Review-Owner's suite Pride of America 1/7/12

[icat2000]

Tahnks for the review. The decor in the Owner's suite is nauseating. I wonder who dreamt up that scheme.

[mydreamvacation]

Tahnks for the review. The decor in the Owner's suite is nauseating. I wonder who dreamt up that scheme.

 

Lol it is tame compared to other NCL ships

[mydreamvacation]

Eagerly awaiting your next installments...after you finish all your tax work! I'm not a fan of this time of year that is for sure:)

 

I was looking at Wade's website...I am definitely looking forward to this being one of the highlights of our vacation! I love that he incorporates educational information as well as concern for the ecosystem and is obviously very passionate about what he does. It looks like you really get to 'experience' Maui, which to me, would be worth the expense. Just to know I'm not being carted around in a mini-bus with 20 other people would be worth it.

 

Did you plan your own places to visit or did you pick one of the adventures he offers on the website? There were 3 that all looked interesting...just curious how you picked the one you would do.[/quote

 

Yes I am up to my ears in paperwork but it is my own fault for falling behind. Must complete the taxes to fill out the FASFA forms so the government can say "no aide for you" lol and then the college will take our money and loans. Such is life. I worked on part of day four tonight but am headed for bed. Sprout you can email me direct at ydreamvacation@gmail.com and I will be happy to get into more detail with you or just messenger me on Flickr. Off to bed

[DMH15]

I think you left the "m" off "my" in your siggy.

[mydreamvacation]

I think you left the "m" off "my" in your siggy.

 

Nope. It is ydreamvacation@gmail.com the "my" was taken. Maybe I should add that lol

[mydreamvacation]

Day four- Hilo-

We didn’t have to get up at the break of dawn today which made my son very happy. To be honest I was glad to sleep until 8:00am myself, I don’t think we had quite adjusted to the time change and yesterday was a challenging (in a good way) day and it was nice to take things easy and sleep in a bit.

We went down to Lazy J’s for breakfast (by today my husband- nicknamed Jay- was tiring of my amusement of the name of the restaurant) I can’t recall what we each had but I know we had come to the conclusion that the French toast was by far the best we had ever eaten. Our butler, George, stopped by our table that morning as he often did and gave us a warm greeting. He said he had a surprise for me that evening. I really liked George, he was such a warm personable guy who seemed to enjoy his career choice immensely, he was definitely a professional butler! The concierge stopped at our table ignoring me as usual (physically turning his back to me) and made a silly comment to my husband the he arranged for the sunshine or some nonsense. Each day it became more irksome how rude he was assuming that my husband had paid for this trip (which was an incorrect assumption-I actually paid the entire thing myself) and only addressing him in conversation. Even my son noticed that the man only addressed my husband and found his behavior odd. Here we were on day four and he had not done a single thing for us, not one reservation, nothing. Not once did he even enquire if there was anything he could do for us or if we were having any problems. I won’t go into more details and rip him apart but I will say that he did not get a tip from me, not a penny. I took the money that I had budgeted for the concierge tip and dispersed it to the wait staff in the specialty restaurants, the hostess that had made our dining reservations who smiled each morning, and a few random employees that actually seemed happy when walking by us.

We had a rental car with Thrifty booked for the day and a helicopter ride with Blue Hawaiian. Again I have to say I am really impressed with Thrifty. We took the shuttle to the airport and went to the Blue Chip desk before our helicopter ride. The man at the desk told us to wait to pick the car up until after our flight as if we drove it across the street to the airport we would have to pay for parking. I thought that was very kind of him. We checked in with the helicopter people and had to stand on the same type of scale that they weigh your luggage on at the airport. They did it very discretely and even none of us saw each other’s or our own weight. The purpose it to make certain the helicopter was balanced correctly. Safety first works for me! We went into a room to watch a film on what to do if there was an emergency and were given some waist bags that had life vests in them to wear. I remember thinking that if the helicopter crashed the life vest was not going to do me much good but appreciated the forethought. We were split into groups and given numbers. I was the lead in our group and was given the paperwork to hand over to our pilot. Being an admitted control freak I peaked at the weight chart per passenger and was happy to see I had lost a pound since before leaving home (thanks Wade lol). We were with a honeymoon couple from England and when our chopper had landed the five of us walked out to the area to board. It had been sunny when we left the ship but since then it had poured pretty consistently. I was a bit disappointed as I had been following the lava flow status and knew that although a few weeks earlier it was a beautiful blaze no surface activity was active for a full week now. However- I didn’t know anyone that owns a helicopter, and there were no active volcanos around my house, so this was my one shot to experience flying over a volcano. Our pilot was very friendly and got everyone settled in; we had headsets and microphones to converse with each other. I had thought I would be nervous flying in the rain but all was good. He muted us all for a few moments while he spoke to the tower and then blasted the theme music to Hawaii 5-0 as week took off. It was exhilarating! I did notice my husband gripping the side of door but he relaxed after a bit. Our son was in the back seat with the honeymoon couple, he did some great movies on his iPhone. (Sad when telephones work better than cameras lol)

We first headed over to the volcano, the pilot said we would play hide and seek for some surface lava. We did see a couple red glows but if we were not searching for them we wouldn’t have notice them. He did explain what each of the different colors and stages were, from the silver lava that as still molten to the hardened dried rock. After searching for quite a bit he took us around to see the devastation from past eruptions including the sole house that is the las survivor from a wealthy development that the lava engulfed. It is now a bed and breakfast but you need to take a helicopter in if you wish to stay there. He then did a swoop around a bunch of beautiful waterfalls and before we knew it our ride was done. I could have stayed up there all day! We didn’t notice it when flying but in several of the photos and movies you can see rainbows, which was a nice surprise to find when reviewing our pictures.

We went back to the car rental desk and picked up the vehicle and asked how to get to Volcanos National Park. We were limited on time as it is about an hour each way between the airport and the park. Our flight had taken until 1:30 so we did keep an eye on the clock. In the morning I had thrown in my backpack the loaf of banana bread that Wade had bought us in Maui and we at it along the way. It definitely was great bread! Entrance to the park was only $10 and I was really glad that we had decided to go. It was pouring all the way there and a couple times I was ready to tell my husband to just turn around but when we reached the visitor’s center the rain had pretty much so stopped. We spoke to a man about what we had time to do and he suggested we visit the crater and museum, the steam vents and walk the lava tube. A large portion of the park was closed off due to high gas levels but those three spots were perfect for us to cover in the amount of time we had left for the afternoon. We drove up to the crater passing the steam vents on the way (they were on the other side of the road which we stopped at on the way back). The crater was huge and the landscape reminded me a lot of Mt. Etna in Sicily which was like walking on the moon- barren everywhere with just a few outcroppings of vegetation. We zipped through the museum- the one thing I noticed was several seismograph machines on one wall that were recording the various earthquakes that were going on down in the core. Then headed to the lava tube (with a quick stop at the steam vents on the way). Parking near the tube is hard to find, we ended up driving past it and turning around to wait for another car to leave. To get to the tube you walk through a rainforest spot and down a series of stairs, they were slippery from all the rain and I was glad that they had handrails. The tube was lit by lanterns which was nice as I had already turned on my flashlight on my phone thinking these tubes would be like the ones in Sicily but these were well lit and much larger. The tube was very interesting and I was glad we decided to visit the park. After VNP we headed back and returned the car. I had made reservations at Teppanyaki that night for the first seating (5:30pm) so we would need to get cleaned up. We were all pretty hungry after only splitting that banana bread for lunch and magically as if on cue our doorbell rang and there was George. He had a huge platter for us with several kinds of deli meats. George always seemed to have perfect timing! I reminded the guys about our early dinner and had them stop gorging themselves and wrapped up as much of the leftovers as I could and put them in the fridge. Everyone took showers and before you knew it was time to head down to Teppanyaki. We love this restaurant and always enjoy it on our NCL cruises, there is nothing like it where we live so it is a real treat. A great deal of the experience depends on your chef; we had a fantastic guy named Joesen Tgjero. He was charming, very talented and hilarious. We were seated with a family of four from Australia who had two teenagers around my son’s age. The chef was great at getting the kids to interact with them; he even made rice balls and flipped them off of his spatula for the kids to catch in their mouths. The meal was full of laughter and it was a great evening all around. Afterwards we continued our pattern of skipping the show and heading back to our suite. The veranda was becoming a second home for us, it was so nice sitting out there or in the hot tub watching the sea. My son and husband continued their unending match of “words with friends” on their phones and I checked in on some clients with my ipad. That is one thing that was great about Hawaii we were able to use our regular data plans and not have to purchase the internet.

Photos from today http://www.flickr.com/photos/yourdreamvacation/sets/72157629091304055/

Day four dailies http://www.flickr.com/photos/yourdreamvacation/sets/72157629104174011/

[mydreamvacation]

Day five- Kona-

Trying to pick up where I left up and the old brain fog is settling in so I will do my best. In Kona we had originally thought to go to A’bay but decided instead to just take it easy and check out the port and go to the beach that is right near there. We had a leisurely breakfast at Lazy J’s and then tendered over to shore. Most people had already headed in so there was no need for our VIP boarding status. I had asked one of the waitresses in Lazy J’s what would be a nice spot for lunch and she had given me three names so we decided the first thing we would do is walk down and check out the menus so we would know which place we wanted to eat at a they were far apart. I wanted to go to the beach after lunch and do a little shopping first so we headed across the street to check out the two restaurants that were the closest and then down to Bubba Gump’s which was much more of a hike. The main drag reminded me a lot of Key West; it was colorful with a lot of shops. We poked around picking up some things for my in-laws and my husband’s office staff and then I spied some very interesting Jewelry. In a grey building a few doors before Bubba’s there is like a little mall and in one shop I spied what looked like Murano glass in the case. We went in and found out it was actually made in Kapa-au by an artist named Brian Dugan. The pieces were lovely all hand made. I usually pick up at least one Murano item each summer when we are in Italy so I was thrilled to find his work. I purchased a large pendant and a pair of matching earrings. It is always nice to have something unique to bring home from a trip. His work was a fraction of the price of Murano glass and I got the set for around only $100. We looked at Bubba Gump’s menu and although I liked the movie nothing really struck us so we headed back and decided on a place called splashers. It was a fun beach bar type of atmosphere and we sat outside with a view of the ocean. After lunch we walked across the street to the beach at the King K hotel and went to soak up some sun. My husband and I went in the water (which was surprisingly chilly compared to what I thought Hawaii would be like, I would say around 75 degrees the Caribbean is much warmer) and our son plopped on the towel texting his friends back home- his is not a lie in the sun kind of kid. We walked out towards some rocks are were really surprised to see a huge grouping of Yellow Tang and black and white Angel Fish swimming about. I had brought our snorkel gear with us but there was no need the water was very clear and we were able to just look down and see them. If you stood very still they had no problem swimming up to you. The King K hotel looked nice enough; most people were laying on the grass not the beach. Mike signaled us from the shore that he wanted our attention so we waded back over to him. He was bored and wanted to head back and use my iPad so we parted ways and my husband I enjoyed the water for a bit longer. After we decided to check out what the tiki statues were about and the little hut. Apparently they must hold a Luau here as we found tables that were stacked up either getting ready for that night or from the night before. The hut and statues were roped off so I can’t tell if the and see them. If you stood very still they had no problem swimming up to you. The King K hotel looked nice enough; most people were laying on the grass not the beach. Mike signaled us from the shore that he wanted our attention so we waded back over to him. He was bored and wanted to head back and use my iPad so we parted ways and my husband I enjoyed the water for a bit longer. After we decided to check out what the tiki statues were about and the little hut. Apparently they must hold a Luau here as we found tables that were stacked up either getting ready for that night or from the night before. The hut and statues were roped off so I can’t tell if they were replica’s or the real thing but I can tell you that they reminded me so much of the Brady Bunch Episode when Greg finds the Tiki idol and wears it around his neck. (yes showing my age but come on you all knew I went on this trip for turning 50 lol.)

I can’t recall where we ate that night- (my old timers is setting in) but it must have been either East meets West or Bistro, I know we dined in EMW one more time on the trip and the last dinner was in Lazy J. All our meals in the specialty restaurants were always excellent so wherever it was we liked it lol.

Here is a link to the few photos I took in Kona http://www.flickr.com/photos/yourdreamvacation/sets/72157629148863597/

And the day five dailies http://www.flickr.com/photos/yourdreamvacation/sets/72157629148905867/

Tomorrow I will try to wrap this up with the two days in Kauai and our two days at Aulani including the Paradise Cove Luau.

[sprout76]

Sounds like you had a fun, relaxing day in Kona! I love bringing back something unique from my travels as well. I just read that you are going to report on Aulani....very excited to read about that. Maybe I should have read CC before I emailed you:D

[cleophus12]

So is it safe for me to assume from your post that the town area of Kona is close enough to the pier to walk? Do we need a rental car to get to the town area?

[cleophus12]

So is it safe for me to assume from your post that the town area of Kona is close enough to the pier to walk? Do we need a rental car to get to the town area?

[mydreamvacation]

So is it safe for me to assume from your post that the town area of Kona is close enough to the pier to walk? Do we need a rental car to get to the town area?

yes you just tender in and end up on a main street. If you wish to rent a car and explore they have them at the king k hotel right where the tender stop is. I will try to finish up this week. Sorry taxes in the way

[mydreamvacation]

Days Five and six Kauai

Sorry to be so delayed, taxes and work in general have waylaid me. Kauai also was not my favorite stop so I was wrestling on how to write this up.

Day six- We had a private tour planned to see several parts of the island. I was really excited thinking it would be similar to our day with Wade. Suffice to say it was not. We did go to the beach where the pilot for Gilligan’s island was filmed and some other beach that I don’t recall the name of. My husband and son were both unhappy and quietly expressing that I had wasted my money. Finally it really was becoming such a drain I called it quits and asked to be returned to the ship halfway through the day.

Of course I allowed the vender to keep the full pay it was my decision to bail on the excursion. A few tips for that person if he or she is reading. If you are going to present yourself as a “professional” guide you should either replace your vehicle or rent one for the day. Driving people around with a duct taped car with windows that won’t open that is crammed full of junk just does not come off as an area expert. Also not everyone wants to play sing a long – pouting won’t change that, and final two tips

1. Don’t ask your clients to carry your trash and belongings- get a wagon or something,

2. Do not try to solicit potential clients or visit with your friends on my dime.

It was not all bad my son and husband opened coconuts without a machete which was humorous to watch. Kauai looked like it was probably a beautiful island. I wish we had just rented a car and had a day to ourselves but live and learn.

The second day in Kauai I spent the entire morning in the Spa while the guys went Zip lining. The went on the cruise line’s excursion and said it was very good. They are zip line connoisseurs and said this one was different with launching off of telephone poles not trees but still very exhilarating. They went with Back Country Zip Lines. The spa was delightful J The guys came back and after a late lunch my husband and I went to the art auction where I was able to score a great deal on three pieces by my favorite artist Anatole Krasnyansky.

That evening we did the sail by on the coast. I didn’t think we would be able to see it from our side of the ship but the caption went very quickly getting out there and turned the ship so we were able to view it from our balcony as well. The motion was pretty severe, I am not certain if it was from the speed used to get out there or the waves in the channel. The view was very pretty but my son soon felt fairly sea sick. My husband and I went to Lazy J’s for dinner without him. Upon our return we packed up and spent one last night out on our deck.

The next morning Melvin was back with the limo to take us to Aulani, Disney’s new resort on Oahu. I had us booked there post cruise for two nights. Our flight was at midnight on day two so we didn’t sleep there on the second night but it was nice to have a place to hang out and relax. Melvin picked us up at 9:30pm and we headed to the hotel for our journey home. Disney’s place is lovely with a lazy river, water slides, nice beach, man-made snorkel reef and more. That first night we went to Paradise Cove Luau which was pretty funny. The fire dancers were great, the food inedible, and seeing my husband performing in a grass skirt –priceless. The best way to describe it would be “Hawaii meets Hee Haw”. People did seem to be enjoying themselves though. It would be great for families with young kids. My son was bored to tears but you can’t go to Hawaii without seeing at least one Luau it is now crossed off my to do list.

Here is a link to the few shots I have of Kauai

http://www.flickr.com/photos/yourdreamvacation/sets/72157629207162991/

Here are the last two dailies

http://www.flickr.com/photos/yourdreamvacation/sets/72157629207462179/

http://www.flickr.com/photos/yourdreamvacation/sets/72157629207373469/

The sail by the coast photos

http://www.flickr.com/photos/yourdreamvacation/sets/72157629207289727/

Aulani

http://www.flickr.com/photos/yourdreamvacation/sets/72157629059048345/

And for your viewing pleasure the Luau videos

http://www.flickr.com/photos/yourdreamvacation/sets/72157629068226245/

[sprout76]

Glad you finally got a free moment to finish up your report. It was fantastic! Very informative and I now have a list of places to go and guides to use (and stay away from)...duct tape?? Wow...I'm sure you were NOT a happy woman! Thank you so much for all the wonderful information! Would love to hear about your upcoming trip in August...will you do a trip report on that one as well?

[mydreamvacation]

I probably will do a review. Been to Italy oodles of times but it will be the first time on MSC We are on their new ship the Divina (still a work in process) in the Yacht Club so I am certain it will be special

[LittleMissMagic]

I'm so glad I stumbled across your TR - this has been so helpful for me!

 

Thank you so much for sharing your trip in such great detail. It sounds like it was absolutely amazing!!!

[Kruisenut]

Thank you for sharing your vacation with us, always learn so much reading very detailed reviews. Question, I have the same suite booked for next April, what are your thoughts starboard vs port, I know most say port for the Napali sail by, that said if the ship turns around for viewing on both sides is there any advantage to one side or the other?

[Kruz Guys]

We are seriously looking at doing this cruise.

 

I have a question about suite 12000 and 12500. These are right under the Auditorium and the L'anai a bar and grill and a couple of rest rooms. Did you have any noise issues at any time? I would love to have one of these suites but am concerned about noise levels. Would appreciate your thoughs on this.

 

Thanks.

Kruz Guys :D

[mydreamvacation]

Thank you for sharing your vacation with us, always learn so much reading very detailed reviews. Question, I have the same suite booked for next April, what are your thoughts starboard vs port, I know most say port for the Napali sail by, that said if the ship turns around for viewing on both sides is there any advantage to one side or the other?

 

I booked the suite purposely in hopes that we would see the lava flow (it is on that side) it was flowing away the week before but stopped when we got there - bummer

 

we did see the coast, the captain turned the ship- if I were to do it again I would stay with the same cabin

[gwsster]

Thank you for the great review. I booked this cabin for April of 2016 for myself and my 3 sisters. I do hope that the floor plan is correct and that there is 1 and 1/2 bath. This is a necessity for 4 women (sisters) traveling together.

I am so glad that you liked the room as I am the one that chose this room and don't want my sisters disappointed.