Pride of America

we just came off of a 7 day cruise on Norwegian Pride of America (May 26-June 2). We were extremely dis appointed mainly in the poor quality

Of food in the complimentary dining. You had to upgrade to their specialty dining. We were a big group and all of us were disappointed.

Internet is everywhere, no you have to pay $150 extra for the week. It’s

Been national news about the big Island of Hawaii the volcano erupting,

They waited till 4:00 3 days prior to departure to send a email out about not going to Hilo, spending another day in Honolulu. A lot of us had to

Change plans & hope we could still do our tours that weren’t with the cruise line. Then......our port to Kona was cancelled at 6:00 pm the

Night before we were scheduled, so we had a day at sea . We had a very difficult time getting our money back for our volcano tour from Viator who only wanted give us half. I won’t be gon another Norwegian Cruise!!

It's unfortunate when an itinerary gets changed but not much you can do about a massive volcano blowout.

I was on the same cruise and did not have the same issues. I felt the food and service in the complimentary restaurants and buffet were good. Yes, quality of food on all of the mainstream cruise lines has gone down over the past few years. But, that’s the way it is. Either go on a higher end cruise line, at a much higher cost, or pay for the specialty restaurants if you’re not happy with the food. As for the volcano, I was well aware of the situation involving the volcano for a month or so prior to the cruise and was prepared for necessary changes to be made to the itinerary. Safety of guests is the top priority. A refund of port charges was given for missed ports.

OP, you do know how internet and wifi work, don't you? Your local Starbucks has a wifi router that connects your device to a land line internet provider/server. In case you failed to notice, the ship does not have a cable that they drag around behind them, connecting to a land line internet provider. They use satellite internet, and that costs money. Trust me, every major cruise line charges for internet access, because they all have to connect to a satellite. Some of the high end lines have "free" internet, but it is merely factored into the cost of the cruise.

So an independent cruise operator would only give you half of your money back for a volcano tour that they probably can't do anyway, and it's NCL's fault?

So an independent cruise operator would only give you half of your money back for a volcano tour that they probably can't do anyway, and it's NCL's fault?

EVERYTHING is ALWAYS the fault of the cruise line. This is a fact known by all Cruise Critic members. Except for those cheerleaders. :rolleyes:

we just came off of a 7 day cruise on Norwegian Pride of America (May 26-June 2). We were extremely dis appointed mainly in the poor quality

 

Of food in the complimentary dining. You had to upgrade to their specialty dining. We were a big group and all of us were disappointed.

 

Internet is everywhere, no you have to pay $150 extra for the week. It’s

 

Been national news about the big Island of Hawaii the volcano erupting,

 

They waited till 4:00 3 days prior to departure to send a email out about not going to Hilo, spending another day in Honolulu. A lot of us had to

 

Change plans & hope we could still do our tours that weren’t with the cruise line. Then......our port to Kona was cancelled at 6:00 pm the

 

Night before we were scheduled, so we had a day at sea . We had a very difficult time getting our money back for our volcano tour from Viator who only wanted give us half. I won’t be gon another Norwegian Cruise!!

Hmmmmm,,, a cruise like keeps repeat customers by cooking bad food,,,, I don’t think so.

If you want internet and can’t live without it, pay the fee. You are in port much of the time. You can live without snap chatting for a few hours at night. Satellite service is expensive and the cruise line passes along the cost.

Cancellation of port calls,,, no cruise line wants to cancel port calls. The situation on the Big Island is fluid. Magnitude 6.9 earthquakes, tsunami potentials, gasses, ash, and smoke all are considerations along with advice from local authorities. Ships have people with respiratory conditions and once in the area, there is no escape.

Hint: read the terms and conditions from 3rd party vendors. Buy insurance. Your “cheap tour” may not be so cheap now.

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We, who live on the Big Island have been beyond perplexed from DAY 1 as to why the cruise ships management / head honchos have made the decision NOT to come to either Kona or Hilo. As sad as the volcano destruction is, its ONE PERCENT OF THE ISLAND THAT IS AFFECTED.

Everything else is fine and comfortable and we are all living life as usual.

We hear POA is returning this TUE, 6/12 and I expect all visitors will have a lovely experience. Hawaii Volcanoes Natl Park is closed, and that is regrettable, but there's tons of other interesting things to do and see, ( and for the pitiful souls who ONLY take the bus to Wal*mart + Target....... yes that's running without a hitch. )

Pride of America is not NCL's finest hour

Please -- Those or you who are sailing POA, would you report back here whether or not you sail around the south end the Big Island. I would love to see the eruptions (from a distance, of course).

Rick

Why go through Viator (a third party vendor) when you can probably book the same tour from the same operator that Viator is charging you an extra fee for.

Pride of America is not NCL's finest hour

Yes, we found that out last July.

And yes the food was terrible.

Please -- Those or you who are sailing POA, would you report back here whether or not you sail around the south end the Big Island. I would love to see the eruptions (from a distance, of course).

Rick

Awaiting the report - - -

NOT likely as when the intensely hot magma reaches the ocean there are violent explosions of the hot lava

meeting the cool ocean waters and then the toxic gases and airborne ash released scattering into the which

ever way the wind is blowing.

Even during the best of Madam Pele's times the cruise by on the south coast was never close to the

life threatening action. Binoculars yes - camera with telephoto lens OK - but visually just a thin ribbon of

Madam Pele's RED carpet and winds blowing mauka (toward the mountains).

While service is restored to Hilo and Kona don't expect any cruises along the south coast of the Big Island for awhile.

As for improving the flavor of the food - NO NCL is not going to let you BBQ it over hot lava - maybe let

you put into an imu (earth oven with hot rocks and seaweed).

ALOHA !