NCL Pride Of Hawaii

[Gypsy Queen]

We just booked the Pride of Hawaii for next May and I had a few questions. We are arriving a day early and staying a day later. Somewhere on one of the boards, which I can't seem to find now, I saw others who had booked their own hotels for pre- and post-cruises rather than having NCL book them for you. NCL's rates are really high for hotels. If anyone did this, can you please recommend some hotels in Honolulu. I also read something about cab fares from the airport to the hotel and from the hotel to the pier. Since apparently NCL does not provide transport to and from the airport, I'm sure this information would apply to a number of cruisers. I thought I read something about taxis charging a flat rate just like they do in Miami. Can anyone confirm this?

[Scoutdad]

Do yourself a favor and cancel this cruise on NCL NOW! and book on another line. We were on the Pride in September and it was the worst cruise we ever took. I have wrote and called their customer relations dept. and have recieved no responce to my complaints.

 

Scoutdad

[maddmaxx]

We did the POH 11-27 ride and found it to be a pretty decent trip... NCL has many critics out here in internet world, myself included based on a dismal August '05 cruise on the Pride of America... after that, I swore NCL, never again... maybe we got a fluke or maybe the boat wasn't all that full but if you put everything into proper perspective you should have a great time. Don't expect the same level of service you recieve on foreign flagged, foo foo cruises but do expect decent food, a comfortable bed, a not shower, and a trip to one of the most beautiful destinations on the planet.

 

Wish I could help you with your pre and post cruise accomodations... I know when we booked our '05 sailing through NCL I gave them the lowest price I had gotten on my own through all of those internet travel sights and a travel agent and they matched it and threw in two nights at a hotel in HNL.

 

Some folks may be able to help you with this one... we met a couple of folks while choking down the spicey shrimp at Giovani's on Oahu who told us about a unpretentous little hotel right on Wakiki... their balcony looked right down on the stage on the beach where they do the nightly show... think they said they paid something around $150 a night... we found the hotel and it looked very, very nice... I looked at the name and, thanks to hanging out with Capt. Morgan while on the cruise it has slipped into some dark corner of my brain... anyone out know they name of that place? We peeked inside and it looked really nice for the bucks.

 

Like sushi and simple Japanese food? Don't pass up a place called On the Run on the beach on the corner of the same street that the Mariott sits... a door or two down from that Italian resteraunt (pass on that place... yuk!) and the Starbucks... great Calif. rolls and happy hour prices on Kirin beer!

[KeystoneCruiser]

NCL will provide transportation to and from the airport to the hotel and to and from the hotel to the ship if you book your hotel room through them. If you book through them, you can also do check in for your cruise at the Mariott Hotel and be able to skip all of those lines at the pier thus getting on the ship much quicker.

 

We stayed in the Ashton Waikiki Beach Hotel across from the Mariott and we booked through NCL. That hotel is no longer on NCL's list. I also reccommend the Raddison Price Kuhio about 2 blocks off Waikiki Beach.

 

 

 

Do yourself a favor and cancel this cruise on NCL NOW! and book on another line. We were on the Pride in September and it was the worst cruise we ever took. I have wrote and called their customer relations dept. and have recieved no responce to my complaints.

 

Scoutdad

 

Do you care to give specific points as to why?

 

Cruise in September and haven't gotten a responSe back yet from NCL Customer Service. That's about right I sent a letter in late July, got a card that said they were looking into my concerns in late September and finally got their official responSe in mid November.

[ElmoAlex]

I was also on the 11/27 sailing. Had a pretty good time!

 

We stayed at the Hyatt Regency Waikiki Beach resort, very nice. Not sure of the price though since I used frequent stay points for a free stay.

 

We took a bus from the airport to the hotel. I think it was $9 per person. Took about 40 minutes though. I am guessing the cab would have cost about $30 plus tip. Took a cab from the hotel to the pier, costs $19 plus tip.:)

[tomluvsaida]

We were on POH Oct. 30-Nov. 6 and except for some precautions for the nurovirus in the buffet the cruise was excellent. They had to put celophane up around the buffet and have thew crew serve the food about the middle of our cruise. This slowed things down a bit but I found the food quality and quanity to be uneffected by it. The latest reports show this is all taken care of now. I would compare the buffet to most buffets you would find in the big hotels in Las Vegas - no better and noworse. Both food and service were excellent in the specialty restaurants.

I read that at the Marriott in addition to transportation to the ship their NCL desk will also make your dinner reservations for the week. Check this out with someone who has done it. With or without that desk make sure you make reservations for the week as soon as you get on board if not done at The Marriott. Also remember to turn your dial outside of the door for room house keeping. Our ship steward always had the room made up fresh everyday with no problem.

[tomluvsaida]

Sorry, I couldn't re-edit when I posted the last one. Here it is again with a bit more added:

We were on POH Oct. 30-Nov. 6 and the ship provided transportation direct from the airport to the ship. I believe if you arrange your hotels through them they provide transportation for the hotels as well. Except for some precautions for the nurovirus in the buffet our cruise was excellent. They had to put cellophane up around the buffet and have the crew serve the food about the middle of our cruise. This slowed things down a bit but I found the food quality and quantity to be unaffected by it. The latest reports show this is all taken care of now. I would compare the buffet to most buffets you would find in the big hotels in Las Vegas - no better and no worse. Both food and service were excellent in the specialty restaurants. On prime rib and lobster night go to Alizar instead of Grand Pacific for better service, the food is the same in both. Get their early a little before 6:00pm when they open.

I read that at the Marriott in addition to transportation to the ship their NCL desk will also make your dinner reservations for the week. Check this out with someone who has done it. With or without that desk make sure you make reservations for the week as soon as you get on board if not done at The Marriott. Also remember to turn your dial outside of the door for room house keeping. Our ship steward always had the room made up fresh everyday with no problem.

These boards were very helpful for the most part in helping plan our trip. Those that had a bad cruise may have had a bad cruise for specific reasons such as the precautions for a virus or earlier cruises when the ship was under staffed. Some simply didn’t make reservations or turn the dial for house keeping. I’d dismiss the reviews that just tell you not to go just because they had a bad experience. Click on Madmaxx’s name and read his review of POH. He gave an excellent and positive review of POH recently yet a year earlier had a bad experience with PoAm. I think this may be because today the Pride ships are fully staffed and a year ago they were understaffed.

Remember that if you want a cruise to see The Hawaiian Islands and only The Hawaiian Islands then NCLA is your only choice. All other cruise lines originate from the West Coast and make a stop in Ensenada Mexico where you don’t get off the ship. Those extra sea days are fine if that’s what you want but remember you are paying for them. Personally I’d rather spend that money on extra days on the islands.

If you plan as I pointed out you are bound to have a great time. Regardless of what the ship is like you will probably be spending most of your time on the Beautiful Hawaiian Islands which I haven’t seen even one bad review of!:)