Pride of Hawai'i, 6/2/2007

[Kapin777]

I don’t have the time to write a whole long review, but I wanted to say I think this ship/cruise has taken some criticism that is much harsher then deserved. While there are definitely some sizable shortcomings on this ship/cruise, it was still an extremely enjoyable cruise.

Just to give a little background: I'm 24, in grad school and been on 13 to 14 cruises on Celebrity, Royal Caribbean, Carnival and NCL and cruised from the Caribbean to Mexico to Scandinavia.

I’m posting this so you can ask me any questions if you are one who already booked this cruise and are a little worried after reading the reviews and want a little reassurance , or someone who wants to book this cruise because of the great itinerary but a little worried because of the reviews (we fit into this later group). If you are in either of those groups feel free to ask any have questions about the ship/service (and not about the excursions) and I'll try my best to respond. However, I apologize in advance if I'm slow to respond as I'm a little buys.

[kaylahszoo]

We leave Sunday for our 6/18 cruise on the POH. It just truly stumps me that I can read 10 reviews from people who were on the same cruise and have 6 totally thrilled to pieces and to have 4 pissing & moaning about the same cruise. Of course, there are always those that you just can't please. It seems the negatives go beyond the cruise, though. They didn't like the flight or the wait at the rental shuttle was too long. There hasn't been a trip yet I've been on that all was perfect, but who cares. relax, have a good time.

Now-Kapin777- tell me what specialty restaurants you ate at. And your impressions of them. That is probably the only part of this cruise I can't figure out. Thanks in advance-

[Kapin777]

That was an easy question since we didn’t do any of the extra cost restaurants. However, we did the tex-mex one (twice actually) and it was wonderful. We thought about doing the extra cost ones, but the food was so great on this cruise, that we decided not to. With the exception of one night (and that was because the menu was not so great), the food was probably one of the best I’ve ever had on a cruise ship. The one downfall is, and one I’m sure you’re aware of is the wait at dinner sometimes. We had to wait up to an hour at times, but they give you a pager so you can go all over the ship, so its really not all that bad. Also, if you want to eat at lets say 7, don’t go down there at 7, run down there at like 6:15 and put your name in and then go back to your room and shower so then you’ll eat around 7.

Back to your question, everyone I talked to on the ship loved the specialty restaurants, especially the Japanese one. Sorry though I couldn’t help out too much on the restaurant thing.

[CruisinMK]

The restaurants were all pretty good.

We really liked the tex-mex and sushi bar too.

The only one that was mediocre was the italian one for us

[RobynFL]

Just off the POH and ate at the main dining room, paniolo's, papa's, jasmine garden and cagney's. We enjoyed each of our meals and the service was also quite attentive. We are early risers and I was at the reservation desk on deck 7 mid ship by 6:45am to make my reservations. You can only make reservations for that day and the next. Upon arriving I made reservations for Mon. and Tues. We did a luau on Wed and ate in the main on Thurs for lobster and got in at 6:30 without a problem (the main dining room only takes reservations for 8 or more people). Lobster is offered in all the restaurants that night and they were also offering 2 for 1 that night only excluding cagney's.

[Anomaly]

I'll be doing my review(s) of the June 4, 2007 POH cruise, but I'll give you my quick thoughts on the speciality restaurants here for now.

 

We ate at Cagney's twice - boarding night (Monday) and later in the week. My bride thought it was one of the best meals she had; I thought it was pretty good myself. The Banana's Foster was good and the chocoloate obsession was, apparently, "to die for."

 

We ate at Le Bistro on Tuesday - it was fine, but nothing spectacular: both the food and the service.

 

We ate at Paniolo's (Mexican) on Saturday night - it wasn't even as good as a chain restaurant and the service wasn't very good.

 

We also ate at Papa's on the last night (Sunday). It was good, though I wouldn't have been as happy had it been an extra charge restaurant.

 

We wanted to eat at Teppanyaki, but even with VIP from the suite we couldn't get in. There are only 3 seatings of 40 people per night, so you can do the math. The concierge told us that there were 436 VIPs on the cruise alone.

 

Check back in a few days for a more detailed review of the cruise and our trip.

[kaylahszoo]

We know we want to eat at Paniolo's and Papa's-( read a review from 5/28 and he raved over Paniolo's Churrasco Fire Steak-) Everyone seems to go ape over Cagney's- so that's the one we're kicking around. Maybe on 2 for 1 Thursday- we can de Le Bistro since they all offer lobster. Sounds like it would be easy to get into.

I've yet to come away from a cruise starved to death- so I'm not too worried about keeping my weight up on this one either!!:D

[spleenstomper]

We were also on 6/4/07 and had a FABULOUS time. We had great service... nothing tragic and terrible.

 

I wanted to note... lol.. that we ate at LeBistro twice, having impeccable service both times. We also found the food (the chateaubriand) to be outstanding. They even sang "let me call you sweetheart" to us since we were celebrating our anniversary.

 

Papa's food was unacceptable in my opinion. The service was extremely poor and the menu was very limited. For my salad, I was presented with a wilted bowl of greens with no offering of dressing. (I don't know if my server forgot to ask.. or if it was supposed to be that way). Obviously, I asked for and received (a wait later) baslamic dressing. My pepperoni pizza was supposed to have banana peppers on it.. none were on it. Also the dough was undercooked and the cheese tasted like government-issued cheese. How hard is it to screw up a pepperoni pizza?

 

I found Cagney's to be good. nothing thrilling. Their lobster was frozen grocery-store quality. The steak was really good. Sushi was above average. We also couldn't get into Teppanaki. DH loved Jasmine Garden.. I thought it was generic. I qualify all of these statements by admitting that I had a sinus infection the whole time and so I may not be the most reliable of sources for the food. My sense of taste was in and out.

 

So all in all, I was underwhelmed by the food choices.

 

But that's it. No big deal. The cruise was awesome, the itinerary and the excursions were fun, well-done and smooth. My cabin stewards were professional, polite and well-trained. I never had any issues with room stewards.

 

I saw no rudeness both on the part of the cruisers and the NCLA staff.

 

I wouldn't hesitate to book POH again (except for the fact it is going to Europe)!

 

Cagneys doesn't participate in 2/1 Thursday.

[hazeleyez3]

I don’t have the time to write a whole long review, but I wanted to say I think this ship/cruise has taken some criticism that is much harsher then deserved. While there are definitely some sizable shortcomings on this ship/cruise, it was still an extremely enjoyable cruise.

Just to give a little background: I'm 24, in grad school and been on 13 to 14 cruises on Celebrity, Royal Caribbean, Carnival and NCL and cruised from the Caribbean to Mexico to Scandinavia.

I’m posting this so you can ask me any questions if you are one who already booked this cruise and are a little worried after reading the reviews and want a little reassurance , or someone who wants to book this cruise because of the great itinerary but a little worried because of the reviews (we fit into this later group). If you are in either of those groups feel free to ask any have questions about the ship/service (and not about the excursions) and I'll try my best to respond. However, I apologize in advance if I'm slow to respond as I'm a little buys.

 

I believe we may have had a similar upbringing...cruised as a child, and have now chosen to continue as an adult? While NCL is not my fav line, I have never had a "bad" cruise with them. Did you go to any of the shows? How did they compare to RC and Carnival? What are the shortcomings you saw? Do you think that the "complaints" people have written of might be because they do not have much cruising experience? How do you think the food compared to Carnival's? I've thought that my past NCL cruises have had better food, but am now curious if the quality has truly changed.

[Anomaly]

We've cruised once before, Carnival Pride out of Long Beach to the Mexican Riviera. There are differences in the dining experience that I think go beyond the Freestyle concept. We chose not to eat in the either of the main dining rooms because the menus never seemed all that interesting nor of the quality the selections on Carnival had. We could even have had those meals brought as room service to our suite, but chose to venture out instead. The buffets were worlds apart. We ate up there for a few meals out of necessity - timing of returning to the ship mostly. The quality/taste was below average. We are not "foodies" or gourmands by any stretch of the imagination and don't need anything special, just a good quality, simple meal. Hot items were often tepid at best, but overcooked before being brought out be served. As I've said elsewhere, several of the specialty restaurants were good, but the buffets were good only for sustenance.

 

I wouldn't, however, generalize from the NCLA cruises to NCL. I don't know why, but I got the impression from the quality and portions that the shortcomings have to do with trying to correct budgetary problems on the Hawaii cruises.

 

As for the cruise in general, it was a great trip and a wonderful honeymoon. I think I have finally recognized why there are such wide disparities in the reviews, but it will take my longer review to explain.

[Kapin777]

I thought the shows were very good. Their two main production shows were on par with any other cruise line. The magician/illusionist put on a decent show also. I cannot really comment on the other shows because I didn’t actually go to any other ones. With this cruise you’re at port overnight a couple times so I skipped those shows and I also skipped the welcome aboard and final nights show.

One shortcoming, and this completely depends on what you want do on the boat is the nightlife. I guess since this trip is so intensive because you’re at port everyday that no one (and I almost mean that literally) is out. I have two younger brothers, both of college age and we would go out to the clubs or whenever on the boat and no one is out. So we’d end up talking to the staff and they said that is what happens on this cruise every night. So I’d say as for onboard activity RC has so much more to offer (which is good b/c I’m counting the days until my July cruise on the Mariner of the Seas).

Another downfall is freestyle. I’ve done it twice, don’t like it and will only do it again for the itinerary (which is the reason for this cruise). I like knowing I can down to dinner and eat right away, but with that said if you go into expecting the wait then it shouldn’t get to you.

I think Carnival has very good food, but this cruise may have had the best food of all my cruises.

Hope this is of some help.

[tigercruiser]

we were also on the 6-4 POH trip. I would say to lower your expectations and then lower them again. If you are looking for an inexpensive package of lodging, transportation and meals, this will probably be fine. If you are looking for a typical cruise experience - and this was our eighth, having done Princess, Royal Caribbean, Disney, etc - brace yourself. Very spotty room service. No matter where or when you eat, it takes two hours. Ran out of orange juice and syrup at breakfast

 

On the other hand, I thought the American staff really gave an effort. They lack the skills and experience, but I never saw the bad attitude that everyone had mentioned

 

Still, this isn't Royal Caribbean. It isn't even Carnival

[Kapin777]

I'm not trying to aruge here, but waits for dinner are not always 2 hours...we ate in the dining rooms every night and the longest wait we had was one hour and we still eating by 7:30. As long as you dont wait until 7:30 to "make a reservation" you'll be eating in a reasonable amount of time.

[spleenstomper]

We made reservations at 8:15 most every night and we were seated as soon as we walked up. Well, for Papa's (the trainwreck), we waited about 15 minutes.

 

Also, no dinner took longer than an hour/an hour fifteen minutes.. if even that long.

 

For Sushi, we had to go back about 45 minutes later because they work off of first come/first serve...

[MrsFitz]

Hi, My husband and I have a room on hold on the POH and a close friend of mine and her family just returned days ago from a sailing on the POH. She HATED the cruise. So far I have heard of long waits at dinner -- not to get in, but for food. Said one person's meal would be delivered to the table at a time - not the whole table at once. Said the ship was dirty. We have not sailed with NCL since 1996, but that was out of San Juan. I am just trying to decide if we should take a different line and leave from LA or fly to Hawaii and take NCL. Any thoughts and comments are really, really welcome, as I have about two days before my room on hold is up. Really having concerns about this cruise.

 

Thanks!

[tigercruiser]

I may need to clarify. We generally walked into the restuarants, ususally Alizar or the other main dining room, when they opened with no wait. However, we never completed a meal within two hours. I realize that perhaps other posters may have, but we did not

 

I didn't think the ship was really dirty - in fact, I thought it was fine. My biggest gripe was how long it took to eat

[Kapin777]

I really think its the luck of the draw w/dinner. We had one night when dinner took 2 hours. Every other night about one hour. All our meals came out at the same time. But I assume, based on all the other posts (which we have all read) that we got lucky. I think some servers are either new or just dont care so service suffers. I wish could remeber this one servers name. He was in the Alizar, knew everything about the food and got our meals out quickly and at the same time. We went to his section twice because his service was so good.

With the exception of the bathrooms, I thought the ship was clean.

I also want to say that maybe I dont get too mad about things (or that since I'm younger then most I used to messes). Two nights our rooms were not cleaned. I know on a cruise you expect the room to be clean (I also expect my room to be clean everynight), but I'm not going to say my trip was horrible because of that. Yea, it would be nice if every night my room was cleaned, but that was such a minor problem that it wasnt work runing my cruise.

I think its all based on perspective.

[CC Help Michell]

Hi, My husband and I have a room on hold on the POH and a close friend of mine and her family just returned days ago from a sailing on the POH. She HATED the cruise. So far I have heard of long waits at dinner -- not to get in, but for food. Said one person's meal would be delivered to the table at a time - not the whole table at once. Said the ship was dirty. We have not sailed with NCL since 1996, but that was out of San Juan. I am just trying to decide if we should take a different line and leave from LA or fly to Hawaii and take NCL. Any thoughts and comments are really, really welcome, as I have about two days before my room on hold is up. Really having concerns about this cruise.

 

Thanks!

 

I'd suggest reading several of the member reviews of Pride of Hawaii to get a range of opinions/experiences. Apart from that, I would say if the primary purpose of your vacation is a cruise "experience," with all that it traditionally offers, you likely won't be satisfied with any of the NCLA ships. If the primary purpose of your vacation is to see as much of Hawaii as you can, for a reasonable price, with longer port stops than the transpacific itineraries offer, then you will choose NCLA. It depends on how flexible you are and what you are seeking from your cruise.

 

I will say, having read every POH member review on CC, and the vast majority of the review posts, your post is the first time I can recall seeing anyone say this particular, one year old ship (maybe 14 months now), is "dirty," although I have seen a few people who weren't happy with how well their steward cleaned and serviced their cabin (can't recall if they said that they remembered to use the service wheel on the door, though -- I could easily see us forgetting to, I plan to stick a post-it on the inside of the door to remind us to set it when we go out!).

 

Your vacation is for you -- you earned the money and should spend it on something you think will make you happy. If bad service in a restaurant would ruin your evening, or leave you irritated for the rest of the trip, then NCLA may not be for you. We are looking forward to POH in July, and expecting a fabulous trip, but we also know we may have some incidents come up such as have been posted on the boards from time to time. However, we are the type of people who, if the food delivery in the ship restaurant is delayed 30 min. without some kind of update, would just walk out, go to the cabin and order room service, or hit the buffet, or get takeout from a different restaurant -- and (here's the key) FORGET ABOUT IT.

 

Many people can't do that, or aren't willing to, considering the money they spent on the cruise. That's fine for them, no judgment implied here AT ALL -- but it probably means that NCLA isn't their best option. It's good that you are thinking about all of this to make a better-informed decision in advance than to risk having a vacation that won't make you happy!

 

PS Oh, and your close friend certainly knows you better than the anonymous posters here! If she thinks, knowing you, that POH won't make you happy, I'm sure she has good reasons! :)

[RachieLnnn]

Your vacation is for you -- you earned the money and should spend it on something you think will make you happy. If bad service in a restaurant would ruin your evening, or leave you irritated for the rest of the trip, then NCLA may not be for you. We are looking forward to POH in July, and expecting a fabulous trip, but we also know we may have some incidents come up such as have been posted on the boards from time to time. However, we are the type of people who, if the food delivery in the ship restaurant is delayed 30 min. without some kind of update, would just walk out, go to the cabin and order room service, or hit the buffet, or get takeout from a different restaurant -- and (here's the key) FORGET ABOUT IT.

 

Same here, what a great way to put it!:D

[kaylahszoo]

Excuse me, but I would get pretty upset if I was rushed through my dinner in an hour. Every cruise we eat on, we seem to be the last to leave the dining room. We also spent a considerable amount of time visiting with our waitastaff. We are always very interested in where they are from & why they are where they're at. We also order a ton of food- and tip extra for good service.

I really don't think MrsFritz needs to be on the POH. She seems to have already made up her mind she's not going to like it, so why even bother. There are many other much higher priced, snootier lines to be found. Me, I like the fact I can throw on a sundress and a pair of sandals and have fun in the restaurants.

And I've also never heard about the ship being dirty before. It's always described as a 'beautiful' ship by all- whether they've liked their cruise or not.

[spleenstomper]

. Said the ship was dirty. We have not sailed with NCL since 1996, but that was out of San Juan.

Thanks!

 

Ask her specifics about what was supposedly dirty. I just got back and I found the ship to be immaculate. And the wait staff in the Aloha Nui cafe (buffet) was standing there and took the dishes as people finished.

 

In fact, I just got finished showing my MIL the videos (I took a lot inside the ship) and she kept commenting on how clean it appeared to be.

 

As for dinner in an hour.... we didn't linger, though I got no vibes about being rushed. We just had other things to do *wink wink* *nudge nudge*. No kids.......

[MrsFitz]

First, thanks for all your comments and opinions on the POH.

 

kaylahszoo: I do not already have my mind made up as to if I will like it or not. It's a concern. If my mind were made up, I would not have posted. Just as I don't like being rushed through dinner, I don't think anyone should have to endure poor, slow, inconsiderate wait staff. It doesn't matter if I am at a fast food restaurant or a fancy sit down meal. My DH and I actually do not like the snootier cruise lines. We too, are usually among the last to leave the dining room, but that is due to conversations with our table mates, not because our food has not arrived.

 

MichellP: I believe I read a post of yours either about Hawaii or the POH (hard to keep them straight once you read too many!). I agree with you and I have probably read an equal number of posts both pro and con. The hard part is that my friend just spoke of her experiences and feelings having just returned. She hasn't said I won't like it.

 

We are looking at the 15 day out of LA on the Diamond Princess as a possible substitute for the POH. Has anyone sailed on the Diamond Princess before? We are even looking into flying over and staying in a hotel for a week.

 

Thanks again for your help and comments!

 

Susan

[karen2cruz]

We are looking at the 15 day out of LA on the Diamond Princess as a possible substitute for the POH. Has anyone sailed on the Diamond Princess before? We are even looking into flying over and staying in a hotel for a week.

 

Thanks again for your help and comments!

 

Susan

 

We have cruised more on Princess than NCL, and have enjoyed both lines, for different reasons.

 

If you choose Princess, you will not be disappointed in the ship, the service or the food. You will have the choice between anytime dining or traditional. You wont have the casual atmosphere of NCL, espcially at dining. There are formal nights and everyone is supposed to dress up, or you will need to go to the buffet. You wont be able to stay in your room during disembarcation. If you are in a suite, you will not have the butler. Concierge service is not as special on Princess either. Cabin comparisons by size: a Diamond Princess mini suite compares to the POH Suites AD, AE. Regular balcony cabins on D. Princess are 231-307 SF including balcony vs POH std balcony cabins which are 200-226 sf including balcony. A POH mini suite AF/AG would compare more in size to a DP regular balcony cabin.

 

If you have the time and love sea days (8 of them), then Diamond Princess could be a very acceptable alternative. Oh, the port time in Hawaii is shorter on DP than POH, obviously no overnights like POH. So, where POH is more the floating hotel with the islands the real destination, the Diamond Princess is more the destination with the Hawaiian islands as a nice diversion in the middle.

 

Good luck in your decision.

[MrsFitz]

Thanks Karen2Cruz! We have sailed on the Golden Princess out of NY once. Our favorite lines are Princess and RCL. We have been on RCL more than any other.

 

We used to do the formal nights, then it dropped off to attending one and now, as long as we have decent food elsewhere, we sometimes skip them all together.

 

Thanks for your info on the Diamond.

 

Susan

[hazeleyez3]

We have cruised more on Princess than NCL, and have enjoyed both lines, for different reasons.

 

If you choose Princess, you will not be disappointed in the ship, the service or the food. You will have the choice between anytime dining or traditional. You wont have the casual atmosphere of NCL, espcially at dining. There are formal nights and everyone is supposed to dress up, or you will need to go to the buffet. You wont be able to stay in your room during disembarcation. If you are in a suite, you will not have the butler. Concierge service is not as special on Princess either. Cabin comparisons by size: a Diamond Princess mini suite compares to the POH Suites AD, AE. Regular balcony cabins on D. Princess are 231-307 SF including balcony vs POH std balcony cabins which are 200-226 sf including balcony. A POH mini suite AF/AG would compare more in size to a DP regular balcony cabin.

 

If you have the time and love sea days (8 of them), then Diamond Princess could be a very acceptable alternative. Oh, the port time in Hawaii is shorter on DP than POH, obviously no overnights like POH. So, where POH is more the floating hotel with the islands the real destination, the Diamond Princess is more the destination with the Hawaiian islands as a nice diversion in the middle.

 

Good luck in your decision.

 

 

I just got off the Diamond's sister ship, the Sapphire. Yes, the ship was gorgeous, and the cabins a nice size, but the lack of service from the wait staff, and the quality of food was extremely disappointed. I spoke with many loyal Princess cruisers and they seemed to agree with me.