Hawaii Cruise Reviews

I booked this April 16, 2016 Hawaii Cruise via primarily because the site

offered a $500 voucher/ credit off selected hotel rooms in Honolulu for our trip.

However, the voucher I received via email, required its use prior to March 31,

2016, well before the cruise departure.  In checking with sales agent,

Kenyon Kee AND later his supervisor, they both assured me of a computer

update would be forthcoming, and to keep checking the site for this update.

I kept checking for any update from September through December 2015 but

none was ever issued.  A classic "Bait and Switch" then "Stall or Blame the

Computer."  I will NEVER use again to book anything.  

Disappointing service and food at the buffet. Staterooms were not that well stocked. Service poor at Cadillac Diner. We booked another cruise on NCL just before this cruise and now am wondering if we made a mistake in doing so. Should have booked on Carnival.

Wonderful vacation! The staff, crew, etc were fantastic.  After learning that the ship was going into dry dock the same day we got into Vancouver made me a bit anxious.  But to our surprise, everyone was wonderful.  Great experience.  Celebrity does it right!  

The Pride of America is a great way to sample the Islands of Hawaii. This was my Wife's first trip and I wanted it to be special. I highly recommend the CruiseTour which gives you 3 extra days in Waikiki along with the most popular Oahu tours.

We over did the Island tours - needed some time to enjoy the ship. While the majority of the ships workers were great - some seemed like they were just doing time and were not friendly at all - but the majority went beyond being helpful.

We did the specialty dining most of the time - which was excellent , but was disappointed with the main dining room. Overall a great way to see the islands.

This trip was in celebration of our 60th wedding anniversary.  We have been to Hawaii many times before, but had always flown.  Here the cruise was the vacation.  We especially enjoyed the "Ultimate Ship Tour" where we were able to see behind the scenes of the working areas of the Star Princess.  We toured the galley, engine room, print shop, photo shop, theater backstage, food storage, and finally the bridge, with a personal visit with the captain.  Lots of entertainment, great food, many special interest groups to meet.  Wonderful fifteen days.

Dinning was great.  Service, especially in Portofino main traditional dinning room. Our table service, Susan and Awan were fantastic.  Choices were appropriate for a trip to Hawaii.   Bed not too great,; the bed had a lump right in the center, but cabin service was very good.

The marvelous entertainment greatly enhanced the two five-day periods at sea. The food, service, and other features on the ship compare well with other cruises. On our first visit to Hawaii, the cruise allowed us to sample the highlights of 4 islands. We now have ideas of what we might like to see on future.visits. However, disembarking in the morning and having to return to the ship in the evening limited our activities at each port. By planning ahead, we made the best of the time each place, but the implementation of the plans hit a few snags. We recommend renting cars immediately at each port to allow more options.

The itinerary for this cruise was excellent as was the cleanliness of our stateroom and surroundings on the ship.  Our stateroom attendant was very nice and kept our room in immaculate condition.  The menu on the ship was not as extensive as on other cruise lines whom we had used, (for example lobster was always on the regular menu before and was an upcharge with NCL).  Room service on other cruise lines was always free but on NCL there was a charge.  Any concerns or problems that we had on the ship were quickly addressed. We had a problem one night in the Liberty Dining Room and the Mgr. addressed It by giving us a complimentary dinner in one of the specialty restaurants.  The entertainment on the ship was very good when outside entertainment was on but the ships performers were just ok.  The excursions that we did were very good and were worth the money. 

This being our first Princess cruise, but the 8th overall, we were somewhat disappointed.  The ship was clean, the staff friendly and professional for the most part, but the buffet food was C- at best, and sit down dinner venue B- to C.

The ship is old and it shows.

Perhaps its not fair to judge the entire line by this one ship, but its hard not to; especially when you consider the food quality.  Quantity was not the problem; it just didn't taste any different than what you would find at your local Denny's restaurant.

We won't be using Princess again.

  Loved the evening entertainment acts - Impressionist ( can not remember his name), Carl Strong, and Steve Morris.   

It would be nice if the Casino had end of cruise gifts for those of us who over use the facility - instead of saying $650.00 in spending money if you book within 30 days for a cruise within 6 months.  I can only afford a cruise every 2 to 3 years. This is what makes them sooo special.

We have been on the Grand Princess several times in the Caribbean and she is getting old, but still a Grand Ship. Had a great sailing over and back. The Islands are beautiful and the excursions allowed us to see most of them. The food was excellent and only topped by the service. The staff and crew made it a very enjoyable cruise. I had doubts about San Francisco traffic, so we used Princess transportation that worked very well.

Despite a leaky fire sprinkler that dripped during one of our nights - and carpeting that needed to be cleaned, we still very much enjoyed our cruise.

As usual, most Princess crew members we came into contact with were very nice/helpful.

Probably my only complaint is the commercialization aspect of the cruise: too many photo ops & ridiculously high pic prices, and absurdly high-priced wifi service which was spotty at best :(

Our travel agent, Linda, did a great job in arranging the last minute cruise for us.

I loved the sea days.  This came as a surprise to me.  I had never been between ports for more than two days.  There are many great lounges and decks where you can relax on the Grand Princess.  I enjoyed most

Because there were few children the grand kids had the pools and hot tubs virtually to themselves.  They spent hours daily at the pool.  The fitness center and adult pool and sauna were great.  I exercised and used the aduit pool and sauna 10 days.  In spite of eating everything in site I gained only 4 pounds in 15 days

Overall we all loved the cruise.  I might take it again.  Not sure it would be on this ship or on Princess for that matter.

everyone provided great service & were very helpful  we enjoyed the pool near the gym that was for adults only & provided a sauna & steam room. Watching the movies on the big screen outside was awesome & during the day time you could enjoy the picture with no problem. The entertainment on board was excellent we especially enjoyed the Trumpet player Dan Delgado. The comedians related to our age group & were hilarious to the point of laughing so hard I had tears running down my face.    

This was a wonderful, relaxing, vacation.  After leaving San Francisco there was 4 days at sea.  Lots of fun things to do on ship or just relaxing.  Weather windy but not too cool.  Food was good.  Entertain was just fair compared to many other cruise lines we have sailed.  However, Princess has this "Movies under the stars" daily showing recent movies.  It was like an old fashioned drive-in only you were in a lounge chair with blankets.  Islands were great.   We had a pre-arranged tour to Volcano Park in Hilo but picked up fairly inexpensive tours at the pier on other islands.  We could not get tickets for Arizona at Pearl Harbor.....apparently you have to get them 6 months in advance from government web-site.  

Island sights were indescribable....picture postcard!  Pride of America was awful!  Certain places on boat when you were walking, smelled like sewage.  Other areas smelled like chemicals (paint fumes, etc).  Windows were never cleaned so did not have a clear site.  Had to go out to railings to see well.  Staff was not very professional.  Had so much silverware and dishes dropped in dining room that we stopped eating there and just did buffet.  One set of full plates that was dropped almost struck a guest in his lap.  Waiter told us what food was good and what was not worth eating.  Guest services was great, very helpful.  Room was not cleaned very well.  Ended up cleaning out the drawers that was covered in black sand and had to wipe down the bathroom door which had dirt and handprints all over it.  Rug was not vacuumed.  Had to ask daily for beach towels - finally just went up to swimming pool deck and got some towels there.  

This is our 2nd NCL cruise. Ship was clean, staff was very friendly and helpful. Food was plentiful and tasty. Entertainment was good. Wished there was more time in Kuaui. Nine years ago we were on the Pride of Hawaii ship and were disappointed in the service and overall conduct of the ship. We are glad that we took another chance on this NCL and we would highly recommend the Pride of America to our friends and family. Even though the ship was under some remodeling we were never inconvenienced and not aware of any work being done.

Absolutely the best way to island hop. Although the ship had not completed their renovations before we sailed, it wasn't too much of a hassle because we were off sightseeing most of the time.  The cruise line did give everyone $200 credit for the inconvenience. Of the four islands we cruised to, Hilo was my least favorite.  The amount of time given at each island was perfect. Excursion offers were great - we felt more comfortable taking the excursions offered through the cruise line than off on our own. 

Also, a big thank you to staff member Karen Kukura for her friendly, fast and efficient help!

This is the second time my husband and I have cruised the Hawaiian Islands.  This trip was one of the best!  The staff was great.  The ship was super clean. Food was good.  Will be going again!  

It's was our first cruise with Princess Cruise Line. The ship may be older but the crew made up the difference in aces. We were originally scheduled for open sitting dinning, but the first night stumbled across the Da Vinci dining room, table #457 Sombat & Eugenia the most amazing waiters, and continued our evenings with them, except for Easter Dinner. Easter was spent at Share restaurant the brain child of Curtis Stone, most incredible staff & food. Not miss out the 3:30 tea time, hosted by Ms. Eugenia from Da Vinci, LOVE HER!! Remember to take lots of pictures, plus the  enjoy like food, sea, fun times on this ship. WE DID!!! :)