Hawaii cruise Pride of Aloha Questions

[marcyjane]

Hi,

Thinking about Pride of Aloha for last of August 2007 and have a few questions.

To book or (not) book air with NCL, has anyone booked air with NCL to Hawaii? If so what airline did they use, we will be flying out of Nashville, Tn. Prices don't seem to be that much difference between the airlines and NCL.

Just anything anyone would be willing to tell me about the Pride of Aloha and their trip to Hawaii.

Thanks so much,

Marcy

[marcyjane]

Anyone with any suggestions?

Thanks,

Marcy

[CruisinMK]

I think they use several airlines, so you can't be sure which one you'll get.

 

Your question about Pride of Aloha is so vague that you're probably best reading previous articles and reviews on the ship and then asking more specific questions if you have them.

Lot of helpful folks here. Also check out the hawaii ports of call section on this forum.

[emalemi]

We are booked for Hawaii on POAM for Nov. 2006 and have booked our air through NCL only because of a promo they were offering. We have cruised several times before and I just prefer to book our air on our own and usually it's because it's much more reasonable and you know immediately what your flight arrangements are.

 

On booking your air through NCL, I would say there are advantages and disadvantages I guess.

 

One big advantage of booking through NCL is they are responsible for getting you on that ship on time. For example, I know in some instances if a flight is delayed, (weather etc...), they can hold the ship from departing to wait for you, etc...

 

Usually by booking the air on your own, you can not only save $$, but YOU are able to choose the flights that fit you best. Whereas if you book through them, THEY will provide you with flight details approximately 30 days prior to you cruising.

 

In your case it sounds like you have compared pricing and it's not much different so you can decide how important it is to you to know your flight info in advance.

 

This would be a big plus if you are planning anything prior to boarding or after your cruise is over. For instance our plans are on hold until I find out what time our flight leaves HONO to come home. We are wanting to see Pearl Harbor first if we can, so I am waiting for my flights to be confirmed before I confirm transportation to and from etc... I am a planner type so it's hard to have to wait! :-)

 

Good luck and I hope this helps you.

[CruisinMK]

One thing about booking air through the cruiseline.

Sometimes the itineraries aren't what you'd prefer, and you can't do anything about it.

 

Thing is though, if you are doing a cruise in Hawaii, you're probably thinking about extending your stay on land in a hotel. The cruiseline will make you pay a small "air deviation fee" in order to fly home a few days after your cruise, instead of the day the cruise pulls in.

 

That's not such a bad thing, because once you pay this "air deviation" fee, it also entitles you to be much pickier about your flight itinerary. You can say, I prefer this airline, I don't want a midnight red-eye flight, please give me the long flight from dallas instead of making me hop again in LAX, etc...

[marcyjane]

Thanks you all so much

Marcy

[beachchick]

One thing about booking air through the cruiseline.

Sometimes the itineraries aren't what you'd prefer, and you can't do anything about it.

 

Thing is though, if you are doing a cruise in Hawaii, you're probably thinking about extending your stay on land in a hotel. The cruiseline will make you pay a small "air deviation fee" in order to fly home a few days after your cruise, instead of the day the cruise pulls in.

 

That's not such a bad thing, because once you pay this "air deviation" fee, it also entitles you to be much pickier about your flight itinerary. You can say, I prefer this airline, I don't want a midnight red-eye flight, please give me the long flight from dallas instead of making me hop again in LAX, etc...

 

That "small" fee itself is no biggie ($50 p/p), but that's not necessarily the only cost. They will also calculate whatever the difference is in airfare (not sure how). I know this because we just had them run a deviation for us to Hawaii from the west coast. In addition to the deviation fee, they added $150 increased airfare + $25 in extra taxes. It brought the cost of their "special" deviation to a cost higher than if I just booked it myself. They DID NOT give us a choice of flights, just airline and basic preferences. They also have a $50 p/p cancellation fee for all cruise line air to Hawaii (with deviation or without) if you cancel it less than 180 days before the cruise. This is ONLY true for Hawaii. (It is, of course, several months before final payment is due, and they DO NOT tell you about this when you book online unless you go wading through several of their pages that are unrelated to booking.) I had to stomp my feet, so to speak, when we cancelled the basic NCLA air we originally booked. There was no notice given, and they just assumed that we'd say, "Oh, okay," even though the cruise line fails to include this on the booking or invoice terms and conditions. On top of that, the flights they scheduled for us overlapped so that we would be arriving in LAX after the flight they scheduled for us from LAX to HNL departed (no, time change was not a factor).

 

I will not use cruise line air in the future, but I know that it can be a real money saver when they have the specials that include air. Many people are fine with taking potluck on flights. (The reps told us flat out that our flight from HNL to LAX and then home would be an overnight redeye.) I'm not willing to take a chance with them again.

 

End of rant, and as always, JMHO.

 

beachchick

[LunaTEKKE]

Hi Marcy - I just got back from my first cruise ever on the PoAl. (I just submitted a very long review that hasn't been posted yet, but I had a blast!)

 

I wanted to do a post-cruise stay that was not at one of NCL's hotel partners, so my travel agent booked a separate land/air package. I flew in same day, arriving a little less than 7 hours before the "all aboard" time.

 

I booked the trip back in March, but after the new security restrictions were implemented, I started getting really worried about whether *I* would make it on the ship -- and whether my *luggage* would make it on the ship.

 

Everything worked out fine...the flight was on time and my luggage made it OK. However, for future peace of mind, I will probably book through the cruise line and pay the extra deviation fee to have some control over my itinerary. That's just my opinion -- others might choose to handle it differently.

 

Hope this helps. By the way, enjoy the fall season in TN...I lived there for 10 years and really miss seeing all of the beautiful fall colors!

[marcyjane]

Sorry to be so long in getting back to this post. Been reading and searching for a long answers to question here on the boards about NCL Pride of Aloha and it has been very helpful. Thank you for the info from everyone.

Thanks

Marcy

[lovingmom]

Marcy,

 

I live in Murfreesboro. Where are u? Am looking at PoAloha for Sept 07. I'm new to the NCL boards too and am just starting my research. Have you found much on this ship? Most everything I am finding is on the POH or POAm. I like to fly with Southwest. I was trying to get a feel for how much it might cost to fly to Honolulu through them, but of course, their schedule only goes out 6 mo in advance. However, I still believe it would be less expensive than others, so if I get my cruise booked, I will wait to book the air through them with the best deal I can get (which is usually 3 weeks prior to flight day). I'd love to know any info you have found!

[pegatha]

When we sailed on the Aloha in late 2004 we booked air through NCL. They used United Airlines through Chicago. I'm in Virginia.

[marcyjane]

Loving Mom,

I live in McMinnville 45 miles from Murfreesboro.

I been looking at American Airlines because of the flight times right now they are at $677.00 + tax.

Which is not much difference in Southwest right now.

AA has two flights within 30 to 45 minutes of each other and when I check avaliable seat one of those flights for the time our cruise is booked for is almost full, so we are thinking about going ahead and booking before the other flight seats fill up.

We are going to fly in 2 days early our cruise leave from Honoulu on May 20, 2007.

I'm at work so not much time to read and post right now, I will get back on the boards when I go home for lunch or tonight after work.

It's neat to talk with someone so close to home.

Marcy