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Norwegian Cruise Line

MV Pride of Aloha

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Reviewed by: Giancarlo Bruno
# previous cruises: 10 to 20
Date of Trip: August 22, 2004
Itinerary: Hawaii

A nice, well kept ship that as of right now provides a decent cruise experience. On our sailing there were some setbacks but entertainment and service were good and overall we had a nice time. The ship is very nice, and she is clean and well kept.

The public areas were usually comfortable, and though slightly tacky, for the most part they were nicely decorated. The public areas were all rather nice, but I'm going to say without much hesitation my favorite was the Outrigger Lounge. It was a good looking space with no nonsense decor, comfortable seating, and beautiful panoramic views. From there you could also access an observation deck with some more fantastic views to be offered.

The Blue Hawaii was where the smaller shows and activities took place. The color scheme was a bit loud, as were some other touches like "Elvis" but it was a nice area overall and after a while the pink, purple and green seating grows on you. The Plantation Club is a smallish public space with more no nonsense decor. It was a nice quiet spot, maybe hosting 1 or 2 organized activities on the whole cruise. On the walls hung pictures from plantations and old advertisements for Hawaiian sugar.

The Stardust Lounge was where the main entertainment took place. It seems to be a carry over from her days as Norwegian Sky. The seating was nice but oddly enough the handrails on the balconies were (what seemed to be) aluminum instead of glass which obstructed the view from balconies slightly. The Longboard Bar was a typical onboard sports bar, though there was a slight surfing theme to fit in with the overall Hawaiian theme of the ship. Of course you can't forget the Aloha Atrium. Another beautiful, colorful area on board.

The Captain Cook's Cigar Club and Bar where really 2 areas that more or less look liked one. Usually at nights when they were open there would be a piano player and other things going on. There was a quiet library as well. Not many people seemed to go there, and it was probably a good place to go to read but the selection didn't seem like much. The Kumu Culture Center was another unique area. A pleasant looking area filled with Hawaiian artifacts and even an exhibit about Matson passenger ships visiting Hawaii. Nice to see that in place of a noisy casino for a change. If I remember correctly, that's all of the Public areas with the exception of stops along the interior promenade like the Coffee Bar, Gift Shops and Internet Cafe.

The food was very good in the main dining rooms but the selection didn't change much each night. About 3 entrees (one of which was the local chef daily special) and 2 deserts changing each night. Not to say that the food that was consistently available was bad.

The upside to having a menu like that was that you would rarely miss out on a dish you wanted to try and there was always a rather traditional alternative to the specials that night. The service in the main dining rooms was friendly & usually timely and on par with the traditional mass market cruise. The dining rooms and the ship as a whole were understaffed, so on the 2nd and 3rd nights of the cruise the wait to get inside the dining was terrible. Busboys were working as waiters and on the 2nd and 3rd nights of the cruise the wait to get inside the dining was terrible, but you didn't see them complaining about it! Apparently more crew members boarded in Hilo because the situation was so bad, and from the 4th night on the lines at the main dining room were either nonexistant or fast moving- as the Captain had promised at the Latitudes Members' Party.

The buffet food was good. The Hukilau Cafe was the only area open for lunch, maybe with 1 exception. Again, on the 2nd and 3rd days the lines were pretty long but they soon became better. Since buffets are pretty much a self serve affair there isn't much too say about service, other than the Cafe was always clean, the buffet was actively replenished and the tables were cleared pretty fast. I heard complaints that paper plates were used in the Cafe but I saw no such thing. We did not try the specialty resturaunts.

The Crossings Resturaunt was my personal favourite, it was very nice with the Transpacific Yacht theme and a fantastic entrance, though there were no differences with the service. Crossings and the Hukilau Cafe were both always open for breakfast, but the Palace was only open for dinner from the 2nd night onward.

The Palace Resturaunt was another nice area as well, but not like Crossings. The cabin steward got the job done, the sheets were cleaned when we boarded and they were taken to be cleaned before we disembarked, so I won't believe complaints of dirty sheets and comforters. He usually cleaned the room at the time most people would go for Lunch or Dinner, but there is a system of putting in place a "Please Make Up Room" card in the card key-slot to let him know you want the room cleaned and made up. Bar Service was both friendly and timely, but have you ever seen a bar tender that wasn't?

The cabins were the smallest we've ever had but "our" 145 sq. ft. ocean view worked fine for the 4 of us. The closet space was a bit tight, but we managed just fine. Whether or not a full size person could fit in the shower defends on your definition of full size person, but I'd say that though it was a bit smaller than usual you shouldn't have any problems.

The Entertainment was very good, though oddly enough there were no comedians. There was (of course) a South Pacific themed show, a FANTASTIC magic show, a amazing Cirque at Sea, The Talent Show, and your very typical Broadway style show in The Stardust Lounge/Theatre plus a variety of entertainment in the Blue Hawaii like a secondary magic show by the same magician, the Not So Newlywed game, and loads of parties plus some game shows in the Outrigger Lounge.

On board the activities were again very good. Aside from participating in the game shows and parties, there was Hawaiian Arts and Crafts, Kareoke, and a lot more including your typical poolside activities (including a few contests and scavenger hunts) and games like table tennis and shuffleboard. There was also a basketball court as well. The pool area was well laid out, and depending on what time you went there was usually a good deal of people but not too many for the area to handle. During the initial rush to see the ports of call of course, the pool was almost empty.

There were 4 stops: Nawiliwili, Hilo, Kona, and Kahului. Nawiliwili and Kahului were overnight stops, staying from the morning they arrive to early the next afternoon. The other 2 stops were just a few hours long, but they were both on the Big Island. The ports were all great, though Hawaii isn't what everyone makes it out to be. Nawiliwili and Kahului were the best stops, so the overnight stays there were no coincidence and much appreciated. Nawiliwili is on Kauai and is the least commercialised of all the stops. It also has some great beaches, though we heard that there were also some good ones elsewhere. The highlight here is probably the botanical gardens tour. The gardens are beautiful with many varities of plants and other sites. The tour we booked takes you on a tram ride around them and the whole thing was very nice. Fern Grotto is probably the most visited attraction on Kauai and it's very disappointing. The cave isn't much too see, most of the ferns were destroyed in hurricanes in the 80's and 90's, much of the water from the river or stream above was diverted and the waterfall is now just a little more than a trickle and to add to that there's no flowers or anything colorful. Skip that one unless you're willing to risk wasting your money. Who knows, maybe some people like it, and the riverboat ride there was fun enough.

Hilo probably has quite a few attractions, I don't know if we got to see all of them but we booked a great tour and it really paid off. We saw a lot in a suprising amount of time. Don't be disappointed by the very ugly industrial area where you dock, Matt, the Port & Cruise consultant warned the passengers who went to his port talk of this. Our tour went to Akaka Falls, which was fantastic as well as another botanical garden. The botanical garden here wasn't as good as the one on Kauai but it was worth seeing. Afterward the bus driver took us to a black sand beach to show us what it was like (the stop was brief, about 3 minutes but it was very cool.) as well as to a candy store and factory for a chance to buy some great candy and Kona coffee. The driver also dropped off people who wanted to shop even more at the stores before taking the rest of them back to the ship. There might be better things to do in Hilo but this was a great tour.

At Kona we had to disembark by tender. The stop here was short, so here we went on a one hour glass bottom boat tour before taking the shuttle to (of all places) the stores. Suprisingly enough I got some good pictures of Pride of Aloha from there. Kahului was commercialised, but not in the same sense as Honolulu. All the buildings and landscaping were very nice. Our tour there took the whole night up, and even part of the afternoon. We went to a luau for Pride of Aloha passengers only. The food suprised me, the hotel where the luau took place was very nice, and there was a good show too. All in all the ports were nice, and we got some great tours but Hawaii is not what some of you may think it's like.

Though the silent majority of passengers might've been a good group, all but a few of the people that made themselves heard were anything but a nighmare. We had the most childish, nitpicking, rudest crowd I have ever seen on any cruise ship going to any destination. They were absolutely awful to the crew and anyone that didn't agree with how awful they thought the cruise was. They were real bottom feeders and though there were only a few problems which NCL America admitted too and tried very hard to make up for, they were consulting their bottom feeder lawyers. They refused to let themselves have a decent time, and they began to ruin it for the reasonable people that otherwise would be enjoying themselves. Absolutely terrible people, there was a good sized group of people I would want to have dinner with- but as for the passengers that made themselves heard- if they even came near my house I'd run away. They were THAT bad of a crowd.