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Norwegian Cruise Line

MV Pride of Hawaii

Your Rating:
Reviewed by: S. Sullivan
# previous cruises: 10 to 20
Date of Trip: January 28, 2008
Itinerary: Hawaii

We boarded the ship, not knowing that it was to be its last Hawaiian cruise. The staff was bummed out, letting us know that their job futures were uncertain. It was greatly reflected in the level of service that we received. The ship is now the NCL Jade.

This was the most unattractive ship that we have sailed in regard to interior decor. The Pacific dining room was much nicer than the Alizar which had no windows. There was a large shop that was nice. The theater was fairly good.

When we ate in the main dining room, we had to ask for rolls. We also had to stand in long lines in the mornings or afternoons to make reservations for dining, even in the free main dining rooms. Then when it was time to be seated, we had to wait in another long line, mixed in with those who had no reservations. So much for "freestyle dining". And unlike other cruise lines, the waiters never have the chance to get acquainted with the preferences of those that they serve since it is never the same. And if you choose to dress up, chances are that you will be seated with people wearing shorts. The food was adequate. The desserts in the buffet were not good. There were no ice cream toppings, and the desserts were mostly cold and unappetizing. There was usually one warm dessert that was the best option.

We had a balcony cabin. When we checked in, we found that our bathroom door was leaning against the wall, off its hinges. The toilet seat was hanging by a thread. The safe worked intermittently. There was lint & bits of paper on the floor, and the upper shelves had a thick layer of dust.

Although we constantly requested washcloths, which should have been automatically provided, we often went without. We were told that they had run out of washcloths. Sometimes we only had 1 towel to share.

Unfortunately, we found that we were subjected to a smoky experience if we sat on our balcony. Evidently a lot of smokers reserve balconies & thus these are your neighbors. We never spoke to our neighbors but on one side, we were subjected to the foulest language imaginable. (This was their style of conversing with each other.) They were very loud and typically drunk. To avoid the noise, we had to close our balcony door.

The opening show was good except for the comedians who only did animal impressions. The illusionist was good but we did not care for his solo act later in the cruise. The singing & dancing was good. We skipped the final show.

This ship had no casino, no billiard tables, no bingo, no mini golf. The pool was mostly unused because it was a very cold and rainy week.

The shore excursions were overpriced, as usual. For the beach day in Maui, everyone seemed to have been given the opposite times than what they had requested and for which they had received prior confirmation. We were also told that the car rental option was discontinued in 2008. This leaves only the more expensive options. The excursions were always late in picking us up, often causing us to stand in a line in pouring rain for 20 to 30 minutes. Most Polynesian Adventures drivers were fair, alternating who would get to disembark first (the back or front of the buses) but a female driver in Kaui did not do this and ignored requests to alternate. The order of the loading of the buses had nothing to do with being a late arrival-often there were multiple buses for populat tours and it was merely bad luck to end up in the back of one of them. We enjoyed the Lanai Trekker 4 X 4 tour the most. It was very expensive (nearly $400 per couple) but was almost like a private tour with an excellent guide.

There was a wide variety of passengers - many Japanese in addition to many Americans.