Norwegian?

[lomillerin]

We are thinking of trying the new Pride of Hawaii this summer and need advice.

 

We (me-35, DH-37, DS-14, and DD-7) have been on a 3 day Disney cruise and a 7 day Royal Caribbean. We loved both. Disney was great but it is very pricey.

 

How does Norwegian live up to Royal Caribbean?

 

Would a land based Hawaiian vacation be better? We have never been to Hawaii and are thinking of trying the cruise, but we could do a land based? Our thoughts are that we love cruising and we want to see Hawaii, but then we second guess ourselves.

 

We can afford one nice vacation a year and don't want to pick the wrong thing.

Any help??

[naragonl]

my 2 cents,

 

If you really want to discover Hawaii, do the land based. The cruise will not give you the time you need to really get acquainted with the Islands.

You really would want to spend several days on each Island.

 

However, if you want the cruise experience also, do the cruise.

 

Sorry I can't compare the cruiselines for you but wanted to give you the Hawaii aspect as we had a wonderful land based (10 days total on land, not including the air from NYC).

 

I'm sure you will have a great vacation either way.

 

good luck:D

[KeystoneCruiser]

Done the Hawaii cruise on NCL twice. (Star in 2002 and Pride of Aloha in 2004). A couple of things to note:

 

1.) Hawaii cruises are VERY port intensive. You spend much less time on the ship than you do on other cruises.

2.) The POA, POAm and POH are the only American flagged cruise ships in the world. There is good and bad to that:

The good: They do not have to dock in a foreign port on each cruise. The Wind (as well the Star when we were on her), are foreign flagged NCL ships and as a result, they have to go 2000 to Fanning Island, Republic of Kiribit, which is the closest foreign port. This takes 3 days out of the cruise. The POA, POAm and POH can stay in Hawaiian waters.

The bad: They have to have an All American crew and pay American wages. That creates higher prices and service that is just not as good as on the international ships. But remember, you are only on board for short periods and mostly just to sleep and enjoy evening entertainment.

 

Personally, I found the cruises to be a great way to see Hawaii in a shorter period of time without the hassle of airports and packing and unpacking, checking in and out, luggage, etc. Unpack once! Like naragoni said, you don't have as much time in the ports as you like, but you do see the major islands.

 

I would suggest that if you do take the cruise, take a pre-cruise extension in Honolulu to both get acclimated to the time change (we were so tired the first night on our first cruise due to jet lag and time difference) and to see Honolulu and the island. There is no where near enough time to see anything on Oahu if you don't.

 

If you have a lot of time for a trip to Hawaii, I would do a land vacation, spending at least 4 days each on Oahu, Maui, Kuaui and the Big Island, but if your time is limited to 10 days or less, then take a 7 day cruise and 2-3 day extension.

[lomillerin]

Thanks for the advice. We are thinking of adding 3 days in Honolulu.

 

With the POH being brand new, will this be an advantage? Will it still be working out the kinks in July?

 

I like the idea of it being port intensive, I also like the nightly entertainment options on a cruise that a land based hotel may not have.

[lomillerin]

Also, where does Norwegian fall in regards to other cruiselines? RCCL, Disney, Carnival are they better. Is Norwegian considered a budget cruise?

[2Cruise4Ever]

OK, now you've really opened up a can of worms. Comparing cruise lines is like comparing restaurants (or even types of food for that matter). Everyone has their own taste. Here's my personal opinion: I've sailed Princess, Carnival, Royal Caribbean, and NCL. And, I feel that NCL is the best. Why? It's the service (some will disagree with me but that's ok). I've sailed NCL twice and both times we were treated like absolute royalty. Don't get me wrong, we were treated very well by the other cruiselines as well. And, we loved all the cruises we've been on. We just feel that NCL has that extra umph. You remember in the movie Titanic when Jack yelled, "I'm king of the world!" Well, that's what we felt like both times. Every staff member we encountered asked us if we needed anything and what they could do for us, etc. And, all of this with smiles and thank you's and pleases. It really was surreal experiences for us. We like NCL the best, but sometimes time constraints don't allow us to sail them every time (I went on Carnival this past September because NCL didn't have a 4 day Caribbean cruise on the east coast).

 

Enjoy NCL. I think you'll love them.

[KeystoneCruiser]

NCL is completly different than any other cruise line with the possible exception of Princess. NCL's Freestyle Cruising is unique for now (alhtough the other lines are starting to copy it) Freestyle is better for Hawaii cruising than Traditional since you don't have to rush back to get dressed and get to dinner by a certain time.

 

With Freestyle, you don't have to dress up. Formal night is also optional and on a Hawaii cruise, only about 30-40% dress up. In Hawaii you have three choices in dress in the main and specialty restaurants:

1.) Hawaiian attire. (flowered shirts and long pants)

2.) Dress attire (anything from tuxes to shirt and tie)

3.) Resort Casual (polo shirts, kahkis, nice pants, sun dresses. No jeans, shorts or t-shirts)

 

On formal night, it is about 30% Dress up, 30% Hawaiian and 40% Resort Casual. Of course, you can always just wear anything to eat in the buffet.

 

You also don't have a set time for dinner. Get back late from a shore excursion? Just go to the dining room upon return. Want to go ashore after dinner in Maui? (the overnight location), go to dinner early. You pick the time you want to eat. Just walk up to the Main Restaurants during operating hours (5:30-9:00) and ask for a table like you do at an on shore restaurant. The Specialty restaurants do require reservations however.

 

You can also eat with who you want. Want to eat with just your family? You can! Want to eat with that great couple you met on the shore excursion today, you can! Want to eat with total strangers in order to make new friends? You can...just ask the maitre'd!

 

The choice is yours!!

 

As far as the new ship, we were on the Pride of Aloha a few weeks after her launch and the service was very bad. (so bad that NCL refunded our service fees AND gave us a very hefty future cruise credit) Of course, it is Hawaii!!

 

Similar stories were reported in the initial months after the Pride of America launched last July. (although not as bad as the launch of the POA)

 

New ships always have shakedown problems, but it is very nice to sail on a new ship. You have to weigh your options, especially in Hawaii with three choices. You can choose the POH (Pride of Hawaii) in July, a new ship which may or may not have start up problems. The POA (Pride of Aloha), an older ship and the smallest of the three, but a great ship which has been doing Hawaii for two years and is going into a drydock for cleaning and repair in April and will be back in service by the time you cruise. Your third choice is the Pride of America (POAm), new in 2005 which is the largest of the three. (we were supposed to be on the POAm in 2004, but she sank in drydock a few months before launch and we were transfered to the POA instead).

 

Like dining, the choice is yours!

[lomillerin]

Wow! Thanks for all the advice. I think we have decided to try it. Now, just need to decide between the Pride of America or the new Pride of Hawaii.