Pride of Hawaii

[tofuyan]

I'm thinking of booking the Pride of Hawaii for December but after reading some of the reviews online, it sounds as if a lot of people have complaints about the food(non-specialty restaurant) and service. Can someone here in cruise critic give me some advices on whether this trip is worth booking? :confused: I was thinking of booking on deck 6. Do you know whether it would be noisy on that deck since the nightclub and lounge is right above it?

[karen2cruz]

If you go to the reviews section of this board and check the member reviews you will see more high 4's than 1-3 scores. Food is very subjectice and most of the complaints were for the reservation system not necessarily the food quality. Frankly, NCL isnt known for being the greatest cruiseline for food, more along being average. The specialty restaurants will be better, overall. I've been on several other lines and could find mediocre to great food on all of them- luck of the selecton, I guess.

 

As far as the sound from the nightclub, yes, you will probably hear some noise if you are directly below the stage/band area of the nightclub. If you are a nightowl, no problem. If you are an early-to-bed person either take earplugs or upgrade a category. Frankly, if you are like most cruisers seeing Hawaii on this itinerary, you will be so exhausted at the end of the day full of sightseeing, you will collapse in bed and sleep soundly.

 

Happy cruising.

[emma2u]

Hi,

I just got off POH yesterday! Yes, the food in the Grand Pacific ( main non pay restaraunt) was horrible. The service was also very bad. Very long waits between courses, no coffee offered after dinner. One of our party did not even get his meal. This was at dinner. The breakfast there was fine, and the staff friendly. The pay restaraunts were pretty good. Cagneys had a good steak and Panilios excelent service.

On the whole this did not feel like a cruise to me. It was like staying in an inferior hotel between destinations. Except for Sunday afternoon there were no "sea days" and I missed that.

Happy to answer any questions.

Linda

[hazeleyez3]

If you take a look at the Hawaii board there have been some recent reviews on the POH - including ship and itinerary. These may help you a bit.

[karen2cruz]

Here's a reveiw from the 7/9/07 sailing that was very detailed:

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=592402&highlight=pride+hawaii

[hcs81m]

I would take this cruise again in a heartbeat. Not necessarily for the ship, but for the itinerary.

[jetset4ever]

We just returned from the Pride of Hawaii. We have taken sever cruises on various lines. This was our first time on NCL... I will say the line to complain was huge the last two days. The service we received was not worth the $30 a day they charge ( 3 people in our cabin $10.00 a person per day). We talkd to a steward who said they are very short handed and do not have time to provide several services because of this. No cute towel animals, turn down service, floor never mopped in bathroom, carpet never swept.

The cabins are extremely small. You can barely sit down on the toilet without hitting your knees on the wall in front of you. (we are average size not large). I would not recommend more than 2 people in a cabin.

The buffet was your average cafeteria food. They were quick to clear tables but nothing else to brag about.

You cannot book a reservation in the regular dining room unless you are a party of 8 or more. You can book the specialty places. We had a great meal at the Italian place and Japanese where they cook the food in front of you.

e booked excursions on our own and saved lots of money. (a tip from this cruise board...thanks) You can book tours directly with Roberts and it's the same exact tour for half the cost in some cases.

overall it was a great way to see all the Islands but we were disappointed with the service we received. At first we thought we were being picky since we have cruised on several lines but we talked to many people who have also cruised several times and they also had many complaints.

Aloha,

[CC Help Michell]

Karen2cruz, mahalo for the link to my review. :) To the OP, if you want to "take a cruise" which happens to visit Hawaii, and you aren't so into the ports of call, you probably will be disappointed with any NCLA ship, even POH which is the newest and shiniest of the three. However, if you are "taking a vacation to Hawaii," which happens to involve a cruise ship that spares you wasting half a day over and over flying from one island to another, you likely will be well satisfied.

 

Do NOT take a NCLA cruise if you expect gourmet dining room service and food quality. Do NOT take a NCLA cruise if not having a towel animal on your bed will ruin your day. Do NOT take a NCLA cruise if meeting a staff member who doesn't bow and scrape subserviently would indicate that you are on an "inferior" line.

 

DO take an NCLA cruise if a (reasonably) clean cabin on a (reasonably) clean ship on a (phenomenally terrific) itinerary is exactly what you want. DO take an NCLA cruise if food isn't the "be all and end all" of your vacation experience. DO take an NCLA Hawaii cruise if you have compared prices and realized that you can't do all you can off of one of their ships (at 1.5 - 2 times the price) any other way.

 

I really do think it all comes down to who you are and what you want for your vacation dollar, with NO judgment implied or intended. We wanted to see as much of Hawaii as we could, with limited time and limited budget, in case we never get back, and to give us ideas for where to go for a land vacation if we do return. I'm a savvy consumer and I DID the research, and NCLA was the clear winner based on 1) time in port; and 2) money spent. However, we both believe we are ultimately responsible for our own happiness -- with THAT mindset, our POH cruise was the vacation of a lifetime and we'd do it again tomorrow. My mother (I love her to death, but I know her well) would HATE this trip precisely because it didn't cater to her "pamper me" button. That's fine for her, and I won't be doing this trip with her.

 

Do the research, and "to thy own self be true." If the truth inside your secret self is "dammit, I'm special and I have to have a vacation surrounded by people acknowledging that," the NCLA ships probably aren't for you. That's fine -- MANY other cruiselines offer trips to Hawaii either circling from the west coast, or originating/ending in Honolulu -- I suspect one of those will do much better at filling your wants.

 

On the other hand (and I thought long and hard for this example!) -- I posit the "beer helmet" episode. We bought the "romance package" for our trip which included a bottle of champagne at debarkation. It was in our cabin (along with the chocolate-covered strawberries) when we boarded -- but the champagne was warm. We happened to have a bright yellow, plastic, ice-filled NCL beer helmet from the beer we purchased while waiting for our cabin to be ready. For us, it was a no brainer. Stick the champagne in the helmet, ask the steward to keep it iced (she did) and drink it when we wanted it (mimosas two days later on Maui). For others, the warm champagne would have been a vacation stopper. At that point, all else would have faded to insignificance and the die was cast for the outcome of the vacation. Neither one of those viewpoints is "wrong." But if you are of the camp whose vacation would be stymied by the warm champagne, and for whom a yellow, plastic beer helmet to cool champagne is heresy -- I'd say NCLA isn't for you.

 

Hope that helps! Again, mahalo to those who found my review helpful -- it's linked below along with photos and videos of Hawaii -- the reason we took this vacation and the reason it was the trip of a lifetime (so far)! :)

[Preds]

We had a great cruise on the POH this past April. I'd do it again in a heartbeat. Go in with a positive attitude and you'll find yourself having a great time.

 

The specialty restaurants were mostly very good. The main dining rooms were meh, but then, all mass produced cuisine is meh to me.

 

Hawaii is beautiful, as is the POH. I wouldn't hesitate to book a Hawaii cruise again with NCL.

[Shoequeen]

I was on the same cruise as MichellP. I'd have to agree with her 100%. We went into this cruise knowing it wasn't about the ship, but about the ports. With that mindset, we weren't expecting to be pampered for 7 days. We were pretty much expecting a floating hotel so we could see the islands and not have pack and unpack every day. I do have to admit, however, that the one thing that did bother me was that after snorkeling on Wednesday we brought quite a bit of sand into the room with us. It was on the carpet and in the shower. It never left us. We even complained to the desk telling them that we could do without quite a few things, but a clean bathroom was a must. The purser agreed and said it would be taken care of the next day. It wasn't. To me that wasn't something that could be overlooked, but did it ruin my vacation - ABSOLUTELY NOT!!

I've been to Oahu many times but never to the other islands. This vacation let me see the other islands and experience their beauty, too.

With all that said, would I do this again. IN A HEARTBEAT!! LIke MichellP said - if you're going for the ship, the food, or the service, then this isn't for you. If you're going to see and experience Hawaii - this is the way to do it.

Aloha!

[mdandrh]

Well said, MichelleP. We weren't on the POH, were on POAm, but loved every minute of the experience. Our regret was that we didn't have more time on board. An immaculate ship, friendly staff, a great variety of dining, drinking and entertainment possibilities.... my word, who cares about towel animals!

 

Karen2cruz, mahalo for the link to my review. :) To the OP, if you want to "take a cruise" which happens to visit Hawaii, and you aren't so into the ports of call, you probably will be disappointed with any NCLA ship, even POH which is the newest and shiniest of the three. However, if you are "taking a vacation to Hawaii," which happens to involve a cruise ship that spares you wasting half a day over and over flying from one island to another, you likely will be well satisfied.

 

Do NOT take a NCLA cruise if you expect gourmet dining room service and food quality. Do NOT take a NCLA cruise if not having a towel animal on your bed will ruin your day. Do NOT take a NCLA cruise if meeting a staff member who doesn't bow and scrape subserviently would indicate that you are on an "inferior" line.

 

DO take an NCLA cruise if a (reasonably) clean cabin on a (reasonably) clean ship on a (phenomenally terrific) itinerary is exactly what you want. DO take an NCLA cruise if food isn't the "be all and end all" of your vacation experience. DO take an NCLA Hawaii cruise if you have compared prices and realized that you can't do all you can off of one of their ships (at 1.5 - 2 times the price) any other way.

 

I really do think it all comes down to who you are and what you want for your vacation dollar, with NO judgment implied or intended. We wanted to see as much of Hawaii as we could, with limited time and limited budget, in case we never get back, and to give us ideas for where to go for a land vacation if we do return. I'm a savvy consumer and I DID the research, and NCLA was the clear winner based on 1) time in port; and 2) money spent. However, we both believe we are ultimately responsible for our own happiness -- with THAT mindset, our POH cruise was the vacation of a lifetime and we'd do it again tomorrow. My mother (I love her to death, but I know her well) would HATE this trip precisely because it didn't cater to her "pamper me" button. That's fine for her, and I won't be doing this trip with her.

 

Do the research, and "to thy own self be true." If the truth inside your secret self is "dammit, I'm special and I have to have a vacation surrounded by people acknowledging that," the NCLA ships probably aren't for you. That's fine -- MANY other cruiselines offer trips to Hawaii either circling from the west coast, or originating/ending in Honolulu -- I suspect one of those will do much better at filling your wants.

 

On the other hand (and I thought long and hard for this example!) -- I posit the "beer helmet" episode. We bought the "romance package" for our trip which included a bottle of champagne at debarkation. It was in our cabin (along with the chocolate-covered strawberries) when we boarded -- but the champagne was warm. We happened to have a bright yellow, plastic, ice-filled NCL beer helmet from the beer we purchased while waiting for our cabin to be ready. For us, it was a no brainer. Stick the champagne in the helmet, ask the steward to keep it iced (she did) and drink it when we wanted it (mimosas two days later on Maui). For others, the warm champagne would have been a vacation stopper. At that point, all else would have faded to insignificance and the die was cast for the outcome of the vacation. Neither one of those viewpoints is "wrong." But if you are of the camp whose vacation would be stymied by the warm champagne, and for whom a yellow, plastic beer helmet to cool champagne is heresy -- I'd say NCLA isn't for you.

 

Hope that helps! Again, mahalo to those who found my review helpful -- it's linked below along with photos and videos of Hawaii -- the reason we took this vacation and the reason it was the trip of a lifetime (so far)! :)

[saknight]

I was on the July 16 sailing of POH and I had a terrific time. After reading reviews I thought it would be a floating hotel and that I would just use it as a place to sleep and eat, but to my delight, it turned out to be one of the better cruise experiences that I have had. I did have an issue with my room (4105 which was all the way forward next to crew area) with extremely loud noises waking us up all through the night, but was able to change rooms after the first night. Brett from Oklahoma working at reception was extremely respectful and helpful and was able to move us up to 9659! Overall, I found that all the workers I encountered went out of their way to be helpful and friendly. In fact, it was one of the most friendly cruises I have taken. Our room was made up each day, some in our group got towel animals and some did not, I didn't. But I don't require towel animals to have a great cruise. The bathrooms have a different layout, it creates one of the best showers on a ship out there but because of that it makes for an interesting layout for the toilet.

 

The food was not the worse food I have had on a cruise (I have been on 10 with RCCL, NCL, Carnival, and Princess) it was more or less like the others. I was able to find something each night that I enjoyed. The worst service for the group I was with was our last night at Cagney's. All the other dinning rooms we experienced we had great service.

 

One quick note on Freestyle dinning. Freestyle is not for everybody. I have found both with NCL and Princess (Personal Choice) that if you make reservations the day before then you are able to better plan your day and walk right in. If you don't make reservations then I can see how it would be aggrevating having to wait. I have always been able to make reservations for a party of 2 to a party of 12. Some nights I would make them early and some nights I would make them late. I would always make a reservation. Freestyle does not necessarily mean walking into any dinning room at any time you want, but it can mean (through planning and reservations) that you can dine when you want and be able to dine at different times and different places throughout your cruise.

 

Another tip is to arrive at least a day or two before the cruise begins. This will help your body adjust and get over the jet lag. I can not imagine being able to fully enjoy the start of the cruise jet lagged. It is well worth your investment to arrive early.

 

In conclusion, I absolutely think that if you want the best overview of Hawaii then you will not regret experiencing Hawaii and spending your hard earned money through the Island and Cruise experince of the Pride of Hawaii.

 

Aloha!

[jetset4ever]

I guess my reveiw was just stating if you're expecting a cruise with all the nice extras you get we did not find this on Pride of Hawaii.

It is a great way to experience all the islands we were not in our room much except to sit on our balcony and enjoy the view. You are right, if you expect the pampering you will not find it here. I just wanted a clean bathroom that you can turn around in and some decent food. We felt that this cruise lacked both.

It was disappointing to hear the staff complain about various things too. There were several unhappy people I tried to brighten their day with little notes to the steward and a positive comment. they are obviously overworked to make up for the short staffed areas. We talked with several of the dancers/waiters on the beach one day by chance and they said it is very understaffed and the employees are unhappy. They comments workers were even faking illness/injuries to get out of their 5 month contracts.

Things we did enjoy were the dancers/singers at the shows. boy are they talented! We enjoyed being able to find some chairs to sunbathe even when everyone was on board.

We found breakfast to be better at the buffet on deck 12 and a lot faster. The dining room was way too slow with service.

Even with reservations in the specialty restaurants we waited over an hour to be seated and get our food. Kind of hard on the late reservations. Be sure to stop by the reservation desk at 700am to book dinner reservations. They only book them for the next day. There were a lot of passengers complaining about this.

[beachchick]

Here's a link to my (very long) review of our PoH cruise last December. Hope it helps.

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=476505&highlight=%22pride+hawaii%22

 

beachchick

[tofuyan]

You can book tours directly with Roberts and it's the same exact tour for half the cost in some cases.

,

 

Who is Roberts? Is it a company?

[tofuyan]

Thanks for the reviews! It was very informative. I guess I just have to have to think positive when I get onto the ship. I'm just wondering what kind of excursions/tours I can do with a 9 month old. Does anyone have any suggestions?

[hawaiideb]

My mother (I love her to death, but I know her well) would HATE this trip precisely because it didn't cater to her "pamper me" button. That's fine for her, and I won't be doing this trip with her.

 

MichellP--I liked what you said and I hope for your sake that your Mother doesn't read Cruise Critic. The quoted sentenced made my evening!

 

Tim

[hawaiideb]

Who is Roberts? Is it a company?

 

Aloha tofuyan,

 

Roberts Hawaii is a large bus/tour operator here in the islands. Their website is http://www.robertshawaii.com/.

 

Tim