Hawaii Cruise Reviews

We   sailed on april 13. The trip was great . Staff all courteous, pleasant and helpful. Ship  clean, well stocked and well appointed. I've heard complaints that the food is only so so. I'm a big foodie, and I didn't have ANY complaints about the food (except the sausages at breakfast). We went to 3 of the  speciality restaurants. All were great (Moderno, Jefferson's Bistro and East Meets West.) The Main dining rooms were also really good! Lamb chops snd Rib eye steak, swordfish and pecan crusted grouper. Come on, what else could  you want? We had a large aft facing cabin which was really nice. I wouldn'tt have wanted a smalller one. The ports themselves were not great- industrial working ports , I guess saves NCL money- but I didn't go to Hawaii to look at the port, so I really didn't care about that. We were off the ship first thing everyday. The excursions were also great, though pricey. At  one point some Other passengers got intto a traffic jam and the captain held the ship for them, which I thoought was great, too It didn't affect our plans at all and it showed they care about the passengers I highly recommend the trip and the shi.

The hubby and myself thoroughly enjoyed cruising on The Pride of America. It was all that we envisioned and more. The staff bent over backwards to make us feel welcome. Everyone was so friendly and helpful if we needed anything. The accomodations were exceptional, and cleanliness was definitely a plus.  No complaints there.  The only drawbacks I had were the fact that I booked so early and  could have saved a ton of money had I waited longer. Also I felt the ship could have provided more entertainment.  In comparison to other cruiselines I have used, I felt this one was more laidback.  Definitely for the older crowd.

Having cruised Princess, Celebrity, Royal Carribean, and Norwegian previously, we found Pride of Americia met all our expectations. Food, service , and entertainment was all very good. Our balcony cabin was roomy and quiet. Suggest giving talk about island to be visited the day before port of call, rather than early morning of visit.  The only other issue was in timing of cabin service. The first service of the day was not until 2;30 P.M. or later, and turn down was not until 8;30 PM. or later. With our age and adjustment to a 5 hour time change we were ready for a nap after lunch.

Everything about this cruise was great....I only wanted to give impute on the 'freestyle dining' experience.  I have been on about 5 other cruise lines including Holland America, Carnival, Carla Costa, and Princess.  This was my first experience with this type of dining.  Although there was an obvious advantage of flexibility of when to dine, I found that the food was mediocre in the main dining room.  This was probably due to the motivation to try the specialty restaurants.  Also, we didn't meet any new people at dinnertime because of this freestyle approach.  But as I said in the beginning, everything else on this cruise was spectacular!

After Star Princess left without us aboard at LA on March 5, 2014 due to their Transfer representative errors, We flew to Hilo , Hawaii to catch Star Princess  at Hilo on March 10,2014.  Once aboard the ship it was fine but we are still waiting to be reimbursed for the flight to Hawaii to catch up the ship. When they picked us up at the LAX airport the driver of the Taxi that Princess representative picked did not know how to get to the pier. The taxi got lost causing us to miss the sailing. If we had been able to pick our own shuttle we would have gotten to the pier in ample time before saling.

Great way to see four major islands.  Only recommendation I would make is not to do it in the winter rainy season, and the rainfall this week was well above average. Excursions good.  Solo traveler studio cabin was outstanding, although the highly touted lounge for the group's use is nonexistent. Service across the board was unbelievably good.  Special kudos to my cabin steward, Jonathan.   Wide variety of activities on board.  Hawaii ambassador programs particularly excellent.  Food in Aloha buffet was varied, abundant and tasty.  Liberty, food and service disappointing. Cadillac Diner, everything was too salty but the dreamsicle milkshakes were great.  Did not try specialty/fee based restaurants.  

The Pride of America is an excellent ship.  As veterans of several Princess Cruises, we found the ship met our expectations.  However, we found the service level on Norwegian just a notch below Princess in many areas.  We wished to have more communication about the islands and the voyage and perhaps a little less about shipboard entertainment and specialty restaurants.  All in all, a very good experience that we would recommend to others.  We encountered quite a bit of rain, which detracted from enjoyment at times.  In fact, there were few opportunities to enjoy the pool, except times when we'd rather be exploring one of the islands onshore.

Loved the warm weather...did not like the food. I found myself asking some night just what can I eat. I had steak one night that was very tough. I ate the daily salmon a few times because it was good and because there was nothing on the new day specials I cared for. We had two nights alone at our table because the other 3 couples PAID to eat at the steakhouse. Our room staff was excellent. The way they organized the excursions into rooms before getting off the ship was excellent. The pools, pizza, burgers, ice cream, outside movies was great. Not being able to get lemonade in the dining room or on your own without someone bringing it to you, like it was being held hostage sucked. Casino was nice to look at, but all you did was feed machines. It didn't want to give you little wins just so you could keep playing. Not sure if I will choose Princess again.

This is our first cruise and we enjoyed it.  The food, enterrtainment and service are fantastic.  All the crew and staffs are honest, courteous and works very hard to keep us comfortable.  The stateroom is always clean.  Our waiter and assistant waiter always welcome us at night with a smile and impecable service.  All the crew on the Horizon lounge for breakfast and lunch are all working hard for all of us.  The food is terrific.  The executive chef and the cooks spend a lot of time to make sure the food is delicious and clean.  We will miss the ship and all its crew.

What a wonderful start to my retirement.  Rest, relaxation, entertainment, great food, and lots of fun. Our cabin D410 was spacious and comfortable with a balcony.  More closet space and drawers than any cruise I have been on.

This was our third cruise with Norwegian, having done Alaska and the Panama Canal previously.  We felt the staff was not as quite as accommodating, courteous and friendly as on our two previous NCL cruises-not that they were rude or negligent, just not quite as openly welcoming.  The food was good, with a variety of selections-we really appreciated the CadillacDiner and their hours of accessibility.  The ship was very clean and well maintained and we thoroughly enjoyed the quality and variety of evening entertainment that was availability.  Our shore excursions were excellent; however, several were impacted or cancelled because of weather (rain and/or cloudy conditions which had a significant negative impact).  If the weather had cooperated, our excursions would have been exemplary.  Overall, we had another very good experience with Norwegian.

it was a wonderful cruise experience---it was my first Princess cruise and i was  very impressed with everything;cabin, food, entertainment---every-

thing was outstanding. i would definitely take another Princess cruise.

We brought our 6 year old granddaughter and it was a terrific trip.  Most days at sea, she spent some time at the Pelican's Club for her age group.  She loved all the arts and crafts projects as well as the time with her peers.  While in Hawaii, we went whale watching which required a bit more patience than she has.  We rented a car on two islands to do some volcano exploring and that was fun.  The trip to the summit of Haleakala looks totally different going up than coming down.  At Volcano National Park on the Big Island, we did all the requirements for her Junior Ranger Badge which was a most memorable time for her. (The ranger had her take an oath and then annouced her new status over the PA.) She loved the Movies Under the Stars experience which we enjoyed a couple of times.  Dance shows were also fun for her.  We found that the comediens were a bit too adult for her.  She enjoyed the pool and spa with Grandpa. Her fussy eating was a bit of an issue but soon we realized it was not a battle worth fighting.  The kitchen was most accommodating for her requests.  If you are considering a similar adventure with a grandchild, please make sure that the kiddo gets enough sleep every night. There might be a few afternoons that are best spent as quiet time.We brought lots of coloring books and a couple of new stuffed buddies to keep her company.

Had a very good cruise. However, the seas were a bit rough and they had to close off some of the walkways on the deck. 

Made use of the free shuttles on each island.

We only can recommend the Grand Princess - Excellent Service - outstanding kitchen (Restaurant Boticelli) - very friendly and helpfull staff

Very reasonable prices for Wine and cocktails - good entertainement programm

Just to many Sea Days for us the weather was not great, bad time of year I guess.. Dinning area and food was good however the anytime dining did not work had to wait to long to eat and missed some of the shows, The head waiter was of no help All other employees were awesome.. The buffet was lacking.. Drinks should be a resonable price not over priced.. enjoy the shows.

the cruise was very pleasant, our cabin steward was extremely good to  us . Always a clean cabin and very kind and polite.

The buffett was ok but would have liked to seen more food that accomodates people with  tastes for more subtle foods. Such as not so much fish.

The formal dinning area lines were terribly long and because of clydes disability we were unable to get into that dinning area. 

We were very disappointed that we could not get to the last island due to rough waters. We understand but like alot of other people we were refunded

$2.00 . 

It was our first cruise and was a good experience but just as a suggestion, we would have like to known  about how the credit card worked and all the tips taken out automatically before we booked.  this is information alot of people would like. Some people need to budget that in with their vacation funds.

I loved the cruise and this was my sixth one with Carnival but some things really upset myself and my husband this time.  First we had requested early dinner and had it and it was confirmed months before we left for Hawaii, then about a month before we got notice it was not confirmed anymore and once we checked in we had LATE dinner all at once.  This was bad enough but we were put at table 118 which is in the back to the right by the kitchen door, come on are you kidding us.  We were not part of the fun in the dining room at all.  All dancing done by our waiters/head waiter where done by our table but the total fun was in the main seating area.  WE were not happy about this table but we did receive good service from our waiter and head waiter.  We were a table for six with just the two of us at the table, talk about toss us anyplace you sure did it.  Then to top it off while talking to others on the ship at lunch one day we were told they had late dinner and requested early and a month before they got their dinner changed to early, yup we were not happy campers over this change to our time.

ok, second big big problem with this cruise is it was mainly older people and yes we are 65 and older but i'm talking a lot older then us.  They seem to th

ink once they sit on the Lido deck for breakfast at 8 this is their table till time for the 2 p.m. naps.  They sit and eat then spread out cards, games or just sit and read and to bad for those of us who have walked around the Lido deck six time or more looking for a place to sit and eat also.  If you ask if they would share a table for four or six they tell you no they are involved in their card games.  We truly believe this could be avoided if someone in charge not the waiters there or bus boys but one in a white uniform came around and said between the hours of 9 a.m. and 2 p.m. the Lido deck is for those who are eating.  You have beautiful areas set up on the 2nd and 3rd deck for games, cards and reading and just plain relaxing.  This is where we would go and do all our reading we never took up a hugh table during the main eating hours.

Perhaps this will give you a few ideas of how to fix things before we cruise again.

every thing was great about this cruise except the over done security. when your on an excursion your hands and pockets are full and you have to wait an hour or more to get back on the ship because of security, not fun. I understand protecting every one, but in Hawaii and in the USA.

food was exellant as was the staff.

First of all the ship itself was in desperate need of upgrading. We've been on a lot of different cruises and cruise lines and this was by far on the bottom of our list. The food court was definitely nothing to brag about. This was the only cruise we have been on that offered only coffee, tea and water. All the others also had juices and lemonaide. This does not reflect in any way on the service we got from the crew members, state room, dinning room ect. They were right on top of anything we may have needed. The entertainment was very disappointing. The timing of the shows were ridiculous. The main shows at times would be during the late dinner. The only positive thing about that is the shows were not that great. One of my biggest suggestions is to have a crew member at the elevators after the main shows to help the disabled people get a chance to get on one. I happen to be disabled and there was a lot of times that I was pushed out of the way so people I had seen earlier walking the stairs could get in. When I needed to use the elevator I would have to get to them early and hope for the best. Our cruise had a very bad experience,  one of the crew members jumped overboard.  The ship spent 36 hours looking for the man with no success. Our hearts go out to his family and friends. To make up the time we missed the first stop, hilo hawaii and half a day in ohau. This of course was out of anyone's control and I am not complaining about that but I do believe we should be compensated.  They rebated us back $12.50 each for the hilo port charges and 20% off our next cruise.  Really!  They should have rebated the 20% off this cruise. Please note, this is the first time I have been this critical but I believe princess can do better. By the way this is the second cruise with princess and the first(around 2008)was awsome and that's why we tried them again.