Pride of America (POA) August 26, 2017 Review

[jgibson575]

Thank you for this great review. The pictures and videos were awesome. We are sailing in April and are staying in the same cabin...13512.

[fligster]

Thank you for this great review. The pictures and videos were awesome. We are sailing in April and are staying in the same cabin...13512.

 

 

 

Thanks, It was the best cabin we have had. It’s true you spend a lot of time off ship, but when you aren’t it really was nice to have this cabin and the huge balcony to come back to.

 

 

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[trixietg]

Great review. I thought of a few questions:

1. If you want the Murphy bed and pullout set up, do you tell someone in advance or once on the ship?

2. Smith family luau...Are you saying they provide transportation to/from the ship before and after the luau? Let me know what you recall about that.

Thanks so much :)

[dexddd]

Great review. I thought of a few questions:

1. If you want the Murphy bed and pullout set up, do you tell someone in advance or once on the ship?

2. Smith family luau...Are you saying they provide transportation to/from the ship before and after the luau? Let me know what you recall about that.

Thanks so much :)

 

You do it onboard. Tell butler and/or room steward.

 

Smith's has options on their website and you can buy in advance. One option is to do the luau and a coach bus to/from the luau. We had rented a car for the day and went there after touring for the day so don't have input on the buses other than seeing them board after the luau. 2nd time for Smiths and it is one of the better ones.

[fligster]

Great review. I thought of a few questions:

1. If you want the Murphy bed and pullout set up, do you tell someone in advance or once on the ship?

2. Smith family luau...Are you saying they provide transportation to/from the ship before and after the luau? Let me know what you recall about that.

Thanks so much :)

 

As the previous poster indicated, you just tell your steward, they will then have it ready each night. In our suite, the murphy bed was in the corner out of the way, so I think we just had it open all the time, since it wasn't in the way.

 

We had rented a car and used that to get to/from Smith's. You can purchase transportation from Smith's but I think they picked up at 4:30, and we were doing the Helicopter tour and weren't sure we would be able to get back, freshen up etc and be ready by then so we opted for the rental car for the day. I do recall seeing a few taxis waiting when we left the Luau but not sure if they were prearranged and waiting for someone specific or just waiting if anybody needed a ride. I do highly recommend Smith's.

[fligster]

Here's a short video of our visit to Leonard's Bakery in Honolulu for Malasda's.

 

[fligster]

During our pre-cruise stay on Oahu, we went to the Polynesian Cultural Center. Here are some videos of our visit.

 

 

[Linda the Book Lover]

During our pre-cruise stay on Oahu, we went to the Polynesian Cultural Center. Here are some videos of our visit.

 

 

 

I enjoyed your videos-thanks for sharing. My D, DGD, and I booked a private tour for the day so my DGD could enjoy the experience at her pace and also Grandma's pace LOL. Did you guys take part in a tour?

[fligster]

I enjoyed your videos-thanks for sharing. My D, DGD, and I booked a private tour for the day so my DGD could enjoy the experience at her pace and also Grandma's pace LOL. Did you guys take part in a tour?

 

 

We upgraded to the option with the group tour. They took us around and gave additional info we wouldn’t of had just going by ourselves so we were glad we did it.

 

Our tickets allowed us to come back again within a few days. We were going to, but it is a distance from Waikiki and we decided not to.

 

 

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[Linda the Book Lover]

We upgraded to the option with the group tour. They took us around and gave additional info we wouldn’t of had just going by ourselves so we were glad we did it.

 

Our tickets allowed us to come back again within a few days. We were going to, but it is a distance from Waikiki and we decided not to.

 

 

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Thanks! I am really glad we paid for this option for us. This is my DGD's dream to go to Hawaii and her mom and I are trying to make sure all of her time on each island brings her wonderful memories. Your videos really have me excited!

[fligster]

We got addicted to Shave Ice. Here is a video of our visit to Waiola Shave Ice in Honolulu.

 

 

Pre Cruise, we had 1 free night at the Marriott as one of our suite booking perks. Here is a quick walk through of our room.

 

[Linda the Book Lover]

We got addicted to Shave Ice. Here is a video of our visit to Waiola Shave Ice in Honolulu.

 

 

Pre Cruise, we had 1 free night at the Marriott as one of our suite booking perks. Here is a quick walk through of our room.

 

 

We are staying a few days at Hale Koa (military hotel). Very excited.

[fligster]

One of the things we did while in Kauai was take a helicopter tour. Here is a video with a sampling of our experience. This is the first time I have been in a helicopter, it is a weird sensation but fun and would recommend it.

 

[Linda the Book Lover]

One of the things we did while in Kauai was take a helicopter tour. Here is a video with a sampling of our experience. This is the first time I have been in a helicopter, it is a weird sensation but fun and would recommend it.

 

 

We booked all of our excursions and decided on a private tour with Tours by Locals in Kauai.

[fligster]

I think these are the last of the videos, unless I find some lost footage.

 

We went to Surf Ripper Shave Ice in Lahaina, Maui.

 

 

We tried Spam Musubi.

 

[fligster]

My wife found some lost footage from her iPhone (This video shot on iPhone 6). Here is our visit to Ululani's Hawaiian Shave Ice on Maui.

 

 

[Loopyloo12]

Great review, many thanks.... doing the Cruise in May. If Pride does the evening sail by the lava flow, which I see you did, what sort of time was it? Don’t want to be stuck in a restaurant and miss it. Cheers....

[fligster]

Great review, many thanks.... doing the Cruise in May. If Pride does the evening sail by the lava flow, which I see you did, what sort of time was it? Don’t want to be stuck in a restaurant and miss it. Cheers....

 

 

 

I believe it was around 9:30. I got some video but it was too far to get really good steady, clear shots. It was best viewing through our binoculars.

 

 

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[phoaglan]

My wife and I just got back from the Pride of America Feb 3 sailing. It was phenomenal. Granted, we were in a suite and the weather was much better than expected as it is rainy season. Still, we found everything to exceed our expectations. Chelsea was our butler and was terrific. This cruise exceeded our expectations and would highly recommend it to anyone who wants to get a memorable overview of Hawaii.

[Salem615]

How far is the cultural center? Is there any type of transportation?

[phoaglan]

The cultural center? Of what?

[Linda the Book Lover]

How far is the cultural center? Is there any type of transportation?

 

Are you asking about the Polynesian Cultural Center in Honolulu? If you are we booked a private tour and luau through Viator. They pick up at your hotel.

[fligster]

How far is the cultural center? Is there any type of transportation?

 

 

 

If you mean the Polynesian Cultural Center. We had a rental car, it is about an hour away from the Waikiki area. They offer a shuttle service you can add when you purchase tickets online.

 

 

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[soccermomkat]

I believe it was around 9:30. I got some video but it was too far to get really good steady, clear shots. It was best viewing through our binoculars.

 

We were on the 21 January POA cruise and when I asked about the timing for passing the lava flow I was told that since the lava was not actively flowing that the captain no longer went past that area. If that isn’t true I missed it because we went to dinner.

[fligster]

In Maui on the second day we rented a car from Enterprise near the port. This video is a brief summary of us walking back and what the area is like and what you can expect. I know I was a little concerned prior to our cruise, cause I wasn't sure how it would be walking to the rental car.

 

 

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