Pride of America Review 2/24

Pride of America 2/24/07

First of all, let me begin by saying that I was not sure what to expect of the Pride Of America after reading so many mixed and negative reviews on this web site. Although I was excited about the upcoming cruise, I was somewhat worried about what I was about to embark on. After having just spent the last week on the ship, I can tell you all with great pleasure that it was FANTASTIC! :D

My husband and I, along with another couple, celebrated our 25th wedding anniversaries in Hawaii on the Pride of America. We flew into Honolulu on Wednesday, and spent some time getting to know the island of Ohau. We stayed at the Waikiki Marriott Beach Resort and it was great. One must keep in mind that it is in the middle of a city, so the peace and quiet of a resort is definitely lacking. But the convenience of the location was perfect for getting around the island. It was a nice way to start the trip and gave us a few days to get acclimated to the time change and see Ohau. Saturday we booked a pre-cruise tour of Pearl Harbor which left right from the hotel and took us to the ship after it was done. The advantage to staying at this hotel was the luggage went right from hotel to cabin without us having to worry about it.

The Pride of America is a beautiful ship, although not quite as grand as other ships I have sailed on. Upon entering, it reminded me of a New Orleans kind of look. We were greeted with friendly, smiling faces and a warm feeling of welcome. There are many hidden places to discover on board, so take some time and tour the ship at the beginning of your stay!

Embarkation took about 20 minutes. We arrived at 12:30 and were roaming around the ship before 1:00. Our first stop was to make dinner reservations. NCL has a new policy. You can only book the specialty restaurants for that day and the following day. No booking for the whole week anymore. This worked out well and we were able to get into all the specialty restaurants during the week without any problems. Call early and you will get what you want. The food was good in all of them, with Jefferson’s Bistro and the Teppanyaki Room being the best. The food in both of these restaurants was outstanding. Both Little Italy and Lazy J were good, although not anything overly special. We only ate once in the Liberty Room, and that was good as well. The Aloha Café was buffet style, and the food there was always hot and tasty. Be sure to go all the way to the back of the boat for outside seating. There is also a food bar outside that is not so crowded, especially during breakfast. The Cadillac Café has a limited menu, but the burgers and soup were great. All in all, I have no complaints about the food or the service I received at the restaurants. If I did have a complaint, it would be about the rude cruisers I saw treating the staff with disrespect. This is their job, and they are there to help and assist you, not be your personal servants for the week. Treat them with a friendly attitude and you will definitely receive that in return!

Our room was located on the 9th floor, room 9004. It adjoined with 9012. I thought it to be quite large for a ship cabin. It has a king size bed, a small couch, and plenty of storage place to put your close. The luggage fit nicely under the bed and out of the way. The balcony was very large, with 2 chairs, a table, and a lounge chair. It has sliding glass doors, which we kept open when sailing to hear the sounds of the ocean. The balcony was a great place to enjoy that first morning cup of coffee. A coffee maker was in the room, as well as creamers and sugar. What a way to start the day!!! As an added treat, on the pier in Hilo, purchase a cabin bouquet for $10.00. It was beautiful and added a little bit of Hawaii to the room. There was also a hairdryer in the room, but no clock. You can set the wake up call on the phone, but you might want to bring a clock along with you. Our cabin stewart, Carlito, was great!! He introduced himself the first night and always was friendly and attentive to our needs. We saw him everyday, both morning and night. There is a dial by the outside door that you can use when you want the bed turned down or the cabin made up.

Entertainment was pretty good. The comedians were very funny and the Pride of America Dancers were good. The band, not so fantastic, but OK. The Lanai Bar up on the 13th floor had a great guitar player. Don’t miss him!

As for the itinerary of the ship, it was perfect. We did almost all excursions booked through NCL, mostly for convenience purposes. The exception was the helicopter tour in Kauai.

Hilo – Volcano National Park and Rainbow Falls – great tour. It takes all day, and covers many different aspects of the island, and in particular the volcano. Lunch is included. A stop at the Macadamia Nut Factory allows you to buy products, but because it is on a Sunday, the factory is not open. The tour driver was fantastic and we learned so much from him, not only about the volcano, but about the culture of the Big Island as well. One advantage to taking a tour verses just renting a car is what you learn from the tour guides. These are things you can only find out about from people who live right there on each island. The night viewing of the lava is spectacular!! It starts on the Starboard side and then the boat turns around so the Port side can get a good viewing. Definitely worth staying up for.

Maui – Day 1 – rented a car and toured the island on our own. This was fun as we could stop where we wanted and stay as long as we wanted too. Headed up to the tip of the island Honalua, and enjoyed the beautiful views along the way. Lots of whales along the coast, as well as sea turtles. Amazing site to see! We then headed towards Kaanapali, and beached it for a few hours. Beautiful beaches with public access all along the way, and then went into Lahina. Lahina is a quaint whaling town, with lots of shops and places to eat.

Day 2 – We did the Haleakala Sunrise and Bicycle Tour through NCL. The Sunrise is not to be missed! Although you must rise early, it is definitely worth it. Sunrise was followed by a 30 mile bike ride, or I should say coast. Although they say this is a strenuous activity, it really is quite mild. You actually coast all the way down, with a short peddling burst of about ¼ mile. Dress warmly, only 40 degrees at the top and during the ride it was quite chilly. Beautiful views along the way, with a number of picture taking breaks. Breakfast is at the bottom, at a general store. This tour is a bit costly, but sometimes you just have to take the adventure and go with it!!

Kona – The girls did the Kona Beach Blast and the guys did a Deep Sea Fishing Adventure. The Beach Blast was great. It included equipment to snorkel, beach chairs, glass bottom boat ride and other ocean activities in the price. The fishing was horrible. The operators were rude and out to just catch the “big one” instead of letting the guys just fish. The fishing is definitely not recommended. Kona has a little shopping area right at the pier, so you don’t have to travel far for any shopping. This is the only place that you tender into. The tenders run about every 10 minutes until 5:00. All aboard is 5:30.

Kauai – Definitely saved the best for last! Absolutely beautiful! On the first day, we did the Kauai Canopy Zipline Tour. Great choice! There a 7 zip lines over a river transcending down the mountain top. Quite a view and very well organized. This is quite the adventure but you will be glad you did it. This tour only takes about 4 hours so you have plenty of time to do something else. We chose to go to the beach just to the right of the boat behind Anchor Cove. This is somewhat hidden, but not to be missed. The guys took surfing lessons and you could rent snorkel equipment as well. It was a much needed peaceful afternoon. If you want a great dinner off ship, Duke’s is the place. Also located right here on the same beach.

The final adventure was a helicopter tour of the island. We chose Air Kauai. This was not through NCL. It was awesome! It was a one hour flight over the most spectacular sites you will ever see. Do not miss this. The ship ends the cruise with an afternoon sail by the Na Pali coast. Unbelievable!!!!! This is on the Port side of the ship, so get a good viewing seat outside as early as you can if your room is starboard. When we sailed by, the whales put on a show as well! Breathtaking!

Anyways, all in all, a fantastic vacation. I have absolutely no complaints about the Pride of America, its staff, the excursions (except for the fishing, but now we know, so we won’t make that mistake again), or the restaurants! Your vacation will only be as good as YOU make it.

Enjoy the beauty, the culture, and the emotions of being in Paradise!!!!! :o

Thanks for your posting. It is nice to hear that your trip was good. Also thanks for the info on booking the other dining areas only one day in advance now.

Chuck

thanks for the WONDERFUL review!!! I am really happy to read about the whales by the Na Pali coast as well... it really does sound like paradise!

Mahalo for the great review. Sounds like you made the very most of your time in the islands.

I would like to hear a little more detail on the Kauai Canopy Zipline Tour. We are thinking of doing this....but my husband says he would like a little more info and explanations before he takes the plunge!!

We sailed with POAM in Feb. & we also loved it. Great way to see the islands.

On a sad note, did you hear about that horrible helicopter crash yesterday in Kauai? My heart breaks for the families.

kapoho2 - The Kauai Canopy Zipline tour was awesome! It was run very professionally, and at no point in time was I really nervous about it. They pick you up at the ship and bring you to their warehouse where you are fitted with the proper gear. Gear includes harness and helmet (and for me being under 110 pounds, a 25 pound backpack filled with rocks). You are then transported in an off road jeep vehicle up to the starting point. They give a great review of the equipment and show you exactly how to do it. There are 2 guides with you all the time, who also zip with you. One goes first and is there to help you land on the other side, and one stays with you to get you off right. They are in communication with each other the whole time discussing wind, weight, etc. They set an order to who goes when and that stays until the last zip. The first zip is like the bunny slope and gives you a good taste of what is to come. Basically, you are harnessed onto a pully type system and you zip down anywhere from 200 to 940 feet across a river, down a mountain side. Sounds more scary that it really is. I believe the highest off the ground you go is 250 feet. Again, sounds scary, but really is not. Even my husband who is afraid of heights did it just fine. Each zip is over in 6 seconds or less. There are 7 zips. We where with several people over 60 who had no problem doing it, so take the adventure. You will be happy you did. :p

Gear includes harness and helmet (and for me being under 110 pounds, a 25 pound backpack filled with rocks).

could you please post this review to the NCL forum on this site?

Thanks so much for the details on the canopy zipline. That is the most information anyone has given....although everyone writes that it is a blast. It looks like it is a GO for us!! Just the encouragement we needed!!

I am so glad to hear about your trip!! We are leaving in 3 weeks for our first family trip to Hawaii and taking that same cruise.

The kids are so excited but to be honest I was getting a little worried.

I do have one question? Did you receive lei's when you boarded??

I have heard different things.

I do like the little things they do on cruise's so I hope this ship will also do them. We are a pretty laid back family.

Angie

We did not receive leis when we boarded, but they were given out during the Sail Away Party on Saturday night. They also gave them out Sunday night during the Lava Viewing party, so there are plenty of chances to get one once on board. Some people got them when boarding, but I believe that might have been from their travel agents.

I bet you must be excited for your trip!!! I am jealous as I would go in a minute if I had the opportunity. Have fun!!!!

P The Cadillac Café has a limited menu, but the burgers and soup were great.

When I did PoAM the Cadillac Grill switched to a menu with much fewer items after 11pm, wondering if you went for a late night snack. The chocolate milkshakes there are excellent.

Love reviews of Hawaii trips! Thanks for the great post.

Thanks for all the great reviews. I'm going on the PoAm 3/31/07 cruise.

I have a question about the itinerary -- in Maui, does the PoAm stay docked all night so you can come & go as you please? The itinerary on the NCL website is strange -- it has an arrival time for Maui Day 2 (but no departure time for Day 1).

Thanks,

Mike

Yes, the ship arrives on Monday morning, and remains in port until Tuesday night at 6:00 pm. You can come and go as you please, any time of the day. We left for our excursion at 3:15 a.m and there were several passengers and crew just returning from their night out.

What company was this zipline tour with "Kauai Canopy Zipline", did you do it through the ship or on your own? When I google it, nothing comes back with that specific name. It sounds great and I wanted to check it out for our POH trip this summer.

Thanks! :D

Quote:

Originally Posted by MikeKaye

When I did PoAM the Cadillac Grill switched to a menu with much fewer items after 11pm, wondering if you went for a late night snack. The chocolate milkshakes there are excellent.

What company was this zipline tour with "Kauai Canopy Zipline", did you do it through the ship or on your own? When I google it, nothing comes back with that specific name. It sounds great and I wanted to check it out for our POH trip this summer.

 

Thanks! :D

We actually booked through NCL as an excursion. They pick you up at the ship and return you at the end of the tour. They use a company called BackCountry Adventures. Here is the website link http://www.kauaibackcountry.com/ They were great! Have fun!;)

Great review, thanks sooo much! My sons are looking for surfing lessons. Can you tell us the name of the company you used and whether it was a good choice? They have never surfed and range from 12-24 years old. Any info appreciated.

Laurie