Our wonderful Pride of America cruise

[TSUmom]

Let me start by saying we were celebrating my DH's 60th birthday with this cruise, I have been planning for nearly two years and all was just as we had hoped for. This was my fourth time on Pride of America and my very first cruise was on her too. This was my DH's first time to the islands.

 

We arrived Thursday afternoon and VIP transportation was there ready with our lei greeting. We were at the Marriott within 40 min. Check in with NCL at the hotel was fast, we had our room keys, another lei and our pictures taken for our shipcards. We also recieved a letter explaining transfers for Sat morning. When we got to our room we changed into comfy clothes and headed out to explore. Waikiki is just as I remembered, busy and fun.

 

We did not stay up too late because we had our Stars and Stripes tour in the morning. If you are an early riser Mcdonalds was open at 5, we got coffee there both Friday and Sat mornings.

 

Our tour was with Roberts and they picked us up across the street from the Marriott, the Aston I believe. Seeing Pearl Harbor was a great way to start our vacation. We decided on Cheeseburger in Paradise for dinner because it was close, no wait and again we were getting up early for our Diamond Head hike with Oahu Nature tours.

 

We were picked up at our hotel about 6:20 and we could see our ship sailing past Waikiki on our way to the crater. The hike was fun but did get a little tough with the stairs but the view at the top was well worth it. If you decide to climb Diamond Head I definately recommend early because it gets warm out there.

 

We were back at the hotel before our luggage was picked up so we were able to put everything in the suitcases and less in our carryons. Hotel check out was at 11:00 and our transfer time was 12:00 so we sat in the lobby to wait for the bus. With the hotel package we bypassed the lines, went straght to security and check in and were on the ship within 15 mins. While most were heading to the buffet we got back off and walked over to the Aloha Tower for some pictures of the ship from the observation deck and when we got back our room was ready.

 

We had our first aft balcony and I will always try to sail in an aft. We love the wake and it seems so quiet in the hall back there. The balcony was big, two loungers, 2 chairs and a little table. The room was a standard size which is fine for the two of us. Plenty of storage too.

[kslmp]

Would love to know your impression of the Stars and Stripes Tour. This is one I was planning on booking because it had the guided tour of the Punchbowl Cemetery. Thanks for sharing!

[Just4You]

Hi TSUmom!

Your review is GREAT! Can't wait to read more! The aft balcony sounds wonderful, did you take any pictures?

[cccole]

I can't wait to hear about the rest of your trip. Sounds like it started out great. I am a HUGE fan of aft balconies, it's like the rest of the ship doesn't exist. Cherie

[JJAuckland]

Cant wait for your next installment! Also staying at Marriott via NCL for the transfers etc. We sail on POA on 6th October so all advice is greatly appreciated. Did you by any chance keep your dailies?:D

[TSUmom]

Sunday morning we got up early to do the road to Hana with Valley Isle excursions and it was great. We did the whole thing instead of turning around at Hana. The drive was beautiful and our driver was fabulous. We stopped and had a picnic lunch along the way and stopped at a black sand beach. The driver was from the island and full of information and far from boring. It is a long day so be prepared but to us it was well worth it. We were picked up at 8:05 outside of the harbor entrance so if you do this make sure you are ready to leave the ship as soon as you are in port and cleared to go.

 

We came back to the ship and found my DH's favorite spot, the Waikiki Bar on deck 13 aft. He is a cigar smoker so that was his hangout. The staff at the bar are wonderful and it is pretty quiet back there but can be windy.

 

I am at work so I will need to do this in small parts...sorry. I will try to answer questions at some point too. Next was our Haleakala Sunrise!!

[TSUmom]

We were up around 2 am for the 3:15 excursion to Haleakala. It was cold but we were prepared with gloves, jackets and blankets. I read a tip on here about asking your room steward for blankets and sure enough he brought us some. We stopped at the Cadillac Diner for coffee and they also had some food layed out. I don't remember what it was because I just wanted coffee. The drive up was quiet as many were napping. The sunrise itself was beautiful. We were lucky our whole trip with wonderful weather. The clouds hung below us and the sun slowly rose above them. We got back to the ship grabbed some breakfast and snoozed on our wonderful, large balcony. It was a great start to a great day.

[TSUmom]

Would love to know your impression of the Stars and Stripes Tour. This is one I was planning on booking because it had the guided tour of the Punchbowl Cemetery. Thanks for sharing!

 

We enjoyed Stars and Stripes with Roberts unfortuantely I booked the wrong tour:eek: and after the Arizona Memorial we just got a drive through tour of the Punchbowl and missed the Missouri.:( Make sure you book the all day tour if you want to see those things.

[TSUmom]

Hi TSUmom!

Your review is GREAT! Can't wait to read more! The aft balcony sounds wonderful, did you take any pictures?

 

I took them with my Iphone - not sure how to share those. The aft balcony is wonderful and I will never go back to a regular one - well yes I would just so I could cruise but will try for the afts anyway...:D

[TSUmom]

Monday night we had dinner reservations with a Carol and Donald from our roll-call. We ate at Lazy J's and I enjoyed my dinner as did my DH. I had a fillet and he had prime rib. Company was great too:) Another early night for us because on Tuesday we were taking the Crater Hike and Akaka falls.

 

Another great excursion for us but it wore us out. It was a 4 mile hike, one mile down the crater through the cool forest and then two miles across the crater floor where we saw and felt steam vents and walked across the lava fields. It was an awesome sight and then we realized we were going to have to hike the mile up. It was a fairly easy hike and the guide did not rush anyone. proud to say we were the 4th and 5th ones to the top...not bad for some out of shape 50 pluses. Akaka Falls was beautiful, they had rain earlier in the day and they were flowing nicely.

 

Wednesday was Kona and we decided to make it a quiet day. We let the masses head off the ship while we had a nice breakfast and when we were ready there was no waiting for tenders. Kona is a fun, relaxing town with many shops and the Kona Brewery. After we hit the stores we walked the few blocks to the brewery to sample the beer and have a bite to eat (as if we don't eat enough on the ship!)

 

We only caught one show and that was the comedian Tim Kaminsky. We have seen him before and enjoyed him again. We found ourselves ready to just relax with a glass of wine on our wonderful balcony (I can't say that enough) We are early risers and were up every morning by 4:00. Luckily we had a coffee maker in our cabin so we enjoyed our very early mornings drinking coffee on our ....yes, wonderful balcony!!! Thursday we zip lined so I will fill you in on that later

[Just4You]

I took them with my Iphone - not sure how to share those. The aft balcony is wonderful and I will never go back to a regular one - well yes I would just so I could cruise but will try for the afts anyway...:D

 

INSTRUCTIONS TO ATTACH IPHONE PICTURES:

When you sync your iPhone you should get a menu to download pictures to your computer. Once done, note the file name. In cruise critic, click on Attachments (the paper clip, next to the black/white smiley face in menu line above), select Browse, and click on the folder that contains your pictures. Click on the picture and it will load to cruise critic. Note the file size limit, usually I can only load 2-3 pictures per screen.

[Just4You]

...so we enjoyed our very early mornings drinking coffee on our ....yes, wonderful balcony!!!

 

This is hilarious! You are a brilliant writer. Can't wait to read more!

[TSUmom]

We booked our zip line through NCL and it was great fun!!! Seven lines the longest being somewhere around 900 feet. It was the Canopy Zip line tour and you zip through a canyon. I am deathly afraid of heights but love zip lining. The guides were again wonderful and freindly. The ride to the start of the zipline was a bit bumpy so be prepared but the views were great!!! We were back around noon so we grabbed a quick lunch and some sun. Of course on our own BALCONY!!

 

Thursday night we did the NCL luau. We booked the upgraded version and were treated like royalty. We left in the first bus, ate dinner on the grounds of the Manor House and were escorted by our "Auntie" to front row seats at the Luau. After the show we were again escorted to the first bus to leave instead of standing in lines. My DH loved the luau and I enjoyed it but....I have been to the Old Lahaina Luau( in Maui) 3 times and in my opinion it was better. In comparison the Old Lahaina does not have fire dancers but it is on the beach, you have the options for traditional seaating (mats on the floor with a low table) and I liked the "story" better. Once again we had another wonderful day. Oh, we did have some rain during the luau so we did not get a chance to shop at the outdoor tables and when we were at the "oven" we got rained on.

 

Friday morning we were up early and excited about our helicopter tour - we had been looking forward to that all week and guess what...it was raining:( We met for the excursion, were taken to Blue Hawaiians office to wait. We had the 2 flight of the day and when we got there they just canceled the first flight:eek: We waited for what seemed like hours but only about 20 minutes and they came and started the safety video, gave us our pilots names and our seat #'s and we were off!!! It did rain some during our tour but we were still able to do the complete tour. The cliffs and waterfalls were wonderful and just seeing Kauai from above was great. We even flew over the ship and I must say this excursion was one of our favorites!!!

 

Now the sad part....Friday afternoons sailby. Why sad? It was going to be our last day and night of our wonderful Hawaiian vacation. The sailby was great but after seeing the cliffs from above and so close it was kind of....I can't find a word to describe. Maybe because I was a bit sad about leaving the next day I don't know. It was beautiful though and so relaxing to watch from Our Fabulous Aft Balcony!!!

 

That evening we grabbed another quick bite and finally had some of the wonderful softserve icecream (yum) We went back to the cabin and decided we should probably pack :( Had our bags in the hall by 10:30 a glass of wine....guess where!!! Then we went to sleep. We were up by 4:30, coffee on the balcony (a pattern here huh?)

 

Leaving the ship was easy (not emotionally) We had 9:00 tags, went down to grab our bags and waited for the bus transfer to the hotel for our day room. We were with the guests who were overnighting at the hotel but we had to carry our bags, load them in the bus and unload them at the hotel. The overnighters all had their baggage handled for them. Oh well no big deal. When we got to the hotel at 10:00 rooms were not ready so they stored our bags for us and we hit Waikiki again for some gifts for the grandkids. When we got back to the hotel around noon our room was ready so we grabbed our luggage and changed into beachwear and hit the beach. At 4:30 we went back to the hotel, showered and checked out at 6 pm. VIP transportation picked us up at 6:30 and we were off to the airport. One last minute purchase at the airport for pineapple (promised my kids) and then the post cruise depression set in as they called our flight....I am still suffering from it and probably will until I board the Epic in April. Oh and guess what, another AFT Balcony!!!!:D

[Just4You]

...One last minute purchase at the airport for pineapple (promised my kids) and then the post cruise depression set in as they called our flight....I am still suffering from it and probably will until I board the Epic in April. Oh and guess what, another AFT Balcony!!!!:D

 

It sounds like you had a great time. I know what you mean about the "post cruise depression" setting in. Hopefully writing about your experience will take the edge off as you relive the wonderful memories. It sounds like you packed a lot of exciting tours in your itenerary, plus you made time to relax. Very smart! By the 3rd day I'm usually exhausted.

 

You have me wishing I could stay in a cabin with aft balcony. We had a beautiful forward balcony on a trans-atlantic cruise to Europe and the weather was so cold & windy we couldn't stand to be outside. Then we had a regular balcony on a Hawaiian trans-Pacific cruise years ago and only went outside for the lava sailby one evening, the rest of the time we were too busy rushing around and never in our cabin. Alas, now I'm too cheap to upgrade to such a luxury... maybe in my next life. For now, I can dream...

[Countrygirl44]

Good Morning TSU Mom, I have loved your review. Hope you will be able to get pictures attached. From the reading I know that DH and I did the right thing by cancelling this trip.

We are looking forward to our train excursion through the mountains of WV in a couple of weeks. Hope there will still be some beautiful fall leaves. :confused: We are loosing some in our yard now, however, the moutains behind us are just getting in their glory.

We may also try a short trip to the beach in November. Also have a few day trips and eveing outings with our churh. Just about all we are able to do now.

We probably will not cruise anymore. :mad: Will just have to enjoy through our friends. Hope the post cruise depression is leaving.

[TSUmom]

Good Morning TSU Mom, I have loved your review. Hope you will be able to get pictures attached. From the reading I know that DH and I did the right thing by cancelling this trip.

 

We are looking forward to our train excursion through the mountains of WV in a couple of weeks. Hope there will still be some beautiful fall leaves. :confused: We are loosing some in our yard now, however, the moutains behind us are just getting in their glory.

 

We may also try a short trip to the beach in November. Also have a few day trips and eveing outings with our churh. Just about all we are able to do now.

 

We probably will not cruise anymore. :mad: Will just have to enjoy through our friends. Hope the post cruise depression is leaving.

Hi Countrygirl!!! Post cruise depression, oh yes!! I am now focusing on our upcoming in April of 2013 and April of 2014 plus researching the Med for 2015. My DH has decided he would like to do that, finally. We are look at a 7 day starting in Rome as he would love to see the Vatican. I would love to do the 12 day that goes to Greece also but we won't have that much time off from work. I will be happy with Italy and Spain though!!

 

Glad you are still getting vacation time even though it is not a cruise it is a get away!! Take care and keep in touch and still regret not getting to meet you all - I think we would have hit it off well!!!:)

[puddles99]

We booked our zip line through NCL and it was great fun!!! Seven lines the longest being somewhere around 900 feet. It was the Canopy Zip line tour and you zip through a canyon. I am deathly afraid of heights but love zip lining. The guides were again wonderful and freindly. The ride to the start of the zipline was a bit bumpy so be prepared but the views were great!!! We were back around noon so we grabbed a quick lunch and some sun. Of course on our own BALCONY!!

 

Thursday night we did the NCL luau. We booked the upgraded version and were treated like royalty. We left in the first bus, ate dinner on the grounds of the Manor House and were escorted by our "Auntie" to front row seats at the Luau. After the show we were again escorted to the first bus to leave instead of standing in lines. My DH loved the luau and I enjoyed it but....I have been to the Old Lahaina Luau( in Maui) 3 times and in my opinion it was better. In comparison the Old Lahaina does not have fire dancers but it is on the beach, you have the options for traditional seaating (mats on the floor with a low table) and I liked the "story" better. Once again we had another wonderful day. Oh, we did have some rain during the luau so we did not get a chance to shop at the outdoor tables and when we were at the "oven" we got rained on.

 

Friday morning we were up early and excited about our helicopter tour - we had been looking forward to that all week and guess what...it was raining:( We met for the excursion, were taken to Blue Hawaiians office to wait.

 

This is pretty much exactly what we are thinking of doing in Kauai, so it was wonderful to read! We're debating between this zip line that Tree Top Zip Line. Thanks so much for your review!