Pride of Aloha hints?

[pinkpearl]

We are travelling on the 11 day cruise around the Hawaiian Islands March 2008. What kinds of hints or tips can you give me on the Pride of Aloha? I would like to compile a list of the things to remember. We have never cruised on NCL before - so any help would be helpful.

 

Thanks pinkpearl

[hawaiideb]

Also interested in any tips. The only one I have read is that the main buffet layout is very poor, with major congestion at the salad/dessert/drink area. I read that we should head to the aft buffet area where the lines are a lot shorter.

 

Debbie

 

P.S. Are there any laundry rooms? We want to pack light and be able to do laundry halfway through. We have always done this on our longer cruises, makes it a lot easier for us!

[electricron]

P.S. Are there any laundry rooms? We want to pack light and be able to do laundry halfway through. We have always done this on our longer cruises, makes it a lot easier for us!

 

I'm sorry to reply that the Pride of Aloha doesn't have self service laundries. But it does have a ship's laundry with valet services. Here's a NCL Laundry Valet order form:

 

 

P.S. Midway through your cruise, the Laundry will have a $20 fill a laundry bag special. Read your Freestyle Daily each day to find out when.

[hawaiideb]

Mahalo electricron...that's not what we wanted to hear...but now we know.

 

Tim

[ChefPeg]

We are travelling on the 11 day cruise around the Hawaiian Islands March 2008. What kinds of hints or tips can you give me on the Pride of Aloha? I would like to compile a list of the things to remember. We have never cruised on NCL before - so any help would be helpful.

 

Thanks pinkpearl

 

Good thread!

 

We are sailing the 11 nighter on POAL in January. I'd like to know all about the ship too.

 

Any info or ideas or suggestions will be greatly appreciated.

[kapoho2]

I really do not believe that the buffet is that bad on the Pride of Aloha. On the first day of any cruise (or the first breakfast, etc.) there is always some congestion in the buffet area during the initial feeding frenzy. Folks are just learning where their favorite foods are located, and learning the basic layout of the buffet. No one is sure where the lines should begin. If you watch on any ship, the buffet area calms down and moves much more smoothly as the days go on. We thought the buffet area on the POA was quite nice we used it for breakfast every day and a couple of lunches.

[mbisson]

That brings up something that I'm not sure of with NCLA

 

On the NCL ships we look forward to finding one of the main dining rooms open for lunch upon embarkation. Do the Pride ships do this also?

[pinkpearl]

Can anyone tell me about the specialty dining rooms? What are the charges, which ones are the best and which ones should we avoid? Any information would be helpful.

 

Thanks pinkpearl

[detroitwingsfan]

If you have never sailed NCL, then you should really enjoy this cruise. The itinerary is great. I was extremely disappointed with the service of the NCL AMERICA staff. I love NCL, but the staff on this ship is all American kids and their attitudes are crappy.

[Cruising Is The Life]

My husband and I went on the Pride of Aloha last year and had a great time. The crew was great and very accommodating, as was our cabin stewards. We never had a problem at the buffet either, but I agree that the first day was a bit confusing for some. I have read a lot of negative reviews about the Pride of Aloha, but it was perfect for us. It's easy to get confused on which way is the front and which is the back of the ship, so remember that the fish on the carpet always swim forward towards the front (by the way, that's a contest question they may ask you on the ship). The entertainment is phenomenal, don't miss any of the evening shows in the Blue Hawaii Bar.

[ranjan83]

My husband and I are sailing on POA 2/2/08, to celebrate our 25th anniversary. We are long time cruisers, but this will be our first experience on NCL. We are not expecting this cruise to be like the usual cruises, but are looking forward to seeing the beauty of Hawaii!! I have read a lot of comments about the air conditioning and plumbing problems in some of the cabins. I think this would be the only real concern I have, the rest I could deal with. Has anyone had any experience with this? Thanks for your help!

[electricron]

Can anyone tell me about the specialty dining rooms? What are the charges, which ones are the best and which ones should we avoid? Any information would be helpful. Thanks pinkpearl

 

Here's a list of all the restaurants aboard the Pride of Aloha.

 

Palace Main Restaurant (Main Dining Room)

Cuisine: Continental

Surcharge: No

Reservations Required: No

 

Crossings Main Restaurant (Main Dining Room)

Cuisine: Continental

Surcharge: No

Reservations Required: No

 

Royal Palm Bistro

Cuisine: French

Surcharge: Yes, $15 plus tax per person

Reservations Required: Yes

 

Kahili Restaurant

Cuisine: Italian

Surcharge: Yes, $15 plus tax per person

Reservations Required: Yes

 

Pacific Heights Restaurant

Cuisine: Hawaiian/Asian/Cooking Light

Surcharge: Yes, $12.50 plus tax per person

Reservations Required: Yes

 

Hukilau Cafe

Cuisine: Assorted Buffet, Food Stations, Snacks & Grill

Surcharge: No

Reservations Required: No

 

All the restaurant choices are great, although there are fewer choices than on NCLA's other ships. But, the Pacfic Heights many Cooking Light menu choices, and Kahili's Italian menu choices can only be found on the Aloha and her sister Norwegian Sun. Because these menus are not widespread on NCL ships, I would try hard to dine at them first. You'll find a Le Bistro on every NCL ship, and the food slections are always great.

[Jeepers385]

Thank you Electricon, this is the info I was looking for.

[Cruising Is The Life]

Rajan83 - We did not have any air conditioning problems but the toilets did get clogged once for about 4 hours. Apparently if one clogs, a whole row that are connected together will clog. We would have to go across to one of the public restrooms on the other side of the ship during that time. There are plenty of them, but some are hard to find and not marked. I actually just found a door once and oppened it to a restroom. It must not of bothered me much because I forget about it until I read your question!

[pinkpearl]

Thanks for all the help! If you have any other advice regarding omlette bars, waffle bars, sushi etc. would also be appreciated. This will be our first NCL cruise.

 

Thanks again pinkpearl :o

[pinkpearl]

My mother-in-law is travelling on the 11 day Pride of Aloha Hawaii Cruise in Nov. (there are about 40 people from our area on this cruise). I will have to pick her brain when she gets back. Maybe she will have some tips for all of us when she returns.

 

Does anyone have any more tips at this time?

Thanke pinkpearl:o

[TOURMAN1]

My mother-in-law is travelling on the 11 day Pride of Aloha Hawaii Cruise in Nov. (there are about 40 people from our area on this cruise). I will have to pick her brain when she gets back. Maybe she will have some tips for all of us when she returns.

 

Does anyone have any more tips at this time?

Thanke pinkpearl:o

PinkPearl,

 

Any idea when your mother-in-law is traveling on the "Aloha" in November? Just curious, 'cause my DW and I will be on the Nov. 21 departure.

Thanks,

Tourman

[pinkpearl]

We are leaving March for an 11 day Hawaiian Cruise. I have never been to Hawaii and want to experience all the best that Hawaii has to offer. Can you give me some advice on things to do and what not to miss

I am looking forward to this trip (Pride of Aloha)

[nadeki]

We did the 11 day Pride of Aloha in October. Are you going to Fanning Island? This is a tender and we sat in the theater for three hours so either be on the first boat off by buying this excursion or go down at noon.

 

They never offered the $20 laundry special.

 

The sports bar off the back of the ship had great fish and chips and buffalo wings. We also loved bringing our breakfast in there in the mornings.

 

We lived on the aft part of the ship ( the outdoor buffet.) There was less variety but a much shorter line for buffet.

 

Latitudes members got 10% off in the giftshop.

 

 

The first night at the buffet just after the muster drill was awful, everyone was in a terrible mood. Do whatever you can to avoid this area!!!!!

 

We had a great trip.

[catlady461]

We did a cruise on Pride of Aloha in Sept. 2007. We ate at Palm Bistro once Pacific Heights once and Kahili 4 times. We enjoyed Palm Bistro & Pacific Heights but not overly impressed. As you can see we really enjoyed Kahili and Graydon & Jackie(our servers)were fantastic. They made the dinner more enjoyable every night we were there. If they are still there when you sail definitely ask for them.

[pinkpearl]

Thnaks for the info.

We are not going to Fanning Island --I have heard that the cruise down and back the water can be quite rough. We just sail around the islands and stay overnight in some ports.

Any more suggestions -- these are always welcome!:)

[RLJPHX]

Did the Christmas/New Year cruise on the POA. Here are some of my eating tips.

 

At lunch time the Pacific Heights restaurant is set up as a pizza/sandwich/salad outlet with hard ice cream as well. This was a great place for lunch any day and especially on the day we boarded. Note: this outlet was built to be a pizza restaurant, complete with pizza ovens. A very small sign above the door placed when the ship was built says "pizza restaurant."

 

The aft deck buffet is definitely less crowded than the inside buffet. It also has a waffle station and omelet station at breakfast. Cooked to order eggs available inside or outside. At dinner, the insige buffet does a carving station which is good. Prime Rib the one night I ate there. Saw roast pig another night when just walking through. About eight little pig heads lined up by the end of evening - my kids were grossed out.

 

When using the inside buffet, be aware there are two lines. One starts right after the door leading from the pool deck. It is usually longer than the line that begins at the rear of the inside buffet area. However, not quite identical food, so choose carefully - Only one carving station for instance.

 

Longboards is a great place with beer, wings, and fish and chips. Also, a lot of people bring food from the outside buffet into Longboards to eat.

 

Just outside the Pacific Heights on the pool deck they set up Pele's Pizzeria every night. Nothing special - six or eight tables with checkered table cloths. Not used much on our cruise due to cold and rainy weather. Could be a good choice on warmer cruises.

 

We ate at every specialty restaurant. Kahili was hands down the best. Excellent food, excellent service, best ambiance.

 

Pacific Heights was good, but not great. We had a big group that ate several different entrées. A couple were not very good. On the plus side, they offered and delivered replacement entrées quickly.

 

The NCL signature Royal Palm Bistro was a distant third in quality and service. The steaks were excellent, obviously very high quality meat. The rest of the meal was below average. The shrimp appetizer was like something you would get a a cheap hotel catered dinner and the french onion soup was almost inedible. Service only good and they were out of escargots!

[Basman]

All your charges while on the ship will be on a card that you use to open your cabin and check on and off the ship with. You can go to the credit desk and they can print out a summary of your charges. Early in the morning before you dock they should deliver your final bill to your room, it is that one that you need to check. There tend to be bogus mini-bar charges on them, mine had $188 worth of them. There were a lot of people the last morning getting them resolved. If that happens to you, plan on your cruise lasting an additional hour or two. If you plan on a tour after your cruise, you could be in a situation between taking your tour or resolving your bogus charges. Some people in line were faced with this.

 

My suggestion is to secure your sea-pass card with a credit card in case there is a problem, at least you can dispute it with them and have some protection.

 

I would also opt for renting a car in each port rather than taking any of the NCLA excursions. Make reservations before going and it will save you $20-$30 dollars / day. Research the Hawaii boards to see what you want to do.

 

We were on this cruise so enjoy one of these last 11 day cruises. Hope you find NCLA a pleasant experience, and remember there are better cruise lines out there.

[luv2bnsun]

Is there a surcharge to eat at the Longboard or the little pizza restaurant set up on the deck?

[lel5344]

Don't expect miracles aboard the ship. There are some signs of wear (carpeting frayed, creaking stairs), stateroom and wait staff service may not be what you've experienced before (the crew was extremely friendly, but not always efficient).

 

But Hawai'i is the reason for this cruise. Our top of the list highlights included The Road to Hana (Maui), Waimea Canyon (Kauai) and the ship cruising the Napali Coast (Kauai). But every day in port was an incredible treat, and if you're looking to get a flavor of Hawai'i, this is the way to go. We did only one shore excursion (Pearl Harbor and the City of Honolulu when we debarked - great way to get you and your luggage to the airport). We walked around Lahaina and Kona, rented our own car for other ports and did our own self-guided tours. Car rentals are cheap in Hawai'i.

 

BTW, I have some personal issues with NCL, none of which relate to this cruise. So if you have seen any postings I have made that are negative re: NCL, they have been with respect to customer service issues from the home office and NOT with respect to actual cruises.