Disappointed in POA

[frankdp]

My wife and I very recently completed a trip around the Hawaiian Islands on Pride of America to which we added 4 days in Honolulu provided by NCL. Thank God the itinerary was amazing and the ports of call were wonderful because the ship and service were far less than we had hoped for.

 

In full disclosure, we are seasoned cruisers, having sailed on Carnival, RCCL, Princess, Celebrity and Oceania, in addition to NCL. This was our second trip on NCL having done a family cruise on Escape last December with our 3 grown children, their spouses and 4 grand kids. Thoroughly enjoyed Escape, and have a cruise scheduled on Epic in December, 2017.

 

This cruise appealed to us as a great way to get a good taste of the Islands without having to go the DIY route. Pack and unpack numerous times, hop on and off puddle jumpers to get from island to island, blah, blah, blah and we were totally pleased with this aspect of the deal. The source of our disappointment was with the service provided by NCL, beginning when we got off the plane in Honolulu. The NCL folks on the ground acted like this was the first time they had to get a large group of folks from the airport to the hotel. We checked in with the NCL rep at baggage claim and then waited for a good bit of time before being told different things by different reps while being shuffled from one spot to another, dragging our luggage with us. After about an hour, we were taken to the bus loading area where we were told to board a bus where the driver noticed that our bags were marked with Waikiki Marriott and he was not going there. We got out of line, once again schlepping our bags (5 of them including carry on's), waited another 15 minutes, before finally getting aboard a bus which got us to the hotel after dropping off at 3 other hotels. The Waikiki Marriot was very nice and we enjoyed our time in Honolulu.

 

On day 4, after our morning and early afternoon excursion we were taken to the ship for check in and to their credit, it was very easy and quick. It was 3:00 pm by this time and our cabins were ready. After dropping off our carry on stuff we went to Pink's Champagne Bar for our traditional "start the party" drink. Chatting with the bartender, we were surprised to learn that 80% of the crew was American due to the fact that the ship is Flagged in Hawaii, and that the crew was part of the Seafarers union.

 

We found the service to be way to casual for our liking. It seemed like they were trying to hard to be our best pal rather than taking good care of us. It was a totally different on board experience than we have ever experienced in cruising. We used the main dinning room exclusively and the service was very poor, from long waits for service to mixed up orders to arguments between the waiter and his assistant. In addition, the food was average if I'm being kind. Average in quality as well as selection. Have you ever been on a 7 day cruise where shrimp cocktail was not offered even one time? I haven't. The one time we used Cadillac Grill the food was simply bad. My wife and I shared chicken wings and an order "cheese" fries. Not cheese but a cheese like substance, bad, really bad.

 

I don't think I was given a water refill without asking for it one time.

 

Our balcony cabin room was amazingly small and the bathroom was not clean when we first got there, the steward did not empty the trash in the bathroom everyday. We were on the 8th deck, room 8644 and it was quite noisy from above at times.

 

The public bathrooms throughout the ship were not consistently clean.

 

The positives were.....

 

The entertainment we saw onboard was quite good, specifically Toby Beau.

 

The excursions provided by NCL were very good.

 

It is not my intention to be a Negative Nancy here but I feel the need to share this and would love to here from others who have taken this cruise recently.

[Cmdr Cody]

If you had done your homework, you would have known POA is mainly American staffed and they don't have the same service you find on the rest of NCL. That's why we canceled our scheduled POA cruise and changed to Princess out of LA for our Hawaiian cruise this November. For similar cost we have 15 days of cruise.

 

 

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[easyboy]

Thank you for your feedback.

 

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[frankdp]

If you had done your homework, you would have known POA is mainly American staffed and they don't have the same service you find on the rest of NCL. That's why we canceled our scheduled POA cruise and changed to Princess out of LA for our Hawaiian cruise this November. For similar cost we have 15 days of cruise.

 

 

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Not sure what homework would have revealed the bad service piece or why a staff made up of mostly Americans would be a bad thing.

[can'twait18]

We went in the PRIDE in November 2015. Loved the ship and the whole cruise. Staff was great.

 

 

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[mjkacmom]

Not sure what homework would have revealed the bad service piece or why a staff made up of mostly Americans would be a bad thing.

I've never looked into a Hawaiian cruise, but just from reading these boards, knew POA was a whole different experience with a lackluster crew.

[$hip$hape]

From the OP...

"Thank God the itinerary was amazing and the ports of call were wonderful ...."

How about thanking NCL?

"I don't think I was given a water refill without asking for it one time. "

What a pity.

 

WE had fun with the crew staff.

One morning, in the buffet, I asked a cute young girl(from the USA) why she looked so tired.

She replied, "They make us work long hours!"

Such is life.

WE enjoyed our POA cruise.

We also know, if they could afford it, many others back home who would do it, no questions asked.

Edited May 11, 2017 by $hip$hape

[dverzic]

From the OP...

"Thank God the itinerary was amazing and the ports of call were wonderful ...."

How about thanking NCL?

"I don't think I was given a water refill without asking for it one time. "

What a pity.

 

WE had fun with the crew staff.

One morning, in the buffet, I asked a cute young girl(from the USA) why she looked so tired.

She replied, "They make us work long hours!"

Such is life.

WE enjoyed our POA cruise.

We also know, if they could afford it, many others back home who would do it, no questions asked.

 

 

Why in the world would you ask someone why they looked so tired, and then have such a snotty attitude about it?

 

 

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[newmexicoNita]

My wife and I very recently completed a trip around the Hawaiian Islands on Pride of America to which we added 4 days in Honolulu provided by NCL. Thank God the itinerary was amazing and the ports of call were wonderful because the ship and service were far less than we had hoped for.

 

In full disclosure, we are seasoned cruisers, having sailed on Carnival, RCCL, Princess, Celebrity and Oceania, in addition to NCL. This was our second trip on NCL having done a family cruise on Escape last December with our 3 grown children, their spouses and 4 grand kids. Thoroughly enjoyed Escape, and have a cruise scheduled on Epic in December, 2017.

 

This cruise appealed to us as a great way to get a good taste of the Islands without having to go the DIY route. Pack and unpack numerous times, hop on and off puddle jumpers to get from island to island, blah, blah, blah and we were totally pleased with this aspect of the deal. The source of our disappointment was with the service provided by NCL, beginning when we got off the plane in Honolulu. The NCL folks on the ground acted like this was the first time they had to get a large group of folks from the airport to the hotel. We checked in with the NCL rep at baggage claim and then waited for a good bit of time before being told different things by different reps while being shuffled from one spot to another, dragging our luggage with us. After about an hour, we were taken to the bus loading area where we were told to board a bus where the driver noticed that our bags were marked with Waikiki Marriott and he was not going there. We got out of line, once again schlepping our bags (5 of them including carry on's), waited another 15 minutes, before finally getting aboard a bus which got us to the hotel after dropping off at 3 other hotels. The Waikiki Marriot was very nice and we enjoyed our time in Honolulu.

 

On day 4, after our morning and early afternoon excursion we were taken to the ship for check in and to their credit, it was very easy and quick. It was 3:00 pm by this time and our cabins were ready. After dropping off our carry on stuff we went to Pink's Champagne Bar for our traditional "start the party" drink. Chatting with the bartender, we were surprised to learn that 80% of the crew was American due to the fact that the ship is Flagged in Hawaii, and that the crew was part of the Seafarers union.

 

We found the service to be way to casual for our liking. It seemed like they were trying to hard to be our best pal rather than taking good care of us. It was a totally different on board experience than we have ever experienced in cruising. We used the main dinning room exclusively and the service was very poor, from long waits for service to mixed up orders to arguments between the waiter and his assistant. In addition, the food was average if I'm being kind. Average in quality as well as selection. Have you ever been on a 7 day cruise where shrimp cocktail was not offered even one time? I haven't. The one time we used Cadillac Grill the food was simply bad. My wife and I shared chicken wings and an order "cheese" fries. Not cheese but a cheese like substance, bad, really bad.

 

I don't think I was given a water refill without asking for it one time.

 

Our balcony cabin room was amazingly small and the bathroom was not clean when we first got there, the steward did not empty the trash in the bathroom everyday. We were on the 8th deck, room 8644 and it was quite noisy from above at times.

 

The public bathrooms throughout the ship were not consistently clean.

 

The positives were.....

 

The entertainment we saw onboard was quite good, specifically Toby Beau.

 

The excursions provided by NCL were very good.

 

It is not my intention to be a Negative Nancy here but I feel the need to share this and would love to here from others who have taken this cruise recently.

though I may not totally agree with you, I think you gave a very fair and objective report as you saw the cruise. No ship, line or itinerary is right for everyone and a port intensive cruise can be very different from a regular cruise. BTW, we have used NCL transfers twice and had some of the same complaints you shared. Small balconies? I have never quite understood why this is such an issue to some, but I know it is. Noise from above or below: that is just the luck of the draw. Not all cabins are equal.

 

As for All American crew: it makes a huge difference, the American crew works under different work policies and this has been a huge complain for years. When a ship is flagged strictly American their are guidelines that must be followed. That is why NCL happens to be the only American Flagged line that does Hawaii.

[$hip$hape]

Why in the world would you ask someone why they looked so tired, and then have such a snotty attitude about it?

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Forums

Misunderstandings...

I asked since she looked so dramatic.

She, in asking, was a south Californian in search of an adventure dream cruise job with NCL.

At the time, she was just so tired, and looking for sympathy.

No snotty attitude on my part... it was all in fun.

 

BTW, it's like, why do you have to tell me your message is being sent from an iPad? :evilsmile:

[dverzic]

Misunderstandings...

I asked since she looked so dramatic.

She, in asking, was a south Californian in search of an adventure dream cruise job with NCL.

At the time, she was just so tired, and looking for sympathy.

No snotty attitude on my part... it was all in fun.

 

BTW, it's like, why do you have to tell me your message is being sent from an iPad? :evilsmile:

 

 

Ok, sorry. I dont tell people that my msg is sent from an iPad. It just does that.

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Forums

[frankdp]

From the OP...

"Thank God the itinerary was amazing and the ports of call were wonderful ...."

How about thanking NCL?

"I don't think I was given a water refill without asking for it one time. "

What a pity.

 

WE had fun with the crew staff.

One morning, in the buffet, I asked a cute young girl(from the USA) why she looked so tired.

She replied, "They make us work long hours!"

Such is life.

WE enjoyed our POA cruise.

We also know, if they could afford it, many others back home who would do it, no questions asked.

 

I prefer to give God the credit for the fabulous Hawaiian Islands but I suppose if you were so inclined you could give the credit to NCL, I guess.

 

I didn't intend to come across as pitiful when saying I had to ask for water refills, just speaking to the service level in the dining room. It's ok though, flame away.

[The Other Tom]

Ok, sorry. I dont tell people that my msg is sent from an iPad. It just does that.

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Forums

You can change that so it doesn't happen....

[Linda the Book Lover]

I appreciate your honest review. My DD and I are taking my DGD next summer as a surprise. My DGD has been talking about Hawaii forever. We will spend time in Honolulu first (not NCL hotel). I have read that the level of service varies but then what person is the same every day. I do not have an issue with bringing something up to the person responsible once (just saying - this bathroom is not clean) and if it is not corrected taking myself to guest services. We will be on deck 9 with cabins below and above so unless there is a herd of elephants over us we will most likely sleep through any noise;) We read and saw youtube videos of the balconies and unfortunately for our cruise all of the large balconies are booked. No worries there will be plenty of room for my DD, DGD and I to sit and relax for whatever brief time we are on the ship. I appreciate you taking the time to write. You are not Negative Nancy, just providing your take on your experience.

[punkincc]

To the OP: Your quote, "Thank God the itinerary was amazing and the ports of call were wonderful" really says it all. Sometimes I want a "cruise", and when I do I book a mega ship like the Escape with all the bells and whistles ( and a largely Phillipino crew ) and the itinerary is not so important as we might be ashore 3 or 4 hours at two or three ports, vs 8 to 12 hours or more daily on the POA. When I want to see Hawaii, I book a ship which has the best itinerary, and spends the most time there, and the POA does both, hands down. Everything else pales by comparison. Sailed the POA twice, both before and after the total refurb.

 

I could care less whether the crew is mostly American ( a fact required because this ship is of necessity flagged in the USA, otherwise they could not legally offer these cruises ). I deal with service provided by Americans daily, so not a big deal. Never encountered a real service issue.

 

Those NCL transfers may have been included in your fare, but most would do themselves a favor if they simply walked to the curb, got in one of the taxis lined up at the curb, and 15 min later arrive at the hotel, saving much delay and aggravation.

 

Perhaps you made a mistake by choosing to eat in the MDR so much. I do not like the MDR fare or experience much on any ship. The POAs specialty restaurants are very good, and at not much extra expense with one of the packages available for purchase. We even liked the POA buffet. Glad you liked the entertainment. We were so tired after seeing Hawaii for very long days, that we saw very little of it.

 

Not saying these things to flame you, but for others who may have this cruise in their future.

[hdcnm]

My daughter and I were on this cruise in April - I was concerned because of all the negative reviews that I had read.

We were very pleased with the cruise, the ship, the service and would take the cruise again. We ate in Cagney's twice - I'm a vegetarian - the staff went out of their way and brought me a vegetarian entree from the main dining room - I was more than willing to eat the sides - they wouldn't hear of it. It was a wonderful opportunity to see all the islands without the hassle ( for us) of flights and packing and unpacking -

[NLH Arizona]

Just shows you are never too old to learn something. Here I thought the "cheese" on cheese fries was Cheese Whiz and not real cheese.

[Scott6428]

I prefer to give God the credit for the fabulous Hawaiian Islands but I suppose if you were so inclined you could give the credit to NCL, I guess.

 

I didn't intend to come across as pitiful when saying I had to ask for water refills, just speaking to the service level in the dining room. It's ok though, flame away.

 

I appreciate your information it will be helpful in determining which option I take for Hawaii.

 

I've been to Hawaii twice before on land vacations and just saw on island on each trip, I also don't give NCL credit for the beauty of the islands :)

[FranknBeans]

My wife and I very recently completed a trip around the Hawaiian Islands on Pride of America to which we added 4 days in Honolulu provided by NCL. Thank God the itinerary was amazing and the ports of call were wonderful because the ship and service were far less than we had hoped for.

 

In full disclosure, we are seasoned cruisers, having sailed on Carnival, RCCL, Princess, Celebrity and Oceania, in addition to NCL. This was our second trip on NCL having done a family cruise on Escape last December with our 3 grown children, their spouses and 4 grand kids. Thoroughly enjoyed Escape, and have a cruise scheduled on Epic in December, 2017.

 

This cruise appealed to us as a great way to get a good taste of the Islands without having to go the DIY route. Pack and unpack numerous times, hop on and off puddle jumpers to get from island to island, blah, blah, blah and we were totally pleased with this aspect of the deal. The source of our disappointment was with the service provided by NCL, beginning when we got off the plane in Honolulu. The NCL folks on the ground acted like this was the first time they had to get a large group of folks from the airport to the hotel. We checked in with the NCL rep at baggage claim and then waited for a good bit of time before being told different things by different reps while being shuffled from one spot to another, dragging our luggage with us. After about an hour, we were taken to the bus loading area where we were told to board a bus where the driver noticed that our bags were marked with Waikiki Marriott and he was not going there. We got out of line, once again schlepping our bags (5 of them including carry on's), waited another 15 minutes, before finally getting aboard a bus which got us to the hotel after dropping off at 3 other hotels. The Waikiki Marriot was very nice and we enjoyed our time in Honolulu.

 

On day 4, after our morning and early afternoon excursion we were taken to the ship for check in and to their credit, it was very easy and quick. It was 3:00 pm by this time and our cabins were ready. After dropping off our carry on stuff we went to Pink's Champagne Bar for our traditional "start the party" drink. Chatting with the bartender, we were surprised to learn that 80% of the crew was American due to the fact that the ship is Flagged in Hawaii, and that the crew was part of the Seafarers union.

 

We found the service to be way to casual for our liking. It seemed like they were trying to hard to be our best pal rather than taking good care of us. It was a totally different on board experience than we have ever experienced in cruising. We used the main dinning room exclusively and the service was very poor, from long waits for service to mixed up orders to arguments between the waiter and his assistant. In addition, the food was average if I'm being kind. Average in quality as well as selection. Have you ever been on a 7 day cruise where shrimp cocktail was not offered even one time? I haven't. The one time we used Cadillac Grill the food was simply bad. My wife and I shared chicken wings and an order "cheese" fries. Not cheese but a cheese like substance, bad, really bad.

 

I don't think I was given a water refill without asking for it one time.

 

Our balcony cabin room was amazingly small and the bathroom was not clean when we first got there, the steward did not empty the trash in the bathroom everyday. We were on the 8th deck, room 8644 and it was quite noisy from above at times.

 

The public bathrooms throughout the ship were not consistently clean.

 

The positives were.....

 

The entertainment we saw onboard was quite good, specifically Toby Beau.

 

The excursions provided by NCL were very good.

 

It is not my intention to be a Negative Nancy here but I feel the need to share this and would love to here from others who have taken this cruise recently.

 

Wow we were on POA doing b2b in Jan. and never experienced any of your issues.

 

We have also done the same cruise 3 times prior and all b2b.

[Zeno]

Different things are important to different people. Several years ago, we had a wonderful POA cruise with no major complaints. Really - our only complaint was the hassle we had getting our cabin set up properly (We had 3 people in it and had to call HK several times before it was set up correctly - something we had requested in advance). Our cabin steward as fine. We ate mostly at the buffet (always in a hurry to get off the shop and onto whatever island and then too tired out to be bothered with "dining properly"). The entertainment (when we had the energy for it) was pretty good - LOVED Toby Beau - sp?)

 

BUT - our goal was to see as much of Hawaii as possible (the other cruiselines simply do not give you the same amount of actual "Hawaii time" - lots of days at see (which we don't particularly like). So this cruise suited us. Someone looking for a more "traditional" cruise experience might not be as happy with POA as we were.

[mindy2]

Thanks for your post. Regardless of what other people like to make of subjective information, its always good to read of others experiences.

[April42749]

OP is entitled to his objective opinion and experience.

 

As to the service, Americans will never give the same level of service as "the others". They are not used to being "the underlings"...and probably doing this for "the fun and glory"...until they discover they will be just cleaning up after people etc.

 

I hate to say it, but, this is why, at home, "undocumented workers" are the best when it comes to "taking care of people jobs". It's their livelihood...not just to make a few dollars while waiting for something better.

 

Now the transfer issue....that's horrible. I've found that it's easier to "do it myself" than wait for a pee-arranged service.

[Vyhanek]

I didn't think experienced cruisers mess with the hassle of the airport shuttles and transfers.

 

They are always as you describe, it's waiting, more waiting and then once you finally get to the hotel, you get off the bus with a whole herd so more waiting in line in the lobby of the hotel. Getting from the airport you take a taxi, you take Uber but never, never take cruise line transfers. This should be on some basic insider tips and tricks.

 

I do agree with you that shrimp cocktail should be offered in the main dining room several times during the week. I'll go so far as to say, it should be on the menu every night.

[$hip$hape]

"Thank God the itinerary was amazing" OP

I prefer to give God the credit for the fabulous Hawaiian Islands but

I suppose if you were so inclined you could give the credit to NCL, I guess.

Misunderstandings...

(You changed from "itinerary" to "Islands")

 

We chose to cruise on the Norwegian Pride of America for it's itinerary.

Just to compare, a month before our cruise, my sister and family went on a (land) tour of Hawaii.

They spent five days of getting up early(5 am) for flights on a small plane, hopping from island to island,

packing and unpacking between each airport and hotel.

Edited May 12, 2017 by $hip$hape

[Wendy-Europe]

„Unfortunately“ POA is working under american flag – very very different situation. Advantage is – they don´t need to include a “foreign port” in their itinerary.

 

But they have to employ mostly americans, pay minimum wages, honor labour rights and so on… and sometimes (or often) work ethics of american citizens is not as high as from Philippines or from Indonesia.

 

The "Merchant Marine Act of 1920," often called The "Jones Act," required U.S.-flagged vessels to be built in the United States, owned by U.S. citizens, and documented ("flagged") under the laws of the United States.It also required that all officers and 75% of the crew be U.S. citizens. Vessels satisfying these requirements comprised the "Jones Act Fleet," and only these vessels were allowed to engage in "cabotage", or carrying passengers or cargo between two U.S. ports.[/url]

Another important aspect of the Act is that it allowed injured sailors to obtain compensation from their employers for the negligence of the owner, the captain, or fellow members of the crew.

 

 

They had the same problems since they start under american flag - whatever you experienced is the very very enhanced situation. It was worse at the beginning.