Norwegian Cruise Line and Hawaii

I'm looking into an NCL Freestyle Hawaii cruise for December/January.

Have you done this cruise?

I see 2 ship options: Norwegian Star and Pride of Aloha.

The casual attire is appealing to me. How would this trip be for a
family of 4 with a 13 year old and a 10 year old?

Any comments?

On Fri, 16 Apr 2004 14:43:49 GMT, (CupCaked)
wrote:


http://cruisediva.com/cruise_reviews.htm

http://www.cruiseserver.net/travelpa...elines/ncl.asp

http://www.seacruisereviews.com/reviews.asp

http://www.cruisecritic.com/

(BTW, I'm not affiliated nor am I financially compensated by any of
the sites I listed above.)

What? No Cruisemxxes?


The Not So Fine Art Of Google - Go To Top Of Thread
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On Fri, 16 Apr 2004 06:00:07 GMT, John Smith wrote:

I'm looking into an NCL Freestyle Hawaii cruise for December/January.

Have you done this cruise?

I see 2 ship options: Norwegian Star and Pride of Aloha.

The casual attire is appealing to me. How would this trip be for a
family of 4 with a 13 year old and a 10 year old?

Any comments?


We've done it. We ended up getting the Hawaian cruise and not go to
Fanning Island. Loved it and would consider doing it again.


David

Our family of four cruised on the NCL Star in Hawaii. At
that time, our kids were 11 and 9. They loved the cruise,
including the long (3-1/2 days, as I recall) "at sea" time
devoted to making the trip to Fanning Island and back. There
is so much to do aboard ship that those days were full and
fun, and our visit to Fanning Island was a memorable, unique
experience. However, making the Fanning Island trip leaves
far less time for exploring the Hawaiian islands than most
desire; many people don't find much to like about Fanning
Island my husband falls in this category; and the sea days
can be rough as the ship must travel at high speed through
the open Pacific.

Consequently, this itinerary is fairly controversial among
cruisers. I strongly urge you to read many reviews from
other cruisers to get a feel for whether this cruise would
be a good fit for your family. I'd add to the sites you've
already been given http://www.cruisecritic.com and
specifically recommend that you browse the reviews + the
postings in the discussion boards under NCL and under Ports
of CallHawaii.

I haven't looked into the Pride of Aloha as a ship, but the
itinerary is sure to be a winner for seeing more of Hawaii
than you would see on the Star. Even though 3 out of 4 of us
liked the Fanning Island jaunt, I'd have to say, IMO, that
most first-time cruisers and most family cruisers would have
a better experience overall if they stuck with a Hawaiian
islands-only itinerary.

Whichever cruise you choose, it sounds like NCL is a cruise
line that your family will enjoy. In addition to offering
one of the most casual dress codes on the seas, NCL's
Freestyle Cruising concept gives you the opportunity to eat
when and where you like. Also, NCL caters to family
cruisers, and their kids program will probably be a big hit
with your kids if they want to participate.

I'm looking into an NCL Freestyle Hawaii cruise for
December/January.
Have you done this cruise?

I see 2 ship options: Norwegian Star and Pride of Aloha.

The casual attire is appealing to me. How would this trip
be for a family of 4 with a 13 year old and a 10 year
old?
Any comments?


Diana Ball
near Houston, TX

next up:
Celeb Millie=96Med=96June 04, followed by a Nile cruise

I definitely know that we would not want to do the Fanning Island leg.
Thank you for your very helpful first-hand report.

I'm not sure how this cruising stuff works, but I think the Pride of
Aloha is a brand new ship whose inaugural voyage is July 4, 2004.

I read the ship descriptions on the NCL website and I think I like the
Hawaiian theme of the ship for an islands cruise.

JS

D Ball wrote:
I haven't looked into the Pride of Aloha as a ship, but the
itinerary is sure to be a winner for seeing more of Hawaii
than you would see on the Star. Even though 3 out of 4 of us
liked the Fanning Island jaunt, I'd have to say, IMO, that
most first-time cruisers and most family cruisers would have
a better experience overall if they stuck with a Hawaiian
islands-only itinerary.

"John Smith" wrote in message
. com...
I think the Pride of
Aloha is a brand new ship whose inaugural voyage is July 4, 2004.

JS


Actually you'll find this ship is the Norwegian Sky. They're renaming her
and doing some remodeling.

-Monte




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So, I guess I should ask people what they thought of the Norwegian Sky.

Thanks,

JS

Monte wrote:
"John Smith" wrote in message
. com...
I think the Pride of

Aloha is a brand new ship whose inaugural voyage is July 4, 2004.


JS


Actually you'll find this ship is the Norwegian Sky. They're renaming her
and doing some remodeling.

-Monte




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The Norwegian Star is changing to a Meican Riveria itinerary starting
this Fall. Your NCL options will be the Pride of Aloha (7 days Hawaii
only) or the Norwegian Wind (Hawaii with Fanning Island 10 days).
Hopefully the Pride of America will be sailing next year to add a
third choice.

Some of the other lines offer trips including foreign port stops.

Ron

John Smith wrote in message .com...
So, I guess I should ask people what they thought of the Norwegian Sky.

Thanks,

JS

Monte wrote:
"John Smith" wrote in message
. com...
I think the Pride of

Aloha is a brand new ship whose inaugural voyage is July 4, 2004.


JS


Actually you'll find this ship is the Norwegian Sky. They're renaming her
and doing some remodeling.

-Monte




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http://www.newsfeeds.com - The #1 Newsgroup Service in the World!
-----== Over 100,000 Newsgroups - 19 Different Servers! =-----

Pride of Aloha without fanning island is perfect for us!

Thanks,

JS

Ron C wrote:

The Norwegian Star is changing to a Meican Riveria itinerary starting
this Fall. Your NCL options will be the Pride of Aloha (7 days Hawaii
only) or the Norwegian Wind (Hawaii with Fanning Island 10 days).
Hopefully the Pride of America will be sailing next year to add a
third choice.

Some of the other lines offer trips including foreign port stops.

Ron

John Smith wrote in message .com...

So, I guess I should ask people what they thought of the Norwegian Sky.

Thanks,

JS

Monte wrote:

"John Smith" wrote in message
gy.com...
I think the Pride of


Aloha is a brand new ship whose inaugural voyage is July 4, 2004.



JS

Actually you'll find this ship is the Norwegian Sky. They're renaming her
and doing some remodeling.

-Monte




-----= Posted via Newsfeeds.Com, Uncensored Usenet News =-----
http://www.newsfeeds.com - The #1 Newsgroup Service in the World!
-----== Over 100,000 Newsgroups - 19 Different Servers! =-----

Renaming and remodeling may not be enough. We cruised the Sky this past
February to the Caribbean and the customer relations skills of most of
the crew were conspicuous by their absence. Won't do Norwegian ever
again. We had basically the same experience on the Norway, too. The
Sky cabins were very small with little-to-no drawer/storage space. You
can keep the "freestyle", too...just another name for a cattle call.
The food was mediocre, often cold. Main courses for a table for six
arrived staggered, sometimes ten to fifteen minutes apart. Some folks
were finished with their main course before others had even been served.
Coffee arrived twenty minutes after the dessert. One night, a couple we
had met were forced to endure a three and a half hour marathon! And
"freestyle" waiters don't care...they don't see you again and the tips
are automatically charged. The Pride of Aloha will still be the Sky
with NCL service. Have cruised with Celebrity four times, and also with
Princess, Carnival and RCCL. Would repeat again with any of them, but
never again with Norwegian.