Pride of Hawaii , June 5-12 ,2006 cruise

[Kapuna]

Just returned from her 1st island cruise . We expected service problems etc. but encountered absolutely none !

 

We tried 7 of the 10 restaurants and received excellent food and service in all ( well , the buffet needs a little fine tuning ) . The weather was perfect , so that views of the Na Pali coast and lava flow were spectacular .

 

Everything went so smoothly that we would have to rate it as one of the best cruises in years .

[lomillerin]

I am so glad to hear a good review.

 

Can you tell me what night was the optional formal night?

Do you happen to remember what was offered in the main dining rooms each night? Was it different each evening?

 

I am trying to plan which nights to make dining ressies at the specialty restaurants?

 

 

Do we need ressies at the Mexican, Italian, and main dining rooms also?

[mphill1022]

hi -

glad you had a good time--- can you tell me if the view of the napali coast was in the morning or the evening--- also do you know what are the half price nights for the speciality restaurants

thanks

malcolm

[2cruiseagain]

Kapuna,

 

Glad you had a good time. It seems a little touch and go from here on the mainland re: POH.

 

Do you remember if they had lobster night in the main dining rooms? If so, which night was it? Also, I think there is an optional formal night. Again, which night and which main dining room?

 

Sorry for the questions right away.

[Kapuna]

The optional formal night was on Thursday , but few people dressed up . That was also the lobster night . Both in the Grand Pacific dining room . We made dinner reservations each morning . There were no 1/2 price specials as far as I know , but 3 of the specialty restaurants have no cover charge anyway ; we liked the Italian ( no charge ) and the steak house ( cover charge ) .

 

The Na Pali coast viewing was on Sunday afternoon - absolutely spectacular !

[wookie78]

Glad to hear you had a good experience on the POH!

Welcome back to reality.

 

I have read many places that you can only see the NaPali Coast from the Port side of the ship. Is that true? We want to sit on our balcony an view it but unfortunately it is on the starboard side. If we have to go up on deck to see it, is any particular place better?

[zimmerjulie]

Just returned from her 1st island cruise . We expected service problems etc. but encountered absolutely none !

 

We tried 7 of the 10 restaurants and received excellent food and service in all ( well , the buffet needs a little fine tuning ) . The weather was perfect , so that views of the Na Pali coast and lava flow were spectacular .

 

Everything went so smoothly that we would have to rate it as one of the best cruises in years .

 

So glad you had a wonderful, problem-free cruise. I thought the food and service were excellent, as well, and would love to be back on this ship! (I had a dream last night about the desserts in Cagney's:p ). The best cruise in several years, for me.

[DrivesLikeMario]

Just returned from her 1st island cruise . We expected service problems etc. but encountered absolutely none !

 

We tried 7 of the 10 restaurants and received excellent food and service in all ( well , the buffet needs a little fine tuning ) . The weather was perfect , so that views of the Na Pali coast and lava flow were spectacular .

 

Everything went so smoothly that we would have to rate it as one of the best cruises in years .

 

Boy, is that good to hear! Glad you enjoyed it so much and thanks for the feedback about it!

[wwleader]

I am so glad to hear good things about POH; we are on the June 26 sailing; arriving thursday in Oahu to do our own thing; and we rented cars at all ports except Kona; my husband, 14 year old son and I are sooo looking forward to it; never sailed NCL but have done 9 cruises and absolutely love cruising...what could be bad; its Hawaii

[Kapuna]

Yes , the Na Pali coast is seen from the left side of the ship . But there is plenty of deck space for viewing . The lava flow can be seen from either side since the ship is turned around .

 

We found it usefull to have dinner early ,5:30 or 6 PM , to get fast service and make it to the first show .

[Cruisin' Larry]

We were recently on the Jewel and encountered people smoking EVERYWHERE on the ship. Did you experience this?

[Nevaeh]

What type of activities did they have for you to do while on board? Do you remember which days?

[kitchacaT]

despite freestyle dining options I understand that you still need to dine within a time frame if you want to see the evenings shows. Do you know what time the shows were on the ship. Were there two showings per nite.

any help would be great because I am trying to coordinate our group for dining.

 

Thanks in advance and am so glad you were having a good cruise.Some of the reviews were making me nervous and I had second thoughts on the criuse portion,not Hawaii.

 

also were there any comedy s hows or acts in the niteclubs?

 

kitchacat

[DrivesLikeMario]

despite freestyle dining options I understand that you still need to dine within a time frame if you want to see the evenings shows. Do you know what time the shows were on the ship. Were there two showings per nite.

any help would be great because I am trying to coordinate our group for dining.

 

I'm dying to know the answer to this question also. Our dining reservations will have to work around the shows.

 

Thanks for the help!

[Kapuna]

I'm dying to know the answer to this question also. Our dining reservations will have to work around the shows.

 

Thanks for the help!

 

For the main production shows there are 2 shows per night ; 7:30 and 9:30 PM , if I remember correctly .

Yes , there are also comics , etc . but we did not make it to these . Actually , our favorite pasttime was to listen to the wonderful duo in the Atrium at various times ( Butch O'Sullivan ).

There are lots of activities , ranging from Hula to sports to deck games , etc .

 

We had no problem with smokers ; there are designated smoking areas .

Just enjoy your vacation and don't worry about these little details !

[zimmerjulie]

any help would be great because I am trying to coordinate our group for dining.

kitchacat

 

kitchacat, as someone who has planned group activities on Freestyle ships, I heartily recommend that you plan to meet somewhere prior to your agreed-upon dining time for a bit of a social time, regrouping, buffer, a cocktail, etc...maybe 20 minutes prior. The only thing that gave me stress on that trip was being at the door of the dining room at our assigned time and WAITING for those who were late. We didn't want to be seated without our missing people (excluding them from the group meal), but didn't have any idea when (or IF) they were coming. This was with a group of about 20 with varying degrees of promptness. Another option would be to have an agreement that if you are can not make it at the agreed-upon time, you will be on your own. It makes it less stressful for those who are on time AND those who are late.

 

Maybe your group is smaller and wouldn't have these problems, but it is something to consider and something that would have made my cruise better, had I thought of it.

 

It will be different with you having so much port time, but for me, I like to eat early. You don't have to wait for a table, you usually get a good spot, and you can hit either show based on what else you want to do that night.

[Zeno]

kitchacat, as someone who has planned group activities on Freestyle ships, I heartily recommend that you plan to meet somewhere prior to your agreed-upon dining time for a bit of a social time, regrouping, buffer, a cocktail, etc...maybe 20 minutes prior. The only thing that gave me stress on that trip was being at the door of the dining room at our assigned time and WAITING for those who were late. We didn't want to be seated without our missing people (excluding them from the group meal), but didn't have any idea when (or IF) they were coming. This was with a group of about 20 with varying degrees of promptness. Another option would be to have an agreement that if you are can not make it at the agreed-upon time, you will be on your own. It makes it less stressful for those who are on time AND those who are late.

 

Maybe your group is smaller and wouldn't have these problems, but it is something to consider and something that would have made my cruise better, had I thought of it.

 

It will be different with you having so much port time, but for me, I like to eat early. You don't have to wait for a table, you usually get a good spot, and you can hit either show based on what else you want to do that night.

 

What a great suggestion for people in groups!

[DrivesLikeMario]

Thanks so much for the show times. Looks like we'll plan to eat at 7pm (with reservations) and then go to the 9:30pm show.

 

Thanks a lot! :)

[Cruisin' Larry]

You mentioned smoking was only in designated areas... what areas do you mean? On the Jewel there was smoking in the bars, lounges, balconies, poolside, etc...

[Kapuna]

From the handout given to passengers :

" Smoking Policy : Smoking in designated bars and lounges and on the Starboard side of the pool deck only ".

 

There seems to be concern after the recent balcony fire on the Star Princess .

[happycruisertx]

The optional formal night was on Thursday , but few people dressed up . That was also the lobster night . Both in the Grand Pacific dining room . We made dinner reservations each morning . There were no 1/2 price specials as far as I know , but 3 of the specialty restaurants have no cover charge anyway ; we liked the Italian ( no charge ) and the steak house ( cover charge ) .

 

The Na Pali coast viewing was on Sunday afternoon - absolutely spectacular !

 

It sounds like a great cruise! We are going on the 10th of July and we can't wait! I am a little confused about the "optional" formal night. I'm assuming you have to dress formally to eat in the dining room on Thursday? How "formal" did most people go? If few people dressed up, and only those dressed up got to eat in the dining room it could be a bit crowded at the other restaurants, not to mention the whole missing lobster and all! ;)

[endi302]

It sounds like a great cruise! We are going on the 10th of July and we can't wait! I am a little confused about the "optional" formal night. I'm assuming you have to dress formally to eat in the dining room on Thursday? How "formal" did most people go? If few people dressed up, and only those dressed up got to eat in the dining room it could be a bit crowded at the other restaurants, not to mention the whole missing lobster and all! ;)

 

As I understand Free Style Cruising, you can eat at any restaurant on any night. I have not seen any postings that limit the choices on Formal night. The only thing I have read about formal night is that the Formal Dress code is optional for those who like to dress up. I think you can still dine in any of the restaurants that night. Your only limitation is how crowded they are and whether reservations are required.

 

Kevin

[Zeno]

It sounds like a great cruise! We are going on the 10th of July and we can't wait! I am a little confused about the "optional" formal night. I'm assuming you have to dress formally to eat in the dining room on Thursday? How "formal" did most people go? If few people dressed up, and only those dressed up got to eat in the dining room it could be a bit crowded at the other restaurants, not to mention the whole missing lobster and all! ;)

 

On NCL optional means optional. You do NOT have to dress up on formal night unless you want to. You will still be allowed in the dining room. In my experience about a third of the people in the dining room on formal night are 'dressed' up.

P.S. Have a GREAT cruise! Hawaii is amazing.

[Kapuna]

It sounds like a great cruise! We are going on the 10th of July and we can't wait! I am a little confused about the "optional" formal night. I'm assuming you have to dress formally to eat in the dining room on Thursday? How "formal" did most people go? If few people dressed up, and only those dressed up got to eat in the dining room it could be a bit crowded at the other restaurants, not to mention the whole missing lobster and all! ;)

Not to worry ! You can go to any restaurant regardless of whether or not you decide to dress up . As I said before , very few people dressed up on the 6/5/06 cruise . After all this is Hawaii where an Aloha shirt is considered dressy .

[happycruisertx]

Thanks all! We'll pack something a little nicer than an Aloha shirt, just probably not the whole suit/tie thing for Hubby, etc...

 

Pam