Live from the Pride of Hawaii!

[zimmerjulie]

NCLcruisefan,

Great post, thanks. I think you cover a lot of the reasons we can all have different opinions & experiences on the same ship. Which crew members (and passengers!) I come into contact with definitely has a great bearing on my overall enjoyment of a cruise. That is one of the main reasons that I am an such an NCL cruise fan too. I find the crews to be nicer and more friendly and the service to be more personal than on some of the other lines that put a greater stress on polish and the subservient aspects.

 

I read your review (in the separate section of this website) last night and thought you provided a lot of great information and insight for future cruisers.

 

I got the subtle impression;) that you felt like I was attacking you and your opinion in another thread. I am sorry that the comment I made disparaging the rumor that you heard was taken to meant that I disparaged your whole opinion--not so. The only opinion that I ever thought misplaced was from the lady who had never been on the ship, but had a lot of terrible things to say.

 

But I have to be honest in my reviews from my viewpoint of what was bad and needs improvement and what was good.

Excellent. :) I'll do the same and I'll look forward to reading future reviews from others who do the same. If I state a differing opinion, it does not mean that I am trying to say that the other poster is not right, or that their opinion is somehow invalid, or that my opinion is better!

 

No hard feelings here and again, thanks for the post!

[GoHuskies!]

NCLcruisefan, thank you for your short essay on perspectives and balance. You said very well indeed the things that so many of us have tried to say on these threads, that each person's experience aboard ship is as different as our own life experiences. One just needs to think about the difference in experiences between two siblings--the first child is born into a family of only a doting mother and father with no competition--the next is born into a family where he or she is the second child, with an older brother or sister to emulate, compete with, argue with, sometimes be in combat with--you get the picture. Why then should we think that the great variety of personalities coming onboard should react the same? I know that our first meal in a main restaurant on the POAm was served by a person who could have worked at a very high-class restaurant indeed. Later in the week we had no such server-at-the-shoulder-with-linen-cloth-over-the-arm, but pretty good service. Then even later it got fairly lackadaisical. Might have been my perspective, might have been the servers becoming jaded, might have been the alignment of the planets--who knows. We still had a wonderful time onboard.

[Califonria cruiser]

I'm sure it is somewhere, but can't find it...

 

I found the list of restaurants for Pride of Hawaii, but don't know how much the extra fees are and which ones charge? Also, do they charge the fee to everyone who sits or just those who eat? I will be dining with a 3 month old who obviously has to come with us, but won't eat anything! I also will bring a 3 year old who I am hoping will get some kiddie item as opposed to ordering off the "adult menu". I figure after 30 minutes or so, I'll take her to the kids club so we can enjoy all the courses! Anything thoughts/info?

 

Also, how early can you board? Where is the Honolulu pier?

 

Jenn

[zimmerjulie]

Free Restaurants:

Grand Pacific Main Restaurant

Alizar Main Restaurant

Paniolo Tapas & Salsa Restaurant

Blue Lagoon (24 hour versatile eatery: fish & chips, hamburgers, fast-wok dishes, etc)

Aloha Nui Cafe (buffet)

Papas Italian Kitchen

 

 

Cover Charge applies:

Le Bistro French Restaurant $10

Jasmine Garden Asian Restaurant $10

Cagney's Steakhouse $15

Tai Pan Sushi $15

 

 

There are also some A'La Carte dishes that, if you order, can bring the total up to $25. For example, in Cagney's, if you order the Whole Lobster, surf & turf, or the 24 oz Porterhouse steak, the charge will be $25 per person. There are 8 other main course selections that would fall under the $15 cover charge.

 

The teppanyaki tables are not on my official list, but people have been reporting that the charge there is $20.

 

In my experience, there has not been a charge for the ones who do not eat.

[LynnieSue]

Wow another Pittsburgese. Howdee neighbor. Yes on the North Hills side of town we called them thongs too.....things change i 30 years. Have a great day

[Califonria cruiser]

Julie, thanks for the info on the restaurants!

 

I'll have a look at the menus you posted and check it out.

 

Anyone know when can you get onto the ship the first day? Also, where exactly is the pier in Oahu?

 

Jenn

[NCLcruisefan]

This info is in your ticket book. I just found that out. That could have saved some worry about asking locals. It is next to the Aloha Tower. Locals know what that is for sure. It is pier 10 and 11. All cruises say one time; but I have always gotten on much earlier. Now with this one not leaving until 8; I am not sure. But other cruises always said at like 4pm and we always got on at 11 am. We dropped off luggage at 1pm and it looked like they still had people from the last cruise sitting out waiting for rides or something.

[sweetpea-2]

sounds like your having a great time, hope we get the chance to go on her...........

[Breezey]

I am so excited I found CC! I have been searching for a cruise for months and am going to book POH for 01/01/07. I can't wait. I have some questions, if anyone can help me.

Will a Mini-suite AF accomodate 2 adults, 16 and 11 y/o?

Does anyone have a photo of it?

Will NCL let my son(2 months shy of turning 12) do the shore excursions that specify you have to be 12?

I will be booking through NCL directly, should I book air on my own?

I saw a post and they said that I should book air on my own, but shouldn't I if I am not going to buy insurance...

Does anyone have menus for restaurants that are not the specialty ones?

Can you book ressies for Papa's with ncl.com? Everyone says it's very good.

Well, I look forward to hearing from all of you seasoned travelers. I have not been on a cruise in 15 years and my kids have never cruised. My daughter and I are going to cut and paste all of your helpful hints.

 

 

go to the other cruise website, someone has a fantastic link of over 250 pictures including all cabins, etc. Gorgeous!!!!

[Breezey]

hi rosiej,

room service is included. The room service breakfast is continental-style, at least for the regular, non suite, cabins. They have danishes, muffins, cereals, fruit, yogurt, etc., but not hot items like eggs, bacon, sausage. They will have sit-down restaurant breakfast in a dining room and a breakfast buffet in the Aloha Nui Cafe. I enjoyed the breakfast buffet. I had a made-to-order omelette that was excellent and various other things...fruit, small seasoned hash brown patties, fruit empenada, and very good bacon.

 

 

I know on 3 other cruise lines, all I did was write in items that were not on the menu. Do you know if that is possible with NCL?

[DrivesLikeMario]

Can you tell me what the hangers are like in the mini-suites?

I think I read earlier that they're the cheapy plastic kind that are curved. Is this right?

Or are they straight?

Can they be removed if you lift up the hanger bar and slide them off?

 

Thanks so much!!

[slk230red]

Just returned from the Pride of Hawaii June 12 sailing...the ship lived up to the reviews posted on this site. The cruise, ports, staff, food, and entertainment was better than I had anticipated. Papa's restaurant was my favorite, followed by Cagney's.

We rented a car in every port and transfers to and from car rental site went smooth with no problems. Signing up for the Budget Fastbreak program was great advice...no lines!!!

This post is short and sweet...the Pride of Hawaii cruise was probably my favorite cruise so far. It will be hard to beat.

The American staff was friendly and always ready to share information about unknown (secret) places to explore...the waterfall jumping experience in Kauai was awesome. You won't see this on a ship excursion.

 

I'm unpacking and repacking for a 7 night cruise out of Tampa on Carnival's Miracle this Sunday. I'm already thinking that the Pride of Hawaii has spoiled me and I'll be comparing it to the Miracle...but when I'm at Paradise Beach in Cozumel drinking ice cold Corona's, I'll be okay.:)

[Breezey]

Just returned from the Pride of Hawaii June 12 sailing...the ship lived up to the reviews posted on this site. The cruise, ports, staff, food, and entertainment was better than I had anticipated. Papa's restaurant was my favorite, followed by Cagney's.

We rented a car in every port and transfers to and from car rental site went smooth with no problems. Signing up for the Budget Fastbreak program was great advice...no lines!!!

This post is short and sweet...the Pride of Hawaii cruise was probably my favorite cruise so far. It will be hard to beat.

 

 

I see you have cruised lots. Just curious, favourite cruise from an itinerary perspective or are you meaning the ship? I like your take on this because as some of us future POH cruisers have read some not very postive comments. But as a previous poster said, it's all in one's perspective I'll wait to judge on September 4th.

[MizzouMary]

I have been following this thread which appears pretty positive in its write up of the Pride of Hawaii.

 

But I just read the member reviews for this ship on the reviews section and am shocked at how consistent the writers from the 6/6 cruise have been in their scathing reviews. All four writers gave it a 1 star (ok one was generous and gave it a 2).

 

We are cruising in September and hope that they get their act together. Wow, poor, rude service; bad food, two main things that can what wreck an overall cruise experience? Sure I can understand new ship kinks that need to be ironed out but none like these.

 

Anyone else worried?

 

YES!! We are very worried. We are cruising on 1/1 and are considering cancelling and re-booking with another line. This will be our first cruise with NCL. Can you imagine what the employees will be like on New Year's Day? If the service is as bad as everyone says, coupled with hangovers, I am really concerned!

 

What can you do? You would think the upper management at NCLA is aware of the issues and is trying to correct them. I hope they read the boards and reviews. I'm assuming they cannot hire international employees because the ships are registered in the U.S.. Is that correct?

 

We are crossing our fingers and hope the reviews get better.

 

Mary in KC

[Breezey]

YES!! We are very worried. We are cruising on 1/1 and are considering cancelling and re-booking with another line. This will be our first cruise with NCL. Can you imagine what the employees will be like on New Year's Day? If the service is as bad as everyone says, coupled with hangovers, I am really concerned!

 

What can you do? You would think the upper management at NCLA is aware of the issues and is trying to correct them. I hope they read the boards and reviews. I'm assuming they cannot hire international employees because the ships are registered in the U.S.. Is that correct?

 

We are crossing our fingers and hope the reviews get better.

 

Mary in KC

 

Well we are are not going to cancel because the NCL offered what we wanted - seeing various ports of Hawaii without having to endure several sea days there and back. I am being optimistic and focusing on the fact that the ship will be our hotel and we then have a week in Maui afterwards to make up for any bad food service if they come up. Another thread was recently started and the OP says things are looking up on the POH. And yes hope NCL reads these boards as my understanding was that NCL didnt want comparable problems they had to previous all US employees working on their Hawaiin itinerary based cruises. (and yes I think you are right about why)

[slk230red]

I see you have cruised lots. Just curious, favourite cruise from an itinerary perspective or are you meaning the ship? I like your take on this because as some of us future POH cruisers have read some not very postive comments. But as a previous poster said, it's all in one's perspective I'll wait to judge on September 4th.

 

Breezey,

 

You WILL love this cruise! Our first choice when booking a cruise is the itinerary, so the POH met all of our objectives. Because the POH is a new ship, it made our cruise even more enjoyable. To be honest, the ports are so scenic and easy to get around, we really didn't have enough time to explore the ship like other cruise ships when we have days at sea. We found the ship to be more like a floating resort, with all of the dining choices and times, we were able to make the most of our land adventures.

I don't mind eating with other people in the main dining room every night at the same table/time, but the Freestyle dining really made the cruise more eventful. We never asked for a table for 2 when eating on the POH, but were always given one...it really made dining more romantic.

By the way, eat at Papa's the first or second night, don't save the best for last in case you want to go back. The lasagna is fantastic and so is the bread.

 

Dave

[MizzouMary]

Just returned from the Pride of Hawaii June 12 sailing...the ship lived up to the reviews posted on this site. The cruise, ports, staff, food, and entertainment was better than I had anticipated. Papa's restaurant was my favorite, followed by Cagney's.

We rented a car in every port and transfers to and from car rental site went smooth with no problems. Signing up for the Budget Fastbreak program was great advice...no lines!!!

This post is short and sweet...the Pride of Hawaii cruise was probably my favorite cruise so far. It will be hard to beat.

The American staff was friendly and always ready to share information about unknown (secret) places to explore...the waterfall jumping experience in Kauai was awesome. You won't see this on a ship excursion.

 

I'm unpacking and repacking for a 7 night cruise out of Tampa on Carnival's Miracle this Sunday. I'm already thinking that the Pride of Hawaii has spoiled me and I'll be comparing it to the Miracle...but when I'm at Paradise Beach in Cozumel drinking ice cold Corona's, I'll be okay.:)

 

Hi. Thanks for the info. You mentioned Pappa's and Cagney's were your favorite restaurants on the POH. Are both included in the cruise cost, or are they surcharge restaurants? Would you happen to know which restaurants charge the surcharge on the ship?

 

Thanks!

 

Mary

[slk230red]

YES!! We are very worried. We are cruising on 1/1 and are considering cancelling and re-booking with another line. This will be our first cruise with NCL. Can you imagine what the employees will be like on New Year's Day? If the service is as bad as everyone says, coupled with hangovers, I am really concerned!

 

What can you do? You would think the upper management at NCLA is aware of the issues and is trying to correct them. I hope they read the boards and reviews. I'm assuming they cannot hire international employees because the ships are registered in the U.S.. Is that correct?

 

We are crossing our fingers and hope the reviews get better.

 

Mary in KC

 

Take the cruise and have fun...the young American staff are working hard to make sure you are having a good time. I saw a lot of the same employees smiling in the morning and then be just as nice and friendly at night. I know I couldn't do it.

For what it's worth, the restaurant manager and head chef came by our table on the second formal night and asked us how we were enjoying our cruise so far and what we thought about the food and service. They really seemed sincere when asking passengers for their opinions.

I was glad to see that the staff was able to get off the ship and relax at the ports, it made sharing land adventures much more interesting...working 7 days a week on the same ship get's pretty boring no matter how new it is.

 

Focus on the land trips and read up on what to see and do, then return to the ship and enjoy a great dining experience and show. I would definitely take another POH cruise.

[slk230red]

Hi. Thanks for the info. You mentioned Pappa's and Cagney's were your favorite restaurants on the POH. Are both included in the cruise cost, or are they surcharge restaurants? Would you happen to know which restaurants charge the surcharge on the ship?

 

Thanks!

 

Mary

 

Cagney's is $15 pp and Papa's is free. Check the NCL website for the POH dining information.

[zimmerjulie]

slk230red,

THANKS for the fresh-from-the-ship perspective! I am so glad that you had a great time!!!!!

 

originally posted by mfinn

If the service is as bad as everyone says

Not everyone is saying that the service is bad. :) The "Reviews" section of this website was pretty one sided, but now I see that Silver Girl's review has been posted. I hope that a lot of the posters that have shared their opinions here will cut and paste and submit a review for the separate review section, as well. It's hard to find a certain review on the regular board, as they don't stick around on the front page very long. I have read that you are deciding whether to take this ship, or another line, so I thought I would bring these forward for you.

zimmerjulie's Pride of Hawaii Review

bobnsandi's Review: "Just Back from Pride of Hawai'i Inaugural"

Kapuna's Review: "Pride of Hawaii June 5-12, 2006 cruise"

Live From the Pride of Hawaii by kat28

LCI 598's review:POH's Wonderful Inaugural Voyage

 

Can you tell me what the hangers are like in the mini-suites?

I think I read earlier that they're the cheapy plastic kind that are curved. Is this right?

Or are they straight?

Can they be removed if you lift up the hanger bar and slide them off?

 

Thanks so much!!

 

They are wooden hangers, I don't believe they had a curve, but they could have had a slight one. (In my standard outside cabin). They are the kind that they have in hotels, the kind that aren't much use if you take them out of the closet. They have that specialized top that is not a hook, but a straight piece with a ball-type top that fits into the sliding pieces that are fixed around the hanger bar. I don't know if they could be removed by lifting the hangar bar, but I don't think they would be much good if you could. I don't think they could be hung up anywhere else.

 

I hope I am not confusing the "mechanism" with my other recent cruise, but I know for sure that they are wooden and that part of the hanger comes out of the closet, while the connecting top stays in.

 

 

Here is a re-posting of the restaurant information

Free Restaurants:

Grand Pacific Main Restaurant

Alizar Main Restaurant

Paniolo Tapas & Salsa Restaurant

Blue Lagoon (24 hour versatile eatery: fish & chips, hamburgers, fast-wok dishes, etc)

Aloha Nui Cafe (buffet)

Papas Italian Kitchen

 

 

Cover Charge applies:

Le Bistro French Restaurant $10

Jasmine Garden Asian Restaurant $10

Cagney's Steakhouse $15

Tai Pan Sushi $15

 

 

There are also some A'La Carte dishes that, if you order, can bring the total up to $25. For example, in Cagney's, if you order the Whole Lobster, surf & turf, or the 24 oz Porterhouse steak, the charge will be $25 per person. There are 8 other main course selections that would fall under the $15 cover charge.

 

The teppanyaki tables are not on my official list, but people have been reporting that the charge there is $20.

[bubiesmom]

go to the other cruise website, someone has a fantastic link of over 250 pictures including all cabins, etc. Gorgeous!!!![/quote

 

Hey, breezey, which website is that? I looked at all of zimmerjulie's stuff and all the threads from CC. I am so tired from reading everything, but it is so very informative. thanks again

[bearette]

Did you find it hard to get reservations for Papas? I was wondering if I needed to make reservations the first day for our party of six to make sure we get to try it.

[DebraDot]

Thank you ZimmerJulie for the restaurant list. This is just what i've been hoping for. I've been seeing so many references to the restaurants, but nothing compiled like this list. I was getting confused about which ones were free and which aren't. Thanks.

[Leopoldz]

So I guess the impression I'm getting is that despite the reviews of POH off the main pages of this site being dismal (2.1 on member reviews) in reality the experience is much better?

 

Really worried us alot when we found cruisecritic and saw that. We don't sail until Sept 11th, but it wasn't too early to start worrying!

[zimmerjulie]

Leopoldz,

I just wanted to point out that there have been a lot of positive reviews of the Pride of Hawaii, most of them appearing on this NCL board, but not on the separate "Reviews" section yet. Not that the negative reviews weren't reality for those people who did not have a good time, but the reality has been much better for most of those who have reported back to this board.