Pride of America Freestyle Daily

[baflagg]

Recently returned from the 11 day land/sea cruise of the Hawaiian island on the POA.  If you are planning to cruise the Hawaiian island I highly recommend adding in the 3 days at the Hawaiian Village Resort if you can.  We did our own air transportation so chose to fly in on Tuesday then had Wednesday as a free day to hang out at the resort and get used to the time change.  The next 2 1/2 days were filled with tours all arranged by NCL and it's very well organized.  We had the same tour bus driver all 3 days and he was great, we saw a lot and learned a lot. On Saturday after your tour they drop you at the pier and we got right on the ship.  Your luggage is picked up at the hotel on Saturday and taken to the ship so you don't need to even worry about getting it to the pier. 

 

While we are happy to have had the opportunity to see the Hawaiian Islands, I have to say if we were to visit again it would be a land vacation only, we would not go on the POA again. We are frequent cruises and much more enjoy the larger ships (Breakaway, Escape) and all they have to offer.  The POA is rather boring compared to other ships, food was good everywhere we ate and the shows were okay. We really enjoyed the These Guys Worldwide Theatre show and when they sang poolside on the last day, they were by far the best show on the ship. If I recall they said they were leaving when the ship docked back in Honolulu, not sure if they plan to return.   

 

Daily's attached for those interested. 

POA Day 1.pdf POA Day 2.pdf POA Day 3.pdf POA Day 4.pdf POA Day 5.pdf POA Day 6.pdf POA Day 7.pdf

[B-52]

What did you think of the comedian, Gary Dalena

He is a friend of mine going back to high school in the 60's.

We will be on the POA on the 24th, missed him by a few weeks.

 

Thanks for the dailies!

[rcooked]

Was also on the POA and just got back home.  I thought Gary was pretty darn good.  Of the shows I saw, I enjoyed his the most.

[sue402001]

Thank you so much for posting the Pride of America Dailys!

[snow1]

Thanks for posting these !!

[CamColt]

I was just looking around here a bit before making a post, asking if these could be found anywhere.  Thanks so much for sharing!  

 

On a side note I believe we saw Gary Dalena on DCL years ago.  If hes who I think he is, we enjoyed his show. 

[tpnebraska]

On 7/22/2019 at 12:29 PM, baflagg said:

Recently returned from the 11 day land/sea cruise of the Hawaiian island on the POA.  If you are planning to cruise the Hawaiian island I highly recommend adding in the 3 days at the Hawaiian Village Resort if you can.  We did our own air transportation so chose to fly in on Tuesday then had Wednesday as a free day to hang out at the resort and get used to the time change.  The next 2 1/2 days were filled with tours all arranged by NCL and it's very well organized.  We had the same tour bus driver all 3 days and he was great, we saw a lot and learned a lot. On Saturday after your tour they drop you at the pier and we got right on the ship.  Your luggage is picked up at the hotel on Saturday and taken to the ship so you don't need to even worry about getting it to the pier. 

 

While we are happy to have had the opportunity to see the Hawaiian Islands, I have to say if we were to visit again it would be a land vacation only, we would not go on the POA again. We are frequent cruises and much more enjoy the larger ships (Breakaway, Escape) and all they have to offer.  The POA is rather boring compared to other ships, food was good everywhere we ate and the shows were okay. We really enjoyed the These Guys Worldwide Theatre show and when they sang poolside on the last day, they were by far the best show on the ship. If I recall they said they were leaving when the ship docked back in Honolulu, not sure if they plan to return.   

 

Daily's attached for those interested. 

POA Day 1.pdf 439.39 kB · 105 downloads POA Day 2.pdf 422.75 kB · 65 downloads POA Day 3.pdf 434.99 kB · 68 downloads POA Day 4.pdf 399.54 kB · 54 downloads POA Day 5.pdf 426.94 kB · 53 downloads POA Day 6.pdf 408.25 kB · 49 downloads POA Day 7.pdf 436.05 kB · 52 downloads

Do you by chance have any information on what the pre-cruise tours consist of?  Curious as to what is included in the tours of the Dole Plantation, Polynesian Culture Center and Kualoa Ranch.  Did you have to purchase anything other than food when visiting these sites?  We leave December 4th and at this point, the information given from NCL is very vague.  Thank you!

[FenixRising]

On 8/18/2019 at 9:11 AM, tpnebraska said:

Do you by chance have any information on what the pre-cruise tours consist of?  Curious as to what is included in the tours of the Dole Plantation, Polynesian Culture Center and Kualoa Ranch.  Did you have to purchase anything other than food when visiting these sites?  We leave December 4th and at this point, the information given from NCL is very vague.  Thank you!

 

I was on this same tour earlier this year.

You are only at the Dole plantation for about an hour or so. I just wandered around looking at the scenery. Other than that, it's a big gift shop.

PCC - You are free to wander as you choose. However; if you stick with your tour guide, he will let you know the best route to take from event to event to attempt to get the most out of your visit.

Kualoa - Lunch is provided here. They will sit you down and give you a history lesson and take you on a bus trip around the location. Movie sets, wildlife and such. Then you are off to the pier.

 

You do not *have* to purchase anything on any of the tours that I recall.

 

The information I was given before I left was wrong. Your tour package will tell you to meet something like "Oahu Explorer" in baggage claim. This was incorrect. I got off the plane and saw an NCL employee standing right at the gate. I thought it was strange at the time. But I followed directions. I wandered around baggage claim for about an hour before finding the right person to ask. If I had just met the person at the gate, she would have escorted me around. But I didn't so I got some extra exercise.  So if you see NCL at the gate when you deplane, they are probably there for you. 

[baflagg]

On ‎8‎/‎18‎/‎2019 at 10:11 AM, tpnebraska said:

Do you by chance have any information on what the pre-cruise tours consist of?  Curious as to what is included in the tours of the Dole Plantation, Polynesian Culture Center and Kualoa Ranch.  Did you have to purchase anything other than food when visiting these sites?  We leave December 4th and at this point, the information given from NCL is very vague.  Thank you!

Agreed with the prior response, you only spend additional money if you want to. Our bus driver forewarned us that the Dole Plantation is just a tourist trap.  It is a brief stop and the store basically has anything you could ever imagine with pineapples, clothes, souvenirs, dog treats, candy, etc.,  The PCC was okay, not a place we would visit again.  The river show was like something you might see at Disney's Epcot.  We enjoyed the tour of Kualoa Ranch.  If you're lucky enough to get Kimo as your tour bus driver you'll be in for a good time.  We did our own transportation as my mother-in-law wanted to get the flights booked and NCL doesn't give you flight times right away. I can't remember how far in advance you get your flights, I want to say 60 days but not sure that is accurate.  We flew in on Tuesday so we had Wednesday as a free day to hang out at the hotel & beach.  Enjoy, I'm sure you'll have a great time. 

[dizzy1949]

On 7/22/2019 at 1:29 PM, baflagg said:

Recently returned from the 11 day land/sea cruise of the Hawaiian island on the POA.  If you are planning to cruise the Hawaiian island I highly recommend adding in the 3 days at the Hawaiian Village Resort if you can.  We did our own air transportation so chose to fly in on Tuesday then had Wednesday as a free day to hang out at the resort and get used to the time change.  The next 2 1/2 days were filled with tours all arranged by NCL and it's very well organized.  We had the same tour bus driver all 3 days and he was great, we saw a lot and learned a lot. On Saturday after your tour they drop you at the pier and we got right on the ship.  Your luggage is picked up at the hotel on Saturday and taken to the ship so you don't need to even worry about getting it to the pier. 

 

While we are happy to have had the opportunity to see the Hawaiian Islands, I have to say if we were to visit again it would be a land vacation only, we would not go on the POA again. We are frequent cruises and much more enjoy the larger ships (Breakaway, Escape) and all they have to offer.  The POA is rather boring compared to other ships, food was good everywhere we ate and the shows were okay. We really enjoyed the These Guys Worldwide Theatre show and when they sang poolside on the last day, they were by far the best show on the ship. If I recall they said they were leaving when the ship docked back in Honolulu, not sure if they plan to return.   

 

Daily's attached for those interested. 

POA Day 1.pdf 439.39 kB · 143 downloads POA Day 2.pdf 422.75 kB · 92 downloads POA Day 3.pdf 434.99 kB · 87 downloads POA Day 4.pdf 399.54 kB · 71 downloads POA Day 5.pdf 426.94 kB · 71 downloads POA Day 6.pdf 408.25 kB · 67 downloads POA Day 7.pdf 436.05 kB · 71 downloads

Thank you for all the info.  I like to be well informed before we go.  We're doing the land and cruise starting on January 1, 2020.  

Questions....How did you get from airport to the Hilton Hawaiian and what was the cost?  Also,  would like to spend a beach day in Maui.  Does the ship offer any info on resorts or beaches that you may go to on any of the islands?  On the last day of the cruise, our flight doesn't leave until 3:10p.m. so looking for something to do rather than spend hours in the airport.  Do you, or does the ship, have any suggestions?  Thanks in advance.