POA June 8 - 15 2023

[mskaufman]

A word about us.  We are fairly experienced cruisers with multiple cruises across multiple lines.  This is our third cruise with NCL.

Overview - The itinerary sells this cruise and the itinerary is great (Hawaii).  If you are looking for a cruise where the ship is the destination, you might think about a different cruise. (More on that later)

 

A word on NCL Air - For a variety of reasons we did not book air through NCL on this trip (although we have in the past). I know a number of people complain about less than optimal routings when they book through the cruise line.  However....... We were supposed to depart Honolulu at 7 pm and at 6:45 the captain came on to inform us that a flight with some guests would not land until 8pm so the departure time what moved to 9:30 pm.

 

Cabins - We had an oceanview.  It was small compared to other lines. No place to sit other than on the bed.  With the beds in the king configuration they blocked the window.  Remember the days with turn down service, towel animals, and chocolate on the pillows? Not here.  What you basically get is the beds made an light housekeeping.  This might be one of the areas where NCL has had trouble staffing post pandemic.  We hardly saw our cabin steward and it appeared that she had a large number of rooms to take care of.  Anyway, cabin service was pretty basic.  One day, our room was not made up until after 4.

 

Buffer - Pretty standard.  Food was varied and good.

 

Dining Room - Food was good.  Service was hit or miss. A lot of new staff that seemed like they were learning on the job. More than one told us that this was their first cruise.

 

Specialty Restaurants - We did not do that.  Prices seemed to be similar to what we would pay at home, which was more than just an up charge from the dining room.

 

Entertainment - No production shows. Also, there was not a show in the theatre every night.  There was a singer and a comedian who each got two nights. There was also a piano player/singer who had a show.

 

Excursions - NCL and third party excursions were sometimes sold out several weeks in advance.  In the end we were able to do what we wanted through a combination of NCL tours, third party tours, and DIY.

 

Maui - We did the Road to Hana on day 1 and the sunrise on day 2.  Both were excellent.  Special call out to Road to Hana from Roberts (Bjorn was an awesome guide).

 

Hilo - We did Volcanoes NP. It was fine.  I guess our expectations were that we would see some lava, but not so.

 

Kona - We did some shopping and went to the beach by the tender pier. Also, spent a fair amount on shaved ice.

 

Kuai - Went to the Luau with about 800 of our fellow cruisers. Very good show.  Whether it is worth the money has to be a personal decisions. In the morning we went to the beach.  We were told it was a 20 minute walk.  However, two malls (using that term loosely) ran free shuttles to their malls, which were across the street from the beach. Beach was gorgeous.  Next day we went to Waimea Canyon.  Very picturesque.

 

Shopping - Plenty of shopping opportunities.  All of the ABC stores have the same things.  If you are interested in basic souvenirs (hats, shirts, etc.) the Honolulu WalMart has a better selection and a hat that I saw for $19 was $7 in Walmart. Shirts were also two-thirds of the going rate.

 

Pictures - Plenty of photo ops. Will share once I get home and start to go through them.

 

Happy to answer questions.

 

 

[ggTexasGal]

Thank you for your overview trip report. I will be looking forward to your photos.

I hope your flight(s) home go well!

[mskaufman]

Will be a couple of weeks until I have a chance to download. Will probably post under the Hawaii forum 

[vegasvic88]

Do you have the MDR menus?  Sorry - didn't see if you had posted your review or pics.