Hawaii Cruise Reviews

I am not rating this cruise based on the Nirovirus.  We were disappointed mostly by the food on lido and the dining room.  This is our 2nd cruise on Princess.  And our 18th cruise total varied on different cruise lines.  The lido food was like cafeteria food, very disappointing.  The dining room was better but not much of a selection.  I think the ports that we visited, we should be there longer, we cruise for 15 days total and think we should stay later in the evening.  Our room was nice and clean and our steward was one of the best.  We stayed on E103 deck 8.  I will never stay in the upper forward of the ship again.   It was so noisy, considering we had rough seas for a few days on the starting of the trip.  It was so loud, had to get up and buy ear plugs.

There were 7 of us traveling together and we all agreed that we were disappointed with this cruise as compared to other cruises. Our friends had problems with their toilet most of the time and were told to use the toilet down the hall. Shocked they were treated that way and only compensated with $100 credit.... Crew were not as nice. Maitredee was rude to several of our party on several occasions and to other passengers we talked with. Dissapointed with food. Pool activities were cancelled since they didn't try very hard to get people involved. No poolside buffet or chocolate or dessert night???? Very strange cruise....

The days at sea were all cool and gloomy. No sun. everyone was cooped up on the ship and then the Neuro Virus hit. :( This is probably one of the top worst cruised out of 30 I have taken!  I am 60 years old and I was the youngster on the cruise. Need to learn to walk slowly behind people walking with walkers.

As Platinum members of Princess' Loyalty program, we have come to know and appreciate the company's ability to provide quality service.  This ship is tired, constant plumbing problems and a really bad smell; the crew was lackadaisical. We loved the itinerary and haven't given up on Princess, but when it comes to the ship's overall management, we rate this at the bottom.

The cruise was amazing and more then I expected. I could write forever about our excursion but it would take forever. The only problem we encountered was the first night of rough waters, but after it was clear sailing. We were involved with the many events on the ship and clearly had enough to do. I have recommend this cruise to our friends and look forward to the future cruises. Since getting back home I put on several pounds which I have to work on and that's with working out everyday on the ship. If I tried to write anything bad about our experience I could not as all the personnel on the ship were exciting and made the trip enjoyable.

Interisland cruise is the best way to go for first time visitors to Hawaii who do not know what island to visit.  We saw four beautiful islands and with two days in port on two of the bigger islands, you have time to see some of the beauty.  We rented a car and did some driving which was ultimately cheaper than excursions as there were four of us traveling together.  However, in keeping a car overnight, there was no place to park near the cruise ship and so we had to turn it back in and then pay again.  This was not a pleasant experience - in Maui.

The Pride of America is a beautiful ship, with a wonderful crew.  The ship was easy to get around on and we did not get turned around in moving about the ship.  Shows were good, good food - no complaints.

We have cruised on other cruise lines (Carnival) and this experience on Norwegian was much better - better quality of food and more consciousness of keeping germs out of the dining areas - no one got sick - and the last cruise my family went on (6 of us) - everyone got the virus, and then the ship denied there was a problem.

We had a nice time on this cruise.  Our room were clean and comfortable--shower was a little small but its the same on all cruises.  My only complaint would be the quality of food.  We were all vegetarians and were disappointed in the food--but again we were not expecting excellent food on a cruise but could have been better.  Otherwise I would definitely recommend this cruise--saw some beautiful sights.

1. No baggage cart or porter standing by in the unloading area.

2. Extremely small cabins.

3. Quality and quantity of food below average.

4. Dinning room service was horrific. Servers had little or no personality with no guest interaction. Service was slow and sometimes absent altogether. It took an average of 2 1/2 hours to get through every meal and as a result we missed two shows even though we were seat at 6-6:30 Pm.

5. Many shipboard instructions, both written & verbal were imprecise, ambiguous and unclear.

6. Charged $68.00 for laundry when flyer advertised " $24.00 per bag if submitted by Tuesday night. Mine was submitted on Monday.

7. Crew and staff poorly trained in all areas of customer service.

We thoroughly enjoyed our recent cruise in Hawaii on the Pride of America. The ship is beautiful and relates to many areas of the USA and the was extremely friendly and professional. The food was very good especially @ Cagney's Steakhouse and the itinerary was great! We got to see several of the outer islands surrounding Hawaii and enjoyed them tremendously. If you've never been to Hawaii, go and take this cruise on the Pride of America and see more than Honolulu which is also nice.

While the itinerary was perfect, the ship was not so much.  The food was mediocre at best, the staff not as welcoming as other ships we have been on.  Our room steward was wonderful.  The bartender at the bar on deck above the pool never even gave me a smile once.  The same at the saloon bar.  We enjoy the dining room experience.  The experience at the Liberty was not up to par.  Limited menu selections, service was very slow, even though we always went early, so they were not very busy.  The food and service was so bad, we gave up and went to the buffet.  We NEVER eat dinner at the "pig trough".  We would probably not sail on Norwegian again due to this experience.

The 7 Night Hawaiian Cruise is a great cruise to see and explore the Hawaii Islands.  The cruise ship is somewhat modern in design. The Liberty Restaurant (complimentary) has great meal selections every night.

The disappointment of the cruise is the fact that there is no casino due to Hawaiian gambling laws. There is no duty free shopping on board the ship. There isn't that much to do for children and teenagers. There were majority older passengers on the ship. There wasn't much night life participation. This may have been due to the six hour time difference from Eastern Standard Time.

I recommend booking excursions and activities everyday and enjoy the islands as much as possible. I booked most of the excursions independently, and the prices are cheaper than what NCL offered.

First time visit to Hawaii, this was a perfect way to see 4 islands and get to know them without moving from hotel to hotel and flying. We had a cabin on deck 8, port side with large balcony. Port side is important if you want to see Oahu from your balcony as well as the Napali coast of Kauai. The cabin was smaller than on Cunard's Queen Elizabeth, bathroom same size. However it is all laid-out well with enough storage. Unfortunately our cabin had a door connecting us to the next cabin. Upon arrival we had to call to have it locked. The rest of the week we could hear everything next door: make sure you don't get one of those cabins if you want quiet and privacy. Cabin was clean, mirror was not, drawers had crumbs and dust. Bathroom was clean. Room service fast and efficient. After trying the buffet for lunch the day of arrival we were not impressed and only used it for breakfast. All other meal we took at the specialty restaurants which were all excellent. Make sure you get the "ultimate dining plan": it eliminates the cover charges at the specialty restaurants (for example $30 per person at Cagney's steakhouse), it's a great deal and the specialty restaurants all were outstanding. (interestingly, we did not like the specialty restaurants on the Queen Elizabeth and ate every meal at the buffet which was excellent, much better than on the Pride. If you like quantity go for the buffet on the Pride, if you like quality of food and service, go for the specialty restaurants. Exception was the breakfast buffet which was excellent with a selection worth a 5 star hotel. The excellent sushi counter /bar was almost better than some we visited in Japan a week earlier. There is no cover charge for the sushi counter, however you pay for each item, but with their prices it is still a bargain. Speaking of prices, I found the drink and wine prices very reasonable, especially the "drink of the day" carries a bargain price. Entertainment was very good, excellent variety and quality performers. We did not take any shore arrangements, we rented a car in each port and made our own itineraries, I recommend that unless you don't want to drive. All staff we encountered was friendly, helpful and cheerful, which is amazing when you realize the hours and days they work and that they get the same questions every week again. My wife has a gluten free diet; from day one, from the chef of the buffet to the chefs and staff of the specialty restaurants, everyone went out of their way to accommodate and help her. Especially the gluten free rolls from "Moderna" (the Brazilian restaurant) she asked for and received at every venue we went to, my wife liked very much. Highlight was the cruise along the Napali coast of Kauai with an excellent narative (reason to move from our balcony to the upper deck). Check-in and out of the cruise was very well organized with plenty of agents at check-in. I recommend you take all your luggage off the ship yourself at the end, you can leave at any time that way. This cruise is for families with young or older children, couples young and old and even singles, even though it is not an over the top "party-party" ship and there is no gambling. It has something for everybody, we were impressed how well NCL put this itinerary together with the right time in each port to see the sights. We live on the mainland's East coast but will certainly come back for another cruise with NCL there is so much more we'd like to do on the islands. 

We have done many cruises.  This is our first with Norwegian, and first in Hawaii.  And, it was extremely disappointing. 

The cost of this cruise being virtually double per-person than most others than we have done was the biggest disappointment.  Just not the value.

Getting a balcony (which we normally due)...had bad views...and overall bad stops.  Virtually no stops could you do anything close to the ship, excursions were expensive and much more.

And, quite frankly - again from a value standpoint...disappointed with the service of an American ship (and I'm American and disappointed).  Minus a couple of exceptions...you seemed to bother people if you asked them anything (from the front desk, and virtually most places).

We really like Hawaii...We really like cruises...but not a great combination at all!

We had a fantastic time.  The Crew and our Stewart were all very attentive to our needs and went above and beyond to make our cruise a lasting memory.  We made friends and enjoyed all the many activities on board.  We will go on board again with Princess Cruise Line.

Our party did enjoy the cruise due to the extended time on the ocean. While I can recommend taking this 15 day Hawaii cruise, there are a few recommendations I would like to share:

Rather than emphasize the Latin bands on board, there should have been Hawaii music, hula dancing from the time we set sail. While line dancing at the bon vovage party is fun on most cruises, no where what there indication that we were heading for Hawaii. Instead of Phil Collins and Paul McCarthy concerts on the big screen, Elvis' Blue Hawaii would have been more appropriate for the venue.

We only got a glimpse here and there of the wonderful Rowana & her husband. That duo should have been in the Piazza more hours than the Latin band, or the piano player. Just as a point of view from a sales prospective, future cruises, and what destinations Princess has to offer should have been playing in the cabins, along with a couple of lectures describing cruises Princess offers. I'm willing to bet there would have been a lot of future sign ups if more information was available. The lectures about Route 66 was the best! The lecturer was very informative, and it was a pleasure to join in on those classes. Enough with the art auctions! We're there for the cruise, not to buy art. It would have been a much better visit of the Hawaiian islands if we were given an overnight in Maui, or Kauai. Not enough time to visit those islands. Instead of the Ensenada stop over, spend more time on an island. One less day at sea would have benefited everyone! I am noticing some of the employees are not as enthusiastic to offer customer service, as in the past. Everyone was very nice, and for the most part happy to be there. Just noticing a difference from previous Princess cruises.

The cruise itself was just great, but the confusion at the curb could stand a little up lifting.  The volinteers are doing the best they can, but they need someone with more power to help get things done. But this does not take away anything from the cruise which was fantastic.

I would like to have increase number of English speaking clerks at passenger service.   I booked through usair and did not receive my bonus points for milage.

The cruise was well organized, and there was every attention to detail. The staff was polite, attentive and our cabin was kept clean and tidy. I really enjoyed the variety of classes and activities onboard. The variety of movies that were shown were top notch. I especially liked waking up in the early morning for my Zumba class. I thought Bernie did a great job in keeping it fun but challenging. I am currently looking for a Zumba class in my area. The only drawback was the coffee. I drink really good coffee at home, such as Peets from the Bay Area in California. The coffee offered onboard was not good at all. It was the only sour note in an otherwise really nice experience.

What a wonderful cruise!  This was my first experience on a cruise  - everything was excellent!  Spacious stateroom, professional, courteous staff at all times.  The food and entertainment was great.  The excursions that I took were recommended by Princess and each excursions was fun and well managed.

I only wish that we had spent at least one more night on one of the islands.  They could have skipped Hilo and stayed two nights in Maui and the trip would have been perfect!  Can't wait for my next cruise - will definitely go Princess!

The overall care and feeding of us on this cruise was excellent. The ship is clean and the staff for the most part hard working. We met Angel the assistant dining room manager for the Liberty Dining Room the first day at lunch and he gave us lots of very good information.  He was friendly thru out the entire cruise and even came to our table the last morning to say goodbye.  Our room was always clean and room steward left cute towel art each night when he came to turn down the beds. I was impressed with the availability of space to put things in our room. LOVED the balcony on our room.

On the whole the entertainment was excellent.  The various dining rooms served excellent food.

We really enjoyed seeing the Napali Coast the last afternoon.  And the tender operation at Kona was well done.

Only a couple of negatives - at check in the first day we were second in line for the handicapped check in and after the first couple were helped the agent went to the regular line and took two passengers who were not handicapped ahead of us -my nephew is in a wheel chair and I was on crutches.  The supervisor told her to go ahead and check in the non-handicapped couple.  So there we stood waiting while she checked in regular passengers and only offered a weak "sorry" when she began to help us.  We were directed to that line by staff so we assumed we were suppose to be in that line.

First night we ate at the Liberty Restaurant and had an 8pm reservation.  While we were still eating the staff was bringing buckets of water out and placing them near our table to begin washing the counters and floors. We quickly finished and left.