Norwegian Cruise Line — Local services in Maui

UPDATE: I've now finished the cruise. The first addition I would make to my original post is to add a positive remark: our cabin attendant was both kind and great at his job. He worked hard cleaning all of his rooms, multiple times per day, and was always pleasant with us whenever we saw him. He remembered our names and preferences, so we know he paid close attention to detail. We tipped him above the general service charge that was included.

The second addition I would make is that the food that you had to pay for on top of the complimentary food was overall very good. We had a dining package, so we were lucky in that we didn't have to pay, but I wish there wasn't such a divide between the paid food and the complimentary food.

The third and last addition I would make is that the cruise cancelled the day in Kona due to the volcanic ash and smog. This, by itself, is understandable and fine. However, instead of letting us have an extra day in Maui or Kaua'i, as the cruise apparently did the weeks before, they decided to have an extra day at sea. It's unclear if this was a deliberate decision or if they tried but simply couldn't schedule an extra day at a port. If the latter, then it would be acceptable. However, if the former, then it was a serious disappointment. The ocean was very choppy that day and I observed many passengers experience seasickness. This was a cruise that originally only had a half-day at sea during the day, so I would anticipate there are passengers who selected this cruise because of their issues with seasickness or perhaps those who simply dislike sea days and wanted to maximize their time on the islands, like us. Again, if it was beyond Norwegian's control to have an extra day at a port, then it's just a general disappointment, but one that I wouldn't attribute to Norwegian. But if it was a conscious decision on Norwegian's part to select a sea day over a port day, then it's just another reason why I wouldn't book another Norwegian cruise.

MY POST BELOW:

I’ve only cruised a couple of times before this, but this is hands down the worst, in my opinion. We did the 7-day Hawaii cruise and prebooked some tours. Because of the volcano, our schedule got shifted, which was to fine. But instead of automatically shifting the tours so that they fit the new schedule, they only shifted some of the tours, but not all of them, which makes zero sense.

For us, that meant one of our tours got shifted, which we expected, but the other one didn’t. We made it to the one that got shifted, but not the other due to this weird rescheduling choice by Norwegian. When we realized we missed it, we tried to speak with customer service about either rebooking elsewhere or getting a refund. The tour we booked was $185 per person. The only tours available for rebooking were $100 ones. That would have been fine, except that Norwegian refused to refund us the difference. They said, and I quote, “It’s only $85.” It’s only $85. Then why wouldn’t they refund us the $85 per person? We paid thousands of dollars for the cruise, booked our tours in advance for planning purposes, as they recommended, and they can’t give us a full refund for their weird, confusing rescheduling policy? The answer, in my opinion, is because they don’t believe in customer service.

The other cruises I’ve sailed had no problem with accommodating us when issues arose, including refunds when necessary. Norwegian’s number one goal, in my opinion and based on my experience, is to get your money, with no care about customer service.

There are plenty of other issues, in my opinion—patronizing their customers, aggressive spray-bottling with purell (literally—we nicknamed one employee “Aunt Lydia” due to her obsessive interrogating if you tried to get avoid her), less-than-mediocre food (at least, among the complimentary food), cramped rooms, and weak-tasting cocktails. While there were a couple of nice parts of the cruise, one of which was a paid meal with some good wine, you’re much better off booking a cruise on probably just about any other...

Just FYI, I'm about to be that person... I understand that not everyone can be Disney, but come on people, is customer service completely dead?!? Norwegian Cruise Line is by far the worst cruise line we have ever sailed with!  Look, we spent too much money to be treated like we don't matter, or that dietary restrictions are an inconvenience to the staff.  We were told when booking the cruise, and when we boarded and went straight the the diet manager, that the  kitchen would be able to make anything on the menu gluten free.. Two nights in a row, the people who are titled "Diet Managers" have had no idea what on the menu is gluten free, and they have had to go ask the kitchen if they could even make certain dishes gluten free.  Aren't you the diet manager?! Shouldn't you know what is and what isn't gluten free? And why would you tell us we could order anything ont he menu, and that the  kitchen would make it gluten free, if that is not the case?? Wait...  there's more.  This morning at breakfast, the person who seated us must have been new... Okay, being new is tough. I should show some grace...  Well he led us in circles trying to find the table number the hostess had assigned us.  When he finally found the table, he sat us there and left.  10 minutes later, we still hadn't been acknowledged by any servers. I NEED coffee in the mornings... 😇  Eventually, the "escort" who had sat us down, came back over and took our order. Not as our server, just so that someone would actually do it.  Then we never saw him again.  We asked for regular coffee and were given decaf, (this is an unforgivable offense 🤣 ) my dad's danishes were forgotten, we never had our own server (just several different people who would drop items off, but no one ever introduced themselves to us as someone who would be helping us.) We talked to the restaraunt manager who said they were really busy.. Can I just say that over HALF of the restaraunt was empty?? If that's busy, I would HATE to see how their service is when they are  acutally halfway full, or heaven forbid all the way full!! The restaraunt manager Ryan Massey brushed us off as if we were an annoyance to him.  Then we really became "those people."  We went to the help desk to express our concerns.  I promise you, we have been nothing but polite when expressing our frustrations.  The lady at the front suggested we try the other dining hall in the evenings,  because the menu and kitchen staff were different. She sent us to another desk to change our dinner reservations.  This gentleman was the first friendly and apparently competent person we have spoken with.  He advised us that she was incorrect, and that the kitchen staff and menu were exactly the same in both restaurants.  He told us he would have his director stop by our table tonight.  Honestly, I'm not convinced it will happen.  Overall the staff in general have been grumpy, acted like we were an inconvenience, they have been extremely incompetent, and very unprofessional. Very disappointed overall with #norwegiancruiselines. P.S. If you choose to disregard this warning, and cruise with Norwegiam anyway, definitely don't have three people in a room.  I am usually extremely flexible and will sleep just about anywhere, but this sofa bed though... 😕 Hard as a freaking rock! Actually, I would rather sleep on a rock.  I am debating sleeping on floor if they can't help us out with this bed situation... 😭😭😭 I just want to enjoy my cruise!!! P.P.S. Dad said the nasty weather is their fault as well....

Just finished 7 days in Hawaii with the Norwegian Cruise Line. We traveled to four islands.

Our inside stateroom was super cute and perfect since we weren't planning on staying in it often, except to sleep. The person taking care of our room was attentive and superbly cleaned our room. He greeted us warmly every time we saw him.

The wait staff in the dining rooms (including the buffet and poolside) was amazing! Very friendly, answered all of our silly questions, and would stop to talk to us about their job (and ours). What a hard job they have, working crazy hours for months at a time.

Guest Services answered all our questions, and then some.

The entertainment was humdrum. It seemed they felt like our entertainment was the view. Most days, we had to be back onnship at 5:30, so having little or no entertainment, was a litttle disappointing.

We went on four excursions. The first was a helicopter ride to the rainforest in Maui. Definitely was a 5-star experience.

The 2nd was in Hilo to see the volcanoes and eat an authentic lunch. This excursion was alao fabulous, with knowledgeable guides. Definitely was a 4-star experience.

The 3rd was a bus tour called Seeing Kauai with a luau at the end. The tour guide had a very thick accent and difficult to understand. We spent too much time on the bus, and not enough time off the bus. We also did not stop anywhere (except at the luau itself) to shop to get coffee or support the local community. My husband and I actually slept through some of this tour. This excursion was incredibly disappointing. Maybe a 3-star experience.

The 4th excursion was the day we disembarked the ship. We were to tour Honolulu and see the Pearl Harbor Memorial. We spent too long at the Memorial (4 hours). It was hot and only a snack place for food. We could've also gone somewhere else to support the local economy.

Our flight, scheduled through Norwegian Cruise Line, was not to take off until 10:30 p.m. We were dropped off at the airport at 2:30 p.m. United would not let us check our bags into their airline until 4 hours before our flight. So....we sat for 4 long hours waiting for the needed bag tags OUTSIDE the terminals, without anyway to charge our phones or purchase food. This is soooo wrong on many levels and was really a bummer to end our vacation.

Overall, our experience on the cruise ship was very nice. The excursions need to be amended, and the travel agents need to keep in mind that disembarking a cruise ship at 9 a.m. and your flight leaving at 10:30 p.m. was a little over the top and needs to...