Hawaii Cruise Reviews

I liked the staterooms and housekeeping. I thought the cruise director did a great job and the shows were wonderful. I felt the crew needed more training. You askeed three people the same question and got three different answers. The dining was a disaster. Getting a reservation or a place to sit was a major problem. Service was slow (2 hours and leaving before coffee is too long). Buffet room was too small. We had to take food to another deck to sit down. We much prefer the assigned dining.

The Norewegian Wind was a good ship. We had a good cruise. I was not at all pleased with the service we received in the dining hall. We all felt that the wait staff in the dining areas were just being trained to work on the cruise line. I would never sail on a free style cruising venue again. I guess we have been spoiled by our other cruises.

ship was very nice. rooms were very adequate, although a room next door to ours in the same catagory was much larger! the breakfast in the buffet was wonderful!!! the other meals were just average. disappointed that the italian restaurant had the same menu every night.

Overall, it was a fun experience with some nice amenities. However, the crew was surly, overworked and clearly not happy! After experiencing the service quality of a Princess cruise, this NCLA was very disappointing. Most of the blame should be placed on management, they did poor training and didnt seem to be very concerned with improving the customer relationship skills the crew should have.

Upon arrival to our stateroom we noticed a very musty odor that turned out to be a leak in a utility closet between staterooms. The carpet was wet. The staff unsuccessfully tried to treat the problem with towels and a dehumidifier. It took two days for them to move us to another stateroom. Compensation for such an unacceptable inconvience was $50.00 credited to my account and a bottle of wine form the "complimentary" wine list. We were told by staff that the ship was full and they recently had crew staff resign just prior to the holidays. They work 110 hours per week for 5 months with very little time off and it was obvious that they were stressed. I have been on three other cruise lines and have not encountered such inconveniences.

Since we love cruising and had only visited Honolulu once, I felt like this would be an excellent way to see more of Hawaii and it was! Despite reading some negative comments about the cruiseline and this ship in particular we were pleasantly surprised. The food choices were more than adequate, our stateroom was great, the staff was casual but for the most part very friendly and fun, and we got a good "taste" of most of Hawaii. We came home feeling relaxed and full of the spirit of "Aloha."

See "Cons" above.

The Pride Of America is a new ship, so everything was very new and clean looking. I think the gift shops could be improved. There wasn't much of a variety in products, and the prices were too high. I did enjoy the shows. The staff wasn't as friendly as they should have been, with the exception of our housekeeper who was just great. The public bathrooms on the ship were often dirty and smelly. The beach at Maui that the free shuttle took us to was terrible. The second day we payed a taxi ALOT of money to take us to the other side of the island where the beach was just beautiful. A few of the ports were very ugly and very loud. Overall, I think NCL needs to improve the staff and have more activities, especially for the kids. I don't think I'll take another cruise with NCL.

Cruise from L.A to Hawaii: It was an excellent adventure all around. The voyage itself was quite confortable and the service was outstanding. The shore excursions were beautiful, therefore, my memories of Hawaii will last forever! On our way back, the very last day,we had waves up to 20feet or as high as the third deck of the ship- and the ship could handle it very well...it was amazing to see.

We have been cruising for over 15 cruises and this is the worst. The food quality is bad, the cabin is not clean, the service in the dining room is very poor.

The ship was lovely. It was very clean and the cr3ew was very polite and helpful I was impressed on their emphasis on sanitation. and the rooms were extremely comfortable. My husband enjoyed himself so much that he wants to do a cruise every year. It was most convienient also to board the ship here in Honolulu where we live. It far exceeded our expectations. Thank You so much!!

The Pride of Hawaii is a beautiful brand new ship! Everything sparkles and the decorating fits perfectly with Hawaii. We loved our trip and enjoyed each stop on the islands. Be sure to make reservations for your meals the first day on the ship - it fills up fast! Go for the islands and the beautiful ship, not the food or service - they were good, just not spectacular.

My family and I (4 adults) just returned from a cruise on the Pride of Hawaii. While cruising was the way for us to travel to the other islands, the cruise line was not enjoyable. There were way too many extra costs! Soft drinks were $1.82 a can or we could purchase a sticker that would allow us to drink soft drinks unlimited for $35.00 each person (that adds up to $140.00 for drinks that didn't include bottled water). We reluctantly purchased the stickers and when we wanted a soft drink, they would fill their small glasses up with ice then pour in the drink...No we cannot give you the can they would say....only a glass with the drink in it. BAD IDEA!!! If this wasn't bad enough, to get a drink was like an act of congress..another bad deal. Then we find out that some of the restaurants we wanted to eat at required a SERVICE CHARGE(?). What's up with that? The charge was from $10. to $20., add that up and that is $80.00 for our family to sit and dine in this restaurant...BAD IDEA!! There were also restaurants that you HAD to have reservations to dine at, didn't matter if there were tables available and no one would be using them. Reservations required...BAD IDEA! The service at any of the places we ate at was sad. The waiter/waitress would bring our food and see that we needed refills on drinks but would not offer to refill, even if we put them on the edge of the table were they would almost knock them over but never offer a refill, always had to ask...BAD SERVICE! The food wasn't good at the buffet and drink choices were not good there either. One of my son's had a bug crawl out off his plate...YUCK! Only one ice cream machine and the condiment counter was either empty or didn't work. I do have one positive comment; the ship was clean and nicely decorated.

We thoroughly enjoyed the Pride of America. The staff was very friendly and helpful, even though we could tell they were working long hours. We would see staff from restaurants working other duties at various times of the day, so I know they squeeze every hour they can from their schedules. The buffet food was surprisingly better than I expected. It's hard to keep food tasting fresh and not dried out on a buffet service, but the crew did a good job of keeping it fresh by rejuvenating the dishes and replacing them when needed. They kept the service counters continually cleaned, and would hold friendly conversation when approached with questions. Specialty restaurants were overbooked, but we got in with a bit of schmoozing. There were always cancellations or no shows, so with some patience we always got a table. I was amazed at how rude the passengers could be toward crew. Evidently, many in America haven't been trained in etiquette, and haven't learn the art of the language. Sugar catches more than vinegar, yet I heard so many demanding and crass people just blasting at crew members for insignificant things. I've read other reviewers who were hard on crew members, but from what I experienced, I think much of the fault of poor communication began with passengers who are overdemanding. I listened to one lady reeming out the staff - who had answered her questions to best of their ability, and with what I thought was reason - who was simply out of control If I was a crew member, I'd have thought seriously of making her an example of sea survival and tossed her overboard. Overall, we loved the cruise - although with only two days left, my wife had a moped accident and cracked four ribs. In spite of this, she attests to the trip being grand and the experience of the ship and Hawaii well worth it!

The ship was new and pretty but we had more problems than we should have. Many of the crew members were grumpy, we did not have the service we received on previous cruises. We were treated rudely by more than one crew member. There were so many errors on the ship it got to be a joke. They advertised a sale on their jewelry (in the daily newsletter) from 4 - 8 pm. When we went to shop at 4 pm, they rudely said the sale was not until 6 pm, even 'tho' it was advertised differently they did not honor the published time. The television announcements said there was a half-price sale on the fee for the specialty restaurants from 5:30 to 6:30 but when we went to eat, we were told, sternly, that the sale was from 5:30 - 6:00 and, again, tney would not honor the price advertised on the T.V. Another example of the errors made was that they sent around a flyer about a couples event, learning how to give each other a massage. The price on the flyer was $61. We called to make a reservation and learned that the price had been printed wrong, it was $102 instead of $61. We did not go. Our T.V. did not work for 3 days, we had to call and nag and call some more to get it fixed. Many of the functions of the cruise such as reserving shore excursions, making restaurant reservation, etc. could be made from the TV, but since ours did not work, it made for a difficult time. Four of us were traveling together and had adjoining rooms. The desk charged the wrong things to our account. Shore excursions and the daily fee from some of our traveling companions were made to our account.

The ship was wonderful with spectacular ports of call. If your not looking for outstanding (or even good) service. The all american crew is about what I expected nothing great about service and mostly unfriendly.

Overall satifactory presentment

Great value. Food was just fine. I thought the ship was just as good as Crystal and Radisson.....believe it or not. For the price, can't be beat.

The ship was almost brand new and still in excellent condition. The crew on the ship was almost totally American and eager to please. All of the staff spoke very good English and there were no communication problems. From the time we arrived at the airport to our departure, we were well taken care of. There were very few problems. My one major complaint was the food. The onboard cafes were just mediocre at best. I did get into the upscale Italian (unable to remember name) Cafe was the worst of the bunch. I had to have a late reservation, and the food was unpalatable. And to make it worse, we had to share a table. I did not eat in any of the other extra charge establishments, as we were unable to make reservations in time. I really liked the "freestyle" cruising, but absolutly abhor the extra charge restuarants. For the price they should be included. I was a little put out over security constantly check to see if alcohol was being brought on board. Seems as if this is all they were checking for.

ship was clean but lacked any outstanding ammenities