Hawaii Family Cruises Reviews

Okay, we finished our cruise a couple of weeks ago, but I promised myself I would write one up after reading all of the others, especially the negative ones. My wife and I are not experienced cruisers, with the last one being approx 25 years ago. But, one of our sons is stationed on Oahu, so we figured that after seeing the grandkids for a week, a cruise would be a great way to experience the rest ...

I have been on 14 cruises (4 Disney, 4 NCL, 3 Carnival, 2 Tradewinds catamarans, and 1 Costa). I am most disappointed with NCL. The service has gotten worse. I do like the NCL’s ports I’ve sailed (Bermuda, Mexican Pacific, Western Caribbean and Hawaii) but I would have had a better experience visiting those ports with another cruise line, or even sticking to resorts and getting a rental car. As ...

We bid on an upgrade and were successful. Initially we were in a penthouse suite on Riviera deck. Room was too noisy to sleep so we requested a move. We were moved to Aloha deck at the back of the ship and unfortunately it was actually worse than the previous room. The guest service supervisor was rude and dismissive and told us we expected too much and should have spent more money on a better ...

I chose this cruise because I wanted to see all of Hawaii- never been and i am in my sixties. Chose this for the fact you see so much of the Islands. I have previously only done a Mississippi River Cruise (American) and Mediterranian (Celebrity), both of which I thought were awesome- with minor quibbles. The Good stuff- The "Hawaiian Ambassador"- Anela St Thomas - is GREAT. Always available ...

We chose this cruise to see the variety of beauty available in the different Hawaiian Islands. The islands are beautiful and cruising is a great way to get to each one saving time and hassle by not dealing with airports so our main objective was accomplished. I have sailed on Norwegian Cruises before so I had some expectations of what I would be getting for my money. However, some advice I ...

Pride of America is an anomaly in the NCL fleet - it does not vary from its four-island Hawaii itinerary - no sea days - never leaving American waters - no casino (as per law). I was relieved to discover that its design was not all colonial / monument style - that is limited to the main lobby and a few restaurants. The other public areas are themed around the rest of America: Napa CA (wine bar), ...

Greetings from aboard the Crown Princess! We are on a 16-day cruise to Hawaii, RT San Francisco. I boarded the ship with great trepidation. The Cruise Critic comments about the ship and the itinerary caused me to think that perhaps we'd made a grave error in booking this cruise. However, that angst was put to rest the first day. While more traditional (vs. glitzy) in appearance, the ship ...

I chose this cruise because it was a good value for the money I paid for it. It was my 2nd time on Princess. I would cruise with this line again but it is not my favorite. The shore excursion to the Waimea Canyon in Kaua'i was awesome, as was the one to the Hawaii Volcanoes National Park in Hilo which included a stop at the Mauna Loa Macadamia Nut Factory. There were too many nights in which I ...

This 35 day Hawaii/French Polynesia cruise was our longest ever and our 19th cruise overall on many different lines (Carnival, Celebrity, Cunard, NCL, Princess and Royal Caribbean). We flew from Ontario to San Diego 3 days before the cruise and stayed at the Old Town Inn which was a great location to tour the city. We walked to historic Old Town and took the trolly tour to all the popular ...

Of all the many cruises we’ve enjoyed on ships large and small, this was by far the worst. Although the ship itself is elegant, good management was sorely lacking. We were told that the ship is always short-staffed because their people can (and do) leave without fulfilling their contracts. Well, I think incentives and bonuses might help. Keep your people happy so your customers will be treated ...