Norwegian Cruise Lines America
Pride of Aloha Cruise Review
Hawaii

Donna L.

Our cruise on Pride of Aloha was an absolute steal.  If you want to think of it as a floating hotel and free food – then this cruise is for you.  If you want to be pampered as you are on other cruise lines, then this cruise is not for you.

I have a few tips for you before you cruise on the Pride of Aloha.  (1) Bring Zip-lock bags and a collapsible ice chest to put sandwiches and fruit for the beach; Every morning go to the Hukilau for breakfast.  There will be sandwich fixings for you to make croissant sandwiches for lunch on the beach; ask your cabin steward for ice in the morning.  (2) Make arrangements for a rental car for each island before you leave home.  The rental places will upgrade your car for free.  The prices will be double if you take the shuttle to the rental car place (3) Be prepared to purchase a soda card for $52.50 per person.  Unless you want to pay for it, there is not a drop of soda on the ship.  (4) Be prepared to pay $24.99 for an 8 x 10” photo.  5 X 7” photos are $14.99.  If you purchase four 8 x 10” photos, you get one 5 x7” photo of each 8 x 10 photo - free – not a bad deal; (5) tip your waiters, bartenders, room steward in cash – you will get much better service and they don’t have to divide it by 12 other staff members; (6) bring a power strip – there is only one outlet in an inside stateroom.  You’ll need to recharge your cell phone, camera, GPS and plug in the nightlight; (7) It is freestyle cruising but you do have to bring clothing other than jeans, shorts, t-shirts, bermudas for dining.  You may eat any time you want, but you have to dress accordingly.  No flip flops in the dining room; (8) Do not expect first class entertainment on the ship.  There was also no dancing to be found on the ship in the evening…. Or not the kind of music I want to dance to.  Remember that you never spend more than an afternoon at sea – so do not rely on the entertainment to entertain you; There is no casino or bingo. (9) do not bring beach towels on this cruise.  They can be checked out as you leave the ship each day. (10) don’t expect Hawaiian food on this cruise.  When I arrived home, I went to L&L for some Hawaiian food! (11) Bring earplugs – unless you want to hear your neighbor open and close their doors every evening.

There were 4 of us on this cruise.  Fortunately, we had two rooms.  I thought the rooms were a good size for two people.  Unfortunately, every time I lifted the toilet seat up, it smelled like urine.  In fact, I had to call Housekeeping twice because our toilets did not flush…… oh dear!

The windows throughout the entire ship needed to be cleaned inside and out.  The Kahili dining room needed to be dusted and cleaned.  The pool area needed to be cleaned of debris.  My lamb chops was overdone at the Kahili but my sea bass was excellent at the Pacific Heights.

Keep remembering that you purchased this cruise so that you can enjoy the islands – which is what we did.