Has Anyone Taken NCL to Hawaii?

[Jesse88]

Hi! My husband and I are NCL fans and have taken several great cruises with them. We would like to do the Hawaii cruise but have heard a couple of very negative reviews from people who have taken it. I don't want to discount it based on such a small sample of unhappy cruisers and would really appreciate hearing from anyone who has taken this particular trip, either the one or two week cruise. Thank you!

[tdelliott]

We have done the NCL POA cruise twice with my husband, and I am heading back to do the cruise for a third time with my mom and dad in July! It is probably my favorite cruise. I like to be off of the ship and am not a huge fan of sea days, so this is the perfect trip for us.

 

We use the POA as a floating hotel, but we still love the crew and all the amenities on the ship. I am not a high maintenance cruiser at all, and the crew has always been just right for us. I don't need a super attentive crew. I don't really like to be fussed over.

 

Everyone working on the ship was very friendly and we really enjoyed seeing so many ports in a week.

 

Give it a shot...you might just love it like we do :)

 

Tamara in Texas

[Bubba54]

I have taken the NCL Hawaii cruises several time. If you think of the ship as a floating hotel as tdelliot stated you will be fine and have a great trip. We took them early enough that the service was terrible. However, since they went down to one ship it has improved tremendously. No matter the service the time in the ports is not matched by any line. I say go and enjoy.

[garycarla]

Years ago, the service was bad to terrible. Once the knocked it down to 1 ship, it seems to be better. Still not sure I would do it, but as you can see, some folks love it.

 

You can also check out the Pride of America in the reviews section for more information.

[All-ready2cruise]

I am so looking forward to being able to book a Hawaiian cruise. I would do it in a heartbeat, heard so many good things about it recently.

 

Book it and enjoy it.. :D

Happy cruising.

[FireEater]

Your title says NCL cruise TO Hawaii. Do you mean just that...from the mainland to Hawaii or the POA that will take you around to the different island once you get to Hawaii??

[SissasMomE]

Hi! My husband and I are NCL fans and have taken several great cruises with them. We would like to do the Hawaii cruise but have heard a couple of very negative reviews from people who have taken it. I don't want to discount it based on such a small sample of unhappy cruisers and would really appreciate hearing from anyone who has taken this particular trip, either the one or two week cruise. Thank you!

 

No, and personally I would not. We will be looking at RCCL or Princess when we do finally go.

[greatlakesgirl]

Yes! We went in February of this year and had a great time.

 

Here's a link to my review if you are interested:

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2014664

 

Puddles wrote a great review, also, if you are interested in searching for it. :)

[lanord]

I'll second the opinion of tdelliott and Bubba54. For what we wanted to do, which is see as much of Hawai'i as possible in one week, this cruise really works for us. We actually haven't been on very many cruises with an abundance of sea days prior to RCCL Oasis of the Seas a few weeks go, so we have never really "missed" the sea days. I personally think you can't go wrong with Pride of America, as you can see from my signature -- next year will be our third time to Hawai'i ! :p )

[puddles99]

Yes! We went in February of this year and had a great time.

 

Here's a link to my review if you are interested:

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2014664

 

Puddles wrote a great review, also, if you are interested in searching for it. :)

 

Awwww, thanks for the nod! You can find the link to my review in my signature below.

 

Like others have said, we found this cruise to be absolutely wonderful and hope to someday return (perhaps with the kids in tow!). If you have any specific questions or concerns, please ask away. You'll find many folks willing to answer & help in any way we can.

[sugarnyc]

I had a very enjoyable cruise on POA this past Thanksgiving! I highly recommend it! Glad I took all the negative reviews with a grain of salt. And I am picky! Good food and service! Beautiful islands! For example- since the ship stayed overnight in Maui got to go to the luau I wanted to go to and see the breathtaking sunrise the next morning at Haleakala!!

[Jesse88]

Thank you all so much for the great information. I am excited that we can plan for this cruise. I see how my title may have been misleading. We are interested in taking the cruise that goes to various islands. Not sure if the ship leaves from the mainland or Hawaii. I haven't gotten that far in my research yet but now I will educate myself. The people who gave negative feedback to us had gone quite some time ago so this makes sense with what you have been telling me. Thanks again. You are the best!!

[punkincc]

The ship goes roundtrip from Honolulu to Honolulu, 7 days, or there is an 11 day which tacks on some days in Oahu pre cruise. I much prefer to spend my vacation days in Hawaii instead of several sea days coming and going from the mainland with another cruise line. We will be taking the POA in August. There is lots of good info on the Hawaii board. Not expecting the POA to be the same experience as NCL's other ships. The crew is mostly American due to this being a US flagged ship, and that accounts for some differences in service, but most seem happy with the ship recently. In any case, as others have said, we are going to see as much of Hawaii as possible, not to lounge on a cruise ship. We'll save that for the Caribbean!

[toyotaford]

We did POA a few years ago. It is a wonderful way to see the islands. Like several have stated earlier it is much more a floating hotel in this instance than a cruise ship. We had been to Oahu and Maui before but this gave us a chance to see other islands. We fell in love with The Grand Hyatt in Kauai, which a waiter on the boat suggested we visit on one of our days there, and have been back to stay there 3 times since our cruise. We probably would not do this cruise again but am glad we did it the one time.

Edited June 11, 2014 by toyotaford

[Kylie]

We have done this cruise 3 times - it is a great way to see a lot of Hawaii in a week. We have always enjoyed our time on the PoA. Go for it!

 

My brother and his wife leave Thursday to celebrate their 30th anniversary on the ship.

[Tyskie]

We had a great time, loved the staff. We did use it as a floating hotel as it was our first time to Hawaii. Great way to see Hawaii without packing and unpacking. I had no desire to spend days at sea just to get there! We would go back in a heartbeat if there weren't so many other places we haven't seen yet! But, I'll never say never! Go, enjoy, I don't think you will be sorry.:)

[ClaireAndMike]

I went a few years ago and had a great time!

[sverigecruiser]

Our first cruise was an 11 night cruise on the Norwegian Wind with 4 seadays. We are not interested in the cruises thay have now without seadays but if they should start with the old itinerary around the Hawaiian Islands and to Fanning Island again we should book that.

[AmberCascades]

We went last fall and had a great time. We wanted to see as much of Hawaii as possible, not waste a bunch of vacation days floating around in the ocean.

 

We found the ship to be clean, the staff very friendly and the food was pretty good. We were so exhausted from our sight seeing that we ate dinner in the buffet quite a bit (and we always ate breakfast there so we could get on our way quickly). It was well organized and there were lots of options. The pizza was the best of anywhere we've been so far.

 

The entertainment was okay. We enjoyed the comedian, but a couple of evenings we were so tired we just got some popcorn from the saloon bar (I don't know if that's what it was called) and watched t.v. in our cabin.

 

It was a great way to see a lot of Hawaii in a short time. There was nothing wrong with it, but I guess there weren't a lot of frills if one were looking for that. I would do it again.

[pookey1265]

We odd the POA in February of 2012 for my sisters 50th birthday. We had a ball. It was my mom's first cruise and she was hooked after 1 day. It leaves out of Honolulu. The Napoli coast was awesome. Lots of whales. Have fun.

[Anniesails]

Booked on the POA the 1st week in August with my family of 8 and can't wait. Will be my 4th trip to Hawaii, one other cruise which was 2 weeks and included Tahiti with Princess. Very nice cruise with lots of seadays. I am expecting a different and port intensive cruise. Can't wait. Have a great time.;)

[mugtech]

Was our first NCL cruise, the best way to see many islands in 7 days. Good way to find out which islands you might want to visit for extended periods of time in the future.

[VideoTech]

.... I am expecting a different and port intensive cruise. Can't wait....

 

You're correct, NCL's POA itinerary in Hawaii is very different from a normal cruise, and very port intensive. There's so much to do at each port that you'll find you're not on the ship for much more than breakfast, maybe dinner, and to sleep.

 

It is a great way to get a first taste of the islands, though!

[Traveller20074]

We have done the NCL POA cruise twice with my husband, and I am heading back to do the cruise for a third time with my mom and dad in July! It is probably my favorite cruise. I like to be off of the ship and am not a huge fan of sea days, so this is the perfect trip for us.

 

We use the POA as a floating hotel, but we still love the crew and all the amenities on the ship. I am not a high maintenance cruiser at all, and the crew has always been just right for us. I don't need a super attentive crew. I don't really like to be fussed over.

 

Everyone working on the ship was very friendly and we really enjoyed seeing so many ports in a week.

 

Give it a shot...you might just love it like we do :)

 

Tamara in Texas

 

See, that's what I thought. Hawaii is a port intensive cruise. That's why I'm hesitating. I love sea days. I would cruise to nowhere for 7 days not a problem lol

 

It would be cheaper for us, and we'd get the "Hawaii experience" if we just flew to Maui and did snorkeling and the beach there. Or anywhere else. I can't see paying upwards of $6,000 for our crew to do hawaii on a cruise. Thanks for this thread, I think I just decided where our next cruise will be. The Breakaway to Burmuda :D

Edited June 11, 2014 by Traveller20074

[VideoTech]

Hi! My husband and I are NCL fans and have taken several great cruises with them. We would like to do the Hawaii cruise but have heard a couple of very negative reviews from people who have taken it. I don't want to discount it based on such a small sample of unhappy cruisers and would really appreciate hearing from anyone who has taken this particular trip, either the one or two week cruise. Thank you!

 

 

The thing to remember is that cruise reviews are like restaurant reviews: some people will dislike the cruise, some will love it, and the vast majority won't bother to comment at all, even if they liked it.

 

Personally, we found the POA to be a wonderful ship, with a fantastic itinerary. the service was a little different than on other NCL ships, but it wasn't bad, just different. If you've never been to Hawaii, it's a wonderful way to get a feel for each of the major islands, and then you can decide which island(s) you want to go back to.

 

Not sure what you mean by a "two week cruise," though. The POA does a 7 day cycle around the islands. All the other offerings are a combination of that cruise with some amount of land touring and hotel stays.

 

Bottom line: a cruise, like anything else, is what you make of it. if you like NCL and you like cruising, I don't think you'll be disappointed with the POA and Hawaii.