Pride of Aloha was our (my wife and I) second cruise around the Hawaii Islands. Our first cruise was on the now defunct American Hawaiian Cruise Line. We decided to book a three day pre-cruise hotel and car package with NCL on the island of Maui, and also arranged our own air transportation. The ability to board the ship in either Honolulu or Maui is a great plus if you are using a pre or post hotel package. Upon arriving in Maui at 1:30 PM local time, we had been instructed in our cruise documents to proceed to the local Alamo car rental shuttle. It seemed like everyone in the terminal must have decided to rent from Alamo, as the line to get onto the shuttle bus stretched around the building. We were fortunate to get on the second bus to arrive and then we proceeded to the car rental office. The car we were assigned was a full size Impala. With gas over $3.50 a gallon I had expected a compact car with the NCL package. However, after pilling in our luggage we soon understood why NCL had rented a full size car. NCL assigned us to the Maui Prince Hotel on the southeast corner of the island. If you are not good at reading maps and get lost easily, the fifty minute drive to the hotel could easily expand to ninety minutes or longer. The hotel and grounds were nice, but it had a worn look. Our large size room overlooked the Luau gardens, where we were entertained nightly with Hawaiian music. This was a nice and unexpected touch. Each room had a balcony with a table and chairs which made for an excellent place to enjoy room service breakfast. We used room service twice, and had excellent service with the hot food being hot and the cold being cold. The service and hospitality of the staff at the Prince was excellent and helped make up for the lack of other amenities. The Maui Prince is located close to the ocean, and there was a nice beach where you could swim or take a boat for snorkeling and sightseeing. If you must have a pool and hot tub you will be disappointed. The pool was run down, and their idea of a hot tub was four above ground fiberglass two person spas. You are on your own with NCL at the hotel, as there was no NCL representative to help you with tours or any concerns you may have had. Luckily, we didn't need any help during our stay. If you use NCL's pre or post cruise hotels make sure you do your own research and plan before arriving.
On the day that our ship docked in Maui, we drove our rental car back to the airport where Alamo had a bus to take us on a short trip to the dock. We arrived fifteen minutes after 12 noon. Our cruise documents had told us we could board at 1:00 PM. After being checked by dock security at the gate, about twenty-five other passengers, including ourselves, were left standing in the sun waiting for the OK to proceed to the terminal. There were several senior passengers that had no place to sit and were visibly stressed for having to stand in the sun for an hour before being allowed to proceed. Since all of us had our luggage with us, many could not continue to the terminal without porter help. Unfortunately, no porters had arrived by the time we were permitted to walk the hundred yards to the terminal building to check in. While several had to wait for the porters my wife and I took our four suitcases and carry on luggage and trekked to the terminal building. Upon arrival our baggage was taken and put through the security X-Ray machine. We then proceeded without our luggage into a line for checking onto the ship. This went fairly well, and we were only in the line for about five minutes. My wife had let the porters take all of her luggage from her, but I had kept my carry on as it contained my medicines and cruise papers. Little did we know that this would be the last time we would see our luggage for the next five hours. After receiving our boarding card, we proceeded to the passenger screening area and then to the ship.
I have to stop here and let you know that I am a planning freak. I look at the ship's deck plans and before boarding I usually can tell you which elevators to take and which direction to turn to get to any room. All of this pre-planning paid off because as soon as we walked on the ship, we were on our own. No one greeted us or helped to show us the way to our cabin. No one helped us with our luggage (we only had one), and there were no signs to show you where to go. I am sure there were several passengers that wandered around the ship trying to find help when they first arrived.