Celebrity vs Norwegian

[C4HCG]

We want to go to Hawaii next August for a special celebration. Had Celebrity had any new itineraries in the Caribbean we’d have gone with them, unfortunately they don’t. Hawaii is somewhere we’d love to visit and Norwegian the only line who do August. Are they comparable to Celebrity? I think I know the answer and it’s no but would appreciate the wisdom of people who know first hand.

 

[cw2go]

Having been to Hawaii multiple times can I ask why August? Any possible way you could celebrate in May?

 

That is a humid month in Maui, wet month in Kauai and Hot month in Honolulu.  

 

 

Patty 

 

 

 

[cw2go]

NCL in Hawaii is not like the typical NCL line. I'd suggest posting on the Hawaii or NCL forum so they can better advise you. I travel Hawaii by land but seeing that you're out of The UK I am assuming driving might concern you. 

 

Patty 

[C4HCG]

2 minutes ago, cw2go said:

Having been to Hawaii multiple times can I ask why August? Any possible way you could celebrate in May?

 

That is a humid month in Maui, wet month in Kauai and Hot month in Honolulu.  

 

 

Patty 

 

 

 

Thanks Patty, simple answer is google tells us August and September hottest months and being from northern England that’s important to us. The actual celebration is our wedding anniversary in June but we planned doing London for a week then and have a longer break in far better weather later which is when we like to holiday.

[C4HCG]

1 minute ago, cw2go said:

NCL in Hawaii is not like the typical NCL line. I'd suggest posting on the Hawaii or NCL forum so they can better advise you. I travel Hawaii by land but seeing that you're out of The UK I am assuming driving might concern you. 

 

Patty 

We are happy driving. Been to Orlando 20 plus times as our children grew up and hired cars every time. Back again in August with a car, Orlando for 6 days, drive to Fort Lauderdale then Equinox for 8 days. So any Hawaii tips including driving welcome but I know this thread doesn’t really belong here. 

[cw2go]

5 minutes ago, C4HCG said:

We are happy driving. Been to Orlando 20 plus times as our children grew up and hired cars every time. Back again in August with a car, Orlando for 6 days, drive to Fort Lauderdale then Equinox for 8 days. So any Hawaii tips including driving welcome but I know this thread doesn’t really belong here. 

Oh okay gotcha, driving in Hawaii is super easy! Also if Orlando heat in August makes you happy then you're good on any of the islands. 😊

 

Back to your question so that we don't get off track. From all of my research....  NCL Pride of America will be nothing like a Celebrity sailing that you've experienced. It's not even similar to their other NCL fleet. 

 

Patty 

 

 

Edited April 16, 2023 by cw2go

[C4HCG]

1 minute ago, cw2go said:

Oh okay gotcha, driving in Hawaii is super easy! Also if Orlando heat in August makes you happy then you're good on any of the islands. 😊

 

Back to your question so that we don't get off track. From all of my research....  NCL Pride of America will be nothing like a Celebrity sailing that you've experienced. It's not even similar to their other NCL fleet. 

 

Patty 

 

 

In what way? I will Google it myself too.

 

[Arizona Wildcat]

1 minute ago, C4HCG said:

In what way? I will Google it myself too.

 

You need to examine the Pride of America and go to the Fourm for that ship.

As for weather,  there is a reason other cruiselines skip August.  Besides being 32C and lows 27C with humidity at 90% it is the middle of hurricane season.

[cw2go]

8 minutes ago, C4HCG said:

In what way? I will Google it myself too.

 

It's a US Flagship. Google will explain it better. My understanding is that The Pride is a great way to see all of the islands and will have long port times but the service is lacking. Like I said from my research, not first hand experiences. 

 

Patty 

 

Edited April 16, 2023 by cw2go

[dani negreanu]

First hand experience -- POA was awful.

 

BUT, we knew it before hand, and treated it as a quite smelly 2* motel, which will allow us to taste as much as possible of the islands (given the distance we had to travel) and the nil chance that we'll ever return.

 

We had a rented car waiting for us in every port, were pleasantly surprised by the easiness of driving, and the cleanliness of the restrooms along the way.

 

[C4HCG]

1 minute ago, dani negreanu said:

First hand experience -- POA was awful.

 

BUT, we knew it before hand, and treated it as a quite smelly 2* motel, which will allow us to taste as much as possible of the islands (given the distance we had to travel) and the nil chance that we'll ever return.

 

We had a rented car waiting for us in every port, were pleasantly surprised by the easiness of driving, and the cleanliness of the restrooms along the way.

 

Thank you. We are also researching island hopping alternatives so your post confirms that’s a better way maybe.

 

[Ken the cruiser]

If next August means this summer, would this Princess cruise be an acceptable option?

 

https://www.princess.com/cruise-search/details/?voyageCode=E320N
 

[Armac]

We have sailed Celebrity many times and sailed Pride of America in Hawaii. It was our only Norwegian cruise so far. We were pleasantly surprised, the food wasn't bad. This cruise is different from a regular cruise however. Its more like a floating hotel room, as you are in port every day, the ship doesn't play as big a roll in your vacation. The ship is old but well maintained. If its your first time in Hawaii this cruise is a great overview of the islands. I probably would not do this cruise again because now I know which Island I would like to spend time on. But if its your first visit I would recommend it.    

[AmberCascades]

We did the Pride of America with our young adult kids a few years ago.  They didn't want a million sea days so we liked that the POA offers all Hawaii all the time.  lol  It's an older ship.  There aren't a lot of bells and whistles.  The evening entertainment wasn't as good as Celebrity but it was enjoyable.  We thought the food was okay.  Lots of selection in the buffet and we always found something to eat in the dining room.  The crew was pretty nice.  Not the awesomeness of a Celebrity crew, but our steward was amazing and anyone we dealt with was friendly and helpful.

 

The main reason for doing the POA is for Hawaii.  We spent so much time exploring the islands that we were just exhausted each day.  There were some activities on the ship as well that we participated in like lei making and Hawaiian dance lessons.  

 

It's not a fancy ship for sure, but nothing about the experience was terrible and we thought it was a really good way to see a lot of Hawaii in a short period of time.  We also went a couple of days early so we went to a luau, hiked up Diamond Head and went to see Pearl Harbour.  It was pretty action packed.  🙂

[C4HCG]

10 hours ago, Ken the cruiser said:

If next August means this summer, would this Princess cruise be an acceptable option?

 

https://www.princess.com/cruise-search/details/?voyageCode=E320N
 

Would have been ideal, thanks Ken for taking the time to find that. We are looking at 2024 though, if that was available then we’d be on it! Thanks again

[cw2go]

14 hours ago, C4HCG said:

Thank you. We are also researching island hopping alternatives so your post confirms that’s a better way maybe.

 

Super easy and you can allocate your days/time spent on the islands you want most, depending on what you want to see. Inter Islands flights are easy and run often! You'll love Hawaii! 

 

Aloha, 

Patty 

[Cambria2]

We were on the Pride of America a few years ago. It does go to several islands but the ship was a huge disappointment. Food was just ok & service was lacking. We would get up & pour our own wine at dinner.  Not the cleanest ship but it got us around the islands.  No comparison to Celebrity but if you want to see a few islands in a week it serves the purpose. 

[rodndonna]

We considered POA for our 1st (and good chance - only) Hawaii trip, but finally went with Celebrity for Sept 20, 2024, It's a pretty good itinerary (4 island, 3 overnights) and is unidirectional.

 

https://gangwaze.com/cruise-lines/celebrity-cruises/celebrity-edge/2024-09-20/12-nights

 

I figure this way we have 5 sea days of Celebrity cruising (which we know we like) to adjust for time zones before we arrive in Hawaii and then can spend an extra night or 2 at the end if we want.

 

Splurged on a Sunset Balcony for this one...😎

[Sandyrella]

54 minutes ago, rodndonna said:

We considered POA for our 1st (and good chance - only) Hawaii trip, but finally went with Celebrity for Sept 20, 2024, It's a pretty good itinerary (4 island, 3 overnights) and is unidirectional.

 

https://gangwaze.com/cruise-lines/celebrity-cruises/celebrity-edge/2024-09-20/12-nights

 

I figure this way we have 5 sea days of Celebrity cruising (which we know we like) to adjust for time zones before we arrive in Hawaii and then can spend an extra night or 2 at the end if we want.

 

Splurged on a Sunset Balcony for this one...😎

We did this cruise in 2018 and loved it.  We place to do it again in 2024 or 2025.  We also splurged on a Sunset Verandah but honestly rarely used.  The port days were so busy and the sea days were very cool and rocky.  

 

[BettyCruiser]

On 4/17/2023 at 3:09 AM, C4HCG said:

Would have been ideal, thanks Ken for taking the time to find that. We are looking at 2024 though, if that was available then we’d be on it! Thanks again

Princess will be releasing Hawaii 2024 next week.

[Duanerice1]

You know the answer but I'd recommend just going to Hawaii.  Pick one or 2 islands and explore.  Not going to see much from a cruise.  Just my 2 cents.

 

Either way..... enjoy

[George C]

I loved Hawaii but although it’s been a long long time I will never sail NCL again.

[Suzi66]

Last year our plan was to do a transpacific from Vancouver on Celebrity late September, do the Hawaiian islands and Tahiti and continue on home to Australia.  Covid intervened and hubby had to isolate for 10 days in Vancouver and we missed the ship.  Our wonderful TA found a NCL ship (the Spirit) that was leaving 2 days after his isolation finished (early October) and heading to Hawaii as well as doing 3 Alaskan stops and a day cruising the Glaciers.  We jumped at it.
The Spirit was a small ship but very nice.  There wasn't lots of bells and whistles, but we weren't looking for that.  Our biggest complaint was that even though we had a drink package we still had to pay for water and coffees, not a lot of variety in the buffet for lunches and because our room was a guarantee it was right next to the elevators it was noisy.  The other complaint was the entertainment in the theatre.  We love going to the theatre on Celebrity, not so much on the Spirit.  The quality was not the same.

 

Edited April 20, 2023 by Suzi66

[C4HCG]

6 hours ago, BettyCruiser said:

Princess will be releasing Hawaii 2024 next week.

Thanks for letting us know, we will take a look.

[C4HCG]

4 hours ago, Suzi66 said:

Last year our plan was to do a transpacific from Vancouver on Celebrity late September, do the Hawaiian islands and Tahiti and continue on home to Australia.  Covid intervened and hubby had to isolate for 10 days in Vancouver and we missed the ship.  Our wonderful TA found a NCL ship (the Spirit) that was leaving 2 days after his isolation finished (early October) and heading to Hawaii as well as doing 3 Alaskan stops and a day cruising the Glaciers.  We jumped at it.
The Spirit was a small ship but very nice.  There wasn't lots of bells and whistles, but we weren't looking for that.  Our biggest complaint was that even though we had a drink package we still had to pay for water and coffees, not a lot of variety in the buffet for lunches and because our room was a guarantee it was right next to the elevators it was noisy.  The other complaint was the entertainment in the theatre.  We love going to the theatre on Celebrity, not so much on the Spirit.  The quality was not the same.

 

Kind of what we feared. Now we’ve learnt Princess release their Hawaii 2024 cruises next week fingers crossed there is one that suits.