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American Hawaii

SS Independence

Your Rating:
Reviewed by:Robert Rathie
# previous cruises: 10+
Date of Trip: March 10, 2001
Itinerary: Hawaii

Cruise provided a great over-view of Hawaii. Overnights in Maui and Honolulu gave plenty of opportunity to do more than just pick a tour and return to the ship. Food was very good and the service and the staff were first rate. Ship is a classic and one of the last of the steam turbine powered vessels. Very comfortable, although some of the cabins, especially in the lower grades can be quite small. Housekeeping was excellent. The on-board staff were young, energetic and seemed to genuinely enjoy their job and their ship. Our room steward did a great job and responded to our every request, our waiter was very professional and made the meals in the Dining Room memorable.

Public rooms overall were very comfortable. Main lounge with its Hawaiian decor is great. Constitution Lounge has a wonderful feel and is a great place at sunset. Didn't particularly like the showroom (the Hoi Hoi Lounge) as it was an obvious conversion, but it served its purpose adequately. Hibiscus (forward)Dining Room, which was formerly the first class DR, was great and to be preferred, but the Orchid Dining Room was also good. Decks are spacious and the spruce decking was being refurbished when we were on board.

Food was very good. The menu in the dining room had a number of very good choices and the local entrees were always interesting. Buffets were good overall and very convenient. Our waiter and assistant waiter were very professional and the service was excellent all around.

We had a great cabin. Very large with two bureaus, full wall mirror and another dressing mirror, many drawers, a settee and a comfortable oversized double bed. Shower in the was a bit small, but was the original round design, bathroom sink had ice water taps (unfortunately not functional at this time. We had four lockers for our clothes. Cabin (on the Aloha Deck) was very quiet.

Entertainment was great. Cruise Director, entertainers and the on-board Kumu (Hawaiian teacher) do all they can to keep the trip fun and interesting.

Tours were very good, at least the ones we took. There were a number offered at each port and an effort was made to appeal to everyone. Cruise Directors lectures were good and the system of delivering your tickets to the stateroom the night before your tour worked great. There are two pools on board and both a fresh water! Only "complaint" was that on a one-week cruise, visiting Maui, Hawaii (2 ports) Oahu and Kauai, there really isn't enough time to enjoy the ship and the ports. American Hawaii should consider extending the cruise (swing around Midway Island or something) for about 3 extra days - that would give the passengers more time to really get the feel of a liner at sea, rather than just as their port-to-port transportation.

Wide spectrum of passengers - from a one-year old baby to the "golden-agers." Quite a few folks on tours from the Mid-West. We met interesting people and had a great table for the trip.