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Norwegian Cruise Line

MV Pride of Aloha

Your Rating:
Reviewed by: Steve Wilson
# previous cruises: 10 to 20
Date of Trip: August 8, 2004
Itinerary: Hawaii

Pride of Aloha was a nightmare.

They were short 250+ crew, so nobody was around to serve meals. Each port temps were hired to help for the day. At the buffet the food was cold, fountain drinks did not work, and by the end of the week we were given paper plates, a fork, and a soup spoon (they were out of knives) at the buffet for breakfast.

The crew is miserable and overwhelmed....all our complaints fell on deaf ears. We even called the corporate office from the ship and they were no help either. I couldn't even enjoy the people on the ship because everyone was in a bad mood. This was the most stressful vacation I have ever had.

Lifeboat drill was a joke - lasted all of 10 minutes. People showed up without life preservers and many never made it at all. I sure wish they would have taking this more seriously. No crew to direct personnel except on main stairs and outside deck. Checked our names to a list - wrong name on cabin - they did not care or correct.

Food and restaurant service: We then proceeded to the food court, the 'Hukilau café'. There we found long lines, lack of service, and bad food presented poorly. They were already out of food and beverages (we were among the first who boarded the ship). We tried this café one more time the next day and found the same conditions. Another day we tried the on deck Bar-b-queue, located just outside the café: the food was cold (hamburgers, chicken, etc.) and the presentation was truly pathetic.

Lines were so long at the Crossings free restaurant that we simply gave up on NCL restaurants. They say they have 10 - two are free (one is never opened), three are pay extra and we never found nor could anyone tell us where the remaining 5 were located - unless they count buffet lines! They were quite a few of them. Tables were never available and NEVER cleaned. They buss the tables one plate at a time and we never seen one table wiped clean the whole trip.

The ship boasted eight restaurants but in truth there was very little choice. After eliminating the café and anything associated with it (ice cream bar, etc.) that left three restaurants that had cover charges of about $12 to $15. We heard later that the view was great but the food was no better than anywhere else on the ship. The two open restaurants or dining rooms served exactly the same menu. The food was very average, the rolls always cold, the selection limited, and the service painfully slow. The waiter's uniforms were stained and dirty.

The food quality was well below average. Ran out of plates and silverware often - never seen so many paper plates and plastic utensils - so much for the environment. The lobster tail buffet was the worst dried up lobster I have ever tasted. It was cooked and then thrown on a Lido deck BBQ. The barbecue night was awful; it appeared that rib leftovers were put out on the buffet several times during the week. Everyone complained about the food and the service. We did find one or two really good people that worked very hard and tried to accommodate their specific areas.

There was always a long line that started at 5:30 p.m. along a narrow area that include bumping elbows with people coming back for drink refills (logistics issue - move the drink machines to a different area). Breakfasts were the usual buffet stuff and reasonable quality. I wonder why the wait until 7:00 a.m. to open the breakfast line, many more people could have been accommodated if the line opened at 6:00 a.m. The waffle and omelet table opened ½ hour after the buffet line. For lunch and dinner, they throw about 3 or 4 slices of pizza on the table at the carving station. No burgers, hot dogs, or pizza after hours. Ice cream was available two hours each day and long lines. The last day, they actually offered ice cream scoops at the dessert bar. Sorry, Freestyle is not for me.

We used room service twice. The selection was very limited and food very average. The service was poor. The food arrived 1 ½ hours after being ordered most amazing of all was that it was delivered with a smile. Most of the service people ignored you or were rude.

Cabins were too small, sheets stained, sheets did not get changed, trash never thrown out, beach towels stained, food cold, long waits at the buffet...I could go on and on.

The crew is miserable and overwhelmed....all our complaints fell on deaf ears. We even called the corporate office from the ship and they were no help either.

I couldn't even enjoy the people on the ship because everyone was in a bad mood. This was the most stressful vacation I have ever had.

Service: Mandatory $10/person/day fee non-negotiable for tips is applied to the bill. This may be part of the reason crew members are so uninterested in pleasing the vacationers. I have to admit it, as an American myself, we just don't perform the same way foreign workers bust their buts to please cruise passengers. So many complaints were made about the service that all bills were adjusted. “They” gave us a $100.00 credit. What a slap in the face! NCL better fix things and fix the fast or NCL America's days will be numbered. Right now, the ship is just a good way to get around the islands. The islands are fantastic. I would not recommend this cruise to anyone until NCL corrects its many problems