Pride of America - just had to post a review

[bermudafan8]

Pride of America review

 

Hope it’s not too late to post this topic. I sailed on the Pride of America through the Panama Canal and would like to share my own experience. But first I have to say I’m not new to travel, cruising or cruise critic. I am simply new to posting here.

 

Embarkation - smooth & fast without having to wait in any lines or in any waiting area.

Cruise director - Rich - we enjoyed his energy, humor and enthusiasm.

 

Ship interior - impressive:

Cabin hallways - decorated with pictures, colorful carpet and cute doors.

Lobby/atrium - very spacious & airy (perhaps due to no casino??), was more like a large hotel lobby instead of a ship.

Liberty & Skyline Rest. - Our meals were 2 hours in length which for me is acceptable. Perhaps we were just lucky. Loved the decor in both - classy & completely different from other ships I’ve seen. We sat at tables for 2, 4, and 6 and have no complaints about the service or food.

Aloha Cafe - definitely preferred having the various food stations instead of 2 long lines. Enjoyed having machines for free cappuccino etc - an idea whose time has come. (Yes, at times the machines ran low so I just pushed the button twice to fill the mug. ) NCL seems to have made improvements in it’s buffet food a little on each of my NCL cruises, but still needs to implement a few more really tasty items.

 

Pink’s Champagne Lounge - loved the gorgeous light fixture & wicker chairs. Be sure to catch Greer if he’s performing.

Gold Rush Saloon - wow - It’s such a wide bar it’s easy to forget you’re on a ship! Guitar/singer B. Mullen has an awesome voice.

Cigar bar - needs to be in a not so prominent location so nonsmokers don’t have to breathe this in.

Specialty restaurants - We boycott these believing all restaurants should be included in the base cruise fare. However, we did peek in them and were again impressed with the decor.

Game room - very nice facility with plenty of tables and games available.

Diamond Head Auditorium - this is a circle auditorium w/ stadium seating, stage in the center & several large screens for presentations. I attended a lecture and game here.

Deck 6 - expected to see deck lounge chairs here, but as most cabins have balconies I suppose the chairs aren’t needed.

 

Hollywood Theater - Terrific. Yes, it was a bit chilly the first few nights, but this is no different from a land based entertainment/movie facility. Savvy travelers know to travel with a light jacket or sweater for those ‘just in case’ moments. I’m surprised no one has mentioned the stadium seating and no pillars to block views. On some ships it is difficult to find a seat with a view that isn’t blocked, but here it was no problem. It was terrific and all main theaters on new ships should use this design. Lighting and sound systems were very good, & the stage had several trap doors & a huge section which could be raised & lowered.

 

Cabins - not sure why others are complaining about the cabin size, or again, perhaps we were just lucky. We had a balcony on the 9th floor aft. It was the largest cabin I’ve had at sea. There was plenty of storage space with all the various shelves and drawers for 2 adults. (I started the trip with a suitcase weighing in at 40 lbs and my carry on was 15lbs, so I had a lot of stuff w/ me!) We had 2 small night stands, queen bed, small refrig, desk, small couch (sleeper), & 2 chairs & small table on the balcony. Attached to the closet was a shelving unit w/ an outlet and coffee maker. We had plenty of outlets for charging ipod and camera batteries etc. The bathroom was small but we didn’t spend much time there. Our housekeeping service was more than adequate. Nightly our room was turned down. At the start of the trip, we called for ice, which was delivered immediately and always replenished after that without us having to ask. One day we called for another roll of TP as we were running low. Within 2 minutes it was delivered (we timed it.) And the woman even offered to place it on the metal roll for us (we declined.) Our carpet was vacuumed but not daily. We ordered room service daily for breakfast, which after the first day, always arrived on schedule. They ran out of sliced bananas but the fruit plate was an adequate substitute. We also ordered room service once for lunch/snack and once for dinner. We ordered from the room service menu and it arrived in a timely manner. We were happy to have a breeze on the balcony & what a treat to sea flying fish, barracuda, dolphins and a water spout! One evening when we returned to the cabin, the room was a bit warm, but not unbearable (my clock/thermometer indicated rising temp of 72 -77 degrees). We called the desk to let them know, and were told they were working on it. The next day we were instructed to turn on the A/C to level 4 between such and such hours during the day, so we did. Never had a problem with the A/C after that. How nice to have a control in the room in which we could alter the inside temp if we desired - that hasn’t been an option on other ships I’ve been on.

 

Employees - The ones we had contact with were friendly, efficient and happy to tell you their story if you asked. Each told us their contract was 5 months in length but that it varied from employee to employee. Yes, we noticed a few sitting on the piers with their luggage waiting to go home, but better they decide now to quit the job and someone else can be trained.

 

Entertainment - Several guest speakers were on board specifically for this cruise. We enjoyed the Decades lectures/trivia (and the fantastic prizes we won!), and Mr. Simon, who lectured on the Panama Canal and region. Unfortunately, some passengers were rude to him - in the front seats waving to their companions and one person even yelling out a companions’ name, this, all after Mr. Simon had begun his lecture.

We would have liked a ‘big band’ to perform nightly somewhere on the ship and to have more large musical productions in the theater, especially for Independence Day and it being an inaugural cruise. The lead female singers in the Hollywood Theater had wonderful singing voices.

 

Cabo san Lucas - would have loved more time in this pretty area. The water was very choppy on the tenders, but my guess is, that is probably normal for Cabo (note the crashing waves/tides at Land’s End.) If someone expected the tenders not to bob around or were prone to sea sickness, they should have prepared for this by taking meds or remaining on the ship. It is a cruise after all, which means on a ship on water and it moves! We were actually very lucky that for 13 days it was smooth sailing.

 

In conclusion, we enjoyed the vacation, new ship and the interesting ports of call and would not hesitate to travel on this ship again. Hope this is helpful for others who are considering a voyage on Pride of America.

[stargazers]

Thank you for your review. I agree with your observations and also had a great time on the Pride. One thing I haven't seen mentioned yet was the promenade deck. While we were disappointed to not be able to see out the front of the ship, we did appreciate the drinking fountains. I don't usually spend a whole lot of time there, but the times we walked it was nice to be able to stop and get a cold drink.

 

Kristy

 

:)

[lhall85917]

Thanks so much for sharing your review, there are many of us waiting for any and all reviews from this new ship!!

[herb]

thanks for sharing your thoughts about this ship. Enjoyed reading your review. So relieved it wasn't a "disaster" :D

[balanceok]

Thanks for your post. Reviews from previous cruisers is great for those of us still counting the days to embarkation.

[donna@donnaanderson.com]

Can you share with us your cabin number?

Thanks,

[bobnsandi]

Thanks for posting your review (we're still working on ours). We mostly agree with your observations, but would like to expand on a few of them...

 

• Deck 6: Yes, the lack of chairs was a definite minus. We love to sit on the deck and watch the people walk by, and there were too few places to do so.
  
• Cabin thermostats: Agreed, this is a big plus. NCL also has them on the Star.
  
• Boycotting Specialty Restaurants: We understand your point, but you did miss out on some very special treats. We had two meals in East Meets West, both of which were worth many times the minimal ($10-$15/person) cover. Our bar tab was far larger than our specialty dining tab, and we did enjoy the extra pampering.
  
• Cruise director: We found him to be a bit juvenile and very annoying. But, we are not the sort of cruisers that need to be entertained every moment of the cruise and tend to find most CDs rather bothersome. Rich is, we am certain, a nice fellow, but we got shivers up and down our spines every time I heard his voice on the PA.
  
• Crew: First rate with very few bad apples. We don't buy the "Americans won't work" line. We saw loads of hustle and considerable "Aloha".
  

As we've posted in other threads, it was a great cruise, one of the best. It far exceeded our expectations for a maiden cruise. We'd do it again in a flash.

[bobnsandi]

Can you share with us your cabin number?

Thanks,

 

We were in 7168. There are pictures of our cabin on our just-started-up web pages of photos from the Panama Canal trip.

 

http://www219.pair.com/swansonr/panama2005/pride_inside.html

 

are the "interior" photos, and there will be more pages and images added soon.

 

Bob

[Zeno]

Great pictures - thx for posting !

[southerntraveler]

thanks, enjoyed your photo!!!!!!!!!!!1

[ttime]

bermudafan8: Thanks for the review I appreciate all the time it must have taken to put it together. Your positive feedback is great to hear as we sail 9/24/2005.

 

bobnsandi: Thanks for the great photos, we have a balcony room at the back of the ship. Your photo's gave us a really good idea of what to expect. The balcony rails look pretty teeny. Us being none swimmers might have to hang on a little more than others.

 

We have learned so much since starting to read these boards.

 

Mary and Mike:)

[bermudafan8]

Our cabin was 9194 and looked exactly like bobnsandi's cabin. There really was plenty of space for 2 adults. Love your photos - thanks for posting!

Specialty restaurants - perhaps we'll try one next time. People we spoke with who ventured into them spoke favorably.

[DaisyL]

We were in 7168. There are pictures of our cabin on our just-started-up web pages of photos from the Panama Canal trip.

 

http://www219.pair.com/swansonr/panama2005/pride_inside.html

 

are the "interior" photos, and there will be more pages and images added soon.

 

Bob

Thanks for the photos ... It looks like the 'vanity' was under the tv,was there an outlet to plug in a hair dryer ? Also, the closet looked very small, (as compared to the Dawn's, which was fine for our 10 day), is it ? How will we ever fit in 11 days worth of clothes (precruise + cruise) ?

Look forward to more pix... they were great ...

[SailAways]

We were discussing with a friend recently about our desire to do the Panama Canal.

His comment was: "If you have done the Seattle Locks, You don't need to do the Canal."

Can you elaborate upon your experience, and get us excited about doing

this trip again.

He sort of deflated our anticipation.

Your reviews and pictures on this thread are so exciting.

Thanks for posting such beautiful thoughts and pictures. :)

[bermudafan8]

On POAm the balcony staterooms have a hair dryer already plugged in for you by the mirror on the desk by the tv. You can't unplug it and it has a holder for you to place the dryer in when done. There were I believe 2 outlets next to it. There is also an outlet behind the tv which we used.

 

We had plenty of space for our clothes between the closet, shelves in the closet, and drawers in the room and the trip was 13 days. If you can't fit everything, you have packed too much, as summer clothes don't take up much space and formal nights are optional.

 

The Seattle locks are just a short trip through city locks. Going thru the locks/lake will provide you with nice views of the city, houseboats, fishing boats, salmon ladders, and a variety of pleasure boats. I went thru during Seafair, which they said was the busiest time for the locks. The Panama Canal is one of the wonders of engineering, has 3 sections, and takes approx. 8 - 10 hours to transit. There will probably be a commentator on board. You will see numerous cargo ships all around - very neat. Watching the lock doors open/close was interesting, as well as seeing the 'mules' guide the ship along, hearing all the bells etc, seeing how close we were to the side, watching freighters pull in next to us and seeing them perched on top of water while we were already lowered was an odd site. I really enjoyed cruising through Gatun Lake - no developments here, just lots of palm and other trees, including some with purple leaves. At times we could hear lots of birds and insects. After reaching the west side, stay on deck for awhile to catch a view of the Panama City skyline. I thought we saw the view, so we went up to the buffett. A few minutes later we saw an incredible view of the huge skyline in the distance. Well worth a look. The POAm sat in the Gulf of Panama until around 11:30pm. There were freighters all around, as well as numerous pelicans flying. Then came the flying fish that would fly for 20 - 30 feet, then the baraccudas, and even several dolphins surfacing. This was great natural entertainment. We enjoyed going through the canal.

[DaisyL]

Bermudafan, thanks for your reply... It seems like the closet, hairdryer, and outlet arrrangements are the same as on the Dawn atlthough the cabin is 30 sq. ft. less. We actually don't pack too much, (1 large suitcase each, and a carryon for our 10 day cruise in Feb... I saw others with quite a bit more) and we will be limited to how much we can take with the airlines anyway.

 

Looking forward to any other tips you can give... Thanks...

BTW we love Bermuda, too ...

[bobnsandi]

We were discussing with a friend recently about our desire to do the Panama Canal.

His comment was: "If you have done the Seattle Locks, You don't need to do the Canal."

Can you elaborate upon your experience, and get us excited about doing

this trip again.

He sort of deflated our anticipation.

Your reviews and pictures on this thread are so exciting.

Thanks for posting such beautiful thoughts and pictures. :)

 

 

Don't let anyone tell you to pass on the Panama Canal. It is a unique

experience. However, perhaps doing it in the summer

is not the best idea (Pride of American was sailing, we had

to be aboard her). Take a cruise that completely

transits the Canal.

 

Take a look at our photos from December 2004:

 

http://swansongrp.com/panama/canal1.html

 

Have a great Panama Canal Cruise!

[SailAways]

Don't let anyone tell you to pass on the Panama Canal."

 

Thank you bobnsandi, and bermudafan8. I just knew that there had to be a huge difference. I have done the Settle Locks, and couldn't imagine that my friend could be right about the Panama Canal.

I shall look forward to this trip with great anticipation - probably in 2006 in the winter as you have suggested.

This is a great thread, so upbeat and refreshing.

Thanks again. :)

[judyjudy56]

BobandSandi,

 

Do you think there would be room for 3 people in the balcony cabin? We are considering the PofAm next June with our 17 year old son. I worry about closet space and just being too confined. From your pics it's looks like it might be pretty crowded. Thanks for any help you can give me.

 

Judy

[Darthtater]

Thanks for all your pictures and help. I and my two sons (10 and 12) will be on the POA CC cruise in June. We just came off the Star two weeks ago, and I slept on the sofa, and, yes, it was very hard. I guess the stewards will pull out that little sofa and make it a bed, huh? Is there room for 3 on the balcony? We have booked on aft cabin, our first time to try that out. Did you see the kids' areas? How did they look?

[bobnsandi]

BobandSandi,

 

Do you think there would be room for 3 people in the balcony cabin? We are considering the PofAm next June with our 17 year old son. I worry about closet space and just being too confined. From your pics it's looks like it might be pretty crowded. Thanks for any help you can give me.

 

Judy

 

It should be possible, but everyone has to cooperate. As I noted in previous posts, Sandi and I had to negociate with each other, whenever one wanted to cross the cabin from the sliding door, to the cabin door and vise versa. Just enough room for one person to get by the foot of the bed. We know of people who have shared in these cabins, but expect all resources to be crowded. That "worlds hardest sofa-bed" seems to be some sort of NCL "signature" item.

 

 

Bob

[luvscorgis]

bobnsandi: Thanks for the terrific pictures of POA. It's nice to know that not everyone had a negative experience on this cruise. We are looking forward to seeing for ourselves on Sept. 24th. There will also be 3 of us in the cabin so we will prepare to live tight. Good thing we got a balcony. Aloha!