Just back from Pride of Hawai`i inaugural

[bobnsandi]

Aloha nui. We got home late yesterday afternoon from our LA to Honolulu cruise aboard the Pride of Hawai`i. Quickly scanned Kat's "Live from PoH" post, and it appears that she and Maeve covered many of the immediate questions. This will be short as we're overwhelmed by laundry and a mountain of accumulated bills and other paperwork.

 

We sailed from LA in cabin 9170, a category AB penthouse. It was a stern penthouse, which we just loved. We spent a large part of the four sea days on our lanai watching the wake trail off to the horizon. This was our first stern stateroom, and we feared we'd get exhaust odors. Instead, the only odors we detected were from the bakery!!! Yes, somehow the vents from the bakery ended up astern. Made mealtime an even more anticipated treat.

 

Our stateroom was nicely appointed, and unlike some other staterooms with wood paneling, it did not creak and groan while underway (neither did the lanai slider). The only noise was from the glassware over the bar, and some judicious use of tissues under the glasses took care of that. We had butler and concierge service, a portable ship's phone, wide screen plasma TV + DVD player, beautiful bath (with shower and tub), etc., etc. Plush robes were in our closet, but they were a bit too heavy for Hawai`i (but were welcome leaving San Francisco). Our cabin stewardess, Joyce, took excellent care of us, including eight towel animals during the cruise. We asked that the fully stocked mini bar be emptied so we had room in the fridge for our stuff.

 

As mentioned in Kat's post, Eric and Robb, the two concierges, were fantastic. We also received stellar service from just about everyone on board. Scott Hamby & Marshall Keyes, hotel directors, Mojo Scott, Bar Manager (and Tony Lockett from the Dawn was also aboard and it was great catching up with him). Tracie, Blake, Jasmine, Dave, Heide, Jacques, Christine, and many, many others were just phenominal.

 

We ate in the Jasmine Restaurant four times (one visit was for sushi). The food there was beyond excellent! Jasmine, our waitress (and yes, that is her name), is the best! Our last night was at Cagney's Steakhouse, which was superb. We both had the rack of lamb, and loved it. We sat near the open kitchen and got to see the chefs at work. They are true masters. We also ate in Papas the first night aboard, and they seemed pretty disorganized. But, it was the first night, and other CCers in the group raved about their visits later in the cruise.

 

We had some lunches in the buffet, and it was pretty good (as a rule, we look to the buffer for quick and easy rather than a quality meal). True, they did run out, but as Marshall Keyes explained, they used smaller buffet trays to try and address the "food not hot or fresh" issue. They are aware of the problem and are working on it. We also ate in Pacific Heights and Alizar (the main dining rooms), and found the service generally good (but not as good as the specialty restaurants).

 

We also got to eat in Cagney's for breakfast and lunch (a penthouse and above perk). One day they had fried calamari as an appetizer, which was as good as any calamari I'd evern eaten. Mike, the fry chef, is a true virtuoso with a fry basket.

 

The Blue Lagoon shares space with the Paneolo Tex/Mex restaurant. Blue Lagoon is available 24 hours, except when Paneolo is open (5:30 - 10:30 P.M.) We ate in both places, and found them both to be very good. The Blue Lagoon menu is about the same as the Blue Lagoon on the Star and the Cadillac on the Pride of America. Only difference is that the hot wings on this ship can be had good and spicy.

 

Great CC group aboard. We had three get togethers, one right after muster leaving LA, and two others organized by Vicky (the ship's group coordinator). We kept running into one another throughout the cruise and it was always a treat to see a friendly face and hear a big hello.

 

The major negative about the ship is that the sauna, main whirlpools, and steam room are not free. There is a $15/day ($120/cruise) charge for using the "Thermal Suite". We understand this is also the case on the Jewel. True, there are spectacular spaces (where else can you sit in a sauna with a huge window overlooking the sea?), but we've always expected steam, sauna, and whirlpool to be included as part of our cruise fare. We expressed our displeasure with this new policy to the hotel director and on our comment forms. We'll also be writing a letter to NCL about it. In our opinion, this will affect our future choice of ships.

 

Overall, this was a wonderful cruise and more than met our expectations. We were aboard the Pride of America's inaugural cruise (Miami to LA) last year, and this was even better. The ship was more complete, most of the equipment was working (with the exception of the computerized TV in our stateroom. It had to re-booted almost every day as it either wouldn't turn on or froze.) The crew was wonderful. We recognized many of them as vets from the other Prides, and they were always friendly and helpful. Even the new crew, while sometimes a bit uncertain, were enthusiastic and learned quickly. The improvement during the twelve days was easy to spot.

 

We'll give this ship and crew a big thumbs up!

[Molokai-Chuck]

Mahalo bobnsandi for your posting.... only 39 more days till our departure for the Islands.

 

Chuck and Mary

[love2relax]

Bob and Sandi,

I'm so glad to hear that you had such a wonderful time. I have been thinking about you two and scouring the boards for your post. (I knew you would post something when you got back.) Since Scott Hamby is on the POH, I wonder who the Hotel Director is on the POAm now.... Was Rich Cleason your CD? He is no longer on the POAm. I will never forget Rich and Scott's Liar's Club show. I hear that Shona (formerly on the POA and POAm) was promoted to CD on nthe POAm. It sounds like the POH is going to be a great addition to NCL's fleet. We are so looking forward to hooking up with you when we get to Maui (in less than 5 weeks now). We still haven't finalized our plans or arranged for a rental car: too busy with wrapping up the school year. Thank you for posting.

[spleen93]

Thanks for the review, Bob and Sandi! ;)

 

Spleen

[Time To Travel]

I truly enjoyed reading your review. Thanks for the posting. We are on the POH June 19th and can't wait :). Thanks again for the great review.

[dgaston]

I truly enjoyed reading your review. Thanks for the posting. We are on the POH June 19th and can't wait :). Thanks again for the great review.

 

Thanks for the review. We are cruising POH on 7/24/06 and hope even more kinks are worked out by then. I'm getting excited!

[zimmerjulie]

Thanks bobnsandi!

It is great to hear more good news about this (my new favorite:D ) ship!

 

We had Jasmine as our waitress in the Jasmine Garden, too. We enjoyed the service and the meal very much.

 

Ray Carr was the CD for our trip.

 

Thanks again, it is so good to hear more positive things about something that is near and dear to my heart:p .

[slothandle]

Thanks bobnsandi!

It is great to hear more good news about this (my new favorite:D ) ship!

 

We had Jasmine as our waitress in the Jasmine Garden, too. We enjoyed the service and the meal very much.

 

Ray Carr was the CD for our trip.

 

Thanks again, it is so good to hear more positive things about something that is near and dear to my heart:p .

 

 

Is Ray Carr the Cruise Director on Pride of Hawaii? I have a small roll call going for POH, June 12, and had hoped to contact someone about the possibility of our cc group getting together for a mix and mingle. Do you know how to contact him?

 

I have reading reading your threads/posts. Thanks a million for the info and the pictures.

 

We can't wait.

 

Pat

[prosephone]

We have an AB booked as well! Do you happen to have any pictures? I have been dying to see the AB Penthouse Suites!!!!!

[zimmerjulie]

Pat,

Ray Carr is the CD. I do not have an e-mail address. Perhaps some of the returning CC'ers have the contact info.

 

You are very welcome and thanks for the thanks!

[Silver Girl]

Thanks again, Sandi and Bob, for arranging all the Cruise Critic gatherings. We really enjoyed meeting everybody, and we loved all the goodies that were delivered to our cabins.

 

I'll be writing a report later, once I've caught up with everything here, but let me say that the ship is beautiful, the crew is hard-working and friendly, and we loved our mini-suite. We did have a few issues with dining service (just our bad luck, I guess, since unlike everyone else we had major problems at Cagney's), but we certainly didn't let a few glitches affect our vacation. All in all, we had an outstanding time.

[kat28]

Hi Silver Girl! It was a fabulous vacation, wasn't it??? Minor glitches like slow service, cold food, running out of food in Aloha Nui...but the scenery, company, and friendliness of the staff and willingness to do whatever it took to make us happy far outweighed the negative! I'd cruise on the POH in a heartbeat again!!!:D

[bobnsandi]

We have an AB booked as well! Do you happen to have any pictures? I have been dying to see the AB Penthouse Suites!!!!!

 

I've just posted the photos of our penthouse suite. It was very

nice. We were facing aft, so many of the photos show the wake

disappearing off to infinity. We certainly enjoyed the extra

space and nice bathroom.

 

http://www219.pair.com/swansonr/pride_of_hawaii/

 

In a few days, this directory will contain a lot of photos,

so take a look now for the suite pictures.

[Valentino Rossi]

I've just posted the photos of our penthouse suite. It was very

nice. We were facing aft, so many of the photos show the wake

disappearing off to infinity. We certainly enjoyed the extra

space and nice bathroom.

great photos, can you tell me which room was it, we ll also be on the poh in an aft cabin, the 10666, an AD, would it be similar to that?

 

and what about cruising on the very back of the ship, good or bad?

 

thanks

[Silver Girl]

Hi Kat28! It really was a fabulous vacation. It was our first trip to Hawaii, and now I want to go back to see more of it. The people we met, both crew and passengers, were so friendly, and I miss being on the ship. Some of the public rooms, like the Medusa Lounge, were absolutely stunning, and I enjoyed walking around and admiring all the details that make this ship so unique. I'd go back in a heartbeat, too!

 

BobnSandi, what a beautiful suite! Thanks for posting the pictures. I'm looking forward to seeing more!

[shirschup]

It sounds like you had a wonderful time! How long did it take to disembark since you don't have to go through customs? My mom and I go in September and are wondering if we could make it across the island in time to see the sharks (while in a shark cage) by 12pm. Hopefully it will be quicker than usual. Thanks!

[RSM2354]

We have an AB booked as well! Do you happen to have any pictures? I have been dying to see the AB Penthouse Suites!!!!!

 

 

We just got off the POH and had an AB suite. It was wonderful. I wil try and post the pictures on here but I am having trouble doing so, therefore if you send me your email address I can forward the pictures I have to you.

 

The bed was great and the bathroom and shower was even better. Hope you enjoy.

[bobnsandi]

great photos, can you tell me which room was it, we ll also be on the poh in an aft cabin, the 10666, an AD, would it be similar to that?

 

and what about cruising on the very back of the ship, good or bad?

We were in 9170, aft stateroom, starboard. Can't say how similar/dissimilar an AD is?

 

Rear of the ship is great. Much better ride than at the bow, plus the balcony can be used while underway (virtually no wind). We feared we'd get exhaust fumes, but only got the exhaust from the bakery!

 

It sounds like you had a wonderful time! How long did it take to disembark since you don't have to go through customs? My mom and I go in September and are wondering if we could make it across the island in time to see the sharks (while in a shark cage) by 12pm. Hopefully it will be quicker than usual. Thanks!

We used the "express walkoff" option, in which we took care of our own luggage. We had a leisurely breakfast, packed, said goodbye, and disembarked about 9:15 A.M., got a cab almost right away, and were checked in for our flight by 10.

[Valentino Rossi]

Rear of the ship is great. Much better ride than at the bow, plus the balcony can be used while underway (virtually no wind). We feared we'd get exhaust fumes, but only got the exhaust from the bakery!

Thank you very much!

I'm mad for bread!:D

 

By the way, is it good on the ship?

[bearette]

I was wondering how much drinks were on board. Could you tell me how much a mixed drink and or a beer would be? Thanks.

[kat28]

A draft Bud Light was $4.75 without tip. A mixed drink if it was the special of the day was around $6. I ordered a cosmo the first day and it was almost $9!!!:eek:

[daniTS]

RSM2354 (I hope I remembered that right!)

 

I'd love to see your pics of the AB penthouse - we're 90% planning on booking one this christmas (01/01/07), and I'd LOVE to see more pictures - I'm sure that would put us over the edge of deciding to go or not :rolleyes: (i'm all ready to go,its just the rest of the family to fully convince now :) )

 

My email is studiodani (at) gmail.com

 

Thanks so much!

Dani

 

PS - http://www.myphotoalbum.com is a great, easy, free place to store online photos....

[bobnsandi]

A draft Bud Light was $4.75 without tip. A mixed drink if it was the special of the day was around $6. I ordered a cosmo the first day and it was almost $9!!!:eek:

 

Our strategy is to buy only microbrew beer, when onboard.

The prices are only slightly higher than standard brands. The

PoH had some very nice beers in the "beer bar"

as well as good Chinese beer in the Oriental restaurant.

 

For those of us fortunate enough to live in the Islands,

shipboard drink prices do NOT cause sticker-shock...

[bobnsandi]

Thank you very much!

I'm mad for bread!:D

 

By the way, is it good on the ship?

 

 

Yes, and during the cruise, it was getting better

and better. One of the things we liked about

NCL (on the Star, our first two trips) was the

quality of the bakery. The PoH is keeping up the

tradition. Each day, we saw a more diverse and

better selection of rolls and bread. Still did not

see cinnamon rolls, unfortunately. :(

[Valentino Rossi]

A draft Bud Light was $4.75 without tip. A mixed drink if it was the special of the day was around $6. I ordered a cosmo the first day and it was almost $9!!!:eek:

 

:eek: 5 bucks a beer and still have to tip for it?

 

should I tip for a beer on board? and in a bar on the beach or elsewhere?:confused:

 

do they have equals to soda card for beer?

 

last one, how much will I pay (more or less) for a bottle of wine on board?