Pride of Hawaii = great itinerary

[Library Chick]

Hello ...

For anyone still uncertain whether or not an NCL Hawaiian cruise is worth it, my opinion is "yes, it's worth the money and the long plane flight". My husband and I have just returned from the 7-day Pride of Hawaii cruise and we loved every minute of it. The jet lag is a pain, but "this too shall pass".

We booked the least expensive cabin (5th floor inside) because we weren't in the cabin except to sleep, shower and get dressed. The itinerary is so wonderful, we were off the ship and on an island as soon as possible each day and returned just before all aboard time. We weigh too much already, so we weren't interested in gourmet eating (but Le Bistro, Papa's and Jasmine Garden were fantastic). The comic, the magician, and the "Fountains" show starring sweetheart Jen Richardson were all wonderful, but we skipped the singing/dancing shows in order to get to sleep early most nights.

Think of the NCL Hawaiian cruise ships as your floating hotel room and you'll have a blast soaking up the "Aloha spirit" of my favorite state, Hawaii. Don't let little details steal your joy on this unforgettable vacation experience.

Just my opinion,

Library Chick :D

[sa4]

I am booking our December cruise today. Thanks for the great review. How was service? We are a little concerned about morale on this ship because it goes for remodeling after February.

 

Susan

[Library Chick]

Here's what we knew even before going and our cruise confirmed:

If your room steward was an American, it meant having to take care of yourself mostly. If you wanted something extra (such as the mini bar emptied so you could use the fridge space or 4 washcloths and 4 towels per day) you had to ask your room steward in a respectful manner and leave kindly worded post-it notes on the bathroom mirror. It did no good getting huffy about your room not being cleaned perfectly. Our room steward was an young black American man who wasn't happy when we asked him to switch our bed arrangement so that each bed was against an outer wall (instead of pushed together as a double bed in the middle of the room with each side of the bed blocked by room furniture). Despite his unhappiness with this extra work, we smiled and thanked him profusely and remained friendly. We didn't see much of him even though he made up our cabin daily, but we were prepared to pretty much fend for ourselves room-wise.

The rest of the staff (reception desk, restaurants, etc.) were just fine whether American or foreign. When a certain staff member stood out from the rest (such as the wonderful Jason at the reception desk on Pride of Hawaii), we would seek out that staff member when we had a question. Jason answered our shore excursion question which saved us standing in a very long shore excursion desk line the first night of the cruise. Ask someone for help at the reception desk if that shore excursion line is too long, okay? You can also use the drop off box at the shore excursion desk instead of waiting in line (or book your own less expensive excursions and rental cars on each island). The assistant cruise director, Jen Richardson, was exceptionally kind and helpful. I also think some staff members are on best behavior in order to be invited to stay on with NCL when it becomes Norwegian Jade in Europe or in order to get invited to switch to another NCL ship.

Just my two cents,

Library Chick :)

[sunsetme]

basically its a "do it yourself" cruise. I am looking forward to the itinerary.

[CC Help Michell]

If more people had done the research and had the attitude of the OP on this thread, NCLA would be doing very, very well indeed. Your thoughts mirror my own (except our American steward(s) -- we met a couple of different ones during our cruise -- did a very nice job of keeping our cabin clean and supplied to our satisfaction).

 

If you have lots of vacation time, and want a traditional cruise experience, Carnival, Princess, and RCCL (among others) all offer 12 night+ cruises that include some single-day port stops in Hawaii. But if your vacation time is more limited, the intensive 7-day NCLA ships are the only game in town. Budget is also an issue -- comparing the price of a NCLA cruise to a four-island land vacation in Hawaii is a real eye-opener (it was for us).

 

It's a cost-benefit analysis in a very real sense. SO many reviewers say "well, the islands were great, we loved Hawaii, we got a great deal on the cruise -- BUT -- we didn't have enough washcloths, and there were no towel animals, and we had to wait 20 minutes to be seated for dinner, and there was no bingo, and there was only one show per night, etc." Thank you to the OP for not being one of those! :)

[lasnev]

We used a suggestion that we found on this board, and that was the $5 tip on the first morning and most mornings after that. We literally had more towels that we could use,even though there were 4 of us, our cabin was done while we were at breakfast every day, and he was always asking if there was anything else we needed or that he could have done for us. I know you prob think that shouldn't be necessary but with the number of cabins they tend to, something like 17, it kind of helps you stand out and it was well worth it.

[Sally Forth]

If more people had done the research and had the attitude of the OP on this thread, NCLA would be doing very, very well indeed. Your thoughts mirror my own (except our American steward(s) -- we met a couple of different ones during our cruise -- did a very nice job of keeping our cabin clean and supplied to our satisfaction).

 

If you have lots of vacation time, and want a traditional cruise experience, Carnival, Princess, and RCCL (among others) all offer 12 night+ cruises that include some single-day port stops in Hawaii. But if your vacation time is more limited, the intensive 7-day NCLA ships are the only game in town. Budget is also an issue -- comparing the price of a NCLA cruise to a four-island land vacation in Hawaii is a real eye-opener (it was for us).

 

It's a cost-benefit analysis in a very real sense. SO many reviewers say "well, the islands were great, we loved Hawaii, we got a great deal on the cruise -- BUT -- we didn't have enough washcloths, and there were no towel animals, and we had to wait 20 minutes to be seated for dinner, and there was no bingo, and there was only one show per night, etc." Thank you to the OP for not being one of those! :)

We are going on the POH January 28 that then goes to LA. I am really easy-going and have an open mind. I ran into a friend who is going in late November. He said he's sick of listening to people complaining about the American staff. Don't go if you can't go with the right attitude.

 

He is an engineer and very methodical. He divided out the food (used Denny's prices ) and cheapest airfare cost to go between islands and figured out that basically, he and his wife are paying $75 a night to sleep on the ship. He said it's a heck of a lot better than any $75 a night hotel room in Hawaii, if such a thing exists, and if he doesn't get an extra fresh towel from time to time he can live with it.

 

Viv

[Library Chick]

Here's another tip:

If someone on the staff does a good job for you, fill out one of the cards which allows you to comment on their performance. There are 2 of these cards in your cabin and a pile of them available in the reception desk area. Several of the staff members we wrote cards for (which get dropped off at the reception desk) told us they had already received their cards and expressed their gratitude to us for writing them. Whenever a staff member has a compliment card written about them, it gives them a chance to win prizes (such as time off). You only have to write down the staff member's name (it's okay if you only have their first name), the place the work on the ship, and a brief description of the excellent service you received from them. I encourage all cruisers to not just tip, but also turn in these "good job" comment cards.

Just my suggestion,

Library Chick :rolleyes:

[judyf]

Here's another tip:

If someone on the staff does a good job for you, fill out one of the cards which allows you to comment on their performance. There are 2 of these cards in your cabin and a pile of them available in the reception desk area. Several of the staff members we wrote cards for (which get dropped off at the reception desk) told us they had already received their cards and expressed their gratitude to us for writing them. Whenever a staff member has a compliment card written about them, it gives them a chance to win prizes (such as time off). You only have to write down the staff member's name (it's okay if you only have their first name), the place the work on the ship, and a brief description of the excellent service you received from them. I encourage all cruisers to not just tip, but also turn in these "good job" comment cards.

Just my suggestion,

Library Chick :rolleyes:

 

Great tip, I awlways fill out the cards. I have even asked for them when they were not on a table where we had great service.