Pride of Aloha Review (7/15-7/22)

[kalmich]

The short version is: I loved this cruise!

 

I read all the reviews on this board, which are mostly negative, so my expectations were low when I chose this trip. My son who just graduated from high school and I wanted to see Hawaii and we love cruising, so we arrived with the attitude that "Hey, we're in Hawaii, and we'll just go with the flow."

 

To my surprise, I found the American crew to be unfailingly friendly and helpful to the passengers. We had a wonderful cabin steward who kept everything immaculate, the waitstaff in the dining rooms and buffet were just great, and I had many friendly conversations with the bartenders and other crew members while we were aboard. I had one occasion to visit the Shore Excursion desk and they were also very informative and helpful.

 

The ship itself is older, so the cabins are a little smaller than what I've been used to on Carnival and Royal Caribbean, but we managed to find storage for all our clothes and belongings just fine. I liked the colorful decor of the ship.

 

We boarded the ship in the early afternoon, and check-in was organized and moved along well. Our luggage arrived just before dinner.

 

We ate at the main dining room (Crossings) three times, once at Pacific Heights (Asian) and once at Kahili (Italian). We never had to wait for a table because we chose to eat about 8:00 p.m. every night. I had no trouble getting an 8:00 reservation at either of the premium dining rooms either.

 

The food is another story. The menu in Crossings was never very inspired and I can't say that I ever really loved anything I had there. I did not enjoy any of the fish dishes, the steak I ordered one night was basically inedible, and the duck was very dry. In the Pacific Heights restaurant, the sushi was tasteless but the entrees were good. Kahili was probably the best dinner we had but it took a LONG time to get through dinner (2 hours!) They did apologize for that, though, and took off the charges for one of our dinners.

The buffet had the best food, if that tells you anything!

 

We booked most of our shore excursions on our own except for Kona, where we did the Captain Zodiac snorkel tour. That was a blast, and I highly recommend it! We saw a pod of pilot whales on our way to the snorkel site. We rented cars on Kauai and Maui for about $30 per day. On Maui we went to the Drums of the Pacific luau at the Hyatt Regency in Kaanapali, which was by far the best food we had the entire trip. The show was really fun too.

 

This was a great way to see Hawaii, and I think if you go with a good attitude you will thoroughly enjoy the Pride of Aloha.

[Desert Tink]

Thanks for posting your review, kalmich. My husband and I are sailing on the PoAL on Sunday and I am glad to hear you loved your cruise.

 

I have a couple of questions:

 

What type of cabin did you have?

Are the beds very hard?

 

We are also doing the Captain Zodiac excursion in Kona and are really looking forward to it. I hope we see those pilot whales, too!

 

As we are leaving in the morning for our hotel near LAX, your post was a most welcome one before our vacation begins. (I wonder why PoAL can't get better food?!)

 

Thanks again, kalmich!

~Lilli :)

[wifespet]

We also were on the 7/15/07 cruise.Two 60 yr olds.Two 35 yr olds and A 13 and 10 yr old.Every one had A great time.Kids loved the buffat,but did not like the resturents.Adults liked most of the food.One thing NCL should do is let people know how handicap frendly they are.

[vfin]

Thanks for your review! My husband and I will be on POA 8-12-07, and it's nice to hear your thoughts concerning all of this. I have also booked all of our own excursions and cars....hope I made the right choices! I can hardly wait!:D

[Duffys wife 1957]

So glad you had a great time...Thanks for the positive review.....

We are considering the Captain Zodiac tour also, how was the ride out to snorkel? I also would like to hear about the beds.. I am a pillow person also, so were they foam hard? Thanks again for the great review.:D

[gonna go cruising]

Thanks for the review. We have been getting mixed thoughts on our upcoming cruise but like you said, hey we will be in Hawaii. What can be so bad? We cant wait now!

[kalmich]

We were in Cabin 9042 (aft) which is a balcony cabin. The beds were hard but not uncomfortable, each with two pillows and a duvet.

 

The Captain Zodiac raft goes fast - very exhilarating and exciting, not scary. They warn you not to take this if you have a bad back because you bounce a bit. The advantage is that it's small and can go into little coves that the larger snorkel boats can't fit into. We saw beautiful coral, all kinds of fish and afterwards went along the coastline where the captain pointed out lava tubes and other interesting sights.

 

One thing I forgot to mention - you can get food at night at the Longboard Bar - they have a menu with fish & chips, buffalo wings, pizza, etc. - all free. It's pretty good. Try the Kona Longboard lager while you're there!

[Duffys wife 1957]

Yum...:D Thanks for the info... I know we have a while before we leave but I can't wait............

[Jeepers385]

Kalmich, thanks so much for the info. We're sailing on 9/2 and can't wait. We pretty much go with the flow so your review was very refreshing.

I've also scheduled the Zodiac while DH goes fishing for the day. Actually was between the Zodiac and Body Glove but love the idea of the smaller boat. We did something similar to this in Prince Rupert and it was great.

Thanks again.

[Tremaine]

Honestly, I couldn't believe all the bad reviews. I guess I am not cruise-savvy enough since this was my first, but my wife and I had an absolute blast. One thing we recommend as a must, is signing up for the PUB CRAWL that is on Wednesday. We are not crazy party people, but we were that night. $15 and you go to five bars and a big, heavy, mixed drink at each bar. Games, prizes and non-stop laughter, although I am sure we annoyed a guest or two with our loud, alcohol-induced cheers throughout the ship as a group.

A cruise for all ages, enough to keep the kids busy, and the adults busier. I honestly can't think of anything that happened that would have ruined cruising four of the Hawaiian islands with almost 100 hours of shore time for exploring, kayaking, shopping, snorkeling or just laying on the beach!

 

We took the cruise to get an idea of where we wanted to go when we returned to Hawaii, but heck, we will probably just do the cruise again...no better value for what you get on this cruise!

[el820]

I'm considering booking this cruise for Sept 19, but debating whether to take along our 2 yrs old infant. He's not pottie trained. My wife & I would like to see much of the islands as we possibily can, but bringing the kid might exclude us from some of the excursions.

 

Are most excursions child friendly? Keep in mind he is just shy of 2 yrs old.

 

Has anyone travelled to Hawaii with an infant? Can you please share some experience, good & bad? Would you do it again? Any regrets? :D

 

Thanks in advance.

[catz821]

Hi kalmich, I am booked on the PO Aloha and I'm staying in room 9043 & family in 9044 which is joining rooms, do u happen to have pictures of your room 9042 posted anywhere? I would like to see what they actually look like. Thanks in advance.