Cabin Advice for Hawaii on Pride of America

[brainerdgal]

We are planning to cruise Hawaii on the Pride of America the last week of September/first week of October, 2013. We've never been to Hawaii and never sailed on NCL, so we need your advice on the best category of cabin to get the most bang for our buck.

 

From scanning the threads in this forum and also the Hawaii forum, it seems like a balcony isn't really necessary because the cruise is so port-intensive and the sailing is at night.

 

We're all for saving money, but I'm hesitant about an inside cabin. Even though I LOVE the idea of total darkness for sleeping, the idea of a small inside for a week makes me uneasy. We've cruised to Alaska twice with balconies both times, so I'm sure that's part of my hesitation.

 

Would appreciate any guidance you can give on the cabin category and also the best location for quiet and less motion. If you have a specific cabin to recommend, that would be great!

 

Thanks so much!

[ClaireAndMike]

You are exactly right about the port-intensive part. We had a balcony although now I can't remember why I chose that category. I think an aunt of mine told me I "had" to so I did.

 

I do have to admit, it was really nice sitting out there but definitely not the be all end all. I would've had just as much fun without it because really, all we did in our room was sleep.

 

The best part about it was standing out there while we went past the lava flow but we're kind of social introverts. It's probably more fun out on the decks with other people ooo'ing and ahh'ing.

[kato92]

Personally, the balcony was awesome for this trip. The scenary was the best. Between the lava and the Napali coast, the balcony is more than worth it.

[genealogyfan]

My friend and I were so glad we got a balcony - definitely worth it. We loved waking up early and going out on the balcony just as we were coming into a port - or used it if one of us woke up before the other. We'd go out on the balcony.

 

Great views leaving the ports - when we sailed by the Na'Pali port, we went on one side of the ship saw the coast, then the ship stopped, eventually turned around so we went to our balcony on the other side and took more great photos of the NaPali coast

 

My friend kept telling me she was glad I convinced her to get a balcony

 

We had a mid ship balcony cabin on deck 8 - great views - cabins above and below us so no noise. The lifeboats were on deck 7 but wasn't really an issue on being able to see the ocean and the views. We picked mid ship as being more in the middle is better not to feel as much of the movement of the ship - for those who have seasickness or motion issues - wasn't 100% free but better then each end of the ship

 

Our ship didn't go by the lava flow - from Hilo to Kona it went North of the Island not South

[brainerdgal]

Thanks to everyone who has replied. All the answers have been helpful. Now I'm starting to swing back to a balcony...

 

Any other cabin tips from those in the know? Some say starboard is better because it's quieter on the overnight ports. Is that a big issue?

[spacepotatoes]

Thanks to everyone who has replied. All the answers have been helpful. Now I'm starting to swing back to a balcony...

 

Any other cabin tips from those in the know? Some say starboard is better because it's quieter on the overnight ports. Is that a big issue?

 

We had an inside cabin when we did this cruise so I can't comment on how noisy it was overnight but if you get a balcony, I'd recommend port side. The lava isn't really flowing anymore so there's nothing to see starboard. If it does happen to start up, you can always go up on deck. It only lasts 30 mins or so. The Na Pali coast, on the other hand, is spectacular. Port side gets a nice, close view of it for a while. The ship will turn around so that starboard sees it, too, but once it turns, it doesn't linger as long.

 

We were satifisfied with the inside cabin. Barely spent any time there at all!

[deburn]

A balcony is the best we were on the pride of hawaii back in 07 and had a window cabin to save money always caught ourselfs kneeling on the bed in the morning looking out the window. when we went to alaska in 10 had a balcony loved it coffee ever morning on the balcony loved it. already book on the POA for 10/13 with the kids and GFs getting a family suite & balcony can't weight.

[rvsullivan]

No more lava flow!!!:mad:

[brainerdgal]

Anyone know if noise is an issue on the overnights for the port-side cabins? I thought I read that somewhere, but can't remember where or when!

[Zeno]

Would appreciate any guidance you can give on the cabin category and also the best location for quiet and less motion. If you have a specific cabin to recommend, that would be great!

 

Thanks so much!

 

Personally I recommend an obstucted view outside cabin. They are just a little more expensive than insides and the location on Deck 7 is very good (centrally located to everything). I think a balcony would be a bit of a waste. Most of the ports are industrial and virtually all cruising is done at night. The only time a balcony would be nice would be when the ship sails by the Napali coast (or if the lava flow begins again - it is NOT currently flowing). It's a great but very busy itinerary - so I am sure you will have a lovely vacation whatever you choose.

[ClaireAndMike]

We didn't think we were going to see it either but they announced at 4pm on the night we would've seen it that it had just started to flow again and by god, we saw it!

[Just4You]

We like inside cabins since we are never in the room except to sleep, and I prefer to spend my money on fun stuff to do in Hawaii. On the inside cabins the lights are VERY BRIGHT, but when off it's quite dark. I bring a small flashlight to keep at the night table. I was amazed how bright was the room without a window. There are floor-to-ceiling mirrows that help reflect the light and make the room seem larger.

 

With a balcony in the past, however, it was nice to watch the ship sail into/out of ports and to have morning coffee outside. The actual port areas where the ship docks in Hawaii are ugly except Kona where the ship tenders. Also, the POA is a non-smoking ship except in a few restricted areas, so everyone goes to the balcony to smoke. If you are a non-smoker and tobacco/cigar smoke bother you, you may want to think twice about a balcony. If you are a smoker, this would be a good reason for booking a balcony.

 

Also, a balcony can be quite LOUD if you have loud neighbors. We had crying/whiney kids on one side and a loud obnoxious couple who always invited several people to his balcony on the other. It was difficult to sleep at night because of the noise, even with the door closed. The noise, combined with the constant smell of cigarettes and cigars, changed my mind about getting a balcony.

 

One exception would be to book an aft balcony (back of the ship), but these can be quite spendy.

[dalgirl]

We have booked an inside on POA for May - it saved us around $600 per person. Since we had never tried an inside (always had balcony) we did a 4 day fun "practice run" on the Sky a few weeks ago. It was not that bad. There were no sea days (just like POA) and the only time we were in the room was to change, or even just nap in the afternoon. I have had balconies where someone next door smoked the whole time (eewww!), where the humidity and/or bugs made sitting outside unpleasant, loud neighbors, etc. This was not an issue in the inside.

 

If money is no object, then go for the balcony. But if you would like to use that money for your plane ticket - or car rentals - or excursions, I would go with the inside.

[j_jaye]

We were going to book inside cabins for our POA trip in May '13 but found that with a bit of shopping around we were able to get a mid-ship picture window cabin for the same price. We figured why not have a window if we are not going to be paying anymore!

 

A friend did this cruise earlier this year and had the same problem that a couple of posters mentioned with balcony cabins. Her neighbours were all smokers and as a non smoker she found it in her words "nasty". She said she wasn't even able to have the door open most of the time because of the smell.

[brainerdgal]

We were going to book inside cabins for our POA trip in May '13 but found that with a bit of shopping around we were able to get a mid-ship picture window cabin for the same price. We figured why not have a window if we are not going to be paying anymore!

 

A friend did this cruise earlier this year and had the same problem that a couple of posters mentioned with balcony cabins. Her neighbours were all smokers and as a non smoker she found it in her words "nasty". She said she wasn't even able to have the door open most of the time because of the smell.

 

After reading about the possibility of smokers on the next balcony, I'm pretty convinced to not get a balcony for this trip. j_jaye, what kind of "shopping" did you do to land a picture window for the same price as an inside?

[love2relax]

hmmm: We picked a port side cabin with a balcony specifically for the sail past the Napali coast, which we enjoyed immensely. We also were able to watch the lava flow from a public deck, and then return to our cabin when he turned the ship around for viewing from the other side. The view wasn't so great when we were in ports, but we weren't really on the ship that much when we were in the ports. Balconies really don't cost that much more than ocean views.

[Evangaline]

Thanks to everyone who has replied. All the answers have been helpful. Now I'm starting to swing back to a balcony...

 

Any other cabin tips from those in the know? Some say starboard is better because it's quieter on the overnight ports. Is that a big issue?

 

I would recommend starboard, notably for the stop at Nawihilwili, Kauai where there is an overnight in port. The starbaord side is beautiful, but the port side has an ugly industrial plant and main road running right next to you. We could never bring ourselves to even walk out onto the balcony when we were in Kauai.

 

Otherwise, I felt that the balcony was part of the experience. We had an extra large balcony room. The balconies on POA are nicer than newer ships. There are real railings, not scratched up plexiglass so you can actually feel the sea breezes and see the ocean and scenery properly. The floors are proper ship decking, not that bilious green astroturf.

 

While we were out on excursions on all port days, I still felt the balcony was a great retreat at the end of the day. The pool area on POA is not that great, although hopefully it will improve when the ship goes to dry dock next year. The better pool area is small and I was never able to find a free lounger the entire cruise as they were snapped up by chair hoggers who were no where to be found.

 

There are some nice deck areas to sit at on this ship. The open air bars are also nice, notably at sailaway, but we really enjoyed our balcony, both in late day as well as early morning. I still recall the wishing moon hanging over Diamond Head as the ship cruised into port in Honolulu at dawn. Just sat there in my jammies and took it all in.

[j_jaye]

We just basically looked at every online cruise site and went to several travel agents. We are in Australia where the prices are absurdly more expensive than in the USA so we wanted to make sure we didn't get ripped off. We ended up going with a private travel consultant that was recommended on the national cruise week website.

We ended up picking up a bargain during national cruise week which had OK category rooms, with a free upgrade to OA category, lower in price than ID category rooms.

[maryandmarge]

We were on POA in October 2010 and were lucky enough to get a great price of an AFT balcony on the 8th floor (I think). It was awesome. The view from the back of the ship is so relaxing.....plus we left the door open all night long and listened to the waves. You could sit on the oversized balcony (a lot larger than the balconies on the side of the ship - we had 2 big lounge chairs and 2 tables and tons more room. Since there were 3 of us sharing the room it helped to have the extra balcony room. We had no problems with ship movements at all - hope this helps.....Enjoy your trip. No matter what kind of room you stay in - Hawaii on the POA is wonderful.

[MelissaFreed]

My husband and I just did this cruise this past May. I'm jealous...wish I was going again :) We stayed in a mid-ship balcony and loved the room. We like to leave the door open at night so we can fall asleep to the sound of the waves. Normally we like to stay out late at one of the outside bars, but I found it to be suprisingly windy in Hawaii. My husband, who is never cold, wore jeans and a hoodie on deck and was still pretty cold. We ended up spending most of our nights on our balcony, as it blocked most of the wind. I'm biased on the smoking issue, since I'm a smoker. Although I never smoke on our balcony if I notice our neighbors are out. My father and step mom were on the same cruise and opted for the aft balcony, which is MUCH larger. My dad detests smoking, but had a neighbor who smoked and he said that he didn't even notice the smell. I don't think we would ever cruise without a balcony. Even though I know it's all in my head, I feel like having the balcony makes your room seem a little bigger. Whatever you decide, you'll have a great time!

 

If I may offer another tip, check out www.konacowboy.com. It was by far our best experience on this vacation :D

[puddles99]

My husband and I just did this cruise this past May. I'm jealous...wish I was going again :) We stayed in a mid-ship balcony and loved the room. We like to leave the door open at night so we can fall asleep to the sound of the waves. Normally we like to stay out late at one of the outside bars, but I found it to be suprisingly windy in Hawaii. My husband, who is never cold, wore jeans and a hoodie on deck and was still pretty cold. We ended up spending most of our nights on our balcony, as it blocked most of the wind.

 

This caught my eye as we're sailing next May - what were the daytime temperatures like? I want to make sure I'm planning appropriately!

[MelissaFreed]

This caught my eye as we're sailing next May - what were the daytime temperatures like? I want to make sure I'm planning appropriately!

 

During the day I would say low, maybe mid 80s on a couple of the days. It wasn't so much the temperature, but the wind. During the day there was a nice constant breeze, so it never really felt like it was in the 80s. I commented to one of the bartenders one night about how windy it was an he said that was normal for that time of year. I had no idea! I guess I was expecting hot, humid, sticky weather like the Caribbean.

[brainerdgal]

We booked an AFT balcony today--9202!

 

I so appreciated ALL responses...every single one was helpful. We had an AFT balcony in Alaska several years ago and loved it, so we decided to splurge again after reading the favorable comments about the value of an AFT for this cruise.

 

We may visit Hawaii in the future, but we'll probably never do the cruise again. This cruise is also our 40th-anniversary trip, so we think the extra expense will be worth it.

 

Can't wait for September, 2013. Thanks again for your responses. I'll return the favor after our cruise and give reviews of our experience.

 

MelissaFreed, thanks for the link--it sounds great and we'll definitely check it out!

[sjn911]

We booked an AFT balcony today--9202!

 

I so appreciated ALL responses...every single one was helpful. We had an AFT balcony in Alaska several years ago and loved it, so we decided to splurge again after reading the favorable comments about the value of an AFT for this cruise.

 

We may visit Hawaii in the future, but we'll probably never do the cruise again. This cruise is also our 40th-anniversary trip, so we think the extra expense will be worth it.

 

Can't wait for September, 2013. Thanks again for your responses. I'll return the favor after our cruise and give reviews of our experience.

 

MelissaFreed, thanks for the link--it sounds great and we'll definitely check it out!

 

Great question, review and answers, helped my dreams and my choice would be same for an intensive port cruise there on this ship..crossing the Ocean maybe I would save some with OV window/obs. window, or inside...thanks..Sarah

[m_alilblessed]

I went on that cruise in 2005 and I believe its the night going to the Big Island there is lava flowing down into the sea that can be seen only at night, it was cool as my parents had a balcony so we sat out on the balcony while the ship did a 360 in the middle of the ocean so both sides of the ship could see the lava. I am going again in 2014 and reserved a balcony just to have a great place to sit and enjoy when I am in port or sailing in the evening.