lithlith

Excursions - Kauai

Nawiliwili, Kauai – NCL Heaven and Earth Quest excursion – this excursion included a helicopter sight seeing as well as sight seeing on land. First we were taken to the airport for the helicopter tour. The helicopters each hold 7 guests, 3 in the front and 4 in the back, so not everyone gets a window seat. The company assigns seats by weight so you do not have a seating choice. Also, if you wear lighter color clothing they will force you to wear a black t-shirt that they provide to prevent glare in photos. I had a seat next to the window and there was a lot of glare in my photos. The scenery was spectacular! The photos we took do not even begin to show the depth of what we saw. I would highly recommend a helicopter tour of Hawaii! It was well worth the price. The land tour portion of this excursion was a little dull, but we did get to see most of the east side of the island including Hanalei Bay and Kilauea Point. Lunch was provided and was a turkey sandwich, chips, and water that we ate at a park beside the ocean. Kilauea Point was beautiful with lots of birds and beautiful rocky coastline. We got some great photos there.

Nawiliwili, Kauai – NCL Waimea Canyon excursion. Our primary goal was to see Waimea Canyon by land since we saw it by helicopter the previous day. There was only one lookout point for the canyon and it was gorgeous and worth the trip. We also had a couple of bathroom/shopping stops on this excursion including one at a blow hole. According to our driver this was the best blow hole in Hawaii and compared to what we saw else where it was! We also stopped at Kauai coffee.

Excursions - Big Island of Hawaii

Hilo – NCL excursion Akaka Falls & Volcano National Park. This was a big bus excursion with about 50 people. Originally we had signed up for Rainbow Falls and Volcano National Park, but NCL changed us to this excursion because the parking lot at Rainbow Falls was being redone while we were there. We were at Akaka Falls for about 30-40 minutes. The falls were large and flowing well. The down side was that it was raining while we were there, so our photos are not very good. We had several stops at Volcano National Park, at a larger crater, steam vents, a large lava tube to walk through and a lava field. It did rain on and off while we were there, but that is the nature of this part of the big island. We also had two bathroom/shopping stops on this excursion. One stop at an orchid farm and one at a macadamia nut factory. We were given a box lunch of a turkey sandwich, apple, chips, cookie, and water that we ate on the bus.

Kona – NCL excursion Captain Zodiac Snorkeling - You tender from the cruise ship to the pier and then the Captain Zodiac crew meets you there. First you sign your life away with a waiver, and then you are off for the fun! On the zodiac boat, you sit on the side and do not where a life vest. On the way to the snorkeling site which took about 45 minutes we did see one whale, which was pretty neat considering we were at the end of the whale season. The snorkeling site is in a cove area and other companies take guests there too. It wasn’t too busy the day we were there. They did have a few prescription masks on board too, which was nice for those with glasses. You enter the water by going over the side of the zodiac boat and then they have a ladder to use to get back in the zodiac. The snorkeling site was pretty good. We’ve seen better other places in the world, but this was decent. We saw at least a dozen or so different type of fish and even a free swimming eel. We were at the snorkeling area for over an hour. When everyone finished we were offered a snack of chips, fruit, water, and coke. On the way leaving the snorkeling site several pods of dolphins showed up, so we watched those for a while before going back. On the way back, we hugged the coast line and lava features were pointed out. The following morning we woke up with sore butts. You don’t realize how much you are bouncing around on the zodiac boat until the next day. This is definitely not a trip for those with any back issues. We had a good time and the captain Andy and his assistant Liz were both friendly.

Kahului, Maui - We booked with Valley Isle Excursions for the Road to Hana tour. It was a great way to see a lot of Maui on our first day there. After taking this excursion, we were so glad that we hadn’t booked a rental car because the driver never would have seen anything (as the driver has to focus so much on driving) as well as many rental agencies force renters to turn around at Hana. (There is nothing to see in Hana. And, the “fun” part of the road is really just beginning after Hana!) Our driver was great, super friendly, laid back, and knowledgeable. Anytime he thought something might be of interest or if a waterfall was running really good, then he would stop and for us to take photos. Our bus had 10 people and was a nice size group. Lunch was salad, roll, and barbecue chicken breasts. There was always water and coke available on the bus as well as at lunch. The scenery on this trip is spectacular, lots of steep rocky coast lines and a few water falls here and there. Well worth the price! The cruise ship offered pretty much the same tour, but they had more people per bus than what we had for more money per person. We had a great time and enjoy having more flexibility than with the cruise ship tour.

Kahului, Maui – NCL excursion to Haleakala Crater. This is the second most popular excursion for the Maui port (Road to Hana is the most popular). This was a big bus excursion with about 50 people. There were many switchback turns going up to the crater. It was cool once we got above the cloud line and saw the clouds below. At the crater we got some nice photos.

Entertainment: The Oh What A Night Frankie Valli show was great! That is a must see! The comedian was good as was the magician. But the shows with the cast from NCL were terrible. We gave each of them a shot, but ended up walking out of each of those shows. It was like watching a middle school performance. As for the cruise director, she was a little dull and lacked enthusiasm as did her entertainment cruise staff. We also won prizes at trivia because we were the only people who showed up.

American Crew: The main difference with having a mainly American crew that we noticed was they were more willing to actually engage and hold a conversation with you. Overall, they were likely less professional than what we’ve experienced on other cruises, but they got the jobs done and it really wasn’t as big of a deal as others had mentioned in their reviews of the Pride of America.

Napali Coastline: We went out to the promenade deck about 30 minutes before the narration started to secure a good spot for photos. The narration started about 5:15pm and we took our best photos about 5:30-5:45pm. One the ship sails past the coastline, it turns around and sails back past it again. The first time cruising by there were hundreds of people out on the promenade deck, once we turned, we switched to the other side and there were only a few people on the promenade deck. The scenery was great, I’m not sure why everyone else when back inside, but it was nice to have the place to ourselves!

Debarkation: We chose to walk off with all of our luggage around 7:45am. This was very easy without any lines.

Just wondered if you discovered the outdoor Aloha Lanai on the far aft end of the buffet. I think a lot of people miss it. It is a covered deck and sits adjacent to Moderno restaurant where they set up a pretty much full buffet in the AMs. Maybe lunch as well, we were never around then. You can even get cooked to order items. We loved it for breakfasts and also for evening coctails and sailaways. In the ams, you can dine inside Moderno or outside on the deck. There is a bar in one corner and they had entertainment in the evenings. You can bring a plate from the main buffet to enjoy at dinner. It has large curved couches and chairs. Anyone who has a cruise coming up, check it out.

Yes, we did find that area and thought that overall the aft part of the ship seems to be under utilized by guests. Great place to be outside and never crowded!

Buffet: The buffet area flowed nicely. Even at busy times in the morning when people were rushing to eat before excursions the lines moved fast and we could always find a place to sit. The food was average for cruise ship food. Nothing special, but also nothing terrible.

Other Dining: We did not go to any of the restaurants that were an extra fee. However, we really enjoyed the 24 hour snacks at the bars including the popcorn. And, we really enjoyed the 24 hour Cadillac Diner. That was a great place to get an appetizer between meals and also when we came back from excursions and the buffet was closed between lunch and dinner.

Dining Room: Skyline & Liberty were the two dining rooms. One was supposed to have more of a dress code than the other, but we thought people dressed the same in both. Being that it was cruise in Hawaii, we thin the dress code might have been more lax because of location. We liked that we were always able to have a table for two next to a window in both Skyline and Liberty. The downside was the menu and quality of food. The menu was just plain boring with not as many choices as what you get on the other big box cruise ships. (The worst was on Easter where the choice was extremely limited for the dinner meal and you could not even order a common item like a chicken breast or steak! We ended up having Easter dinner at the buffet where there were more choices.) The servers we had in each dining room were hit and miss, some were very professional and others were not so much.

:confused:Somebody has to be last! I don't even recall what time they called our floor, nor do I care when they do it, because we are too busy exploring the ship and having fun. Were you carrying all of your luggage around the ship?

 

Boarding in general probably runs later on a POA cruise than most as many people are touring in the am, or arriving on a late flight and boarding later than normal. We ourselves did not board until around 2:30 I believe, much later than for a typical cruise. And, the ship does not leave until 7:00 PM I believe, so I would expect luggage delivery to run later than it does on a typical NCL cruise.

The day we boarded the first called was 12, then 13, 11, 10, 7, 9, and then after 9 I don't remember because I was in my room unpacking.

We had just our backpacks with us when we boarded. Our two suit cases were delivered later, one around 4:30pm and one around 5:30pm.

Stateroom: We had an inside room. This was a small room, but was manageable. We weren’t planning to spend much time there, just sleep and shower. Our room steward called us by name all week each time he saw us, which was impressive. However, he only cleaned our room once a day. We were often without towels each evening because he never came by for the turn down service.

Ship Layout: This is was the worst layout we had ever seen for a cruise ship. There were several floors where you could only walk the length of the ship on one side and not the other. This lead to the theater filling up fast on one side and few people sitting on the other. Entering the buffet in one area the passengers have to walk through a galley pass through. I can’t tell you how many times a staff member almost ran over me running through the pass through. It was just odd.

They had scrambled eggs with Spam one morning on the buffet, but that was the extent of what I saw of Spam on the ship.

Embarkation: This was the easiest embarkation we have ever had. It was probably less than 30 minutes from the taxi drop off to when we boarded the ship. The lines were well organized and were always moving. (We arrived about 12:30pm at the port.)

Upon Boarding: The entrance of the Pride of America leaves a lot to be desired. There is no wow effect when you board like on the other larger cruise ships we’ve sailed. Our first impressions were that this ship looks older than what it really is. Right after we boarded, we checked to see if our room was ready, but the hallways were blocked off, which we were expecting. We then went to the dining room for lunch where the staff actually talked us out of eating there telling us the food would be better at the buffet (little did we know at the time, they were actually right). We had lunch at the buffet and waited for our floor to be called that it was ready…and we waited…and waited, until 3:15ish when our floor was called…it was nearly 4pm by the time they called the last floor, so much for that 2pm time they tell you ahead of time.

My husband and I recently returned from a cruise on NCL's Pride of America in Hawaii (April 4-11, 2015). We are a married couple in our 30s from the USA with no children. This was our 11th cruise and first with NCL. When I was researching for this cruise, I was disappointed with the lack of information in this forum, so as I write things up I'll post them under this thread. Please feel free to jump in with questions. I'm happy to help anyone else who is planning for this cruise.

We went with Irie Tours when we cruised to Curacao on the Breeze in December. We saw a lot of the island and had some beach time at the end of the tour. It was a good value at only $25pp.

The tour was all you can drink as well.

http://www.irietours.com/

We contacted Sonny Binns when we cruised to Aruba at Christmas, however, he was busy and recommended his friend Howard Folks to take us around for a tour of the island. We saw all of the highlights and took awesome pictures!

We paid him in cash at the end of the tour. (I would never sign up for an independent tour that required you to pay first any where in the Caribbean.) Howard was great and we would highly recommend him. He's now on TripAdvisor too with a couple of reviews. HF tours - http://folkestours.com/

Thank you both for your replies! We appreciate you taking the time to respond.

We are well aware that Hawaii is the main attraction, which is why we are considering this specific cruise. :-)

Having never cruised on NCL before we were hoping from Cruise Critic to get more of an idea of what it is like to cruise on NCL, what their ships are like, etc.

We are considering a cruise on the Pride of America next year and have a few questions as we have never cruise with NCL before.

1) Balcony room - worth it or not? We had a balcony when we cruised Alaska and loved watching the whales and the scenery. But we've also had balcony rooms in the Caribbean and felt there really wasn't anything to see but ocean. What's the scenery like on the Hawaii cruise? Is there a particular side of the ship to book a cabin on?

2) Beverages - does this ship have drink stations similar to Carnival or Princess where you can walk up anytime of day and get a glass of water? What else is available for drinks that are free - lemonade? ice tea? juice? hot chocolate?

3) Which ports are tender ports for the Hawaii cruise? How does the tendering process work on this ship? NCL excursions first? or first come first serve? or something else?

4) Are cabins ready when you get on board the ship or do you have to wait until a certain time to access your room?

5) How does the MDR work? Do you have to have a reservation or set time for dining or can you show up whenever you like? Is breakfast or lunch available in the MDR or only dinner?

6) Is there an ice cream or frozen yogurt machine on board?

7) What are the passengers like - old, young, families, couples?

8) What are some not to miss features of this ship?

Feel free to jump in with any other pieces of advice you have about sailing on NCL's Pride of America - we're all ears!

Thinking about doing my time dining this time. Can you just show up and put your name in? We don't mind waiting a bit. How does it work? Flexibility is key to us this time around.

We were on the Independence of the Seas April 6-12. We had the my time dining and just showed up each night without reservations. We always got right in and never had to wait, but we also showed up somewhere between 5:30pm and 6:30pm, not sure if the wait is different later on. There were two lines at the dining room entrance, one for those with reservations and one for those without. There was always a line for those with reservations and only once did we have to wait for one couple in front of us in the no reservations line. We always opted to share a table with others, so we're not sure if there would have been more of a wait if you wanted a specific size table.

We were on the Independence of the Seas April 6-12 and we saw a variety of outfits in the dining room on regular nights as well as formal nights. The only rule we saw enforced was no shorts on formal night. Of course there is always the Windjammer buffet or pizza and sandwiches on the promenade.

I certainly didn't get the feeling they had no fun, the OP was just being somewhat analytical with some comparisons.

Analytical - yes. We are mathematics and computer science majors. :-)

So sorry your cruise on the Indy was a disappointment. We were on her in December and had a great time. Not sure if your CD was Joff Eaton but honestly, we didn't care for him at all either. However, that said, the CD doesn't really affect my fun. I do know we found lots of stuff to do.

Our CD was Mike from Australia.

Yikes people! :eek: let the woman have the experience she had and write about it without all the dissing! It's fine if different people have different experiences, I like to hear about them all!:D

Thanks lithlith, for your review, we have this ship booked but I'm not sure we will sail...too short really, I wanted to since we've never sailed Freedom class, but I still haven't made the cut yet, so maybe we will, but I'm thinking I'd rather do a longer cruise.

ETA- so here's my test for you- did you love the PG?!?

The Paul Gauguin is AMAZING! LOVE LOVE LOVED it! We can't even begin to compare any of the mega cruise lines that! We can't wait to go back!

I am sorry to hear that you had such a disappointing cruise with so many negative points. Can I ask what you really enjoyed as I am sure there must have been some things other than the pizza of course ;)

 

I sailed on Indy last year and she is my favourite ship. In fact, I have now planned to go on her again twice this year. :)

We sailed on this ship for the itinerary to add a few new countries to our list.

We enjoyed our excursions - String Ray City in Grand Cayman, and then climbing Dunn River Falls in Jamaica was the highlight of the cruise for us.

We liked the flowrider.

We enjoyed the super fast service in the MDR.

We liked the ice show and the dancing show in the main theater.

We liked that they fill the glasses with beverages for you at the buffet.

We liked the pizza.

And, there was rarely a line anywhere we went, that was nice!

We were on the Indy for the first time this March, from the 1st to the 9th, and will absolutely go on this ship in the near future..our food was wonderful, room spotless, excellent waiter and asst. waiter. We found the staff to be very helpful, friendly and great conversationalists. We enjoyed the 3 parades on the promenade, the pub and Sorrento's, etc.

 

Our ship was completely booked, so it could sometimes be frustrating that people saved their lounge chairs by the pool and go off for an hour or so. But hey...since that was our only complaint...

 

I will say that I enjoyed having escargot every night of my cruise!!

3 parades! What?! We didn't even get one! disappointing!

We never had a problem finding a chair in the sun or shade, but we also weren't looking in the prime restate area right next to the pool. If you want those seats, get there early.

Thanks for sharing your review. I'm glad you still had some fun. I appreciate the honesty - this is what Cruise "Critic" is all about. I agree with quite a few points made (casual food options, desserts, pizza...etc), but I also think you may of enjoyed the Oasis Class more than Indy. The Oasis has some nice additions.

 

You mentioned that you had sailed the Carnival Breeze and thought Carnival had more going on around the ship at night. I agree that Carnival have more going on, but IMO the main show entertainment on Breeze was very lacking. They don't even use a live band anymore =cost save.

 

It does seem that over the past few years the "headliner" acts on all cruise lines have been less exciting.

 

BUT - Many of us appreciate the level of skill involved in the skating, acrobatics and diving shows. I don't think your going to see that anywhere else.

 

I'm loyal to whoever provides the best vacation for my dollar, and there is no doubt you can get a lot with Carnival. RC has a much better loyalty program that offers discounts, nightly events, special events, tours, diamond club and concierge club access...etc. If you do your research you can find some amazing bargains on both lines. Yes - some of it is gimmicky, but overall I find it hard to believe that you didn't find the Indy that appealing. I find the finishes, art work, design, layout, pools, gym, on RC to be a much better.

 

Thanks again for sharing your thoughts. Did you send in your survey at the end of the cruise? If enough people give similar low ratings this can drive change at RC.

We agree with that the "shows" on Royal were far superior to anything we've seen on Princess or Carnival. However, there was only night of a singing/dancing show in the main theater and the ice show during our 6 day cruise. We were expecting a production/stage show nightly. We weren't sure if this is a norm on Royal Caribbean or if this was just because there was a new cast.

A live band is also not a make or break for us. We like a live band at a theater show, but prefer a DJ at the pool all day.

As for the design/layout of the ship, the Independence was ok. It was really just the promenade that we didn't like. The common spaces were nice and the decor was very similar to Princess in those areas. As for the pool deck, the pools and hot tubs were larger and there were more than what we've seen on any Carnival or Princess ship. We just aren't pool people, so the pool space don't make a difference to us.

Yes, we completed the guest survey that they emailed us after the cruise.

We had the very same impression reading that first post.

 

That said...various people have various opinions on almost any topic...and they are entitled to their views.

 

Still --- having been on the very same INDY ship the week of 3/23/14-3/29/14, our experience was entirely different and nearly opposite.

 

1) The food in INDY was great (the best Windjammer food to date on any cruise with RCI and Chops was outstanding - the best filet steak nearly anywhere).

2) The service was also outstanding - our MDR servers were all over making us very happy with everything and catered to everyone at the table for top-shelf service.

3) The ship was very clean, well-maintained, and all venues were very nice.

4) The ports actually exceeded our expectations on 2 fronts - Grand Cayman had a lot to offer to experience and Labadee (thanks to a cabana on Bearfoot Beach) was incredibly wonderful and relaxing. Falmouth is a shopping port for the most part and nothing to get too excited about - but still friendly people and clean surroundings everywhere.

5) All of the staff and crew onboard were very, very friendly and helpful.

 

All this makes me realize some people simply cannot be satisfied no matter what. That applies to not only cruises but nearly everything.

 

In our case, INDY left us with a great deal of satisfaction, wonderful memories, and a comfortable home away from home.

We agree with you on points #1-4 and for #5 the only staff/crew we didn't care for were the cruise director and his entertainment staff.

We think you're a little harsh with the "some people simply cannot be satisfied no matter what" comment.

We like Cruise Critic for the variety of opinions and certainly don't expect everyone to have the same experience as us, but truly appreciate honest reviews of what others experience on ships.

Was Cuddy on board as assistant cruise director? We have found him to be really fun and energizes all his activities. Hoping he is making the TA with us May 4.

We don't recall anyone named Cuddy the staff...maybe someone else who was on the cruise with us might remember. We will say that the assistant cruise director was our favorite of the staff.

Sorry to hear that RCCL didn't meet your expectations. Each line has its attractions. We stopped Carnival after our second cruise, although that was 10 years ago and now that they have toned down the screaming interior, may give them another try. As another poster put, each ship does have its own personality. I too like the feeling of being at sea so I will have to see if I like the promenade on Indy in November. That is probably why I will never set foot on Oasis or Allure! The smaller ships don't have the promenade. I am surprised to hear you liked the pizza. Mostly I have heard that Carnival has the best hands down so I will have to try it.

12 years ago when we took our first cruise (on Carnival), we were so disappointed we didn't cruise again for quite some time. In fact, the pizza on Carnival at that time was inedible and activities on aboard were lacking. Years later when we started cruising again we gave Carnival another try and the environment was completely different and the pizza was improved too! (But we wouldn't say it is the best on the mega cruise lines. We would give Royal's pizza first place, Princess' pizza second, and Carnival's third. But food is subjective.) As for decor, the new Carnival decor is lovely! ie the Carnival Breeze (the old glizzy Las Vegas feel is gone!).

My wife is a doctor and got talking to one of the on board medical staff on the last day, apparently there were three separate medical issues; one lady gave birth on the last night (premature labour but mother and child OK), one person had a heart attack but was revived, and the blood was for someone who had to have open heart surgery -- they were the reason the ship had to speed up to get to port early (helicopter evacuation was deemed to be higher risk). That they managed to deal with all of this, along with the rescuing of the Cuban refugees (who apparently were later returned to Cuba for some reason?) and the norovirus while making all of the problems mostly invisible to most passengers was a really good show.

It is just crazy that they have the capability to handle all of that!

I was one of the unfortunate ones who got the norovirus on Friday.

Sorry to hear that! Hope you're feeling better!

Sorry to hear you had a terrible cruise on the Indy. We are booked on the Indy, for the first time, for June 2015. We just did our first, and last, Carnival Cruise this past New Year on the Freedom. :eek: I, like you, had one terrible cruise. Carnival doesn't hold a candle to any of the Royal Caribbean cruises we have been on. I guess it all depends on your taste. :D

We didn't have a terrible cruise! We had a good time.

However, we are very active people who enjoy moving from activity/game to activity/game throughout the day on a cruise ship with little to no down time and that just wasn't available on this sailing of the Independence of the Seas.

We just re-read our review and we can see how some of it came across as negative where our intention was just to state what we experienced and make comparisons to other cruises we've been on.

Sorry to hear your cruise was not any fun!

We never said that! We had fun! You have to make the best of whatever the situation is -- it's a vacation...how bad can it be?! It was just different than what we have experienced on other cruise lines. If the itinerary and price are right, we'll sail with Royal again, but we wouldn't go out of our way to sail with them.

How was the service in the MDR? Did they run out of anything that you noticed?

Oh, and in case you sail Royal again, you have to ask for the ice bucket and ice to be delivered when you meet your cabin steward the first day. We usually have no problem getting ice twice a day although that is usually the only request we have of our attendant. :D

We didn't think to ask for an ice bucket. We would definitely do that next time we sail with Royal Caribbean if one isn't in our room.

Service in MDR was great. In fact, probably the fastest service we've ever had in a MDR on any cruise ship! We were in and out in less than an hour and a half most nights and that was with sitting at a large table of 8 or 9.

The last night in the MDR, there was a seafood dish that was supposed to have shrimp. When it arrived we were told they were out of shrimp and the shrimp were replaced with crayfish. That was the only oddity we had in the MDR and we ate there every night.