Pride of America Review May 12-May 19

What a wonderful week! We feel so spoiled and so pampered!

We got into Honolulu the day before the cruise. We checked int the Waikiki Gateway Hotel (I'll talk about that later) we immediately when for dinner at Dukes of Waikiki...the food was fine...not particularly special, but pretty good...it was very expensive for what it was, but our goal was to be as icionic as possible for the whole trip. Of course, we topped the dinner off with a hula pie....now that was one of the best things I eve ate, one pie, 5 spoons!

We made reservations for one night at the Waikiki Gateway Hotel....this is obviously a very old Hotel. The interior hallways are very narrow...the air conditioning is mounted on the walls with pipes going to the condensing units on the patio...old tubs that drain very slowly...all electrical service is by conduit along the walls. It seems the building is concrete so modern utility service would be difficult to install. As an appraiser, it seems the building has issues with functional obsolescence. Now for the good parts... the Hotel is spotlessly clean...the staff is remarkable...they make every effort towards your comfort, give directs for walking places, and are extremely accommodating. For a one nite stay, it's not bad, but if I were to stay longer, I'll go across the street to the Holliday in express...they are in the process of changing the name to "La Croix".

On Saturday morning we got on a shuttle and went to Pearl Harbor....it was very moving...we did not get to get off the boat on the Arizona because of a crack on the docking structure...I know we miss the most moving part, but all in all a, I'm very glad we went. We went back to the hotel and within 20 minutes, our shuttle came to take us to the ship....now this is where the major great stuff started happening....

We got to the dock and stood in line for about 2 minutes...a lady came by to look at our travel documents and she wished us out of that line and brought us to a room where we sat at a table with a registration gentleman. She said, these are our top registrars and they will get you on your way quickly... we where not even finished with the registration when Thomas, the Concierge came to the table to walk us to our suite. On the way to the suite we we joined by Jeffrey, our Butler. We were given purple key cards...we didn't think much of it until the middle of the week (hint, hint...purple is really good).

Our bags were not in the room yet, so we could have gone to the pool, explored the ship or gone to lunch....my big'ol sons were there, so lunch won out...we really didn't want to battle the crowd at the buffet, so we did a sit down lunch at Skyline. While we were at dinner, Thomas and Jeffery came by to see if there was any night specified for any of the speciality restaurants or what the times were that were the best for dinners...spa ideas etc. within an hour Jeffery was back with our dinner and spa schedule. (This was a trick because we had excursions everyday!

We took about 20 minutes to explore the ship after lunch and then our floor was called...we went to the room. Myself, my husband and oldest son stayed in the suite and directly across the hall my younger son and his future wife stayed in an interior stateroom. Our suite was wonderful! It was #11500 it had a separate bedroom, separate dining area, living room, a large balcony with a whirlpool tub on the balcony. During the cruise, we mostly hung out in the suite (mainly on the patio) and Jon and Ashley just used the interior stateroom for showering and sleeping. our suite was located on the front right corner of the ship way high on the ship. We loved it.

Once we got to the rooms and settled in, Jeffery came by again to find out what we might need in the fridge or anything else, he got our dinner wine package order...my older son needs "white noise" for a really good night's sleep....so he asked if the ship happened to have a "box fan"... Jeffery said he did not know, but in 15 minutes, there it was! He kept our fridge filled...(particularly with tiny liquor bottles, canapés, munchies, cookies and even chocolates!

Conrado was our room steward...he was fantastic...whenever e left the room, we would come back and the room would be put back in order without riffling through our "stuff". He never missed.

Later that afternoon we went to the pool and watched the ship leave the dock... at this point, I order my selected first drink...the rebellious fish...I expected it to be served in a fishbowl, but it wasn't...it was just served in a plastic cup just like all the drinks. It was fine, but when I tried a "Mr World traveler", I liked it even better! we really wanted to go see a show, but we were 6 hours off on time so we dragged to bed pretty early.

On Sunday, we went to Lahaina on a bus and did the submarine and walk around the little town... ok...Ty and the boys are big guys...they were not excited about getting into the submarine...once it took off, they didn't even notice that they felt crowded...it was so fascinating.

We got off the submarine and walked around Lahaina...there is so much history there.....it had been the capital of Hawaii at one point in the 1800s and it was one of the main whaling ports in the Western Hemisphere. We shopped around in Lahaina and went to eat lunch at "Cheeseburger inParadise"....highly recommend! Best cheeseburger I've had in years! We stopped at Uluanias for a shave ice....oh my goodness...if you eat nothing else Hawaiian, eat this...a scoop of macadamia ice cream in the bottom of the dish, with shaved iced, packed like a snow cone over the ice cream with a variety of flavors poured on...I selected strawberry and passion fruit...it was sooooo good....I had gotten hot in the sun and it was completely refreshing! We went to looked at the local crafts set up under the Banyon tree...yes, this is just one tree!

On Monday we did the road to Hana Deluxe. We picked this one because we wanted to go in a smaller vehicle that could handle curves and turns better than a larger bus. It was definitely one of our favorites...the driver, Wayne Smith, was so knowledgeable....we were 8 people plus the driver....stopped at the "half way to Hana" shop for warm banana bread and a Pitt stop...they served us a delicious lunch of chicken or fish wraps, pasta sauce, mild, Maui gold pineapple and brownies....we got out at several beaches, blowholes, old churches, lots of "red jungle fowl" also known as chickens....

One thing that I hadn't expected was the condition of the regular people houses... I expected the mansions to be well kept and well tended...they were... but, the regular homes, of regular people seemed to be cluttered, pieced together and unpainted...my husband pointed out that the supplies are hard to come by....there is no supply of wood and building supplies around the corner at Home Depot or anything and the cost of everything related to housing is so high...the cost of gas is one dollar more than in the Atlanta area.

When we got back to the ship, we found out that we were not going to go to the big island at all due to the volcano....we would miss Hilo and Kona completely.... (oh well, gives me an excuse to go again)...I'm sure that Norwegian acted out of caution....if they had known there MAY be danger and they took us anyway, they could have been liable...my sister has a friend that lives in Konya and he said it was all "fake news".... no one on the ship was really upset....we had a sea day on Tuesday and then on Wednesday, we anchored off Lahaina and tendered to the town. They scrambled and put together some additional excursions on Lahaina which were pretty good....the line to tender back to the ship were really long (over an hour) so we went to "Fleetwood's"...yep of Fleetwood Mac....had a very expensive drink and listened to some singers songwriters of my generation....it was great! Bought a signed CD and a Fleetwood Mac t-shirt....still had to stand in the tender line for over 30 minutes....

On Thursday we were on Kauai.....oh my goodness....by far my favorite island for sure! First thing in the morning was a helicopter ride (Blue Hawaii - pilot was Brodi)....I was crying it was so beautiful"....it was the most majestic scenery I have ever seen! It was well worth it...I'd do it again in a munute

Here is the only negative thing that happened...the helicopter was supposed to be done by 12:30, so I made an appointment for a facial for 12:45... the bus didn't get back to the ship until 1:05.... I was late....they couldn't reschedule me so they said they would still charge me 50% of the highest priced facial...spoke to the manager of the spa....she was polite, cold and firm...she didn't care...she just wanted the money for doing nothing and not even giving an opportunity to reschedule....(ya'll, I was on an NCL tour...) I told guest services and got a call the next day with the word that I would not be charged. (YAY!) I still will probably skip to spa on my next Norwegian cruise, but at least I don't feel nickeled and dimed).

On Thursday night, well, afternoon, we went to the Luau! We did the one where you do the tour, dinner and Luau. It was expensive, but I would do it again. We got a purple arm band (you'll notice the purple color is once again a good thing)... we went by bus to the Gaylord House where we took a little train on a tour of the plantation and learned how all of the Hawaiian plants are grown

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Pride of America 5/12-5/19 continued

Sorry, lost my place and I need to continue...they took us to the patio at the house where we were seated at a great table... we had a wonderful dinner...we were told to try the poi by using as a dipping sauce...well...just my opinion, it still tastes like wallpaper paste....sorry...I wanted to like it....I really did like everything else! It was a great dinner! Then we were walked to the luau center.... it was huge! We were purple band people so we sat at the tables in the very front! Right in front of the round stage...my husband was pulled up to dance with the beautiful hula dancer... he still can't dance, but he loved every second of it! The hula told the story of the Polynesian people's journey to Hawaii and how the son in law went back to bora bora to get the wife he loved....beautiful love story...amazing production....we loved every minute of it. They wished us back to our bus....way ahead of the majority of the audience....I'm talking purple band again....

On Friday, we did the Wialia River cruise....while this was fine....it was boring in comparison to the other excursions....the fern grotto was very pretty...this one is likely for people who have mobility problems. It was completed by noon so we went to the shopping area at the Nawiliwili port called Anchor Center. Cute shops....across the street is an area with food trucks....that is where we had heard you can get the most authentic Hawaiian food. We went to the red truck and ordered a smoked pork sandwich on a steamed bun (really a steamed pita)... side salad and a root beer....we just shared it...it was awesome...we sat at one of the picnic tables with a delightful local couple...we spent the next hour just chatting with them and found out about their life on the island...we had such a great time with them! We had to hurry to get back on the ship by 2:00...that's when we cruised by the Na'pali coast....beautiful!

We got a quick shower, had a cheese tray and wine sent to the room and we were able to sit on the balcony and watch the Na'Pali Coast. That night we went to the Brazilian Steakhouse....wonderful!

The speciality restaurants we went to were Cagney's, Teppyaki and Brazilian....Cagney's was the best of the best...we went to breakfast there most mornings too....the Buffett was fine, but we just don't like the "herd mentality" we prefer our own spot. We only tried the buffet once. We are easterners, so it was hard to stay awake for shows...we did see the comedian twice...we really liked him...Jeff Harms....he is clever, not a potty mouth...I really appreciate his humor...I laughed my sides off!

All in all...I have to say, this was one of the best vacations I ever took...the suites are definitely worth it. Our butler Jeffery was a pleasure!

There were several comments and reviews that really picked apart this cruise....those people must have had a bad day when they wrote the review...yes, this was an expensive cruise and there are fewer on-ship amenities than the super ships, but the ports could not handle a big big ships....the ship was spotlessly clean...each of the staff members were polite and most appeared happy with their jobs. Maybe if you are looking to save every penny, then you have to be herded with the large groups and that would ruin my day.....I recommend that you spend the money for the higher service area and you will completely enjoy this cruise.

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Thank you for the review! I am curious, did they let you go to the suite prior to them calling you by floor? I know the POA is different and they actually block off corridors, but we have always tried to sneak into room early to drop off carry ons.

No, but we didn't try...we had lunch in the Skyline restaurant...by the time we were finished eating and we walked around for maybe 5 minutes...they called deck 11...pretty painless...

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No, but we didn't try...we had lunch in the Skyline restaurant...by the time we were finished eating and we walked around for maybe 5 minutes...they called deck 11...pretty painless...

 

 

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Thank you for the review. Do you happen to remember what was on the Skyline menu on emarkation day?

Also, in a suite, didn't they whisk you away to the lunch for suite people? I'm not sure what that is on POA.

I think salads, sandwiches and some rather elegant small plates were offered....I think Thomas the concierge suggested places including Cagney's but since we were planning to eat at Cagney's the next morning for breakfast and dinner the next night, we thought Skyline would be a better choice for that meal. I do recall that it was much better with a much more diverse menu than I had expected. We thoroughly enjoyed it.

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Glad you enjoyed your cruise. We sailed in an OS with hot tub last year and loved it too. The steam shower is awesome!!! On our sailing we were fortunate to visit Kilauea's summit on the Big Island. Hopefully on your next Hawaiian cruise you will be able to visit the Big Island too.

I think salads, sandwiches and some rather elegant small plates were offered....I think Thomas the concierge suggested places including Cagney's but since we were planning to eat at Cagney's the next morning for breakfast and dinner the next night, we thought Skyline would be a better choice for that meal. I do recall that it was much better with a much more diverse menu than I had expected. We thoroughly enjoyed it.

 

 

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Thank you. I think that is what we will plan on for our first lunch on board. We aren't staying in a suite, so no Cagney's, but it sounds much less crazy than the buffet.

Thank you for taking the time to post a review. We will be on the POA in December. We also have a suite and my sister and BIL will be across the hall in an inside cabin. I asked in another thread if they will be allowed to do some things with us such as priority boarding, Cagney’s for breakfast, etc. and was told they are very strict on POA and we would either have to separate or stay together and choose non-suite activities. Did your son and his fiancé do things on their own or were you able to include them in priority boarding, breakfast? Did they also get to be purple for the luau? Thanks!

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They were allowed to board with us...no problem there...they liked to sleep in so they didn't come with us to Cagney's for breakfast...but if they wanted to, it would have been $20 each per meal they were with us

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They were purple for the luau...we had bought the excursion....all of us bought the same excursion so they were purple too

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They were allowed to board with us...no problem there...they liked to sleep in so they didn't come with us to Cagney's for breakfast...but if they wanted to, it would have been $20 each per meal they were with us

 

 

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Thank you so much!

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We LOVED LOVED LOVED our Hawaii cruise. We had a balcony..and faced the coast as we went past. My most favorite Island was kauaii. My son and his Fiance' were with us and said they would love to go back and get married on the beach..all for it :) We did Cagneys, Japenese, and LeBistro. Cagneys and Japenese was great!! LeBistro we sat for 2hrs..almost an hour before the first course was served..and my future DIL is diabetic..she had to eat..I was so upset I put in a courtesy card..but never heard anything. Loved eating out on the fantail for breakfast..I could go on and on..and the Luau!! Would definitly go again!!