This was our first and last cruise ever. My Grandmother has been on over 30 cruises and was astonished to hear how bad our trip was. The food was terrible, the buffet served the same thing every day, which would have been okay, except you could barely get a reservation anywhere else. Also the buffet resembled more of a "vegas buffet" than a lavish cruise buffet I've seen pictures of for years. Two of our six shore excursions were completely altered and we didn't hear about it until we got into our stateroom, at which point the line to change them was well over 50 people long. The ship rocked terribly everytime it was moving. In our room at night (above promenade deck) we could hear every little thing in our cabin move, pill bottles shook, cameras skid around, shampoo bottles vibrated, ALL NIGHT LONG. The staff was always helpful and friendly, asuming you could get to them (certain people at dinner reservations and at the recpetion desk were a good 20min wait day or night). The spa was the highlight of our trip on the cruise, it was wonderful, I highly reccommend it!
Ship experiences
Food and Dining
1 out of 5
The only saving grace on the ship regarding food was the steak. Everywhere we ordered steak was DELICIOUS. Don't waste your time with the buffet or other restaurants, go to Cagney's steakhouse and enjoy!
Entertainment
3 out of 5
We went to very few of these, but overall they seemed fun, if our daily had been delivered to us more often, we might have gone to more of them.
Service and Staff
5 out of 5
The members of the staff said hello to us down every hallway, they always seemed ready to help, they were the best part about the ship.
Ship Quality
5 out of 5
After about two days you'll figure out your way around, and all public areas were upkept well, and very clean. The colors were ofcourse garishly bright, but that's not unusual for any hospitality space.
Cabin / Stateroom
3 out of 5
Overall the stateroom was fine, exactly what we expected. Except for the former passenger's laundry.
We tried the zipline adventure which was a little too adventurous for us and forced us to be stuck at a picnic area for the remainder of the day. Be prepared for zip #2 which includes a 200ft drop. Also the guides were not particularly friendly or understanding about bad landings, which is why after the first zip we didn't want to go again. We also went on the Wailua River and Fern Grotto tour, which was suddenly changed to Wailua River and Paradise Gardens tour because in March the Grotto flooded and there was alot of debris to be cleaned up (its now August) and they don't expect to have it cleaned up until October. We booked our shore excursions later than March, and if they weren't planning on cleaning it up until October, then they should have taken it off of their list of possible excursions, rather than dumping it on us when we got there. It was a very tame excursion, more suited for people much older than my husband and I who are in our late 20's.
This was our favorite port, don't waste your time hiking to the lava flow, all we saw were rocks and steam. Rainbow falls and the volcano national park were awesome, but I'd prefer that we had taken the helicopter to see the lava actually flowing.
The Molokini and Turtle Arches snorkel was amazing, my husband came face to face with a green sea turtle, and several fish grazed me as they swam by us. Where a t-shirt in the water if your burn easily. We also set out on our own to do "the road to hana", it was pretty and all, but a waste of time, you can't get to most of the waterfall bases, and it's so innundated with tourists it takes alot of the fun out of the journey.
The best thing about Kona is that almost everything is a short walk from the dock. We went on the outrigger canoes, which was fun, but our favorite part was shopping and walking to the historic buildings that dot the coastline.
Don't Miss: By all means, walk around and explore.
Pros: I liked the convenience of waking up in a different place almost every morning. Most employees were very nice and cheerful.
Cons: The food was terrible, the ship seemed to rock uncontrollably all through the night. We found someone else's laundry in our room our first day because their turnover is so quick. It was difficult to get ahold of anyone for reservations or reception.
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