Hawaii Cruise Reviews

This was our first trip to Hawaii and we wanted to experience as much of it as possible.  We took the cruise out of Honolulu after spending a few days on Waikiki Beach and spent another couple days on the north shore afterward to get a good feel for Oahu.  Seeing the rest of the major islands without the need to pack/unpack is definitely a convenience.  Our balcony cabin was clean and comfortable and the steward service was outstanding.  We did a mix of tours both through the ship and on our own and pretty much enjoyed everything although I wouldn't do the bus tour to Waimea canyon through NCL again.  Look for a small group tour that can get you to more places than their tour bus.  The beautiful canyon itself wasn't the issue but we spent more time on this tour at gift shops.  The entertainment on the cruise was pretty good and diverse although there is no casino on this ship due to Hawaii law I assume.  The public areas of the ship were clean and well maintained if a bit too chilly for my wife's taste.  I did hear of an incident where maintenance personnel were sanding a deck rail near the children's pool on a windy morning resulting in fine particulates spreading across the water while kids were in it.  A complaint by a concerned parent immediately halted the work but that shouldn't have been needed.

My biggest disappointment was really about food and drink.  Naturally, I expect to pay ball park prices for drinks and was not surprised in this regard.  However, running out of their draft IPA halfway through the trip seemed like poor planning on their part.  The increasing use of "specialty" extra charge restaurants is seemingly being encouraged by the cruise line through the declining quality of their overall food options.  While a good burger could be had at the Cadillac Diner, a 24/7 no surcharge small restaurant with a limited menu, they were routinely overdone at the regular grilling stations.  While no one is going to starve on a cruise, the buffet dining is mediocre at best whatever meal you choose.  The restaurant food is better by a good bit, but service was only so so.  This isn't my first NCL cruise and I have also experienced cruises with four other companies.  This was by a good bit the worst I have yet experienced and was significantly worse than an NCL trip a few years back in the western Caribbean.  Prior to this trip I would have said that a highlight of the cruise experience was dining.  That wasn't the case on this trip.  Unfortunately, it wasn't just the quality of the food which as I said wasn't bad in the restaurants.  On a couple of occasions we sat in a less than half full bar for longer than 10 minutes while staff conversed waiting for attention.  I guess when the 18% gratuity is automatic and the staff are predominantly American this is to be expected, but it is not what I have come to expect when cruising.   The limited cruising options in Hawaii still make this a very desirable and enjoyable cruise the islands are beautiful.  Just don't compare the on board experience to any other cruise you have taken and you won't be disappointed.

It is hard to say what I loved most about the cruise, I loved sitting out on our balcony listening to the ship go through the water, I loved the buffet and was sorry I did not discover the Asian food earlier, I loved the Liberty Restaurant and our favorite waiter, David Main.  I loved sitting at the bar on the fifth floor, ordering the special of the day, I loved walking into our cabin at the end of the day finding a neat towel sculpture sitting on our bed.  The cruise was a great way to visit the Hawaiian Islands.  Everything was so well organized and well thought out.

Although the Zaandam was placed into service in 2000, the ship has been well maintained with a high level of cleanliness. Overall the ship is in very good condition, however, there are a couple of area's that could use refurbishment. One area in particular being the Explorations Café. Some of the furniture should have been replaced a long time ago. Shame, as the Explorations Café was a busy spot, especially on sea days.

This is not the ship for the go-go person. It is a smaller ship built for relaxing so you won't find rock climbing walls etc.

This cruise was 18 days with 10 days at sea. I had no problem with the sea days, just relax and enjoy the ride.

The average age of passengers seemed to be a lot higher on this cruise compared to others that I have taken. I don't know if HAL has changed their onboard offerings, but on this cruise, they were very slim.

Despite the sea days and overnight in Honolulu and a couple of late sail always, there was no pool side barbeque, no live entertainment, no buffet with ice carvings etc.

The state room attendant was outstanding. Cabin always neat and any service requests were handled immediately.

I did not eat very often at the Lido Restaurant, but their offerings were varied and slightly above average.

I used the dining room extensively. Attentive and responsive service both for breakfast and lunch. Dinner was a different story. At times service was painfully slow and haphazard, due mostly to the dining room stewards. Some were excellent and others so-so. Menu offerings were varied and the quality of the food was quite good. Great salads offered but at room temperature. Main courses not always served hot.

Service standards are not what they used to be, however, the trend is towards a more casual cruise experience.

The ship would have rated 4 stars, but took one off due to a steward removing the dirty silverware off the salad plate and placed it on the side plate, the intent being I would use dirty silverware for the main course. That did not happen. I did not make a fuss, just reached over and took clean silverware from the unoccupied place settings.

I will sail HAL again. In fact have booked another cruise, but I need to lower my expectations.

The entire staff was great as always. However, with each cruise activities have been either cut back or eliminated. None of the changes experienced have been positive. All seen as cost cutting measures. Most fellow travelers have voiced there similar displeasure. HAL status along cruise lines has dropped considerably and many seasoned travelers will look elsewhere.

The ports of call were fantastic. I would say the majority of the crew was great. The food in the steak house and especially the staff and food at Sabbatini,s which was great. We were there twice. The food at horizan court and Botticelli dining room was low-grade dog food. I made the mistake wearing shorts and the maitre,d yelled at me, the guy is an ass. If i want to a fine restaurant and was served that food i would refuse to pay. I don't think my wife and I would ever cruise with Princess again.

I would recommend going later than April.  The weather was cooler.  I really enjoyed the tour to the Arizona Memorial even in the cold and wind.  The bus transportation left a lot to be desired.  It was so disorganized.  I also think they need to detail the shopping better.  There was little or no shopping on two of the islands unless you like shopping at Wal-Mart!  I didn't go all the way to Hawaii to shop at Wal-Mart.

Loved the small South Pacific islands, the Captain gave good information at noon each day.  Ship, staff and atmosphere were all up to expectations of the cruise-line. 

The Diamond/Concierge clubs were pleasant, friendly and well-maintained.

One quite major complaint was the lack of availability for current world news.

The only North American channel available on the tv was the degrading and opinionated CNN - Why could RCCL not supply a channel which gives unbiassed world news coverage?  Also most of the other channels repeatedly showed outdated and boring entertainment shows.

Thank you to all the hard-working staff on the Explorer.

It was nice to spend more time in each of the ports compared to most cruises.

Food was plentiful but not outstanding. 

Food on Buffet not hot enough and restaurant choices limited unless you wanted to pay extra

Entertainment was excellent.

I have no criticism of any part of our cruise.  The suite was fantastic, as well as our butler and cabin steward, Deck plans were easy to follow..

We ate as V.I.P.'s in your high end restaurants as well as your regular dining rooms and the food was exceptional.   The entertainment aboard was top notch as well as the various activities.

My wife and I attended an on board art art auction and purchased three painting at  very reasonable prices.

Thank you for providing us with such wonderful memories,

Marc J. Sapers 

Some of the cruise directors staff was amazing with the activities and shows they provided. The wait staff wanted nothing to do with you unless you were buying alcohol. An area of the ship smelt of urine and feces constantly. Would tell everyone not to travel Norwegian. Bought my tickets on cheap cruises thought it included everything but was charged 80.00 per person for additional gratuity on board the ship $14.95 per person per day. 1 star because they would not let me leave it blank.

good food , great hospitality wonderful crew, all tours were good except the last tour of Vancouver which was cancelled because the crew lost our luggage. We stood in line for hours , with no input from the ship as to why we were not able to leave for the tour; very poor communications between Carnival and the land tour. We feel that we should be receiving a refund for the tour , but have heard nothing from Carnival.

Comfortable, affordable. Great crew and staff. Food was pretty good too! Ship was easy to navigate, especially with the ability to walk completely around the exterior. And there was more walking space top deck.

The excursions where awesome! There was so much to do we left the ship first thing and arrived at end of day. When we where on the ship the dinning was great! Especially the extra dinning. The entertainment was also excellent. Didn't do much else on the ship. One of the best parts of the cruise was when the ship, at night, turned out the lights and went by the lava pouring into the ocean. It was not expected!  

This was our 38th wedding anniversary present to ourselves. As a wife of a very busy administrator, we have never taken a vacation where the office has not interrupted or even flown my husband back for a meeting. It was great to be able to unplug and not have outside interruptions. As first time cruisers we probably had more sea days than we would have liked. We loved all of the excursions on the different Hawaiian Islands. The one that stands out for both of us is the visit to the McBryde and Allerton Gardens on Kaua'i and the tour by Sam whose father was the original caretaker of the property.

On the ship the food was great and we enjoyed a traditional dining table #219 in the Botticelli room. At our table for four we met a couple that we looked forward to seeing each evening and sharing our adventures. The wait staff is outstanding. Our dinners were excellent and so were our servers, Alex and David. I have a food allergy and the maître de went out of his way to give me a menu that was safe for me to enjoy.

We also enjoyed some of our breakfasts and lunches in the Da Vinci. We were able to get an individual table most of the time. After our first lunch with Rodell and Peter, we returned multiple times to their service area.

We also took advantage of the spa and discovered that the Hot Stone massages by Makka were the best we had ever experienced.

Overall we had a great time and would like to visit Alaska next.

Cheaper to just stay on one island and rent a comdo. Shore excursions are overpriced. Food was average. Service was mostly good but many of the workers seem very tired. 

The ports. 

The food could beetter. Bacon was very greasy and most times undercooked. Selections of meat was not the best most of the time. 

I would recommend this cruise for people people who are interested in visiting all of the islands. Wish more time was spent on the big island and less on Maui

cabin and balcony were not the best I have had. Overhang caused taking pictures difficult at times

One of the excursions we had booked got cancelled the morning we arrived in port due to weather, but we were able to book another tour and it was spectacular - crater hike; our tour guide was wonderful as well and threw in some bonus sights including a waterfall.

The Pride of America sailed to the other side of the island so we could see the volcano irrupting into the ocean - it was spectacular. 

This was our 2nd cruise (both on Norwegian) and it was wonderful - the staff are so great and took excellent care of us.

We can't wait for our next cruise aboard Norwegian!

The venue..............................................................................................................................................................................................................................

NINE OUT OF TEN CREW MEMBERS COULD CARE LESS IF YOU WERE THERE.   ROOMS WERE DIRTY & THEY WERE SLOW TO RESPOND TO FIX PROBLEMS.  THE FOOD WAS OK BUT NOTHING OUTSTANDING EVEN IN THE SPECIALTY RESTAURANTS.   THE SHOWS WERE GREAT ESPECIALLY THE COMEDIAN!  I GUESS SINCE NORWEGIAN HAS A MONOPOLY THEY DON'T HAVE TO MAKE YOU WANT TO CRUISE WITH THEM.    THE ISLANDS WERE BEAUTIFUL & WELCOMING.  WE USED ROBERTS HAWAII TOURS THEY WERE TOP NOTCH!

We had a great time. The ship was always clean and the crew friendly. Meals were wonderful and always plenty to eat. The tours were outstanding. We had great weather all the time.