Pride of America - Wonderful Trip

My wife and I were on the same cruise as you. We did that cruise before in 2009. Based on that cruise we wanted to spend more time in Hawaii. We actually flew in on the Tuesday before and rented a house on the north shore with another couple. It was there first time in Hawaii. After the cruise we flew back to the big island, stayed a couple days in a bed and breakfast on the Hilo side near the national park then went back to Kona and stayed in a condo. We rented a mini van every day but one and did our own tours.

 

We were at the VNP on Sunday, Monday and left Tuesday morning. Two earthquakes on Monday night set the stage for the eruption on Tuesday. The lava was spectacular on Monday night. We did go back to view the caldera on Tuesday morning just to see if anything new was happening. We then headed south to tour the south part of the island on our way over to Kona. We learned on the radio in the car of the eruption and that they had actually closed some roads behind us. Good timing on our part I guess. We spent the last couple days in Kona and flew out on Thursday. Our friends' flight was two hours after ours and was delayed. Then they had two earthquakes that closed the airport. They got stranded (though put up in a very nice hotel) until Friday.

 

Having done it twice I think the cruise is a great way to get around and see the islands and would I highly recommend it for your first Hawaii adventure. Add a few days on to the beginning or end to see the north shore of Oahu if you can. Since we've done it before I would probably skip the cruise the next time we go.

I agree. It was the perfect way to see Hawaii the first time. If we go again I think we would do a split stay in Maui and Kauai. I would also love to spend a day Molokai.

Heading out and Last Thoughts

 

 

We do recommend The Smith Family Luau and River Tour, Ricky's Tours in Hilo and we enjoyed the movie tour in Kauai. This tour we did through the ship but Robert's has a similar one and I see other companies do it as well. We really enjoyed the Mai Tai Catamaran in Waikiki. You can get a great deal on Groupon. Don't miss Pearl Harbor either.

 

If anyone has any questions I will be happy to answer! Thank you everyone who answered my questions and gave advice. It really helped!

Thank you for the amazing detailed review. The Smith Family Luau and River Tour sounds really fun, but we are doing a Luau elsewhere. Do you recommend the river tour and fern gully alone? Also, do you know what the chances are of booking that when we arrive? I want to save our second day in case our plane tour gets rained out the first day. I'm trying to not repeat your very few disappointments you ran into.

Thank you for the amazing detailed review. The Smith Family Luau and River Tour sounds really fun, but we are doing a Luau elsewhere. Do you recommend the river tour and fern gully alone? Also, do you know what the chances are of booking that when we arrive? I want to save our second day in case our plane tour gets rained out the first day. I'm trying to not repeat your very few disappointments you ran into.

We booked the Fern Grotto Tour and Luau with Robert's Hawaii. I don't know if you could book so late in the trip but it couldn't hurt to have their number and give it a go. Fern Grotto and river tour was very nice. The singers and dancers were a nice touch and the grotto and area around it were pretty. We also made a stop at "Fantasy Island" falls. It is a very mellow tour.

We booked the Fern Grotto Tour and Luau with Robert's Hawaii. I don't know if you could book so late in the trip but it couldn't hurt to have their number and give it a go. Fern Grotto and river tour was very nice. The singers and dancers were a nice touch and the grotto and area around it were pretty. We also made a stop at "Fantasy Island" falls. It is a very mellow tour.

Thanks. I'm thinking by that point in the vacation mellow is going to be needed. :D

Great review. This one is on our bucket list!

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You said that the dining packages were more expensive once on the ship. Do you know how much more? we are looking at the 4 meal package for a little over a $100 a person, but would like to use our on-board credit to buy it so we can't buy until we are on the ship. (NCL card and have racked up $800 on OBC)

I am so glad you had a wonderful time. We did too. I was surprised by the weather and so were many others on that cruise. I think everyone thinks of Hawaii as tropical but it was cool and rained almost the entire trip. But, we can make do anywhere and sounds like you both did the same. In April, we had an open door helicopter tour scheduled for day 1 of Kauai. We went up but all the tours booked thru NCL were canceled for bad weather. We felt so fortunate.

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We were on the same cruise and were also surprised by the weather. We did everything that we had planned to do, only in the rain. The only time we were impacted by the weather was on the second day in Maui when we went to Haleakala. It was raining heavily at the summit with 45 mph winds and unfortunately we couldn't see much. We were afraid it would be the same situation in Kauai when we went to Waimea Canyon, but the rain stopped briefly and we were able to see into the canyon for the spectacular views.

We just booked a POA cruise. Thank you for such a great trip report! It’s really giving me ideas for our trip.

Dan

You said that the dining packages were more expensive once on the ship. Do you know how much more? we are looking at the 4 meal package for a little over a $100 a person, but would like to use our on-board credit to buy it so we can't buy until we are on the ship. (NCL card and have racked up $800 on OBC)

It wasn't a lot more. I think it was $20 more per person. Also they only offered the 4 meal option. We only wanted the 2 meal package.

We were on the same cruise and were also surprised by the weather. We did everything that we had planned to do, only in the rain. The only time we were impacted by the weather was on the second day in Maui when we went to Haleakala. It was raining heavily at the summit with 45 mph winds and unfortunately we couldn't see much. We were afraid it would be the same situation in Kauai when we went to Waimea Canyon, but the rain stopped briefly and we were able to see into the canyon for the spectacular views.

Yes - I spoke to a woman who might have been on that same tour. She said Haleakala was a bummer due to the weather. I was hoping for better weather when we went and was a little bummed. That bi-plane ride was high on our list of things we wanted to do and we were pretty disappointed. We really did have a wonderful trip though. We saw almost everything we wanted to see just got a little wet some days!

Yes - I spoke to a woman who might have been on that same tour. She said Haleakala was a bummer due to the weather. I was hoping for better weather when we went and was a little bummed. That bi-plane ride was high on our list of things we wanted to do and we were pretty disappointed. We really did have a wonderful trip though. We saw almost everything we wanted to see just got a little wet some days!

If you are near Rhinebeck, NY on the Hudson, you can still get a bi-plane ride.

https://oldrhinebeck.org/biplane-rides/

Hello...Thank you so much for the in depth report it was most helpful and very interesting. If you don't mind can you please tell me how you found the staff and service on the ship. I have heard it is not up to par with any other cruise because it is an American ship and the international staff usually works harder than us Americans. Thank you again

Heading out and Last Thoughts

 

We were up early and finished packing up. We wanted to stay on the ship as long as possible since our flight didn't leave till 1pm. We went to Skyline for breakfast and had a leisurely meal.

We exited the ship just before 9am. There was no issues getting off the ship. There was a little bit of a line but it moved quickly. We opted for the "take your own luggage off the ship". we find it much easier then having to get off the ship and look for your stuff after.

We used Robert's shuttle service to get to the airport. We were at the airport right around 9:45.

Our flight was at 1pm and I was worried that we would be way too early. I am glad we got there when we did because we had to to the agricultural check, check our bags with United and then go through the long security line.

Once we were through with all of that we had time for lunch before finding our gate. Overall not a bad experience but it sure was a bummer to be saying good-bye to Hawaii. We had a wonderful time and while I would do this cruise again I think if we ever went back I would consider maybe taking a more land based trip and stay in Maui and Kauai as they were my favorites. I also would love to visit Molokai.

 

Some Take-Aways

After visiting all the islands I found that the roads were pretty easy to navigate. We only rented a car in Maui but we could have easily rented and navigated the other islands that had overnights. I would be worried on the shorter days as traffic was pretty busy here and there.

 

If you are a soda drinker purchase it in the gift shop on the ship and get ice from your room steward. It was cheaper then trying to get it at the bars.

 

While we did have a few reservations for the restaurants we didn't have any issues getting in on days we did not. We booked Cagney's while on the ship and did a walk up at Skyline.

 

If you know what you want to do book it! Prices are higher once you are on the ship. Also don't be afraid to use vendors for excursions off the ship. We had no issues with anyone we used off ship.

 

We found weather in Hawaii when we went to be totally different then we expected. You always see the tropical paradise but it was cool at times and lot of overcast weather. (Maybe it is different in different seasons) One side of one island is hot and dry and another is a rain forest! We both packed rain type jackets and they were well used on some days. We adjusted nicely and had a terrific time rain or shine!

 

I think the only downside to the cruise is there is simply not enough time! If you plan something and weather cancels it you don't have another day to try again. We booked a bi-plane ride and weather prevented us from doing it. They would have rescheduled us but we already had another excursion planned.

 

We do recommend The Smith Family Luau and River Tour, Ricky's Tours in Hilo and we enjoyed the movie tour in Kauai. This tour we did through the ship but Robert's has a similar one and I see other companies do it as well. We really enjoyed the Mai Tai Catamaran in Waikiki. You can get a great deal on Groupon. Don't miss Pearl Harbor either.

 

If anyone has any questions I will be happy to answer! Thank you everyone who answered my questions and gave advice. It really helped!

Hello...Thank you so much for the in depth report it was most helpful and very interesting. If you don't mind can you please tell me how you found the staff and service on the ship. I have heard it is not up to par with any other cruise because it is an American ship and the international staff usually works harder than us Americans. Thank you again

Hi - Honestly we found the staff to be great. April at the John Adams bar was wonderful. Such a delight to chat with as we had our Bloody Mary's in the morning.

Our room steward was great as well. She always filled our ice bucket in the morning and at night. Room was well kept.

Waiters were all attentive (there was one snarky one the last evening). I will say at the Cadillac Diner they were not the best but nothing truly awful. Just not very attentive and a bit slow.

I think you will find the majority to very helpful and attentive.

Your review on the Pride of America is very refreshing. We are booked for June 2019 and were starting to have second thoughts. If you could pick your top three not to miss excursions, what would they be? Thanks for taking the time to post your experiences.

Your review on the Pride of America is very refreshing. We are booked for June 2019 and were starting to have second thoughts. If you could pick your top three not to miss excursions, what would they be? Thanks for taking the time to post your experiences.

Hi

I think our favorite excursion was the tour through Robert's Hawaii. It was the Fern Grotto/Smith Luau excursion. It was priced great and we got a lot of bang for our buck. A beautiful river tour and a stop at the grotto followed by the delicious dinner and drinks at the luau and a great show after. Plus the Smith's plantation is beautiful. We got a short tram ride around the place and if the weather was better I would have spent more time looking around. This was in Kauaii

we also enjoyed our Movie Tour through the cruise lines. This was also in Kauai. It was a very full schedule and we made a lot of stops to see where movies were filmed. We had a nice lunch included as well.

I actually think we enjoyed Maui the most. We rented a car and did our own thing. The second day we went to Lahaina and had the best time. Perfect weather and a very cute little town.

Also - do the Pearl Harbor Tour. This was a great experience. Unfortunately I think you still cannot dock at the actual memorial (I think we were one of the last who were able to before they closed it) but there is still a ton to see and do.

Hi

 

I think our favorite excursion was the tour through Robert's Hawaii. It was the Fern Grotto/Smith Luau excursion. It was priced great and we got a lot of bang for our buck. A beautiful river tour and a stop at the grotto followed by the delicious dinner and drinks at the luau and a great show after. Plus the Smith's plantation is beautiful. We got a short tram ride around the place and if the weather was better I would have spent more time looking around. This was in Kauaii

 

we also enjoyed our Movie Tour through the cruise lines. This was also in Kauai. It was a very full schedule and we made a lot of stops to see where movies were filmed. We had a nice lunch included as well.

 

I actually think we enjoyed Maui the most. We rented a car and did our own thing. The second day we went to Lahaina and had the best time. Perfect weather and a very cute little town.

 

Also - do the Pearl Harbor Tour. This was a great experience. Unfortunately I think you still cannot dock at the actual memorial (I think we were one of the last who were able to before they closed it) but there is still a ton to see and do.

Thank you once again. We were unaware of the damage closing the Pearl Harbor Memorial. We’re hoping the volcanic activity calms down and the memorial is repaired by the time of our cruise. We are going to take a wait and see outlook on postponing our cruise or keeping our current dates.

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Thank you so much for all the detailed information. My husband and I are booked for the same itinery in October. You helped me plan some of our tours. Many thanks again!

Thank you so much for all the detailed information. My husband and I are booked for the same itinery in October. You helped me plan some of our tours. Many thanks again!

Glad to hear it. I got a lot of great advice from this forum and I am happy to share what I learned as well! Have a great time!