Norwegian Cruise Lines America
Pride of Aloha Cruise Review
Hawaii

Donna Haley
Age: 47
Occupation: Homemaker
Number of Cruises: 2
Sailing Date: June 18th, 2006

Where do I start...My husband's aunt planned this trip as a family reunion for 18 people, and because we were surrounded by family, the cruise was a success. The ship on the other hand was a very disappointing. Before cruising I had read several reviews about this ship and was very apprehensive. Everything that I read was very accurate about the service and food situation. Because of the advance warnings about free style eating, my husband and I booked the specialty restaurants the first night for three dinners. The specialty restaurants required an additional charge (minimal) and the food and service were both excellent. We did eat breakfast every morning at the aft breakfast area, and if you were up by 7:00am, the wait wasn't that bad.

Throughout the day, it wasn't unusual to see crew members working on the ship, doing things that should of been taken care of when passengers weren't around. Very dangerous.

The saving grace for our cruise was taking the advice of a previous cruise review that disclosed a private tour that a couple took on Kauai, with a wonderful man named Eduardo. (www.Tresbros.com) I contacted Eduardo through the internet and set up a tour in the first port. He was very reasonable and he shared with us a beautiful piece of this island. After that experience we did this at two other islands and we were pleased at every port. The way that you find these tours is simple, just walk off the ship and they are usually standing near by with signs explaining their tour. For a fraction of the ships price, you share the day with your guide and perhaps a few other people from the ship.  When your tour is done, you feel as if you take a part of the island with you in your heart. On the island of Hawaii we were guided by Frank (808-935-7935). We were two out of 6 people that he shared the island with. We enjoyed our day with two couples from Canada. Some of the highlights were rainbow falls, macadamia nut factory and walking out on the lava fields which was breath taking. And on Maui we were truly blessed to share the day with 4 people from Georgia and our guide, Richard. Richard calls himself the Hawaiian without a neck. He was standing outside the gate with his flute and sign. We toured the entire northern part of Maui, and he sites were incredible. He dropped us off in Lahaina for two hours for lunch, giving us time to explore on our own, and then continued on our 85 mile tour around the entire northern part of the island. If you would like to contact any of our guides they said it was ok to put their information on this review. Please pass this information onto anyone that you know will be visiting these islands. These guides depend on the tourists and they are so polite and knowledgeable about their homes and love to share the information. All and all visiting the islands was unforgettable, the ship not so much. Aloha!

 

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