that every ship does.No live bands on the main stage and only saw one live quartet on the ship. Otherwise it was canned music. We specifically walked around the ship to see what was going on. I believe they have put in so many specialty restaurants there aren't the little corners to sit quietly in.

No chocolates on the pillows, lots of towel animals but remember to take them to the bathroom with you or you'll be short! TV is small screen, big bodied. Limited channels, no movie rentals, saw War Horse on our one lucky night!

I'm trying to find positive things to say in comparison with the other lines, honest I am! The shower had good force- stall was petite. Best hairdryer I've seen on any line. Colours on the ship will wake you up. The food in the specialty dining rooms we tried (Bistro and Tempanyaki) was nice. In Bistro it came with a silver cover and she told us their tradition was to clang it together to start the meal. Ummm, isn't that how you call pigs to slop?

Okay, I'm not succeeding. Here's the best I can do - the islands are spectacular. Use it as a sampler and have another vacation in the works before you go. It saved my sanity! Do not haul out anything remotely formal. It is extremely casual. ie: passed Liberty on formal or not night- Daisy Duke shorts and tiny t - hope they put something on the seat before she sat down.:eek: Okay, that was once, I never saw anything else out of the ordinary,just casual. I just thought of something!!! Let me say this right off- I did not starve. We sampled many things off the ship and this is the very first cruise i lost weight on. 2 pounds.

Don't worry, don't cancel.......misery loves company......JUST KIDDING! Lower your expectations and enjoy the ports. There are no sea days so it works just great. You'll really have an appreciation for HAL and their 'international' staff afterwards. By day 4 my son's were saying, 'yes mum, I know, you miss your little filipino's."

This is a question for Sportsmum and Genealogyfan,

 

Sportsmum - you list a good variety of ships you've been on. Unfortunately Genealogyfan doesn't so I'm not sure if you can offer up any advice other than your excellent review.

 

We've set to go in Sept and it's been over 20 years since we've been on an NCL ship. The main reason we stayed with HAL was the experience just was much better. Unfortunately the 15 day trip out of San Diego is just not going to work for my DW. I do have many reservations about this trip and I am going with an open mind, but based upon Sportsmum's comments how she didn't like the ship h=and her acceptance of other issues, just leaves me wondering. The pictures look great but the room and verandah look to be as small as I am lead to believe they are.

 

 

 

I know Hawaii is the reason many are going and I would not post this question on the NCL thread. I guess i'm looking for the good things about the ship that I can hope for, but I'm not finding many. So I'll ask either of you for any insight.

 

Thanks,

Dan

I've only been on one other cruise and that was a 3 day cruise with Royal Caribbean to the Bahamas. That particular cruise the entertainment was awful - I walked out, the port talk only promoted the stores that the cruise line obviously had commissions with and the buffet restaurant didn't have much of a variety.

After reading sportsmum's experience with her steward we were very lucky to have ours -his name is Laurence and he was great. As I said impressed us the first time we walked out of the cabin and he greeted us by name.

Knowing cruises and other large institutional food isn't 5 star quality my expectations weren't high. I thought the food was 3 star maybe - not 5 stars but not horrible. We only ate a sit down restaurant once - thought it didn't have much variety (Skyline) - about 6 choices for an entree, a few for appetizer and desserts and was slow. Personally I thought the food was about the same quality wise at the buffet. The slowness wasn't the reason we didn't go back it was we had more variety at the buffet. We didn't want to spend extra money at a speciality restaurant either. We only went to the Cadillac diner once as we didn't think they had much healthy options - typical diner food.

We didn't go to any shows or entertainment saw some of it on tv. My friend went to the lei making class and liked it (I was at the spa at the time)

I guess we got lucky with the staff we interacted with because all of our interactions were friendly and helpful

We got towel animals everyday too. Personally I'm not into casinos - maybe $20 at the most I spend but don't want to waste my money so didn't miss it. Although that's me - I have another friend who spends hours at the slots at casinos and goes to them alot.

We thought it of mostly as a floating hotel and yes the ports and islands were spectacular.

Compared to the Royal Caribbean I thought the shower and bathroom were bigger on Norwegian -(still small to normal bathrooms) and I thought the cabin was bigger then the one I had on the Royal Caribbean (but then I had a porthole then)

For us we didn't have a problem with anything and both of us said we would do this cruise again we liked it so much. In fact we understand how others have done this one back to back or multiple times

I know that you didn't ask for my opinion but we took this cruise in February and had none of the problems that the previous poster spoke about. Our steward was wonderful....we didn't need our towel animals in the shower....our room was always spotless...the ice bucket was filled every day....nothing was stolen and he always greeted us with a smile and addressing us by our names.

We ate mostly in the Aloha Buffet because my DH loves buffets but we did also eat at Teppanyaki - which I would do again because it was fantastic...and Jefferson's Bistro which was also great....

We didn't see any shows...we had an aft cabin with balcony and it may have been on the small side but for the two of us it was good...we had enough room to store everything we brought...enough hangers and places for our clothing. We used the balcony several times.

I would suggest that you get on your roll call and if they set up a Meet N Greet on NCL then be there to hear what the staff and Captain are working on to make each cruise better and better.

I also believe that a cruise is what you make it...go in with the idea that it isn't going to be good or nit pick at every little thing and you will definitely be able to find a lot wrong...go into with the idea that this is a GREAT way to see the islands with a smile on your face and you will have a fabulous time.

Just my .02

Everything is subjective - we also had a great time on this cruise and felt everyone we met was friendly and polite. We weren't expecting a luxury liner (because it's not) and we chose this for the ports as opposed to the cruising experience. I ended up enjoying the cruise itself a lot more than I expected after reading some of the negative reviews. Do your research - if the casino and formal nights are important to you, this is not the ship for you. I would imagine that the stewardress stealing was a rare incidence and very unfortunate. Our steward was great and we had plenty of towels (the bathroom is tiny though! :)) I actually enjoyed the mostly American staff and even ran across a couple people from Richmond, our hometown. I thought this cruise was a great way to see Hawaii for the first time. Next time we'll do a land based vacation mainly because we'd like to spend more time on some of the islands.

 

We've set to go in Sept and it's been over 20 years since we've been on an NCL ship. The main reason we stayed with HAL was the experience just was much better. Unfortunately the 15 day trip out of San Diego is just not going to work for my DW. I do have many reservations about this trip and I am going with an open mind, but based upon Sportsmum's comments how she didn't like the ship h=and her acceptance of other issues, just leaves me wondering. The pictures look great but the room and verandah look to be as small as I am lead to believe they are.

 

I know Hawaii is the reason many are going and I would not post this question on the NCL thread. I guess i'm looking for the good things about the ship that I can hope for, but I'm not finding many. So I'll ask either of you for any insight.

 

Thanks,

Dan

Don't worry you will have a great vacation. Cruising on the POA is not like any cruise I've been on. You are in a beautiful port daily and don't spend much time in the cabin watching TV or movies. Our balcony cabin was small and as others have said the bathroom is really small. We had no trouble with cleanliness, plenty of towels, ice or theft. NCL does provide chocolates at night to Latitudes members at certain levels, but we bought some macademia nut chocolates and had those each night. I would recommend bringing your own pillow though. If you would like nicer accomodations and perks, upgrade to a suite. NCL does a great job with suites.

As others have mentioned, food and service are very subjective. We only saw waits for dinner at the Skyline main dining room around 7 - 8pm. We do like Freestyle dining so you are not rushing back to get ready for dinner or trying to stay up for a late seating. For POA, we only went to the nicer Liberty main dining room and never saw any tasteless dress. It sounds like Sportsmum was on a cruise with a lot of spring breakers which may have skewed their experience. Our cruise in early December was mostly seniors with very few families and young adults. I would advise against the buffet for dining - it is a zoo as most are. Cadillac Diner has a very limited fast food type menu. We really enjoyed East Meets West, Lazy J, Jefferson's Bistro, Liberty dining room. And if you go for that suite, you can have breakfast and lunch in Lazy J if you'd like or room service in your suite. Aloha.

I agree with all posters. I do agree each person can have a different experience on the same ship, food is subjective and it was spring break! We knew this going in, rolled the dice and took a chance. I only talked about the casino (we only go to them on cruises and blow our money on penny slots!), etc to let you know what we like to do so you can read the review and what we like. If we're about the same then it would hold more water than if we were at different spectrums.

I think Herdingdogmom is dead on, and not only because I have dogs too, I have read that no one does suites like NCL. Since we always have to have 2 cabins we couldn't do that.

Geneaologyfan summed it up pretty good though- it's a 3 star.

Know it going in but don't let it stop you. It is a wonderful way to see the islands, which are the stars. We did crap out with our stewardess and it could have made a huge difference to have someone else. My review was my experience with my travel preferences.

I would never discourage anyone from taking it, just give a heads up so you can plan accordingly.....and get your own ice from the buffet and don't use the ice bucket. We passed a room, briefly looked in since the door was propped open, and a guy,sitting on his bed, had his foot in a silver bucket. Clicked in when we were in the elevator. That's the ice bucket! Called down and asked if there were liners for the ice bucket. "No, but we sterilize them twice a day." Hmmm, they have big orange ice chests that they scoop from in the hallway. They dump and refill. That was one of the other things that I said could happen on any ship.

Also, take your own bags to Walmart! It's 26cents a bag there. Although, NCL doesn't give you that little tote the other ships do and we used it a lot off the ship.:)

Thank you all for the valuable information you have provided. I had put posts on both NCL and HAL boards before we booked asking for non fan, unbiased information on the comparison and it continually comes back as "it's the ports" reason/excuse for any bad experiences. So your comments continue to follow that thought.

We are going in "eyes wide open" with no preconceived notions. We don't do casino or movies much. so that's not a big loss. The shows are equally not critical because I believe we will be beat at the end of each day. It's been over 20+ years since we did a port intensive cruise and I expect it will be draining.

I like to relax and read and my DW likes to read and shop. So, I expect we should be ok with that. Excursions look to be very fulfilling and varied. We are leaning to Roberts sine their rates are way more reasonable than the ships are and the reviews here on CC are very high on them.

As far as the Roll call. We've done them and run them. Some were exceptional and others down right dull. But we did get to meet a bunch of new friends. This particular roll call on the 9/1 trip is almost non-existent. It may pick up later but for now it's empty.

Again, thanks for all the great comments and ideas.

Dan

I wouldn't have posted my experience on the NCL board. I'm chicken.:o

 

"

Me too! :D

I've read too many thread where the poster didn't like something about NCL and they were continually beat up.

Dan

You're doing it right then. I'm going through my pictures today and the memories they bring back are good.

You're coming from an extensive HAL background so you and your wife may be like we were for the first 2 days. That's what I wish I had, picture wise. "The deer in the headlight look" shots. Make sure you get them before the culture shock wears off! :D Then it's back to normal. If I could do anything over again it would be to take those first looks on my family's face......but, then again, I'm a little off centre to begin with!