What is the latest on the Pride of Aloha

[golflover]

Has anybody recently cruised on the POA. Have all the kinks been ironed out

I just booked my first cruise (Nov 05) and am a little concerned that things will still be shaky (food, service, room, etc)

 

I booked the 7 day cruise

 

Any opinions on which excursions thru NCL are worth it?

 

Thanks in advance

[SunPacific]

Hi Mike, I would suggest you go the the NCL Cruise Lines forum on this site; I think you'll get a better response. BTW, DH and I went on POA last October - it was fine and from what I understand, it's gotten better. Have a blast!

 

Carol:)

[Retired not Expired]

Yep, on it in January and had a blast. Had three couples with me that had never sailed before and they are hollering for me to get some more booked. They also want to go back to this one late next year.

[MandyMPwife]

I leave tomorrow on the Pride of Aloha, so when I get back I will give an update.

 

Mandy

[spleen93]

have a great time, Mandy!

 

Spleen

[tracitravels]

What is the sea conditions in January. We are thinking about the NCL 7night next New Years Eve, and someone told us the seas would be rough.

[Retired not Expired]

What is the sea conditions in January. We are thinking about the NCL 7night next New Years Eve, and someone told us the seas would be rough.

 

Seas can be a little rougher in the winter over there. Remember, this is when they have the large waves on the north shore of Oahu. We had a couple of times with some rough sea but nothing that slowed us down too much. We do have one photo we laugh about where three ladies from our party are hanging on to a post with tight grips. Most times those rough areas only lasted a couple hours. Remember there are a number of islands and it is according to whether you are on the windward or leaward side of the island. You can have rough seas and turn the corner of an island and it smoothes right out.

 

My next time will still be in the middle of Jan to the middle of Feb, however, as even a little rough seas in Hawaii beats winter in Missouri.

[Quincella]

Seas can be a little rougher in the winter over there. Remember, this is when they have the large waves on the north shore of Oahu. We had a couple of times with some rough sea but nothing that slowed us down too much. We do have one photo we laugh about where three ladies from our party are hanging on to a post with tight grips. Most times those rough areas only lasted a couple hours. Remember there are a number of islands and it is according to whether you are on the windward or leaward side of the island. You can have rough seas and turn the corner of an island and it smoothes right out.

 

My next time will still be in the middle of Jan to the middle of Feb, however, as even a little rough seas in Hawaii beats winter in Missouri.

 

My sentiments exactly, RNE! I'm an Atlanta girl now, but born and raised in St. Louis. I'll take Hawaii, waves and all, any day over the killer winters in MO!

 

Looking forward to POA in October...

[suziehmkr]

As they say, I spent a year in St. Louis one week in January. :eek: It is true! I am from CA and had to fly to St. Louis for business this last January. We landed on a Wednesday and it was in the 60's.... the next day it was snowing and by the time we left it was 16 degrees! However, I never curse cold weather or fog... I have also spent a week in Kansas City in July! Not ever again!

[DCosbey]

We took the April 3 POA cruise. We found most previous complaints that had been shared on these boards to be overstated. If you are an experienced cruiser, you may find the service on this ship to be "different" from other ships with an international crew. The American crew was very outgoing and friendly, but service is not to the level of other cruises we have taken (17+). This ship simply has more casual service than many other ships. We did not view this as negative- just different. The casual atmosphere seemed to fit Hawaii.

Our only annoyances during this cruise were the waits at the lunch and breakfast buffet! Buffet was self-serve and the layout was very inefficient. We encountered long lines and waits every meal we ate at any buffet on this ship. Then, after waiting to finally get food, often there were no tables to sit and eat! POA definitely has some kinks to work out in the buffet restaurants. The freestyle traditional dining room for dinner sometimes also had waits; our longest wait there was 30 minutes. After several nights of waiting for a table for 2, we used the strategy of showing up for dinner just as the doors opened. This worked out for us with shorter waits. The wait would have been shorter if we shared a table, but we preferred to dine alone. The dining room service was very good. The food was good, but limited choices of entrees and desserts compared to other cruises. Even though, the dinners were well-prepared, hot and served quickly. Great vegetable side dishes, salads and appetizers.

All in all, this was a great cruise with beautiful ports!