Pride of Aloha 7/18 review

[margu1241]

Hope this is OK to post here, I did submit it to the review board, but there is a delay in posting. If it needs to be pulled by the mods I will totally understand:

Pride of Aloha (7/18/2004)

 

Embarkation: Very smooth. We arrived at the pier at around noon, checked our bags and got in line. They opened the doors at around 12:30 to let us in out of the heat, though we continued to wait a short while inside. We were on the ship by 1:15.

 

If you can swing it consider the pre-cruise deal at the Marriott with NCL. You check in at the hotel and then are dropped at the pier where you go through a separate entrance and then right on board.

 

The Room: We had aft balcony 9077, kids inside in 9351 and in-laws in balcony 0245. Two rooms were ready when we got on, one was being finished. One room had their bags there within a half hour of embarkation. The rest of us waited until 10:30 pm. The balconies did not look clean and were not touched during the cruise. I cleaned the furniture with a soapy washcloth. There was a dirty bag of clothes under the bed, presumably from last week’s occupants. We did have the bed made each day, clean towels and turn down at night in all three rooms. Two rooms had their ice buckets refilled morning and night.

 

Dining: A bit of a disappointment, but after reading review we had lowered our expectations. The good is that the three specialty restaurants were excellent in both food quality and service. Service in the main dining rooms was hit or miss. We ate there 4 nights (once just to keep the kids company as they were tired of pizza or the buffet). Only one night was truly bad, the night of the diving accident which affected service on the ship. Got to the dining room at 6:45 and were seated at 8:20. We finished the meal at 10, just in time to pick up at kids program. This was lobster night, I don’t eat it but the rest of my group did and said it was dried out. I believe this was Tuesday, but it is kind of a blur to me (they really could use the day of the week carpets I have had on RCCL and Carnival in the elevators!). Many people were irate that night and really giving the staff a hard time. I would like to have seen uniformed officers at each dining room so that pax would have someone to complain to besides the bottom line staff. There was someone handing out champagne, which was at least a nice touch.

Another night we took the kids to eat in main dining room before our dinner at Le Bistro. My son ordered a peanut butter and jelly from the kids menu (he didn’t say the word sandwich) and he got a plate with a variety of jellies and a peanut butter tub in the middle! I asked for bread and she came back with two pieces of mangled and frozen white bread so we used the french bread in the basket.

The last night we lucked into a waiter, Dino, who was recommended by someone on the repo cruise. He was great and it was a good meal to end the cruise on.

My main complaints about the dining room are the hit and miss aspect to finding a good server and the fact that the menu was basically the same all week, with the addition of a small flap of specials. I am used to having a totally different menu each night.

There were times of the day when food (other than pizza or room service) was not available. Coming back to the ship after an excursion late in the afternoon those where the choices and ice cream from 3-5. I would have liked to see some kind of snack food around 9-11, especially on those nights that we ate earlier than we would have liked in the dining room to avoid a wait.

 

Service: I think that for the most part the staff was hard working and trying their best to please. The ship is understaffed-cruise director stated during a show that there were 800 crew on board, supposed to be 950 according to brochure. We ran into many people unhappy with their room stewards, the worst being a young couple who claimed to have had no room service all week and of being told where they could go to get clean towels. Each of my rooms had a different steward, so we were lucky to get three good ones. Service in the dining room was hit or miss. To avoid the wait we got there at 5:00 and waited in line. Service in the extra fee restaurants was incredible, as was the food.

 

Cruise Critic Party: It was nice to meet everyone and connect a face with the posts! I apologize for the confusion which initially caused us to have no drinks available. I was expecting a cash bar to be available, but they had not thought that we would want that. In my contact with NCL I was asked if we needed any AV equipment, to which I answered no, and somehow that was interpreted to mean that I didn’t need anything. Gary the Group Services Coordinator stopped by and our very own Joy convinced him to make Mai Tai’s for the group (a big thank you Joy for making that happen). Advice for those planning these in the future-be very specific in your expectations.

 

Kids Club: A big disappointment for my 12 yo. He has been on RCCL and Carnival and both allowed him to sign himself in and out. Not so with NCL. It wouldn’t have been a problem had then not lied to parents on the first night by stating that the 6-9 and 10-12 would be in separate groups doing age appropriate activities. This was simply not true. When we picked him up they were all together. Not cool for a 12 year old! We ended up buying two way radios in Kauai so that he could reach us to come get him if he wasn’t having a good time.

My 15 yo met a group of kids through the teen’s program and they would either hang out together or do the activities of the program. She was much happier.

 

Shore Excursions: Most were arranged independent of NCl with the exception of Kona Coffee then and Now.

In Kauai, on day one we rented a car and some took a surfing lesson. Then we returned to the ship for lunch before heading out for a drive to Waimea canyon. On day two we took a helicopter trip, which was incredible!

In Hilo we rented a car and drove to the Volcano. We toured around, but did not attempt the walk to the lava. If I was to go back, I would head straight to the lava and do that first then do other things in the park as time allowed. We took a scenic drive on the return and then stopped at What's Shakin for smoothies. We had seen this on Food Network and they really were great smoothies and the ride was very nice.

In Kona, some went on NCL's coffee tour which was enjoyable. Some of us went to the beach and to Walmart. There is an incredible view of the ship from the Walmart parking lot.

In Maui we rented a car and on day one went to the Haleakala zipline (great fun, I would highly recommend it) and Tedeshi winery, which was quite nice. Back to the ship for lunch and to change for a trip to Lahaina for the Old Lahaina luau (fantastic show). Day two we started out on the road to Hana, but only made it as far a twin falls. Stopped to see the windsurfers on the way back. Some of us returned to ship while others went to a botanical garden.

 

Bishop Museum Fee: NCL will charge your account 2.50 for each person. I don’t have a problem with the idea of making a donation, but would have preferred that they had gotten permission in the first place. A simple question at embarkation would have saved them a lot of headaches on the last night when people were having it removed from their bills. The line was quite long and I am sure there were people who would have removed it if they didn’t have to wait in line to do it.

 

Debarkation: We had a 2:30 flight so signed up for the Natural Wonders of Oahu that was designed to get you to the airport by noon (flights after 2 pm only could go on the tour). It was a good idea, but the way the pier is configured, there is a limit to the numbers of tour buses that can wait at any one time. Tour was supposed to leave at 8:30, but due to the bottleneck did not leave until around 10:15. We knew it would be tight so talked to shore excursion staff on the pier and they agreed to credit back the price of the tour and put us on NCL bus to airport at no charge. I think they handled it well, we shall see how easy it is to get our credit. I would think carefully about arranging a post cruise excursion, particularly to Pearl Harbor. Those didn’t leave until between 9-10. At that point the wait to get in will be very late.

 

 

Patty

[margu1241]

Conclusion : All in all I was pleasantly surprised by this cruise. I had been reading a lot of negative reviews so didn't know what to expect. We generally had good service and could forgive that which was not the best. The staff did seem to want to please, I think they just need more training and more staff to even things out. It was a totally different experience than our previous cruises, I think because it is so port intensive. My recommendation for those travelling in the future is to go with an open mind. If possible, eat in the three fee restaurants as they are light years better than the dining room. If you are expecting gourmet food and top notch service and don't want to pay for Kahili, Le Bistro or Pacific Heights I think you might be dissapointed. We looked at the cruise as a "floating hotel" and really enjoyed our port time and our shore excursions. The port time, combined with the wide variety of shore excursions available in Hawaii made this cruise worthwhile.

 

Patty

[mikefast]

Thanks for the review. Sounds like it is slowly getting better. We had booked the first cruise on the Pride of America, but were bumped to the Pride of Aloha after the problems with the ship. We had been looking forward to the first cruise on a new ship, but now it seems like it might be a good thing to go on a ship that has had a few cruises under it's belt.

[gardencat]

margu1241

 

Thank you so much for posting that interesting and detailed review.

 

You already know my view about the 'alternate dinning' but I will add it here for others on the board.

 

If I were on one of these cruises, I would hate to feel that I am being forced to eat in the specialty restaurants and give NCL more of my money, because they are not giving me good value for the money I have already spent. It would feel like I am rewarding them, with extra income, for not giving me good value for the fare I already paid.

 

In my view they have contracted to provide customers with decent service and food. Until they can do that, they should not be diverting staff to extra money making areas.

 

However, I’m afraid NCL will continue to do this, because every customer who gets disgusted with the wait or the service in the main restaurant, and goes to an extra-pay restaurant, puts more money in NCL's pocket so they have little motivation to improve this.

I understand that someone on their vacation might just want to enjoy a meal ,rather than being stressed out, and may feel that it is the lesser of two evils just to pay the extra price but I guess that is why NCL thinks they will get away with this and 'people will just get used to it." At least thanks to this board and info from passengers like you people will be forewarned.

 

I am glad that you did manage to have a great vacation.

 

 

 

 

[MareT]

Thanks for your review, Patty. We were anxiously waiting to read your review as we leave in 2 weeks. Glad to hear things seem to be improving somewhat. My main concern has been the room so I'm hoping we luck out and get a good room steward like you did. Glad you had a great time and welcome home.

[sweet sea]

Thanks Patty...DH and I are booked for the end of Jan. and as of right now I have some very mixed feelings about this trip. This will be our first time in Hawaii and we thought that cruising would be the best way to see the high-lights of each island...We can for the same price we are paying for this cruise do a land stay ...island hop and visit 3 islands.

 

To cruise ...or not to cruise ...that is the question...There are pros and cons to each... We will just keep reading reviews and hope things get a lot better in the months ahead.

[ERNLYN]

Could you advise, Which dining room was Dino stationed. Also what time did NCL start letting pax off the ship at the end of your cruise

[LouChamp]

Welcome home and thank you for your review. I think you presented all the important points in a very concise manner which someone like myslef planning to cruise in a few weeks can appreciate. All too often, perosnal opinions overtake general information and observations which future cruisers need and what this board is really for. I think you posted one of the most informative reviews I have read on the NCL board (and otehrs for that fact) in a long time.

Thanks again!

All the best.

[shipcafe]

Hi Patty,

 

You mentioned "diving accident'. I hope that no one was seriously hurt in this? What exactly happened?

 

Steve

http://www.shipcafe.net

[margu1241]

Steve,

I didn't link the diving accident as I thought there were a few threads already, but here is a link to the article:

http://starbulletin.com/2004/07/23/news/story3.html

The ship uses staff for multiple positions and some of the wait staff was involved as rescue personnel which in turn affected the dining room.

 

ERNYLN,

Dino was in Palace, but mentioned that he is going on vacation in a few weeks. I didn't think to ask him how long he will be off, but I think they take 5 weeks off.

 

Patty

[Host CMLA]

If I were on one of these cruises, I would hate to feel that I am being forced to eat in the specialty restaurants and give NCL more of my money, because they are not giving me good value for the money I have already spent.

 

In my view they have contracted to provide customers with decent service and food. Until they can do that, they should not be diverting staff to extra money making areas.

Isn't food quality and taste subjective? Gardencat, when you did your NCL cruise, did you like the food? On the Dawn right? I liked the food on the Star, the Wind, the Dream, and the Norway. I didn't like everything I had on the Sky. It was only OK. The food on RCI's Mariner of the Seas was only so so. How can you make a general comment about NCL as a whole not providing good food as a fact and not an opinion? Especially if you've only been on one of their ships so your own experience is pretty limited. And no one is forced to eat in the alternative restaurants.

[gardencat]

Cecelia,

Since this thread was about the POA my comments were about the POA also. I did not anywhere state 'NCL as a whole'. Perhaps I should have stated that up front and/or should have referred to the fact that cruisers are giving extra money to NCLA when they dine in an alternate restaurant.

 

I don't believe that I stated any where as a fact "about NCL as a whole not providing good food " I said "If I were on one of these cruises, I would hate to feel that I am being forced to eat in the specialty restaurants and give NCL more of my money, because they are not giving me good value for the money I have already spent. "

 

I stand by that statement. I will go further here and say that I do think that many people who have cruised on POA recently, do feel that they did not get good value for their money in the area of food and dinning service. Here are some quote's from various reviews that I think support this statement:

 

 

we ate earlier than we would have liked in the dining room to avoid a wait.

The dining situation on this ship is absolutely HORRIBLE!!!!

 

 

 

 

NCL is so focused on making extra money at the “specialty restaurants” that the other two choices (the two dining rooms have the same menu so the alternative is the buffet) are rather poorly done.

 

 

Waits for seating at restaurants of 45 minutes, even though one could see empty tables, not worth it since the meals took over two hours and if the waiter did not feel like going back to the kitchen, you did not get your appetizer or salad even if you had ordered it.

 

In the two restuarants on the cruise you waited 45 mins to an hour to be seated and then it took them 2 to 3 hours to serve you lunch or dinner. People were violent about all of this.

Even Cruise Critic Editor Carolyn Spencer Brown had this to say about the 'food experience' on POA:

 

we debated finding a place for lunch in the port town of Kahului (still trying to avoid Pride of Aloha for the mid-day meal)

I've started to have nightmares about the ship's buffet (surly staff, long lines, and it seems like they're always out of something you really want --

most people decided to try the Palace or Crossings -- Pride of Aloha's main dining rooms -- and passengers told me that waits for a table were up to an hour (and tempers were flaring).

I could easily have found more similar quotes if I had taken a little longer to look. So, I think it is reasonable to say that quite a number of people did not find the 'included dinning' options satisfactory on the POA.

 

As margu1241 put it:

 

If possible, eat in the three fee restaurants as they are light years better than the dining room. If you are expecting gourmet food and top notch service and don't want to pay for Kahili, Le Bistro or Pacific Heights I think you might be dissapointed.

[lbryant]

Patty,

Thank you so much for all your information. We leave on 10/3 and are also working all the reviews into our expectations to be prepared. Do you happen to have menus or photos of menus from the specialty restaurants? Like you, I don't mind paying extra for these experiences and we have planned (budgeted) to try each of them at least once. The first night on board is my BD and I hoped to pick a great one. Any advice? We like Italian, Asian and the items listed on Le Bistro menus for other ships (don't know if POA Bistro is the same or not). Was it difficult to get reservations during the cruise?

We've just booked the pre-cruise hotel at the Marriot to take advantage of the early check-in and early booking for restaurants on Day #1; but I had heard the CSC doesn't have menus to help make that choice. Do you happen to know what time they transport you to the Pier (closer to noon? closer to 3?). Once you're checked in, can you get off to walk around? Is it a hassle to get back on?

Another question: did they let you bring our own soda aboard? Someone posted you could not bring any food on board, but didn't know if a 6-pack of Pepsi was a problem.

How did you go about arranging a CC gathering? So far one person has responded to my roll call, but neither of us know how to contact NCL before hand or set up any meeting space with crew/managers, etc.

Again, thank you for the information. Take Care - Laura

[ERNLYN]

Thank you Margu for your review, and the information....I guess Dino will be out during our trip...Great review!!!

[Markandrews]

Margu,

 

So glad you enjoyed your trip on the POAloha and thanks for the honest and positive review.

[Traveler39]

Gardencat, your reply to Cecilia's comments were right on and well written... It really gets old to me when Cecilia challenges comments that she feels puts ncl in a bad light.... With so many negative comments about the food and service on the poa why would anyone try to switch the comments over to defending all of ncl when that was what you said in your post..

 

Everyone has a right to their opinion and mine is that we should not support the special service resturants and pay extra for that privilage until the main dining rooms perform to expectations... It does not make sense to continue to have problems with food selection and service while supporting the pay as you go concept of free style dining... I fully support a speciality dining experience at a special fee but not when the main dining rooms and buffet are not fulfulling the normal expectations of a cruise...

[cnmiranda]

Thank you for the review Patty:) Looks as though the food/cleanliness issues are still there. This is only the third cruise of the islands alone though, hope things continue to get better in the future.

[ladybug103]

Personally, and we are quite new..we plan to only eat exclusively at the specialty resturants where the service seems much better than the main ones, according to the reviews,so far.

After all, isn't that what is about in America? The more money you have, the better service? What is the problem here, we have all been raised to know that money speaks...yes? So this Star or Malaysian Comapany has figured this out and is capitalizing on it?

[4 cruisers]

Yes, specialty restaurants are available on many ships...at home you can choose to go to Mc Donalds or Outback Steakhouse...I guess more money DOES buy you better food and service:p . Is that a bad thing???:confused: We got a great deal on the Star to Hawaii last year, ate in the specialty restaurants EVERY night and had amazing food and service. For us, it fit our style and with pre-planning, our budget as well.

We're trying RCI Splendour (for the itinerary) and won't have the specialty restaurant options. Again we got a wonderful deal and I have read that the food isn't the greatest...we knew it going in, so I'll report on it to Cruise Critic, but I will try not to whine since it was a choice I made! Still hoping to be pleasantly surprised:rolleyes:

[gardencat]

ladybug103

 

I think the problem is that, while it has been possible for a while now, to pay extra for an outstanding dinning experience on many cruise ships, it was still possible to have a pleasant tasty, reasonably well served meal in the regular dinning room. Now ,it appears, (on POA at least) the only place to get a good meal, properly served, in a timely manner is to pay an extra fee. Many passengers who have read the brochures and been sold on the idea that a cruise includes accommodation, entertainment and food, are IMHO justifiably upset when they discover they have to shell out yet again for a decent meal.

 

Maybe I can explain it this way: if I go to a major chain fast food restaurant, I don't expect gourmet dinning, but I do expect to be served food that is edible and while I don't expect table service, I don't expect to wait 40 minutes to get my burger. I also expect that there will be a reasonable selection of condiments available. If those expectations aren't meet I will feel I have been gyped, even if my dinner only cost $4.99.

 

4cruisers,

 

I don't have too much objection to the alternate, extra charge dinning on a ship ,if the regular dinning is up to scratch. Then it really just becomes your choice if you wamt to pay extra for an exceptional meal.

 

It's just when they are not providing acceptable basic dinning that the extra charge really grates. I understand your desire to enjoy a meal, rather than stand on principle, who wants to be stressed out on vacation? . I guess that is why NCL thinks they will get away with this and 'people will just get used to it."

[cnmiranda]

To me it is a bad thing because it seems you are being forced to eat at the specialty restaurants for a good meal. I have already mentioned in other threads this cruise is several hundred dollars more than your average week long itinerary. It is not right to have to pay an addioinal $30 per night per couple to eat acceptable food. Cruises are billed as dining extravaganzas, not treats for only those that are willing to pay a few hundred dollars more in addition to what they've already spent.

 

Specialty restaurants are fine when you want to enjoy them, but the reoccuring comments are that the only way you will have a good meal is if you pay up for it. I feel I've paid up already. Just my .02 on the subject:)

[gardencat]

cnmiranda

 

That is my point exactly and put very succinctly.

[dalwhitt]

Obviously, Cecilia is once again in the minority on this issue.

 

Gardencat, you are 100 percent right. I will pay for the specialty restaurants because I want to salvage my vacation.

[buchie614]

I feel the same way Gardencat. Will be on poa 8-8-05

[Traveler39]

It seems we are all in agreement here on the specialty resturants... It is ok for them to be available and it is great that some passengers will pay to eat there.... BUT.... they should never be used by the cruise company, NCL in this case, to provide make up for the bland dining experience of the main dining rooms.....Paying the going rate for the poa should allow the passengers to have nice food and service in the main dinning rooms