Pride of Hawaii Review (in parts) - 12/11/06

[beachchick]

Aloha everyone. I know this is a bit late, but I figured better that than not at all. We had a wonderful time on our PoH cruise and would definitely do it again (if the price is right). I want to do a comprehensive review and try to answer all the questions that DH and I had before our cruise, as well as telling all of you about our experiences. There's so much that I think it will be best if I do my review in parts and as separate threads. That way, members can ignore the parts of my review that are not of interest to them.

 

I'm going to try to split it up into these parts:

 

General thoughts and impressions of the cruise and ship

Officers, crew, and service

Dining and drinking

Entertainment and activities

Ports (getting off and on the ship/location of the ports)

Islands and pre/post-cruise land time (might do those individually)

Perks for suite pax (AE and above)

Courtyard/suite/butlers/perks for A4 and above

 

I doubt I'll be able to do one part everyday, but I'll give it my best effort. I want to start tonight with a bit about us and basic history, and some information about embarkation and disembarkation.

 

Our Hawaii cruise history: My DH and I have been trying to do a Hawaii-only cruise since 2001. The first time we were on the ill-fated Patriot. The ship broke and I broke my leg/ankle, so that one didn't work. We booked the Independence for later that year (thanks to travel insurance and refunds from the cruise line), but the company declared bankruptcy less than a month before our cruise date. We ended up converting to a land trip (also thanks to travel insurance). Third time, we booked a repo (Hawaii to Vancouver) with Carnival, but our health (that is, lack of it) interferred and we had to cancel. We've since decided that we don't want that many sea days in a row anyway.

 

Last year, we started looking into the Pride of Hawaii. I found some amazing deals for December, so we thought we might as well book it and hope that the fourth time would be the charm. It was.

 

My DH and I are both disabled, which definitely changes how we cruise. We spend more time in our cabin than many pax, so we always have a balcony where we can relax. We must plan rest times too. We don't participate in many of the activities or do agressively active excursions, and we don't party late into the night. (We'd love to, but we can't.)

 

PoH booking: We started with a BE guarantee (our first gty ever--we like to choose our cabins). Then NCL added a senior discount, which made the fare for a BA (not gty) lower than our BE guarantee. Then (right after final payment), NCL lowered the senior fare so that an AF was less than our BA. Now, I know that NCL doesn't usually lower the fare after final payment, but I figured that this was an upgrade, which is usually a different issue. I had to escalate it to a Reservations supervisor because everyone told me that after final payment a booking is "closed" and can't have changes at all unless it's an upsell. Finally we were able to get an aft AF and a small OBC (not the full amount of the difference). We knew we'd be happy with our choice.

 

About a month before our cruise, we got a call from the Upsell department with an offer of an AE for $250 p/p or AC for $400 p/p or A3/A4 for $700 p/p. We decided not to take it because it wasn't that important to us to be in a suite, and we could use the money for extra land days. I told the rep that we'd like to be on the call list if the rate for the A4 dropped significantly. The day before Thanksgiving, the "last minute" Upsell rep called. I knew only the A4s and Garden Villas were left. She looked at our reservation and said that she could offer us an A4 for $300 p/p. DH and I had already decided we'd pay up to $300 p/p, so I said yes. At that point, the difference in fare between what we had paid for the AF (a very good deal) and the A4 would have been nearly $2000 p/p more, so I'd say we made a good deal indeed. We thoroughly enjoyed the Courtyard, the suite (although, the furniture has some design "issues"), and being "VIP"d right and left. (More on this later.)

 

Embarkation: All in all, the embarkation process was smooth and fairly painless. We flew into HNL from Maui, grabbed a taxi, and arrived at the pier at about 1:00. The hardest part was remembering that we would use the suite line on this cruise--we got in the regular line first and then had to scoot down to the other line. The lines go in different doors. The regular line was very long (it reminded me of Disney lines that snake around and back several times); the other line was fairly short. It took about 40 minutes from the time we got into the suite line until we headed upstairs to the ship. Please, everyone make sure you have your paperwork, ID, credit card, etc. ready when you step up to the embarkation window. We saw people fumbling around and spending 5 minutes trying to get everything together after they were already at the window. Being prepared really makes a difference in how long everyone else has to stand in line.

 

When you get your ship card, you have to sign it with a Sharpie. Well, "indelible" or not, the ink can rub off--even if you let it dry for quite a while. I ended up with ink in and around my shirt pocket, but the laundry service took care of it. I liked that the card didn't have our cabin number on it. Definitely a boring looking card, but who cares--it worked.

 

Our butler, Dennis, met us the minute we finished checking in. He introduced himself, asked us about some of our preferences (beverages and such), talked a bit about the ship and Courtyard, and then sent us up to the Concierge Lounge (Star Bar at night, but exclusively for suite pax during the day) to relax with complimentary cocktails. (Cocktails were not complimentary in the Concierge Lounge the rest of the cruise, but soft drinks were.) It was sooooo nice to walk into the lounge, sit on a comfy chair, put up our feet, and be served drinks by smiling crew members--all the while, we were people watching onto the pool deck (one deck below the lounge).;)

 

Now, I know that on some ships the butlers/concierges escort all suite pax to their suites, but I thought this way was great. It got us right into the aloha spirit and set the tone for an excellent cruise. We were very relaxed by the time they announced that our deck was ready.

 

We were "lei"d at the top of the stairs (orchids for me; shells for DH). Then came the obligatory "welcome aboard" photo station--we opted to do it later as we planned to get off the ship for a couple of hours. That way we could freshen up and not look all sweaty and disheveled. Glad we did that because the picture was very nice, we looked happy/relaxed/cool, and I bought it as a gift for my mom (who had paid for a good portion of our trip as our birthdays/anniversary/Christmas gifts for the year).

 

After a couple of drinks (and taking one "for the road"), we went up to our suite. It was spotless and less vivid in color than we expected. We settled in (with me gawking at everything--we're used to the good old balcony cabin, not a huge suite--and DH taking pix of everything before it started to look "lived in"). I swear the bathroom was practically as large as our first (and only) inside cabin on the Patriot. Then we plopped down and rested for a couple of hours--getting ready for a wonderful week.:D

 

Disembarkation: This was the first time that we didn't have to leave our cabin at the crack of dawn. We received our onboard bill the night before (we checked it every day on the iTV service). It had no errors, so no problems there. The night before, we put together tip envelopes for Dennis, our cabin steward, and the concierge. We opted for the self-disembarkation, so we went to Cagney's for breakfast, went back and took showers, rested for a while, gave everyone their tips and gave Dennis our comment cards, and then leisurely wended our way off the ship at about 10:30. We were staying in Waikiki for a few days, so we were in no rush to go anywhere. We got to have a tour of a Garden Villa before we left. It was by far the easiest and most relaxed disembarkation day.:)

 

I guess that's it for tonight. More to follow as I'm able to put it together.

 

beachchick

[emalemi]

hello beachchick!

 

Great review so far...

 

You were very helpful when we were in the planning stages of our cruise on the POAM. Thanks again for all the help, and I'll look forward to part 2!

[Browezilla]

Hi beachchick,

 

I like reading your appends. On the PoH, was there an officiall formal night (e.g. not that you can dress up when you like, but a night when the recommended attire is formal)? There are several threads running here but the answer isn't completely clear to me. Since you were just on the PoH, maybe you could give us an answer.

[Molokai-Chuck]

Looking forward to the rest of your review!!

 

Chuck

[beachchick]

Hi beachchick,

 

I like reading your appends. On the PoH, was there an officiall formal night (e.g. not that you can dress up when you like, but a night when the recommended attire is formal)? There are several threads running here but the answer isn't completely clear to me. Since you were just on the PoH, maybe you could give us an answer.

 

The answer is yes and no.

 

The yes: Thursday night (departure night from Mahu) is the designated formal night for those who want to have formal portraits. There were several stations set up around the ship. They also had times for photos with the captain.

 

The no: There is no traditional formal night where it's "recommended" attire for everyone because with Freestyle it's always completely optional. I first thought about 25% of the pax dressed formally that night, but on reflection, I think it was more like 40% in dressier attire. Every night, gentlemen are requested to wear slacks and shirt (no t-shirts or open tank tops) and women are requested to wear slacks, skirts, or dresses when going to any of the restaurants. Shorts are fine everywhere else. Pax are also expected to wear swim coverups when going from the pool deck to the indoor venues. That's about it clothing-wise.

 

beachchick

[beachchick]

Aloha again. There's been so much discussion about service on the NCLA ships that we really didn't know what to expect. We thought it could be horrid, poor quality service all week long. Happily, we experienced quite the opposite.

 

The officers were, of course, professional and pleasant. We were invited to the captain's VIP cocktail party, where we met several of the officers briefly. It was very nice, and the captain was quite genial. Officers throughout the ship greeted pax and usually had a nice word for the other crew members.

 

With a few exceptions, the crew members were hardworking, pleasant, and eager to please. Everywhere we went, crew members had a smile and "hello" for us, whether it was the maitre d or someone cleaning the railings. In fact, they were constantly cleaning all over the ship day and night. I'm sure this was partly due to the outbreak of norovirus they had about 5 cruises before ours. (There were also crew members assigned to make sure all pax used the hand sanitizers when reboarding the ship and going into the buffet.) The quality of service was fairly consistent throughout the ship. It made no difference whether a crew member knew we were in a courtyard villa or not. I commented to my DH that I was pleasantly surprised with the level of service, and he agreed.

 

Not surprisingly, the staff assigned to the courtyard suites were very professional and efficient. Our cabin steward was eager to please and did a good job. We had the cutest towel animals all week. We found that if we used the little wheel by the door (it's used in place of the card you stick in the door) that we had no problems having our suite made up or turned down while we were out. Our butler, Dennis, was fabulous. He made sure we had everything we needed and wanted, and he was really interesting and fun to talk with. We only met the concierge a couple of times and spoke with him a few other times, but we had no complaints.

 

The biggest difference between the NCLA crews (at least the PoH crew) and the international crews is that the NCLA crew does not act subservient while they do their jobs. On the whole, they are professional and do a good job, but do not consider pax to be their "betters." So, they are more casual in attitude and how they treat the pax.

 

Now about the few exceptions. The hostesses at both Jasmine and the Blue Lagoon obviously did not like their jobs, but we got seated promptly, so I didn't really care. A few of the waiters/waitresses were less than professional and less than efficient, but most were fine. Most of the crew around the ship were friendly, but there were a few who were sullen. We simply ignored that and moved on.

 

We only had one truly bad service problem. We went to Cagney's on embarkation night and had a very nice time. A few nights later, we had reservations at Cagney's again. That night, the host and hostess were a bit scattered and the restaurant was very busy. We had to wait several minutes to be seated, no problem. After we were seated, we waited almost 20 minutes and were never even acknowledged. Not a "good evening, it's very busy and I'll be with you just as soon as possible"; not a "may I bring you a drink while you wait?"; nothing. Not one server even looked in our direction. Well, we decided to leave, and my DH told the hostess to remove the upcharge from our account. She seemed to think that we were being unreasonable to expect, at a minimum, bread, water and acknowledgement within 20 minutes of being seated. I was pretty annoyed and got a little upset.

 

However, our evening was saved by the concierge, Eric, and Dennis. I called Eric, explained what happened, and asked if he could find us somewhere to have dinner. He apologized, told us that it was unacceptable behavior, and took care of things. We ended up having dinner from Cagney's served to us in our suite by Dennis. It was actually really nice to have a quiet evening of "pampering."

 

I don't know if the spa personnel work for the cruise line or an independent company, but they were just as annoying as I've found them to be on other ships. They were pushy and wouldn't take "no, thank you" for an answer. When I went down to ask about the therapy pool and sauna, they had that "you must have all these treatments in order to be a real woman" thing going, which really bugs me. So, we didn't use the spa at all.

 

The onboard customer service crew were okay, but I saw a couple of very upset pax who couldn't seem to get problems resolved. I don't know what kind of problems they had, so I have no idea what the situations really were. My only real interaction with CS was when I brought them my ink-stained shirt (from the ship card signature). I explained what had happened. The rep apologized, took my shirt, sent it to the laundry, and our cabin steward delivered it--ink free--the next day.

 

I heard several pax complaining about the crew not being "like the international crew" and things like "they're too casually friendly" (in other words, not servant-like). I think it's important to realize in advance that the crew will not be what most of us might be used to on the other ships. A friendly attitude and a bit of flexibility go a long way toward getting good service throughout the cruise. And if you do have a problem, make your complaint immediately, rather than waiting or just stewing about it.

 

beachchick:)

[beachchick]

I just realized I didn't include our overall impressions of the ship, so I'll do that in a separate thread tomorrow.

 

beachchick

[beachchick]

Sorry; duplicate post.

 

beachchick

[beachchick]

The answer is yes and no.

 

The yes: Thursday night (departure night from Mahu) is the designated formal night for those who want to have formal portraits. There were several stations set up around the ship. They also had times for photos with the captain.

 

The no: There is no traditional formal night where it's "recommended" attire for everyone because with Freestyle it's always completely optional. I first thought about 25% of the pax dressed formally that night, but on reflection, I think it was more like 40% in dressier attire. Every night, gentlemen are requested to wear slacks and shirt (no t-shirts or open tank tops) and women are requested to wear slacks, skirts, or dresses when going to any of the restaurants. Shorts are fine everywhere else. Pax are also expected to wear swim coverups when going from the pool deck to the indoor venues. That's about it clothing-wise.

 

beachchick

 

Note to self: Must check posts for errors before posting...of course I meant to write "Maui." Oops.:o

 

beachchick

[beachchick]

I realized that I haven't really mentioned anything about the ship in general so far.

 

She's a beauty, if a bit bright. (Little FYI that DH caught: The island girl painted on the port side has a bellybutton that consists of a port hole.) The overall color scheme was actually a bit milder than I expected, but you will see quite a bit of primary colors with orange/red/yellow being used quite a bit. Okay, this is totally picky, but whomever choose the carpet on parts of deck 13 (by Cagney's and Star Bar) should be shot! It's this blinging green/yellow/black swirling cirle design that just pains the eyes.

 

We really like this size ship (the RCI Radiance class is a fave of ours). It's big enough to have room and options, but not a floating city. We felt the layout was good, although the aft stairs dead end at the doors to the main aft dining room (lower level), which I thought was odd. (We didn't dine there, so I have no idea if it impedes the flow of traffic; however, on the designated formal night, there must have been 100 pax waiting on the stairs for the doors to open.) There's plenty of open space and windows. The restaurants are spread out through the ship with some of the smaller ones being across the deck from each other. You cannot go forward from the deck 6 dining room. It's a one-stop location.

 

The theater is fine with good sight lines and raking. There is an orchestra level and two balcony levels. It's not a huge stage, but then they don't do huge production shows each night because this is a very port-intensive-ship-is-secondary cruise. The disco layout was a bit hard to navigate, IMO, but otherwise nice. (Lots of smoking in the disco.) The Spinnaker Lounge is a good size and nicely laid out. However, on the port side there's a section that's so brightly colored you need your sunglasses. This is coupled with large "fainting sofa"-style gold lounges, and chairs shaped like anemones (sp?) in bright yellow and aqua, and so on. I'm telling you, the designer watched "The Little Mermaid' one too many times and/or had one too many cocktails that day. It's a whole underwater theme that is supposed to be fun, which is not a bad thing. It's just a bit jarring.

 

The other restaurants are kind of scattered through the ship. It's easy to navigate to each of them. Each one has it's own theme colors and style. (Trivia: Next time you're onboard, go to the Blue Lagoon and take a look at the stencil-style glass drawings of the island girls. DH noticed something really unusual about the one in the middle.)

 

The champagne bar/martini bar/"pub" are all located on the same deck and kind of flow into each other--I think that's to make it easy to go from drink to drink. Lots of seating at the champagne bar and pub area, but the martini bar gets tons of through traffic. The piano bar is next to the champagne bar.

 

Deck 7 is the "main" business deck. Reception is there, as well as the shopping. There are two shops onboard, one main one aft, which had a side with fine jewelry, aloha wear (high end), and other clothing and a side with the usual (overpriced) sundries and the ship souveiners (sp?). The second shop is a little "boutiquey" (items, not clothes) one by reception.

 

You walk through the photo gallery to get to the main shop, so it's kind of nice to have that all concentrated in one place. The atrium lounge and bar (in front of the reception desk and main embarkation area) is very open with the multi-deck (two or three, I can't remember) portion. There is a staircase you can take down from deck 8. The excursion desk is there as well. I thought it could have been placed better because the line really didn't have anywhere to go and would just stick out into the atrium and kind of block traffic.

 

There's a landing halfway up the stairs to deck 8 with a huge display above it. A Hawaiian musical duo (sorry, don't remember names) played there most afternoons/early evenings.

 

Now the pool and sundecks. IMO, they did an excellent job here. There's a grill by the pool that's open in the afternoon. The pool bar is up a deck with seating overlooking the pools. There are two pools and several (three or four?) hottubs. One of the hottubs was marked as "adults only" (and, on our cruise at least, it was enforced). The water slide was a big hit with kids and adults alike. The lounges are reasonably comfortable and there are plenty of small tables, as well as outdoor seating on both sides. (Starboard was the smoking side on our cruise.) So, you have the buffet with seating aft, but you can also take your food, beverage, whatever out to the pool deck to sit in the shade or sun. Pretty much the standard layout there. The pools were a fine size, IMO. With most pax off the ship for most of the day, they really weren't crowded, and even on the Na Pali cruise afternoon, there was no chair hogging or any of that nonsense.

 

The spa is forward on the pool deck. We really didn't go into the spa, so I can't comment on that.

 

The tiny deck 14 Freestyle sundeck is just that--freestyle, as in topless woman may sunbathe there. If that offends, then simply don't go there (except lava viewing night--excellent viewing). The glass walls surrounding it are opaque. It's pretty windy a good deal of the time, but nice, quiet, and (for those ladies so inclined) a nice place to ditch those tan lines on top.

 

The cabin decks are your typical cabin decks. Not much to comment on there. There are three guest laundry rooms (starboard decks 5, 11, and one other I can't remember which, maybe 10?). They are small rooms with three washers and dryers each. They are European style front loaders--read the directions because the markings are not particularly intuitive. Each laundry room also has two ironing boards with specially designed safety irons.

 

I really can't comment on any of the regular cabins because we were lucky enough to upsell to a courtyard villa shortly before our cruise. I could see into a few open cabins when walking by. The mini-suites were not huge, but nicely laid out; the balcony cabins were fairly small (at least based on our experiences), but made good use of the space. The cabins have little wheels outside by the door. You use those instead of door cards for do not disturb, please makeup cabin, please turn down cabin, and welcome. We thought they worked very well--just don't forget to turn it to what you want.

 

There is a nice bridge viewing deck forward on deck 11. The shades are down at night and when the ship is being manuevered, but otherwise they are open. That was kind of cool. There are also displays you can check out.

 

The Kumu Cultural Center really isn't a "center." Instead it lines part of the starboard hallway on deck 7 between reception and the theater. It's reasonably interesting, but I would have liked to see much more of the Hawaiian heritage. I believe it focuses too much on the "how did we get to where we are today" from a more commercial standpoint.

 

Hm, I can't think of anything else right now. If anyone has questions, please ask, and I'll be happy to answer them if I can.

 

Happy cruising.

 

beachchick:)

[cruizinwithkids]

Thanks for the detailed review. We are booked on the Pride of Aloha for February '08 and I am reading every possible thing I can about the NCLA experiences.

[beachchick]

Aloha everyone. I don’t want you to think we starved to death or something, so here's our 411 on food and drink.

Dining: We did not eat in the dining room (either one) at all, so I’m afraid I can’t give any reviews of the food there. We did walk through the Grand Pacific (large aft dining room). It seemed very nice. We did not eat at Le Bistro as we don’t care for the menu. We did not do any of the sushi, shabu-shabu, or teppanyaki seatings.

 

Cagney’s: We dined at Cagney’s three times during the cruise. First night, mid cruise, and last night. I mentioned the service problem we had during our second visit. Our first night the service was excellent. The third night it seemed like half the pax were trying to get a seat, and the staff was harried with orders, backed up, and slow. We decided to splurge and order the Maine lobster (additional $10). I’d say we waited 30 minutes between our appetizers/salads and our entrée. The lobsters were horrible. It was as if they overcooked the outside (you know how shellfish looks when it’s cooked too long), but had not cooked them through because the flesh itself was slimy. In addition to that, they tasted awful; almost like they were spoiled—imagine that smell of “old” fish. We each had a couple of bites, and then sent them back. (They removed the additional $10 charges.) The assistant server was very pleasant and embarrased. I’m surprised the kitchen even sent them out. Yuck. I don’t know if ordering it earlier in the week would get you fresher and edible lobster, but it might.

The really good: Crab cakes (delicious every time; lots of crab, not lots of filler, light and flavorful; cooked just right and served with a very nice relish/sauce). Filet mignon (cooked exactly as ordered both nights we had it; very flavorful and tender). Mashed potatoes. Baked potatoes (I know, pretty simple, but they did a good job with them). Apple pie (baked in individual pans and served with vanilla ice cream). Chocolate Obsession (OMG! We had to have it to go every time, and even then couldn’t finish it; rich and decadent—exactly what you want on vacation).

The good: Caeser salad (not great, but fresh and flavorful). Onion shoestrings (very crispy and not too greasy). Spinach-artichoke dip. Shrimp cocktail (not the best ever, but not bad; spicy cocktail sauce). Steak and potato soup (yum). Sauteed garlic mushrooms (very nicely cooked and seasoned). Mahi-mahi (cooked well, not overdone, and pretty fresh).

The never again: Lobster bisque (did not live up to its reputation; too fishy and gooey). Creamed spinach (it was off-flavored, watery, and just bad). Scalloped potatoes (flavorless and too firm; earlier reviews by CC members were dead on). Asparagus (for us an issue because we buy from local farmers in season, and this was kind of lacking; others seemed to think it was fine). Cheesecake (chalky in texture and taste; I make excellent cheesecake, so we’re pretty picky).

Jasmine: Pretty much everything we had here was good to excellent. The service was good both nights; friendly, not overbearing, and prompt. We watched some of the shabu-shabu table diners doing their “swish-swish” thing. There are limited shabu-shabu tables (with a cooking ring set into them), so book early if that’s what you want. Teppanyaki is a separate room with half a dozen tables or so. The windows are open to the passageway, so you can watch the “show” as you walk by.

At Jasmine, some of the dishes are not prepared in a typical style. For example, the kung pao chicken had a Thai hot-sweet chili sauce (a fave of mine anyway) rather than a standard kung pao sauce. In Hawaiian style, it had mac nuts (which I love) instead of peanuts. Very different, but I didn’t have any leftovers. The chicken was tasty and juicy; the veggies good; and the mac nuts yummy.

The excellent: Peppercorn tenderloin beef (they use filet mignon for this perfectly cooked, perfectly flavored dish; DH devoured it—I got a bite, one). Pork and shrimp fried rice (large portion, decent shrimp, the right kind of BBQ pork shreds, nicely flavored, and cooked properly). Shrimp tempura (not at all greasy; good flavor). Spring rolls and crab wontons (just because they’re fried, tasty, and come with good sauces).

The good: Chicken salad (another one that is different, but it was tasty and fresh). Mongolian beef (I like it spicier and with more scallions, but the flavors were excellent and the steak was tender and cooked right). Kung pao chicken.

We did not have room for dessert either night, but there were numerous diners scarfing down the banana won tons (with ice cream and chocolate sauce).

Papa’s: This was a disappointment for us. The service wasn’t horrid, but it was just tolerable. We were not offered the anti-pasti “trolley,” but had we wanted some, I’m sure we could have asked. It just seemed as if most of the servers in the restaurant that night decided they didn’t feel like working and were simply hanging around. We enjoyed the focaccia with olive oil and balsamic (that’s a fave at home; I bake). The caeser salad was prepared table-side and was okay. My pesto pasta was over sauced, bland, oily, and the portion was enormous—far more than I could possibly finish, even if I had liked it. DH’s chicken parmagiana was dry (chicken) and bland (sauce). For dessert, I tried the zuppa inglese, which I’ve had other places. It was okay.

We were so underwhelmed with Papa’s that we cancelled our second ressie for later in the week. I think we might have enjoyed it more had we ordered the pizza, which looked pretty good.

Paniolo: We had not planned on eating here because we’re CA central coasties and have access to tons of truly good Mexican, Tex-Mex, and Spanish cuisine. However, we decided to give it a try one night. If you are used to good Mexican food, skip the (out of a bag) chips and (jarred) salsa. DH ordered the beef burrito. He said it was okay and had decent meat. I had the fajitas, which were also decent. Nothing to write home about, but certainly acceptable. For our tastes, it was pretty bland, but then we are used to more traditional and spicier dishes. However, we would eat there again. The margaritas were good. We did not have dessert. Service here was fine; pretty much like a land-based casual restaurant.

Blue Lagoon: We ate here for lunch one day and for dessert (whenever) a few times. NO milkshakes—a huge issue for my “I’m on vacation, I’m having a milkshake” DH. (In fact, there were no milkshakes to be had anywhere onboard. Big bummer.) Service was again pretty much what you would expect at a diner on land.

The good: Warm chocolate brownie (this brought us in several times for an afternoon “pick me up”; good brownie, good sauce, good ice cream—what’s not to love?). Garlic fries (pretty much the usual; hot, garlicky, and tasty).

The marginal: Burger (it was your typical burger, certainly big enough, but not special in any way; I didn't finish it; it comes with fries).

The horrid: Meatloaf with mashed potatoes and mushroom gravy (DH barely touched it; it was drowning in gravy, the potatoes were watery, and the meatloaf was gummy; basically, a big “yuck” for him; thank goodness for those warm chocolate brownies).

(Do be sure to check out the black and white stencil glass panels with the tropical hula girls—perhaps you’ll notice the odd configuration of the middle girl. DH was the one who noticed, and he mentioned it to our waitress, who got a good laugh out of it and said she had never noticed.)

Aloha Nui Buffet: We had not planned to eat here, but did go in a couple of times for meals at odd hours. We aren’t much for buffets. We were impressed with the layout and the cleanliness. It was very popular, so the food did not sit there for hours at a time. There were hand sanitizer dispensers at the doors, but even so, we used napkins to hold the tongs/forks/spoons for serving. It’s actually kind of difficult to do, and we might bring disposable gloves next time to make serving easier. (Call me a germaphobe; I don’t care. DH and I especially have to be careful because we have auto-immune conditions that make us susceptible to illness.)

I know some members have mentioned that there are “weird” or “strange” dishes at the buffet. I guess that could be true for some. They have the usual stuff (carving station, pasta station, omelet station, etc.), but also dishes which are tropical/Hawaiian/Polynesian/Asian. For example, there is rice available at breakfast. (I overheard, “Who eats rice for breakfast, that’s stupid.” Well, it’s not stupid, and people in many countries eat rice for breakfast.) Go in with an open mind, try different things (if you don’t like it, get something else), and know that all the “usual” things are available (such as waffles, eggs, bacon, sausage, and burgers, fries, sandwich fixings, and turkey/ham/prime rib, baked potatoes, salad). If you love crab cakes and plan to eat at Cagney's, skip the ones in the buffet. They aren't horrid, but they aren't anywhere near the quality of Cagney's.

I don’t know why some people complain about the fruit. There was a buffet employee carving and cutting fresh Hawaiian pineapple day and night. It was excellent. I do wish they had provided more mango, papaya, and other tropical fruit, but maybe they were afraid pax would complain about the “weird” fruit. So, they had melons, watermelon, grapes, apples, oranges, and bananas—the usual suspects.

We also stopped for soft serve ice cream several times, something we don’t usually do anymore (because some ships have the dispensers down at “small kid” levels). On the PoH, the soft serve dispenser (vanilla and chocolate) is up high enough that toddlers can’t easily stick their fingers, hands, or anything else in it. (Believe me, we’ve seen toddlers do that and worse—lick the spigot!) PoH has pretty good soft serve.

There was ample seating throughout the area. They were pretty strict (as they should be) about getting a new plate if you go back for seconds or something different. They had crew circulating all the time to pick up used plates, etc. The kid’s buffet section and seating were really cute and all the “kid” foods were available.

Topsiders Grill: Open in the afternoon for burgers, dogs, fries, cold salads, and so forth. It was pretty good—but watch it with the burgers. In busy times, they’re practically throwing them at you, and I ended up with a burned hand. This is a good place to grab a snack when coming back onboard.

Room Service: I’ll talk about our specific experiences when I talk about the suite perks, but a general comment is that the iTV ordering is pretty easy. However, it can take quite some time if you order during busy times (that's what I heard at least).

A few thoughts: If you don’t order room service breakfast or go to the dining room, Blue Lagoon, or buffet by 10:00 am, you are kind of SOL for breakfast or anything but the 24 hour room service menu until lunch. We did that one morning (Mau, we didn’t leave the ship that day. All that is available (at the very aft of the ship at the buffet) is coffee, juice, cereal, milk, yogurt, and fruit. No hot dishes or any other breakfast items. It’s not like we starved, but I could have used some eggs and hash browns.

The food quality was on par with most other mass market cruise line experiences we’ve had. My DH put it very well: Fare ordinaire. There was nothing wrong with it at all; some things were very good and some were horrid, while most were fine. There was no traditional midnight buffet.

I do not understand why some people do not get the concept that “eat where you want, when you want” does not mean that every single eating establishment has enough room to accommodate more than 2,000 pax at a time. This would be the only way that the ship could accommodate everyone all the time. I think it would be wise for NCL/NCLA to make clear that the “Freestyle” life means you are not regimented or assigned a specific time/place/table where you are expected to have your meals; it does not mean that you can walk into any restaurant on a whim and always get a table that exact second. It might help if they approached more like what it is: land-based dining establishments with options and flexibility. I fear the attitude of “I’m a cruiser, pamper me and give me whatever I want whenever I want it” can be taken too literally. It’s kind of like the Celebrity ads that drive me nuts. You know, “my butler knew exactly how I liked my tea” and “my rooms were filled with long stemmed roses.” Hello? Reality (as most of us know) is that butlers are only provided for the higher level suites and long-stemmed roses aren’t provided free of charge. (I know, who wants to deal with reality on vacation? I still say it might mean fewer angry pax who took every advertisement literally.)

If you know you want to eat at a certain restaurant at a certain time on a certain day, make a reservation. If you want to eat during the most popular dining times (6:30 to 8:30), make a reservation. If you don’t care to time your day around eating, then just wing it. Or do some combination of the two. That’s what we ended up doing. We originally had ressies every night, but changed that because we decided we would be willing to wing it and take our chances a few nights. (End of Freestyle lecture.)

Drinking: I’m not going to be able to give you much information here. My DH doesn’t drink, and we had several complimentary drinking opportunities. We did walk through most bars and lounges. The atrium is laid out kind of like a French café with little tables and chairs and there is entertainment there every day. As I mentioned, the “themed” bars are all in a U-shape, with the champagne bar facing out to the piano lounge and the pub having a nice seating area. The pool bar was never open when we were at the pool. The Star Bar (Concierge lounge) was great for us during the day, but that's only for suite pax. The Spinnaker lounge was a nice place to sit and have a drink. There is certainly no shortage of bars onboard, and you will never be too far from one.

The drink specials were $6.95 in the logo glass; early morning bloody marys and screwdrivers were $5.25; the smoothie of the day with alcohol was $7.75, without $6.00; there were wine specials (red and white) every day which were by the glass or the bottle; they had wildly varied pricing.

There were several specials and “mojito madness” in the Medusa lounge on Monday and a pub crawl on Tuesday late afternoon (you must sign up no later than 30 minutes before).

The overall quality of drinks was average. I don’t drink much at home, but when I do it’s only the good stuff. (I figure why buy cheap vodka if it’s going to take me a year to go through a bottle.) Because of that, I nearly always call my drinks. The selection of call brands was okay. (Some of my favorite items are not widely available, so I didn’t expect to find them onboard. I probably would have fainted had I asked for Hanger One Kaffir Lime and been told “sure, we’ve got that.”) I did have one instance where I ordered a lemon drop with Grey Goose, but it was made with Ketel One, which I don’t like as much. Other than that, I got what I ordered in the correct pours.

The mass-produced drinks aren’t my cup of rum, so I don’t typically order them, but I did try the Maui Freeze (Friday special). It was your basic tasty froo-froo drink (or however that’s spelled). A special note on the mai tai’s: I am a bit of a mai tai snob. I want mine made the traditional way. The mass production version (especially on cruise ships) seems to be to make them sweet with lots of grenadine. That’s how they were making them (with the sweet mix) at the concierge lounge the afternoon we boarded. Now, these were complimentary, so far be it from me to quibble about a free drink or three. They went down just fine—you know, like fruit punch. I don’t know how they make them in the individual bars, but if you’re like me, make sure you ask for it to be made traditionally (not with the mix).

We had a few bottles of wine and a couple of complimentary drinking events with wine. I really did not peruse the wine list because of that (and I always get DH’s share). I typically don’t finish a bottle in one day, so I had them hold my open bottles in the wine storage area for the next night. No problem with that at all. Just tell them your name and cabin number (and they usually ask to see your ship card to make sure). The one bottle of wine I actually bought was a nice sauvignon blanc that was perfectly acceptable and had a decent price. (Up until now, we’ve always brought wine from home and paid whatever corkage fee was applicable. We live in wine country and have access to a plethora of excellent wines at outstanding prices, and we have friends who are vintners. I prefer to bring what I love, but this time I just didn’t want to schlep it along.) I have no idea about what beer is available because I don’t drink it.

The complimentary non-alcoholic drinks that I know of were coffee (espresso and capaccino in the dining room), hot tea, iced tea (sorry, don’t know if it was brewed, but you could certainly make your own with hot tea and ice), milk/chocolate milk, and water (not bottled). There were juice dispensers in the buffet with orange, pineapple, and cranberry juice (there might have been fruit punch too, but I’m hazy on that). I got juice there several times during the day (not just breakfast), so it may be available all the time. There may have been lemonade, but I’m hazy on that too.

We had every intention of buying the soda package (for the club soda), but everything was included with the courtyard villa, so we didn’t. We did not have a single fountain drink, so I can’t speak to the quality. I can tell you that soda is not complimentary anywhere on the ship for anyone (except courtyard villa suite and above guests). So for those who are convinced that soda is “free” with meals (because it has been with other lines or was in the distance past), let me be clear: It isn’t. However, we were given complimentary club sodas at several of the restaurants. The first time we ordered, they asked for our ship card, I said to DH, "Why don't I just run back up to the suite and bring down a couple?" At that point, our waiter said, "Oh, no problem; they'll be included." However, at Papa's that was not the case, so we simply brought canned club soda that Dennis restocked every day (actually, twice a day). I'm fairly certain that the AE/AD/AC/AB guests did have complimentary bottled water, but I don’t think they had complimentary soda or, if so, only what was in the mini-bar upon boarding. Still, don’t hold me to that because I’m not positive.

I’ll talk about Cagney’s breakfast and lunch and suite room service in my suite perks part, and courtyard food/drinks/appetizers in my courtyard part.

Well, I guess that about wraps up my thoughts and our experiences with food and drink. Bottom line? You won’t starve and you won’t go thirsty. If something isn’t to your liking, get something else; if it’s not cooked or prepared properly, send it back immediately. Don’t sit and “stew” about “bad food” when you have options.

Hm, it’s after midnight here, must be time for my midnight snack.:D

beachchick

[beachchick]

Sorry, dang double post.

 

beachchick

[beachchick]

My DH just showed me that I managed to mis-type "Maui" again (in my "few thoughts" paragraph). (How embarrassing...Maui is a must-visit island for us on every visit to Hawaii.)

 

beachchick

[beachchick]

Good morning everyone. Although we enjoy onboard shows and activities, they usually aren’t a primary focus of a cruise for us. We enjoy attending, but don’t typically plan an evening around the shows or other entertainment.

To give you fair warning that YMMV, I need to mention is that my DH and I are life-long musicians (by avocation). Besides being an instrumentalist, my DH was a conductor and musical director; in addition to playing an instrument, I performed on stage in community theater, musical theater, and light opera. We met in the theater, and most of our family and friends are musicians and performers. It’s fair to say that we are not typical audience members and are far more critical than many. Come to think of it, it’s been more than 30 years since we have been able to simply “go to the theater” and enjoy a show. Whether we mean to or not, we find ourselves critiquing all aspects of a show.

Production shows: The theater on PoH is nicely laid out with good sight lines and raking. Entry and seating is on three levels, including two balconies. The stage is fairly small by modern cruise ship standards (or that is, in our cruise experience). PoH is approximately the size of the RCI Radiance class, but the stage was substantially smaller with no elaborate features. We were not surprised because, with no sea days, many pax were too tired to really “whoop” it up every night.

Technically, the shows were simple, but that’s not a deal-breaker for us. The deal breaker was that everything except the lead singers’ vocals had been pre-recorded. This is quite simply not acceptable for us. (I warned you that we’re hyper critical.) If a lead singer’s timing is off by even half a beat, the whole show is off. Plus, it removes the show from “live” to “a little bit” live. IMO, it loses an entire level of excitement and isn’t true to live theater production values.

There were two production shows during our cruise. The first had a soul-rock-country theme. We only saw and heard part of the show. I thought it was fairly well put together, but nothing special. It was entertaining. The second show consisted of current broadway numbers. We did not stay for the entire show because we did not like it at all. The numbers performed almost all had the same hard, pounding tempo and were loud, repetitive, and almost frantic. It was exhausting. Besides that, we did not care for any of the four lead singers. One of the women in particular had a piercing, unpleasant voice and, for some reason, felt the need to practically shriek into the microphone. Singing loudly cannot make up for lack of vocal quality. (Yes, this is harsh, and I’m certain that many pax enjoyed the performances.) They are both suitable for children.

Other performers: I stopped by the Welcome Aboard show, but did not stay. The audience seemed to be enjoying it quite a bit. We did not see the juggler or other comedians at all. I overheard several positive comments, but can’t give any first-hand reviews.

There were performers every night in the smaller venues, including the piano bar. None of the places ever seemed full, but what I saw and heard passing by was enjoyable. There was ballroom dancing (with live bands) a few nights in the Spinnaker. Other musicians were guitarists, pianists, and flutists. IMO, some of the later performance times are not appropriate for children, partly because we saw several squirming, tired, and cranky children who had been dragged along to, for example, a 10:30 guitar performance. It's not fair to the kids, and it's not fair to the adults who want to have a nice relaxing late evening time.:( Please be mindful that just as adults aren't allowed into the kids venues, not all shows, activities, or times are appropriate for youngsters.

There were at least two musical duos who did Hawaiian/Polynesian music every day and/or evening. We really enjoyed Pau Hana, who performed at the sail away party, in the atrium, and in the Spinnaker.

Dancing/disco: The Spinnaker lounge was a focal point for evening dancing. It has a nice dance floor. There were different performers and types of music throughout the night. Some of the themed dances were “jet lag” bash, disco fever, country-western, a sock hop, and a New Year’s Eve party. I don’t know if there were any age restrictions, but IMO children should not be allowed in Spinnaker after 11 pm. Most nights, that was when a DJ took over “spinning the hits” and the atmosphere was adult oriented. (Besides that, there are countless activities for all ages and many just for kids. It's nice for the adults to have some too.) There were late-night dance and party events for teens at the Wipe Out Teen Club, but I’m not sure what the activities were for the younger kids.

Karaoke: Most evenings, there was karaoke in the Medusa lounge for a couple of hours. I like the way the lounge is set up because it’s got a good night club vibe. Be warned that the lounge is open to the starboard passageway, so anyone walking by will be able to see and hear you. However, there were a few small karaoke rooms adjoining the lounge. I’m not sure if they were for performance or just for practice, or if they had to be booked in advance, but I remember seeing them. It’s possible that they were available throughout the day and evening for small groups who wanted to do karaoke other then during the “showcase” times.

Evening “game” shows: The evening participant games were the Weakest Link and Not-so-Newlywed. I think those were the only two.

Daytime activities: Some of the various organized options were hula lessons (with a “graduate” night at the end of the cruise; it was fun to watch), lei making, trivia, dance classes (early evening), ping pong, shuffleboard, monopoly, bridge, chess, checkers, scrabble, and lectures on everything from preventing identity theft to protecting the health of coral reefs to how to treat insomnia. There were some of the usual pool-side games, such as Mr. Sexy Legs, but most were held on Sunday afternoon (because it’s the only afternoon “at sea”). The pool slide was very popular with all ages and was open every day for a couple of hours in the morning and then a few hours in the afternoon.

There were also several families-with-kids specific activities (scavenger hunt, pizza making).

The sports court was open most of the day with some organized games, but plenty of ad hoc availability.

There seemed to be health and spa lectures and seminars most days. We never attend them because it always seems to end with a sales pitch.

Other items: There were Friends of Bill W. and Friends of Dorothy meetings. Check times on your Freestyle Daily.

On Friday, a Sabbath service was held in the chapel. Because it was Hanukah, there were also candle lighting services on Saturday and Sunday. There was a shuttle to a Catholic mass on Saturday (Kauai). I don’t believe any other specific services were scheduled onboard in the chapel. I imagine that the chapel is available for those who want to come together on their own.

Final thoughts about onboard life: Many people have complained that there’s not enough to do onboard because there are not 10 things to do every single minute of the day and night. Even some who know that the ship is in port every day have mentioned this. IMO, you have to try really hard to be bored on the PoH. Besides the activities I listed (and the many I probably forgot), there is always the pool area, which is really nice. Or you can go to the spa or gym. Or you can use the internet center (for $$). Or you can go to the library and read or check out a book. Or you can just lounge in any number of locations around the ship. This is vacation, it’s a cruise with busy days in port. What’s wrong with having some relaxing down time too? I think that having time to regroup before the next port day is essential. OTOH, for those who do want to be active at night or skip part of a port day, there was always something going on somewhere.

I guess that’s about it. I think I'm going to do my happy dance on the way to bed while I remember our fun times on PoH.:D

 

 

beachchick

[emalemi]

Hello beachchick!

 

All I can say is WOW! I think this is one of the most detailed and thorough reviews I have ever read. How wonderful of you to take the time to help others here in this forum!! You helped our family so much before our sailing in November-thanks again and enjoy the happy dance!

 

P.S. on a side note...I was very interested to read about you and your husbands background with music/theater. I'm wondering if you would be willing to offer some honest advice and/or constructive criticism to help a clueless mother?

 

If you'd be willing, I would be very grateful. If so,drop me an note at:

 

emalemi@comcast.net

[hotspur]

Very, very well done, beachchick. All negative comments carefully explained in detail, so as to be useful to the reader. Pros and cons clearly laid out. Wonderfully valuable for anyone scheduled for or planning an NCLA cruise. Thanks for all your effort.

 

I was especially taken with your comments about the attitude of the crew toward passengers. I've always like to think of the crew as "professionals" doing their job for me just as I did mine professionally--I hope--for my "customers" when I was working. Just as I felt no need to kowtow to them, I see no reason for crew to kowtow to me. I suspect the attitude passengers take toward crew--especially on NCLA--is a very important factor in how they will be treated by the crew in return.

 

You handled the Cagney's incident very well, and I'm glad the evening turned out so nicely for you as a result.

[legalcruiser]

Hi Beachchick -- glad you enjoyed your cruise. Are you going to finish the suite/courtyard section?

[mitsguy2001]

Hi, BeachChick. Did you have any answer to the questions I asked in another thread about the theme nights, and what events are at the nightclub, such as, if there is an 80s night? And, do you have an answer to my thread about the layout of the ship? Thanks :)

[debinnh]

Beachchick:

 

Thankyou Thankyou Thankyou!

 

We are on the POH (a lowly OV cabin,not a suite) the first week of April and your review has me so excited! You gave just enough detail about everything. Sounds like the 4th time was definately the charm for you.

[beachchick]

Sorry. I've been distracted for the past few days.

 

Hi Beachchick -- glad you enjoyed your cruise. Are you going to finish the suite/courtyard section?

 

You betcha! No way I'd skip reliving that. I thought I'd do the ports, then suite perks for AE and above, and end with the courtyard, villas, and courtyard suite perks.

 

Hi, BeachChick. Did you have any answer to the questions I asked in another thread about the theme nights, and what events are at the nightclub, such as, if there is an 80s night? And, do you have an answer to my thread about the layout of the ship? Thanks :)

 

I'm sorry, but I must have missed your questions somehow. I'll give you a run down of the theme nights tomorrow. Yes, there was an 80s night. Let me see if I can find your other threads tomorrow, and I'll try to get you some feedback.

 

Beachchick:

 

Thankyou Thankyou Thankyou!

 

We are on the POH (a lowly OV cabin,not a suite) the first week of April and your review has me so excited! You gave just enough detail about everything. Sounds like the 4th time was definately the charm for you.

 

I'm glad you're excited. I think you'll have a blast. And, you know what, we don't consider an OV lowly in the least. I do admit that we're balcony cabin addicts and won't cruise without one anymore. OTOH, we spend a fair amount of time in our cabin resting, so having the balcony is a huge deal for us. If you are lucky enough to get "the call" for an upsell to a balcony and if you can at all justify the cost (assuming the offer is reasonable), go for it. Some say that balconies aren't "needed" on this cruise because you're in port all day, except Sunday. I disagree. It's really nice to sit on the balcony in the evening.

 

The 4th time was a charm and a half. (Never had a suite before, not even a mini, so what a treat. We really lucked out with that upsell offer.)

 

I'll try to post my port review tomorrow.:D

 

beachchick

[beachchick]

Very, very well done, beachchick. All negative comments carefully explained in detail, so as to be useful to the reader. Pros and cons clearly laid out. Wonderfully valuable for anyone scheduled for or planning an NCLA cruise. Thanks for all your effort.

 

I was especially taken with your comments about the attitude of the crew toward passengers. I've always like to think of the crew as "professionals" doing their job for me just as I did mine professionally--I hope--for my "customers" when I was working. Just as I felt no need to kowtow to them, I see no reason for crew to kowtow to me. I suspect the attitude passengers take toward crew--especially on NCLA--is a very important factor in how they will be treated by the crew in return.

 

You handled the Cagney's incident very well, and I'm glad the evening turned out so nicely for you as a result.

 

Mahalo so much for your nice compliments. I want to be thorough and fair.

 

I agree that pax attitude affects how the crew reacts. We were so pleased to find that the crew members were professional and friendly. I think it helps to go in expecting the best, rather than assuming the US crew won't be as "good" as others.

 

beachchick

[mitsguy2001]

I'm sorry, but I must have missed your questions somehow. I'll give you a run down of the theme nights tomorrow.

 

Thanks. I'll try to bump the threads in question up so that you can find them more easily. Although, since you usually post at night, they might be several pages down by the time you're online. If you can't find them, then let me know, and I can re-post them. Thanks.

 

Yes, there was an 80s night. Let me see if I can find your other threads tomorrow, and I'll try to get you some feedback.

 

I have seen on some old dailies that there is a "ladies 80s night". Does that mean it's open only to women? Or does it mean open to all, but ladies drink free (like ladies night at a bar on land)? I hope the latter, since I'd hate to be sitting in my stateroom staring at walls while my girlfriend has fun.

[voyagerfl]

Great.....Thanks This helps a lot. We are thinking about doing it in March along with a trip to San Francisco....there are some great prices then..

 

How about the Ports...??? Need lots of info there ?? :)

[beachchick]

Thanks. I'll try to bump the threads in question up so that you can find them more easily. Although, since you usually post at night, they might be several pages down by the time you're online. If you can't find them, then let me know, and I can re-post them. Thanks.

 

 

 

I have seen on some old dailies that there is a "ladies 80s night". Does that mean it's open only to women? Or does it mean open to all, but ladies drink free (like ladies night at a bar on land)? I hope the latter, since I'd hate to be sitting in my stateroom staring at walls while my girlfriend has fun.

 

We didn't go to the Ladies 80s Night dance, so I can only guess. The daily doesn't specify, but I can't imagine that it would be ladies only. I want to dance with my DH, not the girls. I'm certain that it's for women and men. Free drinks? Bwa-haa-haa...Surely you jest. I seriously, seriously, seriously doubt it. The description in the daily made it more like they expect the ladies to want to do the "dress the part" thing. Why they call it Ladies is beyond me--except that it rhymes with "80s."

 

We had a bit of a day here (and I was having a bad health day on top of it), and I didn't get online until really late. (No kidding, huh? As if you can't read the time on my post.) Tomorrow should be a bit calmer, and I will do my absolute best to post the ports and answer your questions on the other threads.

 

voyagerfl: March is a great time to go. You'll see whales and (usually) have less chance of hitting a winter storm. (No matter when you go, it will rain; that's a given. But it tends to rain more December through March.) Last time we were there in a March, there were whales in abundance and we had great weather: Nice and warm; mild tradewinds; a little rain here and there--just perfect.

 

beachchick