RateItAll: The Opinion Network

We sailed on 2/19/06 and I hestated to even give it 2 stars. The truth is it was bad but not quite terrible. Our bathroom smelled like urine, the shower curtain was black from mold, the pillows smelled like they had not been changed in months, the food was second rate at best, the window still had oil from someone from another cruise putting their forehead on the glass. A couple in the next cabin ordered room service one morning and they never showed up with their food and the picture on their wall was smeared with something oily. One morning I ordered French toast and the waiter forgot about it totally. At supper every night I just had them leave a pitcher of water because they would fill our glass when we were seated and you'd have to find someone to tell them when you wanted more. It took us 2 to 3 hours to eat supper every night because the service was so slow. (Maybe the cooks fault.) We had to wait 10 to 15 minutes between courses. You had to make reservations in the dinning room every night because they are so understaffed they couldn't take care of everyone. In fact there were many many empty tables in the dining room and people were having to wait 1 to 2-1/2 hours outside before they could even be seated. The food on the buffet was worse than a high school cafeteria and seldom could you find a place to sit if you ate there. Also the seats on the plane were way in the back and we were in the middle of the middle 5 seats. The worst seats one can get on a plane. It seems that making reservations a year in advance we could've had much better seats. NCL made the reservations for the plane as well so I shouldn't have been surprised that the seats were so bad. Don't take this cruise! See the Islands some other way!

TravelXpert, I am surprised you would have booked the cabins you did as a self-proclaimed travel xpert. The crew cabins on most liners are on the A and B decks, meaning the cheapest cabins for passengers are next to them. When people work on a cruiseliner for the long shifts at the odd hours they do, it is only to be expected that when they get off duty they will be noisy, perhaps even loud, no matter what signs are posted there. As an xpert you should have been aware of this and the fact that you get what you pay for in life. Next time, spend a little more, get a better cabin and the experience will be a whole lot better, I'm sure. NCL generally does a far better job of crew training than most competitors, by the way. Many of those other companies don;t train at all and assume their employees have what it takes when they hire them.

We had a family reunion on the cruise that sailed 8/15 - 8/22. Our room was next to the crew hallway. Although there were signs to keep quiet, these folks were loud here even during sleeping hours. There was very little if non availability to make reservations for restaurants that required them. We were even willing to pay extra! As a matter of fact, my father-in-law tipped the host CASH and got in in 5 minutes when they were over booked. The islands were beautiful but NCL should have had more time training the staff. It was bad!

I recently returned from the Pride of Aloha inaugural cruise on July 4, 2004. The itinerary to 4 of the Hawaiian islands was fantastic. That's what made me choose this cruise. The ship was beautiful. The food was acceptable but certainly not what I had expected to receive on a cruise. The room was just large enough to not sleep with my best friend but not large enough to open two suitcases at once. The entertainment was okay but certainly not family entertainment especially when the girls were prancing around in bras and panties, and the male singer was singing about a party from hell and ladies' tits. The staff was friendly but did not yet have it together as it was their first cruise to all four islands. All in all, I would rate it as good just because we visited the most beautiful place in the world, and that could not be any less than good.