Hawaii Cruise Reviews

The ship was big, bigger than I expected as it was my first and I am a little bit afraid of the water, but after the drill before we set out I felt safer than ever.

We recently returned from a 15 day cruise to Hawaii aboard the Island Princess. Our accommodations were wonderful. The rooms had plenty of closet space and new/clean bathrooms. This ship offered numerous balcony outside staterooms which provided the ultimate in viewing pleasures and serenity. We were so spoiled that it will now be difficult to cruise without a balcony in the future. Staff was personable and full of humor which added greatly to a good time. We spent a lot of time at sea but the time was filled with activities to suit every taste. From crafts to movies to learning to play the ukeleili . My husband is a golfer and spent some time at the golf simulator and enjoyed playing two of the magnificent courses in Kona and Kawaii. The golf pro was a highlight; offered seminars daily and was very knowledgeable and full of fun. He shared playtime and tips with all who played. I do not play golf but was able to join my husband on the course for a very nominal fee. The spectacular views these courses offered were unlike anything I ever saw on a tour. Absolutely breathtaking. We met new friends and hope to sail again with them in the future. Our experience was wonderful and we recommend it to anyone who wants to spend time pararadise!

we enjoyed the food and the way it was our choice to eat at any time or place we wanted to. THe staff as friendly and also the talent was fun and exciting and we saw all we could . I love the layout of the ship and the beautiful colors and the welcoming effect it has . It just made our trip to Hawaii the best!!!!! We saw whales from our stateroon everyday and that waws a dream come true.

The ship and its employees were spectacular! Seemed so much easier than flying and switching hotels every time you want to island hop.

The NCL Pride of Hawaii's best aspect is actually it's itinerary. No other cruise line sails inter-island Hawaii only, and with so much to do in Hawaii, why go anywhere else! Hawaii is truly paradise. A trip here is one to be remembered forever, and will be hard to top. The Pride of Hawaii is new, and in that respect the rooms and facilities are nice and clean. I was pleasantly surprised by the friendliness of the staff, as I'd read many poor reviews before we sailed. There is little in the way of entertainment, but we did not mind as we spent very little time on the ship. The food quality, quantity and service was relatively poor. The crew in these areas seemed in general the most unpleasant. Communication on the ship could be better. Few announcements were made, and things we would have like to see were missed (whales playing in the water of the back of the ship). All in all, the ship was "good". If we had a choice of another line, we would probably choose it, but for us, this was really just an affordable, easy way to see 4 of the Hawaiian Islands in one trip, and that I would never pass up.

THIS IS BY FAR THE BEST WAY TO TOUR THE ISLANDS OF HAWAII. THIS IS THE BEST WAY FOR A BEST PRICE. NCL IS ABOUT SPECTACULAR VIEW AND PLENT OF EXCURSION OPPORTUNITIES . HOWEVER ITS NOT THIS SHIP TO FEEL PAMPERED OR LUXURY, AND THE SERVICE CHARGE ADDED AT THE END OF THE TRIP IS $75.00 PER PERSON, IS A LITTLE INSULTING. DUE TO THE FACT THAT YOU TIP AS YOU GO AS WELL, DUE TO FREESTYLE DINING AND THE MANY PAY RESERVATION RESTARUNTS. YET STILL ITS THE WAY TO GO. I WOULD DO IT AGAIN IN A NY MINUTE!

The Pride Hawaii is a great ship. The staff and crew not so great. Out of the ten cruises I have taken it was my least favorite. The food and buffets were not so great. I will think twice before using NCL again.

The Pride of America is a lovely, clean ship with alot to do and a very nice crew. We have cruised over thirty times on almost all of the cruise lines and this exceeded our expectations. We liked the Freestyle concept since we were onboard to relax and not for regimentation. We were able to do what we wanted, when we wanted and we did not have to get formal (which would have been kind of ridiculous on a casual, beach activity vacation). The food was varied and very good. The service was excellent and specialty restaurant reservations were easier to get than on most ships. There were many "extra" onboard charges but all were voluntary and the cruise was really not very pricey. Our balcony stateroom was roomy enough, comfortable and attractive. The onboard announcements were few and, therefore, not annoying. Embarkation and disembarkation were well organized. The shows were good enough. No casino but the onboard shops were convenient and open while in port. Not for everyone but I think most independent, well-traveled, experienced cruisers will enjoy Freestyle more than the regimentation of traditional cruising.

THE SHIP WAS CLEAN. THERE WERE NOT ALOT OF ACTIVITIES DUE TO THEIR "FREESTYLE" . IF YOU WANT TO STAY ON THE SHIP AND NOT DO ANY EXCURSIONS OR GET OFF THIS CRUISE IS NOT FOR YOU. WE TOOK OUR FAMILY AND THERE WAS VERY LITTLE FOR THE BOYS TO DO. (BASKETBALL AND SWIM) THAT WAS ABOUT IT. WE BOOKED EXCURSIONS AT EVERY PORT WHICH HELPED

Specifically during the disembarkation process the elevators were so crowded that you had to wait 15 minutes after your time assigned to get on an elevator to the deck. When the elevator arrived the space was so crowded with lines that you could barely get off the elevator....this was clearly a safety hazard.

We enjoyed the ship's crew and the ports. As someone told us on the ship. This ship is full of the Newly wed and the almost dead. Most of the passengers are older. That's not so much the problem as there isn't a whole lot of activities for those under 40yoa. I was surprised to see there was not a casino on board. But I figured that may be due to the ports. This was our first NCL cruise and I must say I we aren't fans of "Freestyle" crusing. I think its a great concept, but needs work. The specialty restaurants were nice but if I have to pay an additional fee to eat there. I wouldn't expect them to run out of some of the food items eaarly on. At another restaurant, we had to wait almost an hour to be seated after our reservation time. The excursions can get pretty expensive. You may want to research and rent a car on the overnight ports. Also, once you are at port, there are several vendors that offer excursions right at the port. If you can do it, I highly recommend the Kyak excursion in Maui. It's a lot of work, but was probably our best trip. If it wasn't for the great staff, our time on the ship would have been terrible.

Destination: Hawaii Islands Sailing date: 2007-01-27 We recently sailed on the Pride of America from Honolulu on a 7 day 4 island cruse of Hawaii. We booked an outside state room with and ocean view and were somewhat disappointed when there was lifeboat hanging right in our window. We were told this was and upgrade and Im still trying to figure out how this is an upgrade. Other than this the state room was very nicely appointed and had adequate storage space for all our things. This is a very nice ship with two large main dining rooms and five specialty restaurants. There is a large buffet available between 6:00 AM and 11:00 PM with a very good selection of food ranging from Pizza to Roast Pig. There is also a 24 hour diner serving diner type fare. We made good use of Night Club style bar and the large Theater. The entertainment provided was pretty top notch and kept us entertained every evening of our cruse. We saw two very good comedians and a very good review put on by the ship crew. There are several causal bars through out the ship. Several of these are located in and around the pool area. If you are cruising with family the ship offered some very good alternatives for child care. There are clubs aimed at teens, preteens, and the younger set. Since we were traveling with out children we had no fist hand experience with these services but spoke with several couples who did and they were very happy. We were unable to make our port of call once and were late calling at port one time. Both time it was due to weather conditions at the time. The cruise line did a great job providing extra entertainment and opening up dining room to keep every one reasonably happy. This was our first experience cruising and overall we were very happy. The only thing I found lacking was enough help in the buffet to keep tables bussed and clean and enough servers in the bars it took what I consider way to long to get a drink ordered and delivered to our table. We do plan on future cruises and would consider using this cruise line again based conversations with others during our cruise who had cruised with NCL in the past. All in all we had a really great time.

Other than the rough seas, the fact that we couldn't get into two ports as a result, the medical emergency that caused the diversion to Honolulu where we couldn't stop at that time because there was no slip for us, and the major outbreak of norovirus . . . it was a good cruise! You would have had to like just cruising along, have had no propensity to motion sickness and an immunity to norovirus (as I do) to have really enjoyed this one! The wonderful service by the staff, the excellent food (aside from the horrible coffee in the main dining rooms and Horizon Court--ok with me, I don't drink coffee) and the great ship made it very enjoyable and indeed relaxing. Our waiter in the Bordeaux dining room (Arpi) was particularly knowledgeable and helpful. The comedian Kevin Hughes was hilarious with his comedy about our adventures (as in, "so you paid $10,000 to be locked in a 6 by 8 cabin throwing up!"). I think I will do this cruise again perhaps a little later in the season when the seas might be more calm. But next year it's the Caribbean again for us!

It is only 7 months old and it is very lovely, but it is already showing wear and tear. Several windows had been blown out and not repaired....the artifical turf on the putting green was already damaged and had not been repaired.

We have been on several cruises and this one was by far the worst in regards to the service. The cafe was crowded and lacking in organization. If you had breakfast in the main dining rooms, you were lucky if you got what you ordered and certainly not in a timely manner. The tables were not cleared very quickly. We also disliked the fact that smoking was allowed in several of the public areas and the cigar room area reeked. We couldn't enjoy one of the entertainment areas because of the cigar smoke. We did thoroughly enjoy the specialty dining area. The service there was outstanding, but we had to pay extra for that. The staterooms were the smallest that we have ever seen. You could hardly move around. We were glad we didn't have to spend much time there.

The ship itself was nice. The food service in the buffet area was a disaster only one serving area for the entire ship. Trying to find a sit inside the dinnering room was joke way to small and not enough tables availabe. They allow smoking in way to many places. The main room for entertaining was good and the two main shows were excellent but there were three nights without any main showroom entertain. There other room for entertain the Hawaii Room is way to small for the number of people trying to see. The dinner rooms are okay and the free style time set is good. But if you have cruise with other lines you will be very disappointed the service and food choices are not what you are use to (IE) Chile as a main menu choice.

THE VESSEL IT SELF WAS VERY NICE. THE CREW ITSELF WAS QUITE INEXPERIENCED FOR A CRUISE OF THIS TYPE. MOST PEOPLE HAVE TO SAVE FOR A WHILE FOR A TRIP LIKE THIS. THIS HAPPENED ATO BE MY 20TH ANNIVERSARY AND I ENJOYED BEING OFF THE SHIP MUCH MORE THEN BEING ON IT. I HAVE BEEN ON THE MAJESTY AND CROWN, ALTHOUGH THEY WERE OLDER THE SERVICE AND FOOD WERE BETTER.

It was our first cruise and we had wonderful time, except , my husband got sick on 3rd day and had to see a ship doctor,I think they really over- charged us for few antibiotics.

The ship was beautiful. Well staffed and clean. It was a wonder cruise.

A very good ship, but overall food quality and lack of casino are strong negatives for us.