Princess cruisers-ever tried Norwegian in Hawaii?

[TW6cruiser]

We've been on maybe 10 Princess Cruises (Caribbean, Panama Canal, Alaska, Baltic, Mediterranean) and multiple classes of ships (from Coral to Regal). Of course, some ships and cruises we have liked better than others but we do like Princess. I'm looking at Norwegian for Hawaii, only because they are the only cruise line that starts and ends in Hawaii and you don't have all those sea days traveling to and from the west coast. Do any seasoned Princess cruisers have any comments on comparisons to this particular Norwegian cruise? Any comments would be appreciated. Thanks.

[TW6cruiser]

I just noticed a similar thread that others are posting on today. I had done a search and had not found it...sorry for duplicate post.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

[chengkp75]

The big difference, and it is still a big one, after all these years, is the level of service on POA. You will be dealing with a almost entirely US crew, so the ingrained service mentality of the international crew is not universal with the US crew. I'm not trying to dissuade anyone, I used to work on these US flag ships in Hawaii, and want them to continue and thrive, but you have to have different expectations than any other cruise you have been on. If you consider the ship to be simply a "moving hotel" that serves as hotel, airplane, and restaurant, you will do better. The draw here is the islands, not the ship.

[cacruiser54]

We did this cruise several years ago. It was less expensive and much more casual. Our Son was about 10 at the time; the venues and Staff were perfect for a young cruiser.

 

The next Hawaii cruise that we do will be on Princess; our preferred cruise line.

 

Enjoy your cruise!

[tip]

We have been on twenty-seven cruises including five with Princess with two more booked. We have cruised with Norwegian six times including The Pride of America in Hawaii in September of 2012. We experienced no problems whatsoever with service. Of course we don't feel the need to have our backsides kissed. We only expect our room to be made up twice daily, the ice bucket filled, our meals brought to us with the table cleared in a timely manner, and our drink orders filled. Is NCL our favorite line? No, but sometimes I feel that it gets a bad rap.

[SJSULIBRARIAN]

We have done the Pride of America Hawaiian cruise twice - 2012 and 2014 and enjoyed it. We did not find the service much different from Princess or HAL for that matter. The food was tasty and of course the scenery is great. Since one is barely on the ship as you experience the islands, it is more like a floating hotel as one poster said. I also found the officers out and about on the ship and very friendly, something I don't often see on the other mass market lines lately. If you haven't done it, I would definitely recommend trying it.

[need2cruisesoon]

POA is good (we sailed this past July).

itinerary and time in port is excellent. Onboard entertainment is good, ship in good condition. Overnights in Kauai and Maui big plus.

 

Food service and food quality is lacking and we were disappointed. Ate many meals onshore. But we still had a great time.

[workstocruise]

Our best friends who cruise with us a lot just did a family cruise this past summer on the POA. They stayed in two family suites and she said they had a great time. The only complaint I heard her say was that the food in the MDR wasn’t very good. They ate in the buffet a lot because they have young grandchildren. She also said the suite entitled them to some free meals in the specialty dining where the food was very good. We did Hawaii many years ago on the SS Independence which belonged to American Hawaii Cruises. We also started and ended in Honolulu without those 4 sea days coming and going. IMO this is the only way to see Hawaii. Go and enjoy the Islands, you’ll have a great time!

[casofilia]

We started off with a Princess cruise to Alaska and got the bug. Then we wanted to do Hawai'i and didn't want the sea days so changed to NCL. We really enjoyed the packed 7 days and didn't have a major complaint so stayed with NCL for a number of years, now we are back to Princess as they go places NCL doesn't.

 

The Hawai'i trip was a few years ago when the price was compatible with any 7 day trip, now you will find it far more expensive relatively. That is probably due to the crewing requirements. We had no complaints but they were not as attentive as the crew on the 'regular' ships we have travelled on since.

[lollypopaz]

been there done that would never do it again 42 and counting on Princess

[gwsster]

I didn't notice any big difference in service, but you are off the ship most of the time so it really is a floating hotel. The one thing I would tell anyone booking is that the rooms on this ship are small. The rooms really are only used for sleeping as this is a port intensive cruise. We ended up booking a suite as it was more cost effective for us rather than booking 2 balcony rooms. If I did this cruise again a inside room would be just fine for me...and I love my balconies, as you are off the ship so much or around the pool or eating!

[lucksak]

We did the POA about 11 years ago. Great to get from Island to Island. Only time with NCL. 1 cruise with RCL. 11 cruises with Princess. The itinerary would have to be extraordinary for us to go with NCL again. I would do the sea days with Princess instead of NCL..

[rocklinmom]

We go back and forth between Princess and NCL every summer. It depends on the itinerary and price. We did the POA in Hawaii a few years ago and it was great! You can't beat the seven day itinerary (with overnight on Kauai) and it was so easy for us to fly direct to Honolulu. The main difference I see between the two lines is that NCL is more casual (no formal nights and shorts allowed in the MDR for dinner) which makes more sense in Hawaii anyway. And if you book a suite, NCL is just as good as Princess with suite benefits.

[runnerodb83]

While the Pride of America is somewhat of an odd ship, you truly get 7 full days in hawaii. It's essentially a floating hotel room with a smidge better service than a land resort/hotel. Probably not up to the par of Princess but you have people cooking and cleaning for you and most do it with a smile.

 

The ship has a wide variety of rooms although the insides are generally small. The ship doesnt usually feel crowded however since its basically docked during daylight hours and sometimes through dinner. There is no casino if that matters to you. The decor of the ship is patriotic and has a bit more character than princess which we enjoyed. The specialty restaurants are quite good (especially the tepanyaki, think Benihana). Sailing along the Napali coast is impressive and I'm not sure if princess does that.