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NCL Cruise Line
Norwegian Pride of America Cruise Line
Hawaii

Donna
Age: 48
Occupation: self employed
Number of Cruises: 5
Sailing Date: December 31st, 2005

First of all Hawaii is GREAT.

Pre hotel stay: Radisson Good hotel - walk to beach and shops. Nice restaurant for breakfast and lunch at hotel. Happy hour specials at bar. Try Mango drink.

Going 2 days before sailing was a GREAT thing to do. I would highly suggest doing that.

We had a group of 14 on this trip. Ages ranging from 24 to 50's

Most of us have sailed on several other cruises before so we knew what cruising was all about.

Embark: Went well and lines not too bad. Took about 20 - 30 minutes in all.

Ship: Very nice since it is new. But think that with the lack of maintenance ship will look very worn in a short time.

Cabin: Not too bad. A little smaller than others we have had but ok for 2 people. 26 inch suitcase fits under bed. Closet and drawers were enough for unpacking with room to spare and we packed heavy. There are two outlets in room. A hairdryer. They do not allow irons. No top sheet on bed unless you ask for one. I did as I did not wish to sleep with a comforter than everyone before me had slept under.

Bathroom small but is ok for what you need. There is storage behind mirror and under sink. Shower is small but again served it's purpose.

I would rate the cabin overall as good.

Had an obstructed view due to lifeboat but at least could see day or night. With the HAwaii stops we were never in room during the day anyway. And at night you could see nothing anyway so did not miss the open window or balcony.

Cabin Steward: Not that bad but not what you would expect either. HAd to ask for things over and over.

While on that subject. Tips are taken out each day. 10.00 pp per cabin. So the crew does not work extra hard for tips. Therefore service is not so good. All American crew does not work like foreign crews. They act like it is killing them to be there. RAther than being very happy to be working like the foreign crews we have had in the past.

Food: The food on this ship is not very good at all. Service in dining rooms very slow and not what we were all used to. You had to keep asking jusy to get water refilled. I am taking about the 2 main dining rooms here. Liberty and Skyline. There are several others that you need to pay extra. WE did not do them but heard from others that is was not worth the extra money to eat there. You can make reservations at main dining rooms as well as at Little Italy ( there is no charge to eat there) I would HIGHLY suggest making plans for dinner and pick times BEFORE you board. Then AS SOON as you get on ship go make reservations. DO NOT WAIT. They fill up the first day. Then you have to wait your turn for dinner if you do not have reservations and the waits can be very long. They have lots of room in dining room with empty tables but they have short staff and can not use all of the dining room seating. This makes for long waits when lots of people try to eat around same time.

We ate at Aloha cafe several times just so we did not have to wait for dinner.

Food there was just as good as in main dining. Believe me when I say that the food is NOT up to cruise standards. And I am not a picky person. I do expect the food to be fairly good and hot.

Be sure to go ALL the way back to the end of ship on Aloha CAfe deck. THey have nice buffett there and you can eat outside. Nice views.

They also have a problem on this ship with their beverage stations not working alot of the time. There were mornings when I heard people say there was no coffee. And we experienced times when you could not even get water.

They really need to work on this.

Entertainment: We only went to one show. One of the nights they brought on local talent from the island. It was a Hawaiian show with hula etc. Was good. My daughter went to comedy show and said it was not too good. Others said juggler on first night was good but we were too tired from jet lag to last that long. Heard others say show were not good at all.

Gym: My daughter and boyfriend went to gym alot. THey said it was nice

Pools: Small for this size ship.

Smells: There is a diesel smell on ship near the back inside and outside.

There is a sewage smell around beck 6 near Cadillac Café outside.

Oh Cadillac Cafe was ok. Open late at night. Service slow and orders mixed up but food was all in all not too bad.

If you get seasick and need gingerale late at night they have it here.

Waters: Ship was VERY rocky. May have been time of year we went but ship rocks alot. We had 30 foot swells. Some of us were sick. TAKE DRUGS!!

Now that I have gotten the bad stuff out of the way let me tell you about Hawaii.

YOU WILL LOVE IT: Think of the ship as a hotel and a place to grab some food even if it is not good.

This is the most beautiful place ever.

Hilo: Rented car and went to national park. Was great. WE drove through the volcano. Will never forget that!!

Parts of this park were very cold. Yes I said cold in Hawaii. So take a jacket!

IF you do not have a tour with NCL booked or a car rented BEFORE you go you will be out of luck. No side tours like other islands. So book NOW!

Take food from ship if you go to park as there is NOTHING around there to get to eat. We made peanut butter sandwiches and took with us as well as fruit.

Maui: Rented car and went to Lahaina. Little town on other side of island.

Nice shops and place to eat. Then went to beach for afternoon. Relaxing day.

Kids did whale watching. They said is was great.

Day 2 Maui: Road to Hana. Yes this is VERY long but you will see some of the best scenery you have ever seen on this tour. Book from ship. DO NOT try to drive a rental here. You will be sorry.

And the tour guide will tell you what you ar looking at and make it more interesting. IT is a 10 hour tour. The tour guide said it would be good bad ugly. Good roads have yellow lines bad roads have no lines ugly roads have no blacktop only dirt. Part of this tour is VERY VERY bumpy. And it is out in middle of NOTHING> If you have medical condition that could require quick medical help I would NOT take this tour. Otherwise take it once you will be glad you did. And DO NOT forget your camera on this one.

Also roads are VERY winding. I and my daughter are prone to motion sickness and were worried about this. We took meds and took food. YEs eat food to keep from getting sick. TRUST ME it works. We both did fine.

Kona: This is a nice walking town. This is a tender port. THey use the lifeboats from ship here. Lots of nice shops. Take shuttle to Hilo Hattie's. Nice Hawaii store with anything you could want there. Then go into town ( you can walk from dock) Shops and places to eat here.

Kids took snorkel tour here. Ask when you get off tender. There is a place that takes you to turtle bay for 20 pp.

They talked to someone who said they spent 150 for taxi there and back. Kids said snorkel was good here.

Kaui: Rented car Went to CAnyon VERY PRETTY

Fern Grotto: nice boat ride and beautiful cave

Traveled around island. Nice island.

There is shopping near ship at this island. But not too big. There is a shuttle to Hilo Hatties here as well and a shuttle to Coconut Marketplace that is nice shopping.

Not to miss: Lava viewing from ship on first night.

Scenic viewing on last afternoon at end of the day. VERY NICE DO NOT MISS

These ports do not have things right off the ship like other islands. You are ported in industrial places. So you need to make arrangements BEFORE you go as to what you plan to do and how you plan to do it. THere are not taxis lined up here like in Caribbean.

You must book a tour and rent a car to be able to see Hawaii. The pretty parts of Hawaii are FAR away from the ship. So go out and explore.

All in all this was a great trip. Our families had lots of fun. We just overlooked the service and food on the ship and remembered " Hey we are in Hawaii"!!!!

It IS a wonderful way to see all the islands. Now we know where we would return to for a longer stay. Maui was the most beautiful place!

On NCL web page you will be able to find the tours and times and prices. IT is a little hard to navigate but print out the price and then the descriptions of the tours. Then you can compare times with prices and times.

Have a great time!!!