As many others have said, this cruise is not about the cruise ship, this cruise is all about the itinerary. Take the screws if you want to see a lot of Hawaii in a single week.
Embarkation
4 out of 5
We boarded about 2pm to give ourselves time to avoid the rush. So our embarkation was a breeze. We had a very short wait in line. And we walked right onto the ship.
Ship experiences
Food and Dining
2 out of 5
Well, the Buffay was good, the specialty restaurants were not particularly high quality. We went to every specialty restaurant, with the exception of Cagneys. The best was the Italian restaurant. However, even there, most of the food was over cooked as with every restaurant, including the buffet. So, if you like your steak, seafood, burger, medium rare or tender, I recommend staying away from your favorite cut of steak or fish.
Onboard Activities
4 out of 5
Most of the games in their team and on board ship was typical. However, both the comedian and the magician were really quite entertaining. We also attended several trivia’s so if that’s your thing, they have good ones.
Entertainment
4 out of 5
Service and Staff
3 out of 5
Some of the staff were truly amazing, however, most of the staff were average to subpar.
I was very lucky to get a cloudless night and so I took a short, drive out to a point on the road to Lahaina, and got to see the Milky Way galaxy with my own eyes. Unfortunately, I didn’t get to see it on Kawai, which apparently has an even less obstructed view with less light pollution, but Maui was truly amazing, even with all of its light pollution.
I recommend taking a day before your cruise to hang out and enjoy a Waikiki Beach. For us it just helped get us into the mood for a cruise. However, Waikiki beach, and Honolulu are very much like any American city, except for the amazing view of the ocean and the beaches.
Hands-down, some of the best snorkeling that we did was in Kona. I highly recommend bringing your own snorkel gear, so you can jump out and snorkel anywhere you wish.
This is the primary reason to pay for priority access. This disembarkation was a breeze, but again only because we had paid for the priority access which saved us probably a half hour or so, standing in a line.
Finally a review of this cruise from someone who did research before the cruise. Glad the ship was pretty decent. Low expectations are the secret to happiness.
Thanks for your review. From your info and previous reviews if seems safe to say that anyone who wants to do this great itinerary definitely has to be prepared to accept they may not love the ship.
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