Hawaii was spectacular; NCL not quite

Hawaiian Island 7 day cruise.  This was our 15th cruise on 6 different cruise lines.  (I am a Hawaii resident)

SERVICE:  Although I’d heard bad reports about the crew, I found them just fine; friendly an efficient and thorough in all their work.  They were both foreign and American, but interestingly enough, a lot were relatively recent hires. (large turnover?)  The officers however were rather aloof and pretty much kept to themselves.

STATEROOMS:  The staterooms were adequate, clean and efficient.  TV included FOX, MSNBC, BBC news channels and a few movie channels.  We had a coffee maker in our room.  Occasionally there was a distinct odor of sewage in our bathroom as well as around the ship from time to time.

DINING: Open dining and no set serving times.  There were 6 venues listed as “complementary” and six that were specialty for an additional price.  The buffet offers a wide variety of food choices with adequate seating. There is also a 24-hour hamburger shop that is mostly complimentary. 

 Two main dining rooms; one was casual and one was more formal (ie.-slacks, sportshirt and shoes.  Mostly large groups and families, but no mixing of couples at large tables with a chance to meet other cruisers.  If you were just a couple, you were seated at a table for two!  Service was much faster than other cruise lines. The main dining menus were very limited with choices of pork, veal, some beef, and seafood.  There was no kid’s menu, which I though was odd, seeing that it is definitely a cruise for families.   For Italian, French, steak or Oriental cuisine you had to go to the specialty restaurants at a cost of between $20 to $30 per. Although the main dining rooms are listed as “complimentary” in the brochure, there were some items that still cost extra on their menus.  Wine at dinner is NOT complimentary.  You may not bring any spirits on board for use, even in your room.  It will be confiscated until you leave the ship or pay a corkage fee. 

BARS:  There are lots of bars (9) on board with most drinks in the $7 to $12 range.  There is a percentage added to you bar bill at the end of the cruise to cover gratuities. When served, you also get a tab to sign that includes a space for tips!

ENTERTAINMENT:  The usual piano bar/lounge.  Also the usual variety of evening shows; a song-and-dance group, a magician(bad), a comedian(worse), and a specialty act(good), most of which were a step or two down from what you’d expect from, say the Carnival family of cruise lines.

SERVICES:  WiFi was extra (cell phone service on the outer islands is marginal).  The pools and spas were clean.  There were activities for all ages including a teen nightclub and a specialty water area for toddlers. Room service is $8.  $25 deposit for pool towels!  Excursions were pricey but some were really spectacular and worth it.  For some, you would be better off to just rent a car and drive around yourself, as many of the attractions are free or low cost.

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