Pride of Aloha hints?

[Lyn2005]

For our upcoming cruise we booked excursions through Roberts Tours. They have a very good reputation and the prices are at least half of what the ship charges for the same tours.

[RLJPHX]

Is there a surcharge to eat at the Longboard or the little pizza restaurant set up on the deck?

 

The food at Longboard's is free, with no requirement to purchase booze. I did not eat at the pizza place, but was told that to get a pizza, you had to order either a pitcher of beer or a pitcher of smoothies.

[deckgirl]

We sailed on Pride of Hawaii last October, and sorry, but weren't impressed. The crew (American) left a lot to be desired, especially attitude-wise. The ship was pretty and easy to get to know. Very large souvenier shop on board, comparable in price to land shops. Food was o.k. and dress code relaxed, probably because it's Hawaii. Not much to do on board after 10:00, but that's o.k. Better to rest up for shore excursions. We were disappointed that all sailing actually took place during the night (except for last day). It was hard for my sister to feel like she was on a cruise because we'd sail at night.

[RSWBADGER]

Here's a link to some great 360 Virtual Tour's of the Pride of Aloha. Also menu's, photo's, stats, decks, etc.

 

http://wwwv.cruisesinc.com/travel/cruises/virtual_tours.jsp?pg=4&mediatype=1&ITINERARY_ID=801%7C83%7C%7C%7C

 

[pinkpearl]

Wow -- thanks for all the info. I really appreciate it! I am getting really excited about seeing Hawaii and getting away from the snow and freezing cold weather

Pink pearl

[rein53]

Are you on the March 15 sailing? We are. Using Roberts for our excursions. If you need info. let me know! My friends cruised Hawaii over Xmas.

LYNN

[knuyens]

Fantastic site to book roberts online tours. http://www.gorabbitgo.com Plunk in your cruise date and bingo all their tours and your dates are right there to go. Booked most of our excursions on this site. And yes we and 8 others from Canada on March 15th.

[rein53]

March 15 POal -There are 10 in our group. 4 from PA., 2 from Ohio, and 6 from TN. What excursions are you planning through gorabbitgo(Roberts)? We are staying 2 extra days in Honolulu. We are planning on doing the luau then.

[ChefPeg]

Aloha,

 

DH and I just returned yesterday from the 11 night on the Aloha. We went to fanning Island.

 

We had a great cruise but there were a lot of unhappy cruisers on this one. IMO, most complaints were ridiculous.

 

Yes, the ship needs repairs, our balcony really needs a paint job. Fixtures in the bathroom broke every other day. The shower ran cold and hot water during the shower. We did not have TV for three days. You get the idea. None of this ruined my cruise.

 

The crew was wonderful, very, very friendly. The food was either good or excellent. We ate in all the specialty restaurants, we ate in Kahili's twice, OMG!! The swordfish is to die for!!

 

BTW: the prices are Kahili's-$10.00, Royal Palm-$15.00 and Pacific Heights-$10.00. Each worth the surcharge. For us; Pacific Heights was our least favorite.

 

We didn't order Pizza from Pele's either. You can get pizza every day in the buffet and in Pacific Heights during lunch for free.

 

We were not offered a $20.00 laundry bag, I would have jumped on that one.

 

The activities onboard were great, we were kept busy on every sea day. We made 4 different Lei's and there are great souvineers(sp?). The scrapbook classes were nice too, I personally wasn't crazy about the instructor, Joyce, but it was something to do for an hour.

 

There are free shuttles at each port, which I thought was nice, you can go to Walmart or K-Mart or a mall or Hilo Hatties. Hilo Hatties got a great thing going there.

 

Any questions, I would be happy to answer.

[Philob]

When on sale, the ABC stores (can't miss them) have the best prices for "real" Kona coffee.:)

[knuyens]

We are doing the snorkel trip to Molokini in Maui, Helicopter trip on Kauai through Island Helicopters, Volcanoe and falls tour in Hilo, renting car and doing some severe snorkeling on alternated days on many beaches. Diving in Maui on the 16th through AAA. Can't wait to hit the beach.

[lovingmom]

We were on the POA in October. We did not have to order a pitcher of anythng to get the pizza. The little menus they have on the tables list the pitchers, etc. in order to get you to "add" on to your order (translate pay for something!). My daughter had a soda card and she got one for me and then one for her. (I know, I know, you aren't supposed to do this, but you can't have pizza without soda!) However, I don't recommend the pizza - to me it was not very good. I ordered a large for myself thinking I would take the leftovers back to my cabin for a later snack, but it was barely edible. It could have been just mine though, because my dd liked hers and my parents said theirs was okay.

[spamwhiches]

I really do not believe that the buffet is that bad on the Pride of Aloha. On the first day of any cruise (or the first breakfast, etc.) there is always some congestion in the buffet area during the initial feeding frenzy. Folks are just learning where their favorite foods are located, and learning the basic layout of the buffet. No one is sure where the lines should begin. If you watch on any ship, the buffet area calms down and moves much more smoothly as the days go on. We thought the buffet area on the POA was quite nice we used it for breakfast every day and a couple of lunches.

 

problems were daily :(

[spamwhiches]

Did the Christmas/New Year cruise on the POA. Here are some of my eating tips.

 

At lunch time the Pacific Heights restaurant is set up as a pizza/sandwich/salad outlet with hard ice cream as well. This was a great place for lunch any day and especially on the day we boarded. Note: this outlet was built to be a pizza restaurant, complete with pizza ovens. A very small sign above the door placed when the ship was built says "pizza restaurant."

 

The aft deck buffet is definitely less crowded than the inside buffet. It also has a waffle station and omelet station at breakfast. Cooked to order eggs available inside or outside. At dinner, the insige buffet does a carving station which is good. Prime Rib the one night I ate there. Saw roast pig another night when just walking through. About eight little pig heads lined up by the end of evening - my kids were grossed out.

 

When using the inside buffet, be aware there are two lines. One starts right after the door leading from the pool deck. It is usually longer than the line that begins at the rear of the inside buffet area. However, not quite identical food, so choose carefully - Only one carving station for instance.

 

Longboards is a great place with beer, wings, and fish and chips. Also, a lot of people bring food from the outside buffet into Longboards to eat.

 

Just outside the Pacific Heights on the pool deck they set up Pele's Pizzeria every night. Nothing special - six or eight tables with checkered table cloths. Not used much on our cruise due to cold and rainy weather. Could be a good choice on warmer cruises.

 

We ate at every specialty restaurant. Kahili was hands down the best. Excellent food, excellent service, best ambiance.

 

Pacific Heights was good, but not great. We had a big group that ate several different entrées. A couple were not very good. On the plus side, they offered and delivered replacement entrées quickly.

 

The NCL signature Royal Palm Bistro was a distant third in quality and service. The steaks were excellent, obviously very high quality meat. The rest of the meal was below average. The shrimp appetizer was like something you would get a a cheap hotel catered dinner and the french onion soup was almost inedible. Service only good and they were out of escargots!

 

this is good advice, I would add if you have a group, make reservations every night in any restaurant you plan to dine in. It may save you an hour wait for a table for 4 in the Palace like we had one evening.

[tbthomps]

Here's a list of all the restaurants aboard the Pride of Aloha.

 

Palace Main Restaurant (Main Dining Room)

Cuisine: Continental

Surcharge: No

Reservations Required: No

 

Crossings Main Restaurant (Main Dining Room)

Cuisine: Continental

Surcharge: No

Reservations Required: No

 

Royal Palm Bistro

Cuisine: French

Surcharge: Yes, $15 plus tax per person

Reservations Required: Yes

 

Kahili Restaurant

Cuisine: Italian

Surcharge: Yes, $15 plus tax per person

Reservations Required: Yes

 

Pacific Heights Restaurant

Cuisine: Hawaiian/Asian/Cooking Light

Surcharge: Yes, $12.50 plus tax per person

Reservations Required: Yes

 

Hukilau Cafe

Cuisine: Assorted Buffet, Food Stations, Snacks & Grill

Surcharge: No

Reservations Required: No

 

All the restaurant choices are great, although there are fewer choices than on NCLA's other ships. But, the Pacfic Heights many Cooking Light menu choices, and Kahili's Italian menu choices can only be found on the Aloha and her sister Norwegian Sun. Because these menus are not widespread on NCL ships, I would try hard to dine at them first. You'll find a Le Bistro on every NCL ship, and the food slections are always great.

 

I was looking for just this information...thanks for sharing!!