It is unfortunate that NCL has a monopoly on the inter-island Hawaiin cruise. If there was any competition, they would definitely be out of business.

I have not taken many cruises, but I knew that meals were included and alcoholic drinks were not. From the minute we boarded the ship, we were nickle and dimed to death. There was an additional charge of $1.50 for coffee at the bar, as it was "special" coffee. The advertised "world famous" milkshakes at the Cadillac diner were another $3.50. Of the 12 restaurants, 7 were "specialty restaurants", where there was an additional charge of $10 to $25 per plate. We dined at one of the restaurants that charged an addiontal $25 one evening, but decided the food was no better than in the regular restaurants. Wine with dinner will increase the cost by a miniumum of $30 a bottle. Drinks in the bar, oddly enough, were fairly reasonably priced.

Service was fair to poor in the restaurants and the cabins, even though an additional $12 gratuity per day per person was charged to our bill. Read more