Celebrity Hawaii vs NCL Pride of America

[1025cruise]

17 minutes ago, terrydtx said:

We have been on 2 Celebrity cruises post Covid with 40 and 50% occupancy, but had no problems with table bar service anywhere on the ship or with meals. Having to wait in line for 20 or more minutes for a drink would be totally unacceptable to me.

The poster was discussing the Pride of America, not Celebrity. The Pride of America is seriously understaffed right now due to the requirement of having a US based crew.

[canderson]

37 minutes ago, 1025cruise said:

The poster was discussing the Pride of America, not Celebrity. The Pride of America is seriously understaffed right now due to the requirement of having a US based crew.

Or can at least successfully complete an I-9 form.  Green cards OK.

[Virginia100]

3 hours ago, terrydtx said:

My sister and BIL did a POA NCL cruise this past June and were so disappointed.  The following are some of her remarks back to us.

 

The ship was at 60% occupancy and so understaffed.  Most bars had a 20 minute or more wait in line for drinks, no table service around the pools and half the specialty restaurants were closed because of staffing issues. The food in MDR was just average and service terribly slow. Senior staff members said they are having a horrible time recruiting people to work on the ship since they have to be US citizens and people do not want to work anymore specially in Hawaii. Half the shore excursions they pre-purchased were canceled last minute with no alternatives offered.

 

She said she is one and done with NCL and will be sailing with us on the Reflection next month.

This is why I booked on POA July, 2024 just to give time for things to work out. If it continues I’ll cancel before final payment due on 3/15/24. But I have to believe NCL will rectify by next year. I’ll be watching those reviews of POA over the next year.

[terrydtx]

1 hour ago, 1025cruise said:

The poster was discussing the Pride of America, not Celebrity. The Pride of America is seriously understaffed right now due to the requirement of having a US based crew.

I was pointing out sailing at 50 or 60% is no excuse for being understaffed and having terrible service on a cruise when people are paying a premium to sail on the POA. The problem is they are not paying competitive wages for Hawaii and that is why they are understaffed.

[1025cruise]

9 minutes ago, terrydtx said:

I was pointing out sailing at 50 or 60% is no excuse for being understaffed and having terrible service on a cruise when people are paying a premium to sail on the POA. The problem is they are not paying competitive wages for Hawaii and that is why they are understaffed.

The difference is the majority of cruise ships are staffed by non-US citizens. Because POA has to be staffed by US Citizens, they are having a hard time staffing. I was on the Pearl last month and didn't notice any issues with staffing.

[njhorseman]

14 minutes ago, terrydtx said:

I was pointing out sailing at 50 or 60% is no excuse for being understaffed and having terrible service on a cruise when people are paying a premium to sail on the POA. The problem is they are not paying competitive wages for Hawaii and that is why they are understaffed.

It's not as simple as wages although that certainly plays a role. Wages are set by collective bargaining agreements with the unions representing the crew, not unilaterally by NCL.

 

Hotel department crew on US flagged ships must go through a lengthy process in order to become credentialed seamen, something not required on ships flagged in other countries . Everyone must get a Transport Workers Identification Card (TWIC)  as well as a Merchant Mariners Credential from the US Coast Guard . Per Cruise Critic's resident expert, retired chief engineer @chengkp75, it can take from 3 to 5 months from the time someone is hired until they can begin working on POA.

[NutsAboutGolf]

I’ve been on the POA; assuming you don’t like X’s itinerary with the sea days, my vote is to visit by land.  Book a hotel in Waikiki which serves as your home base, to Visit other islands, it’s often only $100 round trip to take an early flight there and a late flight back; no luggage fees since you’ll be keeping it in your Oahu hotel.

[Virginia100]

47 minutes ago, NutsAboutGolf said:

I’ve been on the POA; assuming you don’t like X’s itinerary with the sea days, my vote is to visit by land.  Book a hotel in Waikiki which serves as your home base, to Visit other islands, it’s often only $100 round trip to take an early flight there and a late flight back; no luggage fees since you’ll be keeping it in your Oahu hotel.

So, you would not recommend going on the POA then having been on it?

[NutsAboutGolf]

1 hour ago, Virginia100 said:

So, you would not recommend going on the POA then having been on it?

Not exactly.  This is the one instance where I think land based is far better than cruising.  However, some people only cruise when they take vacation, the POA is a good substitution for the Caribbean

[steamboats]

15 hours ago, terrydtx said:

We have been on 2 Celebrity cruises post Covid with 40 and 50% occupancy, but had no problems with table bar service anywhere on the ship or with meals. Having to wait in line for 20 or more minutes for a drink would be totally unacceptable to me.

 

13 hours ago, terrydtx said:

I was pointing out sailing at 50 or 60% is no excuse for being understaffed and having terrible service on a cruise when people are paying a premium to sail on the POA. The problem is they are not paying competitive wages for Hawaii and that is why they are understaffed.

 

There is a difference which has been already pointed out by others. The hotel crew has to be at leat 75% US. Even landside there are big problems finding staff for restaurants, hotels ... the whole hospitality business. BTW it´s the same here in Germany. And yes, NCL is paying much higher wages on the Pride of America than on all other ships as they are forced to do so by law. And I haven´t seen many Hawai´ian people amongst the crew. Hawai´i has lots of jobs in the tourism sector and the people do get jobs there and don´t need to work on a ship. 

 

NCL tries to have 15% more crew than passengers (therefore 45% passenger capacity and 60% of the regular crew).

 

steamboats

[TPCRUISER2]

Hands down Celebrity due to product! Happy Cruising!

[Virginia100]

56 minutes ago, TPCRUISER2 said:

Hands down Celebrity due to product! Happy Cruising!

Yes , I always go Celebrity but only POA does the Hawaiian islands from there, I don’t really like sea days, I’m a port intensive person. I hope NCL will straighten things out before FP in March 2024. If not, I’ll cancel and head to Europe in September/2024  like I’m doing in 2023. I avoid July and August in Europe at all costs. I follow reviews here and on trip advisor and to date the POA reviews are pretty bad.

[upwarduk]

1 hour ago, TPCRUISER2 said:

Hands down Celebrity due to product! Happy Cruising!

Which Celebrity ship is doing Hawaii?
We went in 2012, on the now retired Century.

Even then, we had to tender in most ports.

[kearney]

Our first cruise was in '91 on the Constitution..one of the two ships of American Hawaiian cruise line. We flew in a few days early... spent one of those days at Pearl Harbor. The islands are so different..that a 7 day cruise of the islands is a great way to sample Hawaii without having to pack and repack every few days. In later years we came back on several trips spending more time on different Islands. If you want to see Hawaii and don't have the time or money to sail celebrity and spend additional time island hopping... the NCL is a great way to go. I haven't sailed NCL since our Noro experience...not that I blame them...but it does impact your view of a cruise line. Regardless of my preference for Celebrity... I like the island hopping that you can do with an American flagged ship.

[Cachecara]

We did Celebrity Eclipse 10 days from San Pedro port in Nov 2019.  There were 5 sea days, which we loved.  We love sea days.  The cruise was wonderful.  We did Oahu, Maui, Hilo and Kona.  Quick stop home In Ensenada. 
This was not our first time to Hawaii and the reason I bring this up, is IMO, I don’t feel first timers or those only going to Hawaii once in a lifetime fully benefit from seeing Hawaii via cruising.  They would be better served doing a land vacation.  Imo. 
It was one of our favorite cruises. 
personally, I choose not to cruise NCL 

Edited July 24, 2022 by Cachecara

[Mimiya11]

Did POA years ago for the very reason people suggest, less days at sea, more Hawaii.  BUT.... POA experience was a major disappointment.  So if the focus is on Island hopping, then just be prepared for below par food and service on POA.    

If anything, we did discover which islands we wanted to go back to by land and we did just that over the years.   

 

[sbcs5390]

16 hours ago, upwarduk said:

Which Celebrity ship is doing Hawaii?
We went in 2012, on the now retired Century.

Even then, we had to tender in most ports.

Just booked Solstice - September 22, 2023. It's one cruise as part of the repositioning in May and one in September in the other direction each year. Shows docked in Hilo, tendering in Kona and Maui.