Age: 38
Occupation: Budget Analyst
Number of Cruises: 2
Cruise Line: NCL
Ship: Pride of Aloha
Sailing Date: January 16th, 2005
Itinerary: Hawaiian Islands

Let me start off by saying the crew and staff were outstanding. Friendly, courteous and always willing to help and doing there absolute best to take care of the passengers. The room was always clean, and though a little smaller than my last cruise, more than sufficient. The two main dining rooms have the exact same menu, would have like some variety there, but the food was good and the staff always pleasant. The buffet had a different theme every night and the seafood buffet was outstanding. The one thing I would caution anyone considering this cruise about is the rough waters. I'm not sure if this had anything to do with the time of year, as it is their winter, but I have been on cruise ships where you wouldn't have known you were on a ship unless you looked out the window, not so with this trip.

There was never a time (except when docked at a pier) that you weren't "rocking". Leaving Honolulu, you definately knew you were on a ship, but as I don't generally suffer with motion sickness, I didn't think it was terrible (though I did hear others commenting on it and I know some went to bed early not feeling well). By the time we left port on Kauai and reached the Na Pali coast, half the water was "sloshed" out of the pool and from talking to the staff, they said ours was one of their better crossings. We actually stayed up on deck by the basketball court during this time. I think we fared better, being outside towards the middle of the ship, than those who opted to stay below. It appeared common knowledge among the staff that Tuesday (leaving Kauai) and Wednesday (leaving Hilo to get to Kona) were very rough.

Fortunately we found this out Monday and a member of our party (who suffers with extreme motion sickness and lives on Dramamine during calm seas) was able to contact a doctor at home and have something stronger called into the Wal-Mart on Kauai. The process of being tendered in at Kona was slow in the beginning, but once they got all the tenders going, it went pretty quickly. Again though, not a smooth ride. Our last night (leaving Maui on Saturday evening) was also rough. We had a cocktail party scheduled in the Outrigger lounge (which is at the front of the ship) and it's my understanding about half the people (out of 200) left due to motion sickness (myself being one of them so I can't confirm that).

Overall, we were very pleased with the staff and crew of the Pride of Aloha and happy with the ship itself and the food. We saw some absolutely beautiful places on the islands, the Hawaiian people were wonderful, and it definately gave us the chance to decide which ones we might like to visit at greater length in the future.
 

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