We were celebrating our 25th anniversary and Hawaii has been on our bucket list. The ship was a perfect way to see all of the islands. We spent most days ashore doing excursions, with only 2 lazy pool days.
Overall this was an amazing cruise, with excellent service and food. Despite reading bad reviews before we left, we did not have any negative experiences. We made the most of every day in paradise.
Embarkation
5 out of 5
Our trip was a breeze from the moment we got left off at the pier. We sailed through check in and were led to a separate area for a snack. The cat was out of the bag and I couldn’t hide the surprise from hubby. I had booked us in a penthouse suite with a butler After a short wait we were brought on board by Lauren. We then had lunch at Cagney’s, which is the breakfast and lunch spot for suite guests. Our deck was called while we were eating an amazing lunch. When we got to our rooms, our bags were outside our suite.
Ship experiences
Food and Dining
5 out of 5
We thoroughly enjoyed the specialty dining and Cagney’s was our favourite. We had breakfast and lunch there as well as it was our go to spot since we were in a suite. Moderno Brazilian restaurant was amazing but be prepared to eat a lot of meat! Teppanyaki was our least favourite and it was due to the amount of butter and salt used while cooking.
Aloha cafe had daily themed buffets and the food was very good. We ate at Skyline once and Cadillac diner one. Both were fine.
Onboard Activities
5 out of 5
Fitness Center was large and well equipped. There were ample deck chairs for tanning.
Entertainment
We did not attend evening shows but feedback from others indicated they were very good.
Children's Programs
No children with us
Service and Staff
5 out of 5
The staff were exceptional. We did not have a single negative experience. Everyone was friendly, courteous and very professional.
Ship Quality
5 out of 5
The common areas were always clean and appeared to be well maintained. The layout was easy to get around.
Cabin / Stateroom
5 out of 5
Our suite was wonderful with a large balcony. The size was perfect with lots of storage. Our cabin steward brought extra hangers and he kept the cabin spotless. The bed was incredibly comfortable. Jeffery our butler, brought us canapés and we had breakfast on our balcony on a number of days
Ship tip
Bring an over door mesh shoe holder to store your shampoo, lotions etc as there is not a lot of counter space. If you can take part in the Cruisenext program it is worthwhile to plan the next one, as the on-board credits pay for 1/2 of the deposit you put down. With the other on board credits that we had accumulated, our next cruise deposits cost us nothing.
We stayed in Oahu for 4 nights prior to boarding the ship at the Hilton Hawaiian Ali’i tower. Cousin Dorothy with Roberts Hawaii took us on the All-of Oahu day trip and she was a wealth of information and made this tour amazing.
We also did Pearl Harbour tour and we found this driver lacking. We made the best of the day and were honoured to see the Arizona memorial.
The Best of Maui tour with Roberts Hawai’i was a nice visit to Iao needle, the Maui oceanic
Our driver Les was very kind and treated us to calendars as we left the bus.
The tour guide can make or break a tour. We did not have the best driver and we found this tour of Historic Kona lacking. The scenery was wonderful. We were caught in hard rain when we came back to port which affected the tender boats coming to get us, but we did get a bit of shopping in while waiting for the tender.
It was incredibly fast and easy. We had pre booked a Roberts Hawaii shuttle to the airport. Our butler took us to the priority exit and we were off the ship in 5 mins and our bags were waiting for us.
Glad you enjoyed it. As long as people realize it’s an older ship and focus on the itinerary, it seems to be a great cruise. I can’t imagine being in Hawaii and being as miserable as some have posted reviews about the ship.
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