Pride of America for Hawaii or other lines?

[Crazy planning mom]

We are looking at booking POA next April for my 40th birthday trip to Hawaii. We plan to stay a few days after at Aulani to appease our daughter, who will be 9, and feel that NCL really would be our best option for getting a good overview/seeing all of the islands before planting ourselves in one location.

Great plan.

[delaware32]

I probably should have used a different word besides "old," she isn't even the oldest ship in the NCL fleet and since I haven't seen her first hand I will reserve judgement (although I haven't been on an NCL ship I didn't like.) I personally prefer the older smaller ships to the Breakaway class but I can see why people might prefer the newer ones. For us the Hawaii cruise was mostly about the destination though. We were recently looking trough our dailies from our 2007 POH cruise and remarked how little we actually did on the ship even though there was quite a lot offered. We were usually off the ship by 7 or 8 AM and would grab a rental car and go exploring. We were usually leaving all the tour stops by the time the tour buses got there! It was great to come back to the ship to eat and shower during the day, but we didn't spend much time there. We had a great night in Maui Halloween, saw the band Hot Buttered Rum at Charley's Restaurant and Saloon. We did a local luau in Kaui which I think is the only time we ate off the ship besides the Krispy Kreme in Kahului. Too many great memories to mention here but excited to be able to do it all again!

 

BethV114 and delaware32, we are booked on the April 20 2019 POA sailing which is the week after Easter, I have a roll call started if you are interested. 415 days to go :D

 

We're on the week before you . I may lurk in your roll call since there isn't one yet for our trip . Always good to share ideas .This our first time to Hawaii . Can't wait .

[cwms]

Check costs!!! PoA is very expensive when compared to other NCL cruises.

 

There's a reason for that. If you look at the other NCL cruises, I'm betting there is at least one stop in a foreign port. On mainland US cruises, there will be one stop in either Canada, Mexico, Bahamas, etc. Even the California to Hawaii cruises will make a short pit stop in Ensenada. I've read that many years ago, there was some kind of tax put into place that basically makes cruises that only go to US ports more expensive than cruises that visit a foreign port.

I'm pretty sure that POA is the only NCL ship that only stops in US ports.

 

Also, correct me if I'm wrong...doesn't POA have an all American crew? That's got to run up the ship's payroll well above other ships with crews from 2nd and 3rd world countries.

[Zeno]

Just back from POA. It depends on what your travel goal is - if it's to see as much of Hawaii as is possible in 7 days - then it is definitely your best bet. Try to arrive a few days early to spend some time on Oahu. We enjoyed our cruise. The crew was great - very friendly and service oriented.

We rented a car on each island and I highly recommend that.

[trish1c]

We sailed the POA last March. It was a great way to see multiple islands without the hassle of flying & TSA. It's not a relaxing cruise the way the Caribbean is & it's certainly not a luxurious ship where you are there to enjoy the amenities. There are few amenities on board. It's transportation, a place to sleep & food. Getting a high end cabin is a waste because you won't be in it.

 

We boarded & had a few drinks on board before dinner on embarkation day. I think that was one of the longest stretches awake on board we had. We'd get up, grab breakfast & some fruit to take with us for the day then go explore the islands. If you think you want to take a sandwich off with you, make it the night before at the late night buffet; there's no lunch meat at breakfast. We came back at the last possible minute to board, shower, grab dinner & get some rest for the next day.

 

The overnights in port were great because you didn't have to rush back. We were able to take our time on the road to Hana instead of being stressed about watching the clock.

 

The last day when we sailed past the Kauai coast was the only day we sat on deck or used the pool. There just wasn't time otherwise.

 

It's a different experience. So many people said not to do it because you don't get enough time on each island. We wanted an overview & that is what we got. We sailed with friends who had spent at least 5 days on every one of the islands previously & they thought it was a good way to see a little of everything.

 

It really depends on what you want. I was happy we did it this way.

[Linda the Book Lover]

Our first cruise was a 11-nights cruise on Norwegian Wind around the Hawaiian islands and to Fanning Island. That was a great cruise. The cruise on POA isn't interesting for us because there are no days at sea.

 

I miss the Wind:);) but we are booked on POA for the DGD trip.

[TDellaTorre]

It looks like DD's spring break will be the week before Easter, so we're likely looking at the 4/13/19 sailing followed by a few days at Aulani. But I may drop by your roll call to pick your brain about excursions since you've done this before!

 

 

Feel free to drop by! The only ship excursions we did were the Pearl Harbor and Honolulu city tour and the Atlantis Submarine at Kona. Atlantis submarine is about the same if you've done it at other ports but it was very interesting to see the island from beneath the surface. The Pearl Harbor excursion was on the last day and at the time it dropped you off at the airport, not sure if that is still the case but it saved us a transfer.

 

Other than that, we rented a car in every port. We got the best deals from Thrifty, although it was over 10 years ago and it looks like they are more expensive now. At the time you could get the compact for $20-$25 per day and you almost always got upgraded to a convertible for no extra charge, plus they ran shuttles to the ports. I think they're about double that now, (and not sure about the shuttles) but still a good deal if you have a small group considering the price of ship excursions.

We also took the Hilo Hattie shuttle at a few ports, although I heard they closed their stores on the big island.

 

dexddd, do you know if/where they are still running the Hilo Hattie shuttle?

[pizzalady1]

 

dexddd, do you know if/where they are still running the Hilo Hattie shuttle?

 

Hilo Hattie is no more. May it rest in peace

[zdcatc12]

Other than that, we rented a car in every port. We got the best deals from Thrifty, although it was over 10 years ago and it looks like they are more expensive now. At the time you could get the compact for $20-$25 per day and you almost always got upgraded to a convertible for no extra charge, plus they ran shuttles to the ports. I think they're about double that now, (and not sure about the shuttles) but still a good deal if you have a small group considering the price of ship excursions.

 

We did the same thing a few years ago, though we used Dollar. This was in Maui, Kaui, and the Big Island. They ranged from $15-$25 per day, would do it again!!

[Motegi]

Pam and I did the POA with my parents and sister last April and it was perhaps the single greatest cruise that any of us have ever taken.

 

My parents first met in Hawaii many decades ago and it has been a special place for them ever since. They have a condominium on Oahu and spend at least two weeks there every year. I've been there many times since I was a young child and have been to Kauai, Maui, and the big island before. However, this cruise was absolutely amazing!

 

We didn't book any excursions through NCL and went with a Robert's Hawaii multi-island tour package instead and loved every minute of every tour. They pick up in large motor coaches right at each port right adjacent to the NCL excursions busses.

 

Because of the extra port time that the overnights in Kauai and Maui allowed we were able to explore these islands on our own with rental cars as well. We loved going to the Koloa Rum Factory, Wiamea Canyon, and the Road to Hana.

 

Although we read plenty of reviews bashing the service staff on the POA we found everyone to be extremely friendly and attentive from the moment we boarded.

 

We booked an aft corner suite for our family and the only negative we had was that we shared one bathroom. Suite breakfasts at Cagney's were amazing. The view from Moderno Churrascaria the evening when the ship passed by Kauai's Napali coast was breathtaking. The native hawaiian sermon broadcast over the ships PA system as we sailed past Mt Kilauea's active lava flow at night brought chills to my spine. Every one of the polynesian themed shows in the evenings were outstanding.

 

It was the perfect cruise!