This American is Proud to Review the Pride of America 4/11 to 4/18

[Ilovesailing]

mel-b thanks for you review. We are one of the lucky one's that have been able to do this cruise b2b three times now and a fourth 2017 and we always stay 5-7 days on land before.

We are also booked in aft 9702, we have stayed in this one for the last two.

 

Our 1st cruise was 9700 but had a lot of noise from the party in the family suite next door plus you could hear it through the adjoining door. So we don't cabins that have adjoining doors anymore

 

Being from Canada our flights are around $8 to $1000 plus 8 hour light just isn't worth for us.

Edited June 17, 2015 by Ilovesailing

[mel-b]

My husband and I are going next May, our first time in Hawaii as well, and super excited! I'm loving what you have to say so far! :)

 

Yay! Thanks for reading my review, Kattus.

[mel-b]

We are in an aft balcony as well! Do you have any pictures of the balcony? It sounds amazing!

 

Let me see what I have. I didn't specifically take shots to post here in my review, but there's a good chance I have some anyways. When I was doing my research, I referred to a few shots of aft balconies on the POA from a Google images search as well as YouTube. Deck 9 seemed to be a safe choice. Deck 10 is right under the aloha cafe.

[mel-b]

mel-b thanks for you review. We are one of the lucky one's that have been able to do this cruise b2b three times now and a fourth 2017 and we always stay 5-7 days on land before.

We are also booked in aft 9702, we have stayed in this one for the last two.

 

Our 1st cruise was 9700 but had a lot of noise from the party in the family suite next door plus you could hear it through the adjoining door. So we don't cabins that have adjoining doors anymore

 

Being from Canada our flights are around $8 to $1000 plus 8 hour light just isn't worth for us.

 

Thank you for reading! Have you written a review on the POA? I sure would love to read about your experiences and why you personally have done the b2b, and on multiple occasions now.

 

You bring up such a great point about cabin 9700. Thank you for mentioning the connecting interior door between that cabin and the wrap around suite next door. Initially, I was concerned. We lucked out though because it was a husband and wife and her father. They were very quiet. And we became friends with them and were able to enjoy their space one morning for breakfast as well. But, it could be noisy and that's a risky proposition to take. If we were to do the cruise again, I'd not book that particular cabin but would still like to be on deck 8 or 9 aft.

[mel-b]

Thank you for reading! Have you written a review on the POA? I sure would love to read about your experiences and why you personally have done the b2b, and on multiple occasions now.

 

You bring up such a great point about cabin 9700. Thank you for mentioning the connecting interior door between that cabin and the wrap around suite next door. Initially, I was concerned. We lucked out though because it was a husband and wife and her father. They were very quiet. And we became friends with them and were able to enjoy their space one morning for breakfast as well. But, it could be noisy and that's a risky proposition to take. If we were to do the cruise again, I'd not book that particular cabin but would still like to be on deck 8 or 9 aft.

 

I should probably add that when we booked the cruise, there weren't many options left for aft balcony cabins. We booked only a few months out. If I recall, 9700 was the only aft available on deck 9. We didn't want deck 10 so we took the gamble on 9700 with the connecting interior door. If there had been many other options, we would've steered clear of 9700. But if you really really want an aft balcony, and it's the only one available, it might be worth the gamble.

[Ilovesailing]

Thank you for reading! Have you written a review on the POA? I sure would love to read about your experiences and why you personally have done the b2b, and on multiple occasions now.

 

You bring up such a great point about cabin 9700. Thank you for mentioning the connecting interior door between that cabin and the wrap around suite next door. Initially, I was concerned. We lucked out though because it was a husband and wife and her father. They were very quiet. And we became friends with them and were able to enjoy their space one morning for breakfast as well. But, it could be noisy and that's a risky proposition to take. If we were to do the cruise again, I'd not book that particular cabin but would still like to be on deck 8 or 9 aft.

 

Anyone looking at deck 8 aft beware that the midddle two cabins 8708/8208 have the ladder system that rolls around to wash windows is parked in the middle, how much

interferes I'm not sure.

 

Here is a pic I had on file for aft balcony 8708, all the balcony cabins I believe are all the same size as the decks are tired. Being sun worshippers we love these balconies.

[Imalismom]

Exactly 30 days from today we will be in room 13002.... can't wait... got to finish teaching 2 semesters of summer school first....

[mel-b]

Exactly 30 days from today we will be in room 13002.... can't wait... got to finish teaching 2 semesters of summer school first....

 

So exciting!! I wish we were counting down to go again too!

[mel-b]

Ok, where did I leave off? I believe I left off at the point of being able to have access to our cabin. It was great to change into a swimsuit and lounge in the sun on the balcony. Having a lounger out there was super. It was mentioned that cabin 9700 is aft and has a connecting interior door to suite 9698, which is a wraparound cabin. We became cruise friends with the folks in this cabin, and had breakfast with them on their balcony one morning. This gave us the opportunity to see the layout of the room. Of course, the balcony is awesome as it had a dining table for four. Two loungers as well. The room itself had a nice espresso machine. I believe this suite had the ability to order full hot breakfast unlike our cabin category which was continental only. The suite seemed to suit them well as they were an older married couple traveling with her father.

I took the opportunity to book half of our dinners online pre-cruise. Moderno was available for the first evening. We actually dined here twice. I'm glad we had the upgraded dining package. I believe if this had not been gratis, we would've paid for it anyways. Moderno is on a smaller scale than, say, Texas de Brazil. The wine suggested by the server was great and we ended up having a couple bottles of that particular wine throughout the cruise. The salad bar was nice. If I recall, there was a ceviche available which was quite tasty. All of the meat was excellent, but I distinctly remember the lamb. My DH does not like lamb, however, he liked Moderno's. We especially enjoyed the pineapple which they placed on a rotisserie and basted with brown sugar and cinnamon (if I recall correctly). The server provided the recipe to my husband, and we've duplicated that at home. It was that good.

After this gluttonous dinner, we hung out in the Aloha cafe aft of deck 11 to watch the sailaway. The pictures we were able to get of downtown Honolulu as the sun was setting were magnificent (I attached a shot above).

We did not partake in the sailaway party as we were pretty tired at this point. We also did not partake in the pub crawl which was offered once we first arrived on the ship. We originally committed (without payment), but opted to keep our reservation at Moderno instead (eat versus drink). I believe the pub crawl takes place around 6pm, therefore before the sailaway time of 7pm.

Stay tuned for our first official day - Maui!

[mel-b]

Probably like most of you, I researched the heck out of Maui and how best to maximize our time on the island. We decided to at least drive the road to Hana and see the sunrise at Haleakala.

We disembarked the POA around 830am. Here's a shot of her docked in the port:

 

This port is very industrial. Everything you might've heard/read is true. We exited the ship and walked through a building and out into a parking area where the tour buses/shuttle and car rental vans would pick up passengers. Since this first day in Maui would be full (as in no set time to return to the ship that night), we opted to rent a jeep through discounthawaiicarrental dot com. We used this Jeep for the entire time we were in Maui. If you are adventurous, enjoy personal freedom (as in not being guided by an official tour), and don't mind driving long and winding roads, renting your own vehicle is the way to go.

We were paired with Thrifty (located at the airport). We had to wait a bit longer than we wanted at the port for the Thrifty van, but I suppose we were mostly impatient and wanted to get as early a start on the road to Hana (RTH) as possible. This is recommended mostly due to daylight. I suppose in hindsight, if we had been on the RTH in the dark, certainly on our way back and close to the town of Paia, it would've been okay. My DH was willing to drive it in the dark. I, however, was the nervous nellie.

Let me stop at this point and make a most necessary recommendation. A lot of people acquire the cd which narrates the RTH. There is an app (which we downloaded and I believe costs around $5) called Gypsy Guide Road to Hana. I can't recommend this enough. We nicknamed the narrator Ricky Bobby just 'cause. He was awesome. The real deal. He'd narrate between stops. Speaking of stops, he'd encourage us to pass over some of them because quite frankly, there isn't enough time to stop at every pullover or waterfall. He did good to reign us in. He does not continue to narrate past Haleakala National Park (Ohe'o Gulch/Seven Sacred Pools). Ricky Bobby was quick to remind us the back country is technically forbidden per rental car contracts. I will say this - if we would've had more time, perhaps stay on the side of the island where Hana is located, we would've given the backcountry drive a go. Oh well, there's (hopefully) next time. I personally loved the RTH the most in terms of Maui. This area is amazing. I hope to return and spend more time in the town of Paia (the start to the RTH) and Hana.

[mel-b]

I wonder if there's a way to bump this thread to the actual Pride of America forum? I'm thinking it might be seen better if so. If any of y'all know how I can do this, please let me know. In the meantime, I'll continue on with my review.

[mel-b]

With the t-top off the Jeep and our RTH app downloaded, we were reading to set out for Paia (official starting point of the RTH) from the Thrifty car rental location. I'll never forget driving towards Paia..breathing in the fresh air of Maui and watching the lush green landscape as we drove past.

 

 

Paia is a funky little town. We only stopped to grab water and snacks at Kuau store. I'd really like to return to this town to explore and eat at some of the local eateries. With getting a later start than recommended (I had read in most places a start time of 7am - 8am is optimal to utilize the most daylight) we didn't feel we had enough time to stay in Paia. Next time.

 

One of our first stops along the beginning of the RTH was at Kaumahina State Wayside Park. This is a great spot to stop for a picnic and to use the bathrooms. If you walk up the trail to the left of the parking lot, you can get a pretty good view of the Ke'anae Peninsula.

 

View from this wayside park

 

Our next stop was Honomanu Bay. To access the bay, there's a dirt road that leads off to the left from the RTH. I don't recall it being too rough of a road if you happen to be in a non 4x4. There were two surfers gearing up when we stopped.

 

 

 

[ndabunka]

Good review but didn't see one critical aspect addressed (maybe I missed it) but...

 

 

How do you get from the ship to the rental car pickup locations? I am sure it's all very easy once you have done it but... 99% of us reading these posts have never been to Hawaii much less tried to schedule rental cars at each different islands.

 

I know that Enterprise will bring you a car (to a ship even I suppose) but what about all these other companies? Is there a HERTZ or AVIS within a short walk (say 1/4 mile) of ALL of the ports that POA stops at? If not, do you call a cab...when you get there or perhaps arrange something prior to boarding the ship so that they know when and who to pick up for the rental. Obviously, need to know the same with regards to getting back to the ship. The LAST thing I want to do after having been tooling around the islands each day is to have to 'scramble' to find a way back to the ship or walk a mile.

 

Thanks in advance for humoring me :D

[marathonrunner123]

How long did it take you to get from the ship to Paia?

[greatlakesgirl]

I wonder if there's a way to bump this thread to the actual Pride of America forum? I'm thinking it might be seen better if so. If any of y'all know how I can do this, please let me know. In the meantime, I'll continue on with my review.

I would contact the moderator of this forum and ask them to move it over to the Hawaii board. Either that, or copy and paste each post from here and start a new thread over there. More work for you, though. :D

 

Still enjoying your review! I took the RTH with my parents 25(ish) years ago and still remember how beautiful it was. We didn't make it all the way to Hana, we turned back about 3/4 of the way, I think. I also have that same exact pic of the ship docked at Kahului.

Edited June 19, 2015 by greatlakesgirl

[mel-b]

Good review but didn't see one critical aspect addressed (maybe I missed it) but...

 

 

How do you get from the ship to the rental car pickup locations? I am sure it's all very easy once you have done it but... 99% of us reading these posts have never been to Hawaii much less tried to schedule rental cars at each different islands.

 

I know that Enterprise will bring you a car (to a ship even I suppose) but what about all these other companies? Is there a HERTZ or AVIS within a short walk (say 1/4 mile) of ALL of the ports that POA stops at? If not, do you call a cab...when you get there or perhaps arrange something prior to boarding the ship so that they know when and who to pick up for the rental. Obviously, need to know the same with regards to getting back to the ship. The LAST thing I want to do after having been tooling around the islands each day is to have to 'scramble' to find a way back to the ship or walk a mile.

 

Thanks in advance for humoring me :D

 

Good question! I briefly touched on disembarking the POA in Maui, but I don't think I gave much detail on the rental car pickup. Forgive me - breaking this review up into little snippets each day may cause me to miss a few pertinent details!

 

I mentioned using discounthawaiicarrental dot com to secure a Jeep on Maui (I also used this website to secure another Jeep on Kauai. I recommend going through this site for any of the islands). This website appears to be the go-to for most people renting vehicles in Hawaii. They automatically find the best rate available. This website does not require payment upon booking. They will pair you with the best rates/agencies. Thrifty happened to be the best rate for a Jeep at the time, so we booked with them and secured payment onsite at the Thrifty office at the Maui airport.

 

When we exited the POA at the port in Maui, we walked through a building and out into a main parking area where port employees were directing buses/shuttle/vans. This is the area where all tours (booked through NCL and otherwise) and where the rental car company vans will pick up passengers. I myself verified with Thrify that they provide a shuttle from the port to the airport. I believe most if not all rental car companies provide a shuttle to/from the port, but I recommend you verify this directly. We waited in the designated area in this parking lot at the port and Thrifty arrived with a shuttle within about 30 minutes. I highly highly recommend getting off the POA as soon as you can. Especially if you plan to do the RTH.

 

As far as Maui is concerned, I do not believe there was a rental car agency within walking distance. They appear to be all located at the airport which is not within walking distance. The only other island we rented a car in was Kauai, and the same scenerio existed. The ship docked in port and we were picked up by the rental agency shuttled and taken to the airport to obtain our vehicle. I can not attest to the Big Island (Hilo or Kona). Although I had read there is a car rental agency within walking distance in Kona?

 

So, to recap, I would recommend trying the website I mentioned above first. Find the best rate and be paired up with a major car rental agency. Call them directly and verify their location (more than likely the airport as I mentioned) and verify they send a shuttle to the port and vise versa. Again, with our experience in Maui, we had no issue being picked up by the car rental shuttle at the port. We retained the Jeep throughout our entire stay on Maui by utilizing the free parking lot at the port. There appears to be a security guard on staff at the parking area 24/7. We returned our Jeep in Maui prior to needing to board the second day. No issues with returning, and there was an immediate shuttle bus from Thrifty to take us back to the cruise port.

 

Speaking of parking at the port in Maui, there was no issue finding a spot. I believe there is shopping/dining right across the street from the port. The only thing a little hairy is the walk back to the ship from the parking lot. Estimate at least 10-15 minutes as you will walk through the industrial port. You are safe. It is rudimentary and you are walking down a fenced-in path, but it is adequately lighted. Our first reaction upon arriving back to the port the first night (after driving the RTH and not returning to the ship until about 8pm in the dark, and parking in the designated lot and showing ID to the security person) was the walk seemed like walking through the outside area of a prison. Not that I personally know what that's like! But the visual was there...

[mel-b]

How long did it take you to get from the ship to Paia?

 

About 20 - 30 minutes if I recall correctly. Easy drive

[mel-b]

How long did it take you to get from the ship to Paia?

 

I'm sorry, scratch my original response. I misunderstood. That time I gave you would be from the Lahaina area of Maui to Paia.

 

To answer your question, about 10 - 15 minutes from the port to Paia.

[DaKa2002]

Fascinated by your review; please keep up the great work!

 

We have never sailed NCL, but POA keeps showing up on our bucket list - just hasn't surfaced yet. The B2B is something we would never have thought about...

[mel-b]

I would contact the moderator of this forum and ask them to move it over to the Hawaii board. Either that, or copy and paste each post from here and start a new thread over there. More work for you, though. :D

 

Still enjoying your review! I took the RTH with my parents 25(ish) years ago and still remember how beautiful it was. We didn't make it all the way to Hana, we turned back about 3/4 of the way, I think. I also have that same exact pic of the ship docked at Kahului.

 

I'll try the contacting the moderator route first! Thanks for the ideas!!

[mel-b]

Fascinated by your review; please keep up the great work!

 

We have never sailed NCL, but POA keeps showing up on our bucket list - just hasn't surfaced yet. The B2B is something we would never have thought about...

 

Thank you for reading!

 

I would definitely not hesitate to do a b2b on the POA. I believe it was ilovesailing who mentioned above having done a b2b a few times on the POA. What's so appealing about that is (I assume) only unpacking/packing once in two weeks and visiting Maui, Big Island and Kauai for a total of 4 days each.

[mel-b]

Good review but didn't see one critical aspect addressed (maybe I missed it) but...

 

 

How do you get from the ship to the rental car pickup locations? I am sure it's all very easy once you have done it but... 99% of us reading these posts have never been to Hawaii much less tried to schedule rental cars at each different islands.

 

I know that Enterprise will bring you a car (to a ship even I suppose) but what about all these other companies? Is there a HERTZ or AVIS within a short walk (say 1/4 mile) of ALL of the ports that POA stops at? If not, do you call a cab...when you get there or perhaps arrange something prior to boarding the ship so that they know when and who to pick up for the rental. Obviously, need to know the same with regards to getting back to the ship. The LAST thing I want to do after having been tooling around the islands each day is to have to 'scramble' to find a way back to the ship or walk a mile.

 

Thanks in advance for humoring me :D

 

I hope my response was helpful. Let me know what else I can answer for you.

[carmzav]

Love the review so far! I'm looking forward to reading the rest.

[mel-b]

Love the review so far! I'm looking forward to reading the rest.

 

Thank you for reading this review!

[ndabunka]

I hope my response was helpful. Let me know what else I can answer for you.

 

It did help. Thank you.