Roll Call: Pride of Aloha 8/26/07

[Felini]

Gay couple from Oahu, Hawaii taking a week off to celebrate one of our Birthdays...

any other gay/lesbian cruisers on board?

[Oppgaard]

We will be on the 10 night sailing of the POAl 10/10. Would like to hear what you thought of your cruise upon your return.

 

Thanks.

[Felini]

Hi Oppgaard...here's a general rundown...

Our trip was very good, we had 1 mishap where our toilet stopped working which overflowed and flooded our room. Took them a day and half to rectify this but after being shuffled around to 3 different rooms, ultimately we got upgraded to a bigger room. This shouldve have been handled better.

 

I should mention that this is our 6th time doing the interisland cruise on NCL. the first being the Norwegian Star back in '02. (this was the itinerary that still had to go down to Fanning island so the ships could dock into an international port.) We've since done all the other NCL ships with the Pride of Aloha being done twice.

 

Truthfully, before this cruise, Pride of Aloha was the least favorite of all the other trips. The main reason being when we first did this itinerary in '04, it was when the ship first started its tour here in Hawaii, and it was the first set of the Domestic staff and they were in the middle of their first contract. It was obvious that the new staff didnt realize how hard work it was gonna be and alot were noticeably unhappy and tired. The service was very poor and it made a great impact on our trip.

3 years later however, there is a definite change. The staff now are alot more cohesive and things went alot smoother, which made quite a difference.

 

The ship

Does show some wear and could probably use a refurbishment in the next couple of years. The staterooms are comparable in size to other cruise lines, but the showers are definitely smaller. Very limited channels on the TV but most dont spend much time in the rooms anyway. One tip would be to bring an extension cord. there is only 1 outlet in the main cabin and 1 in the bathroom. If you're planning on bring any electrical devices like phone chargers etc, you'll want the extra outlets.

For the dining rooms, the 2 main dining rooms are ok and were never too full to get a seat, either immediately or within 15 minutes, even at prime dining time. If you've ever experienced "freestyle" dining, it's great. no pressure to get back on the ship at a certain time and you can plan your evening activities easily without having to have dinner at a specific time. The one complaint people do have is that they dont get to know other people on board as easily since they arent seated with the same people every night.

The 3 specialty restaurants are all pretty good. We liked the Italian one the best. If you dine in any of them after 9pm, you get 50% off the cover charge. Try to book these on the first day or two of the cruise, they do tend to fill up.

Another thing to remember...find out when lobster night is and plan to eat in one of the main dining rooms on this night. In the main dining room, you can order all the tails you want, in the specialty restaurants you cant. My other half at 6 tails (me rolls eyes).

 

The Ports

We always rent a car while in port and just sight see with no real plan. Things I'd recommend...

Kauai, see Waimea canyon, pretty amazing. After that, drive a bit further up the hill and stop at Kokee Lodge, pretty place and then drive a bit further still and go see the KalalauValley lookout. If you're lucky and the skies are clear, you'll get a view of the valley you will never forget. There are 2 lookouts for this with one being the better view. If you can, try taking a helicopter tour, you wont regret it.

Also, drive out to Hanalei on the north side..stop at the lookout with a view of the Taro fields below...beautiful.

 

Maui, Iao valley is nice and worth seeing. Also, visit the Maui Ocean Center, very nice aquarium there. Drive to Hana..but if you do this, plan on it being the whole day...it's a long drive through cliffs on a narrow road...3-ish hours there and 3-ish hours back. Hana is a very small town so dont expect much when you get there. The drive is what you'll remember. If you brave the drive, stop at the 7 sacred pools...amazing. If you want to get some beach time, head to Makena and go to Little Beach, nude sunbathing there with the far end of the beach being primarily gay.

Your cruise ports in Lahaina too? very nice waterfront town with alot of nice shopping.

 

Hilo, go out to Volcanoes national park. See about doing an excursion that you can hike to the Lave flow. Long and hot but worth it. Hilo also has a zoo with a Bengal tiger if you're interested in that. Alot of small shops in Hilo also. If you remember, go to Big Island Candies, great chocolate dipped shortbread cookies, you can watch them doing all the dipping and candy making too.

 

Kona, nice walk along the waterfront here too with some nice shops. You can also ride some jetskis or even parasail. Very Fun!

 

For Kona and Lahaina, you'll be tendered to shore, try to get your tender tickets early if you plan on going ashore early. Also when riding the tenders in/back. try to get the seats on the top. You'll be in open air and get great views from outside.

 

One last thing I can think of...on the 7 day cruise on all ships, you'll sail around the Napali Coast of Kauai on the port side. If you have a room with a balcony, try to get one on the port side. The Napali Coast is always my favorite part of the trip...simply amazing and beautiful.

 

Well, this turned out to be really long but tried to write down all I could think of. I'm sure there's more I'm forgetting...if you have any other questions feel free to email me.

 

Mark