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Pride of America Review July 17-23, 2010 plus pictures

kingpgmr

By kingpgmr,
in Norwegian Cruise Line

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kingpgmr

kingpgmr

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We've been back from our cruise for a couple weeks now and I finally got time to write a review. It's long so I'll post it in segments to make it more digestable. :) I hope everyone enjoys it.

 

 

 

Pre-cruise - Tuesday, 7/13 Honolulu

Just for some background, this was my seventh cruise, my wife’s fifth cruise and my step kids (daughter age 14 and son age 18) third cruise. I have previously cruised on Carnival and Royal Caribbean and have found them to be comparable in quality. This would be our second time on Norwegian Cruise Lines after trying them out for the first time last summer on the Norwegian Gem, which we enjoyed (but I thought was slightly lower in quality than Carnival or Royal Caribbean). We also found out 2 weeks before the cruise that the cruise would only be 6 days instead of 7 due to an unexpected coast guard inspection of the ship. We received $800 on board credit and an overnight stay at the Marriott Waikiki Beach Hotel because of the change (more about this later).

 

We left on Tuesday, July 13 for the journey to Honolulu on a non-stop flight from Dallas (DFW). The flight was delayed about a half hour and left at 2 pm but we made up most of the time in the air and were only a few minutes late arriving in Honolulu a little after 5 pm. The audio didn’t work on the flight so we didn’t get to see a movie or anything so it was indeed a long flight (we ended up getting 6,000 frequent flier miles each though for the inconvenience). It was sunny and warm upon our arrival in Honolulu and we were all pretty tired but excited. We were greeted at the arrival gate by a lei greeting (I had arranged this in advance through leigreeting.com).

 

 

My wife and kids really enjoyed this and it started the trip off with a smile on everyone’s face so was worth it! We found all of our luggage with no problem and were soon in a taxi on our way to the Grand Waikikian (part of the Hilton Hawaiian Village). We encountered some heavy traffic on our way to Waikiki (in fact this seems commonplace even on weekends as we hit this same traffic almost everyday that we were here).

 

We arrived at the hotel at 6pm and our room was ready but with a slight glitch. We had booked a two bedroom ocean view suite with one bedroom having a king sized bed and the other having two double beds (for the kids). The hotel only had two bedroom suites with each bedroom having a king sized bed. They were very accommodating though and offered us our choice of changing rooms after one night or bringing us a rollaway for free. We opted for the rollaway and the kids were fine with it as they took turns using the rollaway and bed on alternating nights. The room was fantastic consisting of a living room, two bed rooms, two bath rooms and a small kitchen (complete with full size refrigerator and dish washer) and dining area.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

There was also a small stackable washer and dryer which came in handy and three flat screen TV’s. The kitchen was stocked with dishes, silverware, paper towels, and a small amount of dish washer soap and laundry detergent as well as a coffee maker and coffee. We had plenty of room for all four of us. We had two balconies and had a really nice view of the ocean from the balcony in the living room. We also could watch the Hilton’s luau each night from our balcony which was amusing. The Hilton holds their luau on top of a parking garage so we skipped it, as this wasn’t really the authentic experience that I was looking for. We really enjoyed our stay here and found the staff members to be friendly and accommodating (despite some reviews I had read in advance stating the contrary).

 

We headed out in search of dinner and saw the Wailana Coffee House so decided to eat there. It wasn’t bad at all and was fairly cheap for Hawaii so we enjoyed our meal. My wife and step-son had all you can eat pancakes (for under $6) which I thought was a good deal. Afterwards we headed to a grocery store and loaded up with supplies (such as water, cereal, a $7 gallon milk – yikes, etc). We headed back to hotel and hit the sack as we were all exhausted by now (as we were still on Dallas time which is 5 hours later than Hawaii).

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kingpgmr

kingpgmr

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Pre-cruise – Wednesday, 7/14 Honolulu

We had a tour today with Discover Hawaii Tours for a circle island and Polynesian Cultural Center tour and were picked up promptly at 8:45 am. We were then taken to the Sheraton Hotel and were told we had to switch buses (to meet up with our actual tour bus). So we boarded another bus which arrived about 5 minutes later. After driving a few minutes the driver announced that we were headed towards Pearl Harbor where we would have to switch buses yet again. So we once again got off the bus and were told to wait for another bus (which actually turned out to be already waiting the Pearl Harbor parking lot). Low and behold, our new bus was almost completely full with only scattered seating available. I really disliked this and felt we were being jacked around, but we finally got underway and after that the tour turned out to be pretty good. It just seems that they could come up with a better system for picking people up and organizing their tours. They do use smaller mini buses that hold about 30 people rather than the 50 seat buses so at least the group size was a bit smaller! Our tour guide was knowledgeable and entertaining for the most part so no complaints there. He did seem a bit uptight all day about time, but we did have a lot of stops to make so that’s understandable.

Our first tour stop was at the Dole Pineapple Plantation.

We were told we had 30 minutes here which isn’t really enough time to do much (other than shop). We couldn’t do the Pineapple Express train or the maze (it’s one of the world’s largest), and didn’t even have time to buy a Dole whip so we just ended up buying some souvenirs here. Next we headed off to the North Shore of Oahu and made a stop at a beach where they frequently hold surfing competitions.

We also passed Shark’s Cove and some other scenic coastal sites. We reached the Polynesian Cultural Center at lunch time and had a barbeque buffet lunch included with the price of our tour. The lunch was actually pretty good and consisted of ribs, chicken, corn, salads, soda, fruit punch, iced tea and various desserts. After lunch we toured the PCC and stopped at the Samoa and Tonga areas to watch the shows, took the canoe tour, and watched the canoe pageant.

We enjoyed our visit here although I could have used about 45 minutes less time here and 45 minutes more back at the Dole Plantation. We left the PCC and stopped at a scenic ocean overview and then made our way down the east coast of Oahu, with stops at a Macadamia Nut Plantation, Pali Lookout and Byodo Temple.

It was a long day but worth it and I felt it was a nice overview of Oahu for our first activity of the trip. I would recommend this tour but with the caveat that the beginning of the tour (picking up from the hotel and getting organized) is a bit frustrating.

Dinner tonight was at Duke’s and we were tired from the tour so took a taxi there. This was a fairly loud and happening place but we all enjoyed it. The only thing I didn’t like here was my pina colada which had too much alcohol and wasn’t too tasty. I had some fresh Ono which was delicious and the salad bar was also quite good, particular the fresh tossed Caesar salad. Of course we all shared a busy of Hula Pie for dessert which was fantastic.

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spacepotatoes

spacepotatoes

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Great review so far, I'm looking forward to the rest as well. It feels like I'm reliving my honeymoon :)

 

When DH and I did this last year, we arrived in Honolulu 3 days early and stayed one extra day after the cruise. With the extra time, we were able to do the circle island tour and the PCC separately, so it didn't feel as rushed. And we were able to stay for the luau and evening show at the PCC, which is fantastic. But if you are limited in the number of days you have on Oahu, your tour sounds like a really good way to see the "greatest hits." Hopefully they can get their act together with the buses, though, that sounds like it would have been frustrating!

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scrappydoo

scrappydoo

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Thanks for taking time out to share your review with us, Kingpgmr. I am eagerly awaiting the rest of your review! :)

 

I am a little worried, I have my friend booked on a Discover Hawaii Tours for WWII From Beginning to End, and certainly don't want her to be shuttled from one bus to another, to another! But I'm glad it all turned out well in the end for you. That was one full day you guys had there...

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DAGVBSB

DAGVBSB

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I agree with what you say about the Dole Plantation and that is one thing I found about many of the Oahu tours... they only give you 30 minutes at Dole and that is not enough time to do anything there except wander the gift shop. Dole has a train ride, the maze and gardens as well as the Dole Whip dessert. We arranged our own tour (Pearl Harbor and Dole) through Roberts and scheduled 2 hours for Dole.... that got pushed to 2 and a half hours and still wasn't enough time.

 

You just got a taste of the PCC. We, like others have mentioned, did the PCC on a seperate day and had from noon to 5:00 to visit the villages and do some of the hands on stuff, then we had dinner (luau or buffet) and then enjoyed the evening show.

 

It is interesting that you were transfered twice for busses and interesting that they did a pick up at Pearl Harbor... probably some who had a Pearl Harbor Tour in the morning and then did the circle island.

 

 

Also, just a note... Discover Hawaii Tours are own by NCL. You probably found their busses as your busses in the other ports.

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DAGVBSB

DAGVBSB

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Thanks for taking time out to share your review with us, Kingpgmr. I am eagerly awaiting the rest of your review! :)

 

I am a little worried, I have my friend booked on a Discover Hawaii Tours for WWII From Beginning to End, and certainly don't want her to be shuttled from one bus to another, to another! But I'm glad it all turned out well in the end for you. That was one full day you guys had there...

 

Wouldn't worry about the WW2 tour since it is all basically in the same area. You will have a shuttle bus over to the Missouri as access is controlled to Ford Island.

 

I would warn your friend that the Pearl Harbor Visitors Center is undergoing major renovation and what they currently have is very small compared to what they usually have. They will still get to the Memorial on the navy launch, but the movie and museum parts are not as good.

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Sunny AZ Girl

Sunny AZ Girl

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I am loving the review myself. However, I am not on facebook, so am unable to enjoy the pictures. Would you be able to attach them to the posts, or also use another hosting site like Webshots (free) where you can link your actual pictures to the review?

 

Besides that, your review is great!:D

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Cruise_More_Often

Cruise_More_Often

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I am loving the review myself. However, I am not on facebook, so am unable to enjoy the pictures. Would you be able to attach them to the posts, or also use another hosting site like Webshots (free) where you can link your actual pictures to the review?

 

Besides that, your review is great!:D

Ginny, just try clicking on one of the links. I'm not a Facebooker either, but the way the OP linked, everyone can view them.
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kwbound

kwbound

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I am loving the review myself. However, I am not on facebook, so am unable to enjoy the pictures. Would you be able to attach them to the posts, or also use another hosting site like Webshots (free) where you can link your actual pictures to the review?

 

Besides that, your review is great!:D

 

 

I'm not on Facebook either, but when I click on his links, I can see the photos. I know before I have tried to see photos on Facebook and haven't been able to, so I don't know why I can see these.

 

Great review so far. Looking forward to more.

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kingpgmr

kingpgmr

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Pre-cruise – Thursday, 7/15 Honolulu

Knowing that the previous day would feature a long tour, I had scheduled today to be our relaxing day. We had some breakfast in the room and then headed down to the beach. I really liked the beach at the Hilton Hawaiian Village as it’s much wider than most of the rest of Waikiki Beach (at least the parts of it that I’ve seen). We rented an umbrella, two chairs and two rafts and had a nice time swimming and lounging around.

 

 

 

 

The sand is smooth and the waves gentle. After about three hours we headed back to the room to eat lunch and then walked over to the spa for our scheduled massages. My step son and I had separate Hawaiian Lomi Lomi massages (the masseuse uses their forearms a lot which is interesting) and my wife and step daughter had a mother/daughter massage. What a wonderful way to get fully relaxed. We all thoroughly enjoyed our experiences. We didn’t feel like leaving the hotel so for dinner tonight we went to CJ’s deli which was overpriced but fairly decent (I had a $15 burger)! That seems par for the course at the Hilton Hawaiian Village as the restaurants are very expensive there. Fortunately there are cheaper options within walking distance (such as the Wailana Coffee House).

 

 

Pre-cruise – Friday, 7/16 Honolulu

Today was our Lost tour with KOS tours and we all were really looking forward to it. The tour wasn’t until 1 pm so we slept a bit later and walked to Eggs N’ Things for a later breakfast/early lunch. We got there around 11 and there was close to an hour wait for a table but we gutted it out. I’m glad we did as the pancakes here were absolutely delicious. I had a Portuguese sausage omelet with pineapple pancakes (and coconut syrup) and everything was fantastic. We all thought the food here was excellent and worth waiting for. This was part one of my pancake challenge (parts 2 and 3 would come later in the trip).

 

We took a cab back to the hotel as it was getting pretty hot out and met our private hummer for our KOS tour. It was just us and a driver which was a welcome change from our bus tour the other day.

 

 

Our driver was a big Lost and movie enthusiast (as are me and my family) so we got along great. He took us past some Lost filming sites in Honolulu (including Penny’s boat the Searcher) on our way towards Kualoa Ranch. We made a few stops at filming locations for You, Me and Dupree, Tears of the Sun, Godzilla, and 50 First Dates, as well as more Lost locations (such as the submarine pier for the Others).

 

 

 

We entered Kualoa Ranch and headed off-road up a valley where many more Lost scenes were filmed as well as movie scenes from Pearl Harbor, Jurassic Park, Windtalkers, and many others.

 

 

 

 

 

We also visited a world war II gun battery which was used as a hatch for lost. Our driver was fantastic and personable and took some fun photos of us (with the smoke monster, a t-rex, and Hurley’s bus) along the way.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

It was also leisurely paced and we had as much time as we wanted at each location. We learned that they are currently filming a new Pirates of the Caribbean movie on Oahu and we drove by the filming base camp at one point (although we didn’t see Johnny Depp). This was a fantastic tour and everyone had a great time. The interesting thing is that our driver said their business had actually picked up since Lost had ended and that they get visitors from all around the world taking the tour. I can’t recommend this tour enough as it was one of the highlights of our trip!

 

We got back to the hotel around 6 pm and relaxed for a bit before watching the fireworks (the Hilton Hawaiian Village has a short, but good fireworks show each Friday night – about 5 minutes long) from our balcony. Dinner tonight was an unmitigated disaster. I had read about a restaurant called Shorebird where you grill up your own steaks so we tried it out. I should have known better! We were seated near the window with a great view of the ocean, but unfortunately the table was in the bar area which was extremely loud and there were three drunk guys talking loudly right next to our table (and we had kids). We ordered our food and I was surprised that absolutely everything you order (including a burger, garlic bread, etc) was brought out raw. I think the waitress tried to explain this to us but it was so loud that I couldn’t hear a word that she said. So we trudged over to the grill where it was crowded, hot and smoky and tried to find a tiny spot to cook our stuff. We followed the directions posted on the wall for cooking times (while constantly having to wipe tears from our eyes from the constant smoke blowing into them) and pretty much all of our food ended up vastly undercooked. Thus I had to remain at the grill cooking and cooking while it got hotter and smokier by the minute. Finally, I gave up and we ate what we could (I barely ate any of my food though as my steak was still way undercooked and my mahi mahi was bland). The waitress never asked if were okay or if our food turned out okay. Also, there was supposed to be a person at the grill to help out with cooking, but that person was too busy socializing to be of any help to us at all. To summarize, if you like to pay $20 to $30 for raw food that you have to cook yourself in a loud, smoky, and hot environment, than this is the place for you! Personally, I’ll head back to Duke’s next time! I did have an outstanding tropical colada drink here though (probably the best one I had all trip) so that was one saving grace!

 

I ordered a pizza from Round Table Pizza when we got back to the hotel as I was still starved (after barely eating at Shorebird) and the pizza was delicious. I wish we had Round Table Pizza here in Texas!

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annecolorgreen

annecolorgreen

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Oh, I'm SO glad you said that about Shorebird--it was on our list!

 

Do you remember how much your chair/umbrella rentals were? and what kind of raft did you get? I had considered taking a raft.

 

Also, do you think someone who wasn't a Lost fan would enjoy the tour due to the ride and scenery?

 

Thanks!

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deb63

deb63

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After reading your post/seeing your pics I looked at the KOS tours. Can you share which one you took? Your pics/experience look wonderful! My DH and I are big Lost fans.

 

Looking forward to reading more about your adventures!!

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flashdog_1

flashdog_1

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Keep it coming. Can't wait for you to board the ship!

 

We did a similar North Shore tour post-cruise and the Dole Plantation stop was basically a cigarette, phone call and bathroom break. Actually, not even enough time for buying anything after those 3 activities. IT's a shame.

 

Our tour did not go to the Polynesian place, though, since it had to drop us at the airport. But we were there in early December when the waves were 50' high. Amazing.

 

Am enjoying your review.

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Sunny AZ Girl

Sunny AZ Girl

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Ginny, just try clicking on one of the links. I'm not a Facebooker either, but the way the OP linked, everyone can view them.

I guess I should have tried it myself first. I have never been able to bring up photos on facebook before, so I just assumed. You know what thaey say about ass_u_me!:o

 

The review is great and I loved the photos, too.:D

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scrappydoo

scrappydoo

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Wouldn't worry about the WW2 tour since it is all basically in the same area. You will have a shuttle bus over to the Missouri as access is controlled to Ford Island.

 

I would warn your friend that the Pearl Harbor Visitors Center is undergoing major renovation and what they currently have is very small compared to what they usually have. They will still get to the Memorial on the navy launch, but the movie and museum parts are not as good.

 

 

Thanks for your reply, Kingpgmr. I feel better about the WWII tour...:) I heard about the renovations. We are going in the end of November and I am hoping she will experience most, if not all, of the completed Visitor Center. Unfortunately, we will not be there for the official dedication on Dec7, but I am hoping everything else will be open and running for my friend to enjoy at the end of November. *fingers crossed* Does anyone know if they are opening parts of the Visitor Center that are completed in phases, or are they just going to do one "Grand Opening" reveal only on Dec7?? I just want her to have a good (full) experience. I hope I am being clear in my questions here :confused: heehee, Thanks!

 

Keep those reviews coming! I'm loving them. Great pictures on that LOST tour. I loved the show, too!! :D

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kingpgmr

kingpgmr

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Oh, I'm SO glad you said that about Shorebird--it was on our list!

 

Do you remember how much your chair/umbrella rentals were? and what kind of raft did you get? I had considered taking a raft.

 

Also, do you think someone who wasn't a Lost fan would enjoy the tour due to the ride and scenery?

 

Thanks!

 

I think the umbrellas were $20 and the chairs $10 each. We got inner tubes rather than rafts as I don't think they had rafts. We really liked the beach here. Also, you didn't have to reserve umbrellas or chairs as they had plenty available.

 

Our driver on the lost tour said that he often gave tours to people who had never seen the show and they still really enjoyed the tour (as there are lots of movie filming sites to see too).

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kingpgmr

kingpgmr

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After reading your post/seeing your pics I looked at the KOS tours. Can you share which one you took? Your pics/experience look wonderful! My DH and I are big Lost fans.

 

Looking forward to reading more about your adventures!!

 

We took the 5 hour hummer adventure. They also have an 8 hour mini van tour and a 10 hour hummer tour and these both stay on the exterior of Oahu and focus more on beach locations. Our driver told us that if you took both the 5 hour hummer tour and the 8 hour mini van tour then you'd get the whole picture. Also, the only big difference between the 8 hour and 10 hour tours is that the 10 hour tour stops at the Byodo Temple. All that said, I think the 5 hour hummer adventure is a great place to start and we really enjoyed it.

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