My wife and I are going on our very first cruise in Aug, 06 aboard the Pride of Aloha. We then are spending 10 days on Oahu (not Honolulu). Anyways, I have lowered my expectations of this cruise because of the horrible reviews I have been reading. However, most unsatisfied customers have been on several cruises already. Most seemed put off by the freestyle cruising.

Are there any good reviews of the Pride of Aloha out there from 2006?

Please?

My husband and I went june 2-9th 2006. We had soooo much fun! We read all the terrible reviews before we left and we were so worried. The crew was awesome! We met nice people from all over the world. We didn't care for the buffets. Crossings and the Palace were very good. We never had to wait for a table more than 10 min. also, try the ones you need to have a cover charge. They're sooo worth it. You pay $10.00 per person and can get as many things on the menu as you like. We went on this cruise thinking that we're in hawaii and how bad can it get? We have no complaints. We rented cars in all the ports. Good luck and I hope help my review helps. =o)

K,

Thanks for the response! I'm not expecting a floating Hilton, so I'm hoping We'll find things just fine.

Few questions though, if you dont mind:
-Is it true there is no soap supplied in the rooms?
-Knowing what you know now, what are the best times to eat on the ship without doing the $10 cover charge options?
-Did you prebook any shore excursions, or did you go on your own every day?
-how long did embarkation actually take from the time you arrived at port?
-How long does disembakation take from the time you leave your room at the appointed time?
ANY details, and I mean any, are greatly appreciated. I'm a 1st time cruiser, and a lot of little things you guys take for granted as common cruise knowledge might be news to me.

We weren't on the Pride, but we were on the Wind. There were liquid soap dispensers in the shower and at the vanity. If you want to use bar soap, you'll need to bring it with you. Also, it was a combination shampoo/conditioner in the shower. Same thing - if you prefer to use a separate shampoo and conditioner, you'll need to bring your own.

Run Todd Run! Just back from 6/16 Pride of Aloha. Dining experience was a hideous ordeal. Morale of employees is suffering as they would routinely complain to guests about having to work 70-80 hour weeks because they are missing 250+ crew and the ones left seem to be very green and do not have their acts together. When we docked at first port, one server told us 25 servers got off and never came back.

They are SERIOUSLY and painfully understaffed (we heard due to pulling people off this ship to get new Pride of Hawaii going). We'd routinely wait 45 mins to be seated and seethe while viewing 17+ empty tables which remained empty due to not enough staff to run them. We felt lucky if we got finished within 2 hours AFTER being seated (at both breakfast and dinner times). Service was super slow, parts of orders forgotten at nearly EVERY meal, no head waiter/assistant waiter team except at ONE dinner. I called one a.m. for simple coffee room service and was told there was a 1-hour wait - FOR COFFEE! A topic at almost every meal among new tablemates was the short staff/poor service situation.

Other aspects were ok - itinerary GREAT, cabin service GREAT, food ok, entertainment ok - although we missed some evening stuff due to being stuck in the dining room.

Compared to our past Carnival experiences, this NCL was sooooo far below, it was like a bad joke.

P

Well, should I want to cancel.. can I? I booked through an online travel agency. The cruise has been paid for for almost a full year now.

Can I get money back if I decide to go this option?

hhmm - not sure Todd. That's something to work through with your travel agent as every agency has their own cancellation rules/policies.

If you do go, just be prepared for the dining hassles. If you go in knowing what to expect, it may not be that big of a deal to you. Our expections were set from our previous Carnival experiences and so we expected the same.

We just returned from NCL's cruise. I, too, read all these horrible reviews. We were pleasantly surprised.

We had no problems with dining. The majority of those onboard were interested in the buffet, which we avoided except for breakfast. We did have a maximum 30-minute wait one night but they give you pagers so you don't have to wait at the restaurant. We had no problem with the specialty restaurants. Be sure to make reservations a day before, though, to ensure you get the time and restaurant of your choice.

There is a cruise book at the docks which was very helpful. The ports are very accommodating! There are shuttles and easy arrangements made right at the dock. I was surprised about how easy it was. We never had to wait for any embarkation or debarkation. In Kona, we had to use tenders to get ashore. We slept in and went ashort about 10 a.m. with not a minute's wait. I found all of that very smooth.

We didn't find a single person rude or unhelpful. They didn't complain about any of the hours until we asked. Each staff person evidently signs a five-month contract, and many we discovered were using the opportunity to save money at home becuase they avoid living expenses and can actually pocket their income. Everyone was very friendly and tried to be helpful.

There was soap and shampoo in the bathroom -- not bar soap, however. There was also a hair dryer. And beach towels were supplied for the pool AND the ports, which was an extremely nice touch -- not advertised.

The ship did an afternoon sail along the entire coast of Kauai, which was gorgeous. We also sailed by the tip of Hawaii to observe the lava flows at night -- and the captain turned the ship 360 degrees so everyone got a great view. It was a highlight!

The cabins are small but the staff was very agreeable. We ordered room service a few times and never waited more than 15 minutes -- often much less.

It's odd to me how many people aboard sit on the pool deck with everyone else, visit the main buffet and never venture any further. The buffet at the aft end of the ship often had no lines (and that's where the waffle bar is). We were in restaurants that were virtually empty and bars that were empty. Seek them out and you'll have a great experience!

Enjoy!



As far a

We are going Sept 3,2006 for our 25th wedding anniversary. Please tell me the service is better, lie if you have to.

My husband and I went on the Pride of Aloha from July 21st-28th 2006. We had a fabulous time vistiting all the islands while only having to unpack once! We rented cars every day rather than do the excursions through the cruise. They seemed expensive to us, and we preferred to do our own thing, stopping at what we wanted to look at, etc. The cruise itself, I would say as a first time cruiser you will enjoy it, but I would highly recommend you try another cruise line after that, and you will see there was a huge difference. One thing I did love however was the express disembarking. You were able to wake up on the last morning, have breakfast, grab your luggage and go. I wanted to also give you a heads up as far as the tipping goes. They really avoided the topic when they went over the disembarking process. They automatically charge your account $10 per person per day. We did not feel that the service was any where close to that amount of tipping. You can have it changed to whatever you want but when the bill comes on the last night that can be a shocker! One thing that helped us in our travels as well, if you rent a car, it is so worth renting their navigational system. I believe it was $10/day. My husband has one so we brought it and we found our way around all the islands with no problems at all. Any way if you have any other questions let me know, I hope you have a fabulous time. Kauai was our most favorite, we'll go back to spend a week there for sure! Enjoy!

Thanks for some of the positive comments. I have been looking to try and ease my mind about the Pride of Aloha. But what I have realized is that I must make this cruise what I want it to be. If I worry about the crew then the crew will be bad if I worry about the food then the food will be bad. As long as I have a great time I guess it will be ok. So, do you think I convinced myself? I guess I have heard alot of good and bad things so it is hard to say. Todd I hope you have a great time and you will have to let me know for yourself what YOU think. We leave on the Aloha Jan. 14th 2007.
Thanks
Julie

We are booked on this cruise for 1 oct 2006, getting very worried, can anyone give more positive feedback.

Been saving a long time for this hope its not money down the drain.

I gave a good review of Pride of Aloha. Just scroll down to the topic "Pride of America 9/9/06 started by Capt. Merky. I, Kim Lilley, responded with Pride of Aloha trip. I loved this cruise. WHether you enjoy this ship or not is dependant upon what you are looking for. For me the Islands were my Priority, and the ship was great for what I needed it to be, to sleep, shower, eat and drink. I was never on the ship much. so I didn't even see the entertainment. Not that I did not want to, but with Hawaii out there, that's where I wanted to be. I had a clean room, towels and sheets and good food and drinks and service. They made me happy person. When I want to go on a luxury cruise I will do that in Alaska with a balcony just to taste the ambiance of a luxury liner. If you want a luxury cruise than take another cruise line, If you want to spend more time on the Islands take this one. It won't dissapoint you unless you let it. I had no problems with this ship! It's all about attitude and not sweating the small stuff that can be fixed!
Cheers,
Kim