Hawaii Cruise Reviews

It was a first class experience on every level of the ship and in all areas - Front desk, cabin service, showroom shows, restaurants (including the buffet), lounge shows, bars, spa, excursion desk, gift shop, art store, and staff on arrival and departure.

The cruise was a relocation cruise and was posted at a great price. Overall, we had a great time. First, the good. Overall, the ship is a beautiful ship with many amenities. The stateroom (interior) was very clean and neat and made good use of the space. We had two adults and 2 kids and didn't feel too cramped at all. The pull down bunks were a life saver. The bathroom was well proportioned with plenty of space. The staff on board (especially the service staff) always went out of their way to welcome you and meet your every need. The rooms were always kept tidy and clean. The staff was very responsive to needs. Generally, the food was tolerable but not very creative or imaginative relating to the diversity of breakfast and lunch meals offered (one can only eat so much scrambled eggs and sausage/bacon). The gym and aquaspa was great with up to date equipment and facilities. However, 3 machines were down throughout the entire cruise. There were pools on board. All were nice but only one was heated. The other two were extremely cold (can you say shrinkage!)and unheated. Usually, they were inaccessible in the evenings. The disembarkation was seamless and organized. Finally, there were an abundance of activities to keep those on board busy. Next, the bad. The fun factory for kids was average and left the kids pretty well unsupervised throughout. Our kids only spent 2-3 hours per day depending on who the staff member was. The activities in the fun factory lacked creativity and planning. The cruise was abounding with older couples which made pool time, meal time, game time, and activity time very unfriendly toward kids. Breakfast and lunch meals were very difficult because of the lack of seating and the long lines. There is no on board laundry and the price of having those services performed is quite expensive ($2 per piece of laundry). The shows were generally pretty good (the dance/music shows were outstanding)but we had to leave two other shows because the content was PG-13 or worse (the ventriloquist was pretty vulgar). And finally, the desserts left a great deal to be desired. If you like European type desserts, you will love it. Otherwise, stick with the ice cream.

The Ship was old and worn. The crew was unenthusiastic. The shows were sophomoric. The food was less than mediocre except the afternon buffet which was excellent.

Having been on most of Celebrity's ships, we feel this is one of the best. It is kept impeccably clean, and is well laid out. It's modern, yet nostalgic. The staff is particularly gracious and always there to assist you.

The ship was wonderful. Very clean (the crew is always working to keep ship clean and neat).

After a pleasant on time flight with NW Airlines and a nice stay at the Waikiki Marriot we were in for the longest week of our lives. We had booked a deck 9 Starboard side Ocean View Stateroom with outside private balcony. Knowing what I know now I would have booked port side as all of the great scenery is best viewed from that side. My fault for not investigating more carefully. This cruise started off badly before we left home and went down hill from there. NCL cruise tours made some mistakes on our bookings and I finally threw up my hands, canceled all except the after cruise pearl harbor/USS Missouri tour and re booked with a private company. This was to haunt us during and after the cruise. We were able to get on ship without too much hassle. We were told our cabins were not ready and to go to the buffet for lunch. I was surprised the NCL food had deteriorated in taste and variety so quickly in the two years since our last NCL cruise to Alaska. Spying the sun just over the yard arm we decided to to have an ice cold draft beer, wrong, lots of taps but not a drop of draft beer on the Pride of Hawaii. After settling for bottled we toured the ship while waiting for our cabin to be made ready. The ship was clean and the staff was their usual friendly first day selves. Our deck was announced ready for occupancy about 2 hours after boarding. When we arrived at the cabin we found a broken mirror taped in place that was never fixed. We also found a broken toilet seat laying next to the toilet. We called room service and it was repaired the same day. The safe was also inoperable and was repaired the same day.The interconnecting doors on the balcony were never locked during the whole cruise, even after several complaints. I will not go to far into the food during the rest of the cruise except to say is was mediocre at best in all of the free restaurants and both dining rooms. We did not eat in the pay restaurants. The entertainment was amateurish at best with the exception of the Guitar Player. We had a problem with our on board account that turned out to be a re-occurring ship computer problem. They comped us a bottle of wine the first time it happened and simply took our complaints with a smile an apology after that. It sometimes went like this, buy something on the ship, get refused, wait through a line at reception to be told everything was fixed go back, re purchase . First night on the ship was great with a rolling sea. Some of the other passengers complained about this, we thought it was relaxing. Listening to the constant flushing of the toilets in other cabins was a different matter. First day in Hilo we rented a car and toured the Volcano National park, perfect day. Back to t he ship to be informed we would not be able to go to Maui the next day because of an oil spill in the harbor. We had a "Fun Day At Sea" instead, NOT. Had to line up at reception and cancel our tours for our first day in Maui, a good portion of the day consumed. Third day we were told Maui still was still not available and we would go to Kona next which we should have visited on the 5th day. More waiting in line to cancel and try to re book tours for both ports, there was nothing worthwhile available. The Passengers and Crew were getting pretty cranky and restless at this point. Then the Norwalk virus was discovered on board. The food and service got worse. By this time we were counting the days and hours remaining aboard. Finally got to Maui for our single day there. Having had to cancel all of our tours we rented a car and drove the road to Hanna. Very pretty trip. The twisty windy road and one lane bridges will keep you on your toes an d test y our driving skills. Back to the ship and on to Kuai, our favorite Island. Again, we rented a car. We toured the Island the first day and for a few more hours the second day. I have one word to describe that island. Beautiful. Continued below

The itinerary was great. 4 islands, 5 ports and the NaPali coast! Our biggest complaint was the seeming inability of the ship to get information to the passengers. 2 examples: None of the activity messages play in the cabin or on the TV. My wife had to open the cabin door and stick her head out in the corridor to hear them. Many times while she was dressing! Lobster night is Wednesday in the main dining rooms. NO announcement of this was made, none, even though most people did manage to find out. Also, the level of service from the waiters in the main dining rooms was very inconsistent, especially at breakfast. And I can't tell you how many times our entrees were brought out while we were still eating some fruit or an appetiser!

WOULD HAVE LOVED TO EXPERIENCE THIS CRUISE AT SOME POINT...BUT, DUE TO THE FACT THAT MY WEDDING WAS CANCELLED AN HOUR BEFORE IT BEGAN AND THE CRUISE WAS TO BE THE HONEYMOON...THAT I COULD NOT POSSIBLY GO ON AT THAT POINT..AND HAVING NO COMPASSION...I WAS TOLD I HAD TO TAKE THAT CRUISE OR NOTHING...I COULD SWITCH THE NAME OF MY FIANCEE BUT COULD NOT POSTPONE THE TRIP TO A LATER DATE....THANKS FOR ALL OF YOUR HELP AND NCL...I WILL BE TELLING ANYONE WHO WILL LISTEN HOW INCONSIDERATE ALL OF YOU WERE TO MY SITUATION....ROBERT KABA

Service was lacking. Food quality was mediocre. Organization was terrible. Getting on and off ship entailed a great deal of unecessary waiting in lines etc. Cabin and cabin steward, cleanliness etc. was good.

My comments on the ship are cited above.

Our balcony suite was very dirty and smelled of sewage, both my husband and I became sick from this. It took 4 days to move us to and even dirtier suite with black mold in the shower. Needless to say we didn't do any of the activities on or off the ship, We couldn't eat or drink. No one came to clean our room of the previous guests garbage, razors, fingernail clippings, or for that matter luggage that was left under the bed. After all was said and done NCL indicated they did not know of the bacterial outbreak on the ship even though it was in all the news and confirmed by the Department of Health in Hawai.

It was a great experience for a first time cruiser. Friendly, attentive staff, yummy food, lots of opportunity to sightsee on shore.

We recently sailed on the Pride of Aloha the 11 days Hawaiian and Kiribati cruise. Before our cruise a lot of people told us how bad this ship is. Let us tell you this was not in our situation the cruise was GREAT. This is NCL freestyle cruising you can have dinner the time you want to have and we had great service nice food and very nice and friendly staff on board. The cruise went to Maui, Hawaii (kona and hilo) and Kauai and to Fanning island Kiribati. We have cruised many time on different ships and cruise lines to many places in the world. The Hawaiian island are really beautiful, but Kauai is the best what a marvelous island We made two tours the Wimea canyon, Wailua river and Fern grotto tour very nice and you should do this tour The second tour we did was Hollywood in Hawaii & Falls this was a great tour and I would advise this to every one Kauai is famous for all the movies made there you will see in your tour bus the movie and second later the real place the movie is made, The Pride of Aloha altough no casino is a nice ship. we had a cabin with balcony very nice but airco was very cold (tip bring tape and paper and close half the airco ), The Palace restaurant ( waiting time to be seated around 5min ) was very nice the staff was very pleasant and food very good.We are from Amsterdam in the Netherlands and really like that the staff is mixed half american and half asian very good. NCL is for the price you pay a good cruise line to cruise to Hawaiian island

We just completed an eleven day cruise of the Hawaiian Islands and Fanning Island. It takes 2 consecutive sea days to and from Fanning Island that is long and you can become very restless. However, the trip is worth it. If you are out to party only, you may not enjoy this, but it is truly a unique experience and one I treasure. If you go, do not just stay on the beach for the things the cuise line offers and for the local craftsmen shops ,though both should be enjoyed. Take the locals truck tour or at least walk through the village for the 1 mile to the school. See how they really live. Visit their store. It is incredible to realize in this day and age, people still live in this primitve enviroment. When visiting the Hawaiian Islands, take excursions or rent a car. Do research to find where to go. Most Islands are easy to navigate. You will not see Hawaii in it's glory staying around the ports. The beauty is hidden away to find. Make sure to make the trek to the "road to Hana". It's 52 miles that takes 3 hours to complete. As for the Pride of Aloha itself, the ship is a nice ship. The overall daily service crew staff could use some customer service skills. There are of course exceptions. The specialty crew members were fine. It's just not what I've been accustomed to on cruise ships before, and I have sailed this cruise line before. However, fun and relaxation is what you make it. For 11 days I did no cooking, housekeeping, or had any responsibility. Maybe asking more is a bit selfish.

The ship is beautiful and at my second childhood 70 years there was not enough dancing for me and my friend, the shore excursions in Hawaii were excellent and the tour guides were outstanding in narration and knowledge, the food was excellent, but hard to find when I actually wanted to eat.I do not drink but my friend said the drinks were excellent. The Hawaii cruise is a must do cruise, I didn't have time to swim but the pool are was very well kept and open at hours that were good for any time swim

This cruise is for those who want the been there, done that checklist for Hawaii. Cruising is the best way to sample the main four islands. There is not a lot of wasted time spent at sea. Overall, we were not very impressed with NCL and the Pride of Hawaii, but found it to be on par with other mainstream cruise lines, e.g. Carnival, Princess. We had few complaints and had a great week, but I will look at other cruise lines before returning to NCL in the near future. Never select a room on port side. Overnight stays at docks provides a bleak view.If you book port on lower decks(9 and below) you should just save money and get an inside cabin. Cabins are very small. Always use EZ Fly Dont buy excursions sold by NCL. Use Robert's tours at half the price.http://www.robertshawaii.com Use the Robert's shuttle from airport We enjoyed the Freestyle dinning, but you need to remember to make reservations everyday at 0700. We dined in the main restaurants-Grand Pacific and Alizar, as well as, most of the specialty restaurants-Paniolo Tapa, Papas Italian, Cagneys Steakhouse, Jasmine Asian Fusion, LeBistro. We never had a meal that was exceptional. Main courses were rarely hot, They just couldnt bring a full meal to fruition. Sometimes the appetizers were great and the entree fell flat. As previously mentioned, the food temperature wasnt very hot. Portions are fairly small, but this allows you to order the full menu. The quality of food at the Aloha Nui Cafe buffet was better than most that we experienced on other cruises. Our room attendant was very friendly and attentive, but dusting was not part of the cleaning. Higher shelves were dusty and cluttered. There was no information folder in room. Therefore, we had to research everything from how do you get a key to the mini bar.No pen. No stationery. Two bottles of water stuck up high on a top shelf. Writing pen under the TV. There was not a lot of attention to detail.

The ship looked nice and inviting. But the odor of sewer gas was miserable.

the food was wonderful, the staff was great. Lacked daytime entertainment such as games etc. LOts of wheelchairs. We laughted and say, they must have taken everyone from a retirement home on the cruise.

except for a few instances the cruise was enjoyable for me.

The cruise staff were very friendly. It was an amazing delight to find Lee the director also the Sunday preacher. The creativity of events was fun. I saw lots fo smiling faces. We were delighted at every turn.