Trip Report: Oahu and Pride of America Cruise Nov. 2-9

[MzShae]

What great pictures!! Hawaii is on my bucket list.

[HBCcruiser]

Thanks for sharing!

[Cindy]

I’m sad your cruise is almost over!😢

[Beachiekeen]

10 hours ago, Cindy said:

I’m sad your cruise is almost over!😢

Me too!  

[Beachiekeen]

Friday:  Kauai

 

Hubby and I had breakfast at the Aloha Cafe again.  Breakfast for me was a fresh juice and a sugar-free Red Bull.  There was a line this time for the juice and the guy didn't make it nearly as good this time.  Even though we could have a nice breakfast at Cagney's, on the mornings we wanted to get off the ship quickly, the buffet was quicker.

 

We met to get off the ship at 8:00 am and took the Anchor Cove Mall shuttle over to the mall to meet our bus driver for our tour with Wings Over Kauai.  The shuttle driver was really nice and gave lots of good information.  The shuttles run continuously until 1:00 on Friday I think he said.  We were early so we walked over to nearby Kalapaki Beach and just sat outside in the shade enjoying the morning.  

 

My in-laws will not do a helicopter so I found Wings Over Kauai which is a small plane tour similar to the seaplane we took over the glaciers in Alaska, a highlight of that trip.  The price was much cheaper than a helicopter tour also ($125/pp or $600 for 5-6 people), and since the airvan held 6 passengers, our group would have the entire plane to ourselves.  Yet another plus was that everyone had a window seat.  It was another gorgeous morning with our pilot, Marcus, commenting on how lucky we were.

 

This. Was. Amazing.  Words cannot even describe it.  My eyes actually welled up with tears several times.  The plane was so smooth, at times it felt as though we were suspended over the island, not even moving.  To see Kauai in her beautiful splendor from the air is something I will never forget. 

 

 

 

 

Edited November 16, 2019 by Beachiekeen

[Beachiekeen]

Some things I would like to mention about plane/helicopter tours.  First of all, I instructed the family to wear dark clothing so that you have less reflection through the windows.  Also, hubby used his iPhone 11 pro max, and I brought my DSLR.  While my camera took nice pictures, what I did not realize is that it would be very difficult to get my lens right up to the glass--although the flight was smooth, I risked breaking my lens if there was any jolt at all.  But hubby could get his phone completely to the glass, blocking nearly all the reflection.  So his pictures are much better than mine--I think I ended up keeping only a handful of mine.

 

Here are just a few of the amazing pictures we took.  These air shots are with hubby's iPhone.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited November 16, 2019 by Beachiekeen

[Beachiekeen]

Here a few of the pictures I took that I deemed worthy.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited November 16, 2019 by Beachiekeen

[Beachiekeen]

After our wonderful tour, we went over to Duke's at the Marriott on Kalapaki Beach.  Some of our group wanted to go walk around the Marriott but I was concerned about our big group getting a table since only the Barefoot Bar is open for lunch.  It was 11:00 am so we made a reservation at 11:30, which was a good thing because when we got back, the restaurant was busy.

 

We went and walked around the Marriott which has beautiful grounds and a koi pond.  Then we went and had lunch at Duke's, I got kalua pork nachos and a lava flow which was delicious, one of the best ones I've had in Hawaii (and I've had several!)

 

We all had a great time and I was dreading the moment we would have to get on the ship and sail away from beautiful Kauai. Only knowing I will be back in May made it easier.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited November 16, 2019 by Beachiekeen

[Beachiekeen]

After lunch hubby and I and the ILs went back to the ship while BIL and his friend spent some time at the beach.  I warned them that all aboard was 1:30 and that I better not hear their names called out over the speaker!

 

I had mentioned to our butler, Roland, on the first day of the cruise that I wanted to use some of our OBC to have a bottle of champagne while we cruised the Napali coast and wondered if he could arrange that for us.  But that was before we decided to get the Dom. 

 

When hubby and I got back to the room, we had a gorgeous towel animal and a complimentary bottle of good champagne (we looked it up, it was about a $60 bottle) in our room compliments of Roland.  Sweet!

 

Hubby and I had a slight dilemma.  We had spent all our cash and didn't have any left to tip our butler or steward.  We loved our steward, Edwin.  We hardly ever saw him but he left us towel animals every night--he would put them in sneaky places for us to find.  Our room was also spotless every day.  Our butler Roland, didn't do a ton for us since we planned the trip and made all our reservations in advance.  But he was really nice, always finding us and checking on us, and now he had brought the champagne so we wanted to do something.

 

So now we had errands for the afternoon before the Na Pali coast sailby.  I also wanted to drop off my hero card for Edwin.  Hubby wanted a drink so we decided to go to the Waikiki Bar since the seating back there was so nice. On the way, we saw the pool was packed because everyone was watching the officers vs. guests volleyball game.  It looked really fun.

 

At the bar, we ran into one of the great ladies I had met on our FB page/CC roll call and her group was nice enough to invite us to sit with them.  We sat with them and had a couple of drinks and watched sailaway and it was such a fun time!  

 

(I totally forgot to mention that on day 1, hubby and I went to our CC meet and greet.  We were late and almost didn't make it but it was fun to finally meet everyone and a shout out to Chris for setting it up!  These are really fun because it's fun to run into people you have met and ask how their cruise is going, etc.  Everyone we met was so nice.)

 

So I just wanted to mention that Guest Services was very helpful (once we finally made it there).  You can fill out a form and essentially charge your tips to your ship account.  They give you a copy of the form that you can then hand to your steward, butler, etc.  (We could not have used our non-refundable OBC for this, only refundable OBC can go towards tips.)   There is one ATM on the ship but it was broken!  We did see a couple of ATMs at different ports also.  

 

We were back in our cabin at 5:00 and the in-laws came to our cabin for the Na Pali coast sailby.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited November 16, 2019 by Beachiekeen

[Beachiekeen]

We gathered at 5:00 on our port side balconies for the Napali Coast sailby and I took my last picture around 6:25.  If you are in a balcony, you want to be on the port side, the view is far superior.  Yes the ship turns and starboard sees it too, and although the view itself was still great, the sun had set and the colors were all gone and it wasn't nearly as spectacular.  We went to the ILs starboard suite just to see it so I feel confident saying get the port side balcony.  (We ran over there so fast, we forgot to grab our key and ended up locking ourselves out of our cabin!)  Also once the ship turned, port side got to see the sunset.  It was really fun having seen the coast by air that morning and to now see it by sea. 

 

After the sailby, hubby and I and the ILs went to Teppanyaki for dinner.  I thought this would be a fun way to end the trip, and while it was, everyone was tired--not just us but everyone at our table, even the chef mentioned it!  The food was good although we all thought the shrimp was undercooked and I wouldn't eat any of it.  They let my MIL who is allergic to shrimp substitute scallops with her steak and of course they cooked hers first.  Hubby got a really good martini there so I got one too, it was delicious! I wish I could remember the name of it but it had lychee in it.  Since hubby and I had the drink package, the waiter poured bottled water into our glasses which I thought was a nice touch.

 

After dinner, I made hubby go see Vegas the Show because I wanted to see the finale that NCL does better than anyone, but I won't spoil it!  :)  

 

The pictures are a combination of all of our cameras (iPhone 11, iPhone 11 Pro, Nikon 3400).

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I'm pretty sure this is the picture I took on the starboard side.

 

 

Edited November 16, 2019 by Beachiekeen

[Beachiekeen]

Ugh Saturday.  It was here, the dreaded day we had to leave this wonderful ship, our wonderful suite, and say goodbye to this wonderful crew and staff.  It was hard, ya'll.

 

We had our last sort of rushed breakfast at Cagney's.  It is open for suite guests regular hours on the last day which is great.  Hubby and I had not really finished packing so we had to spend most of the morning doing that. 

 

We found Roland and were escorted off the ship around 9:00.  (If we had been ready, we could have all had breakfast at Cagney's and left the ship from there.)  We always do self-disembark and walk off with our luggage,  we don't place it outside to be picked up.  It's a good thing too because I would have not been ready by the night before!   I wanted to cry walking off the ship!  But I think we might be back.

 

Incidentally it seemed as if disembarking was going smoothly, I don't remember crazy lines or chaos or anything like that.

 

I really struggled with planning this last day on Oahu before our 6:30 flight.  I thought about doing a walking tour of Honolulu and the Iolani Palace, but that meant storing our luggage and having to go back to get it.  Hubby did not want to drive and I didn’t blame him.   I had looked at Resort Pass, however the hotels that participate will not store your luggage, so that was once again an issue.  (Only the Prince Waikiki said they would store our luggage for us.)

 

In the end, we decided to just rent a room at the Royal Hawaiian to use for the day.  I emailed the hotel in advance and RH agreed to give us a 10:00 check in which was great.  We took a cab from the pier and stored our bags with the valet and hubby and I made a beeline for the pool.  FIL watched a movie in the room and MIL found a breezy spot to read a book.  Hubby and I drank lava flows and had lunch at the pool and walked on the beach.   Waikiki beach was crazy packed! 

 

I was so glad we decided to do this as we were all tired and this relaxing afternoon was just what we needed.  Walking around hot Honolulu would not have been nearly as nice as this!  It's an expensive last day but every time I read that someone had done this, they said it was totally worth it and I agree with them.  It ended up being really good for us because our Boston family members' flight was changed and instead of leaving at 2:30, they left at 11 pm so they got to use the room once we left.  

 

We had to keep an eye on the traffic as the main road in Waikiki was closed for a festival.  So we decided to get a cab rather than take a Lyft as we wanted a driver who would be familiar with alternate routes.  We ended up getting a great driver and the road closure ended up being a non-issue.  I wanted to leave Waikiki at 3:00 for our 6:30 flight.  We ended up being a little later as it took awhile to get a cab, I think we ended up leaving around 3:15 and with the road closure, traffic was heavy but we still made it to the airport in plenty of time.   

 

Then it was home again, home again.  Back to life, back to reality.  But the memories we made will be something I will cherish always.  
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited November 16, 2019 by Beachiekeen

[Beachiekeen]

Final thoughts:  We had a wonderful vacation.  I don’t regret doing this cruise for one second and would do it again.  Even though my in-laws don’t love the beach or the warm tropical weather, they were still smitten with Hawaii. For hubby and I, it’s just one of many trips we hopefully make.   The weather was incredible.  The Aloha spirit was everywhere in the residents, the ship's crew, and the visitors.

 

To make the most of this cruise, you really need to plan and research in advance.  I see many suggestions of hop on/off shuttles, shopping, Roberts tours, and I want to scream no, no, no.  Yes, those are convenient and easy, but it’s not in my opinion, the way to see Hawaii.  It’s not that much more to rent a car for two days than to pay $25/pp for a shuttle.   There are many great independent local operators who will get you to the ship in plenty of time and you will be in a small group instead of with 20 of your closest friends.  (The shuttles are improving but I still don't think it's the best option.)  There is great souvenir shopping at the ports, but check the labels and make sure you are getting something made in Hawaii.  I always want to support the local economy on any trip I take.

 

The ship is what it is.  It’s on its way to being better but Hawaii is the draw here—not shows, not the food, not entertainment or activities.  They provide enough onboard activities for those that want them.  The ship is adequate, it provides the necessities, no more, no less.  If you take the cruise knowing its limitations, you will have a great time.  Personally, I had low expectations for the ship but in the end, it exceeded those expectations.  I just wasn't there to see the ship, I was there to see Hawaii.  

 

Our suite was great, but it's a suite so nothing to complain about.  I have read tons of reports on FB about the cabins being small and just comparing our suite to the one other I have sailed in, I would agree.  I love that the balconies are enclosed on NCL (or at least ours was, as was our one on the Dawn).  This was our 2nd NCL cruise and we loved it like we loved our one on the Dawn.  I think the entertainment on NCL is much better than on other lines, their singers and dancers and musicians are all really good.  And I LOVE the NCL finale!  :) 

 

I see lots of reports about the specialty restaurants being expensive, you shouldn't have to pay to get good food, you have to always make a reservation at the dining room even though it's supposed to be "freestyle" dining.  I would agree somewhat with all of that.  But the specialty restaurants are really good and we are not people that mind paying for good food once or twice on a trip.  Having the dining package was totally worth it though.

 

I have read tons of negative reports on the staff but that wasn't our experience at all.  I had read the food was just ok and I would agree but I don't go on a cruise for fine dining.  We ate off the ship as much as we could.   Cagney's was certainly the standout.

 

This was truly an anniversary to remember!  All the planning paid off and we all had a wonderful time.  I hope this report helps someone with their planning or simply gets them excited about their own upcoming trip.  I'm happy to answer any questions.  Aloha!
 

 

Edited November 16, 2019 by Beachiekeen

[Beachiekeen]

One thing I forgot to mention--I found out on FB on Friday that ours was the last sailing to sail by the Na Pali Coast until mid-December of this year.  They are changing the itinerary for that time period.  So we got really lucky with that.  Some people didn't get much notice at all.  Another significant thing about this is that I read on FB that possibly this had been done other years as well.  So if you are planning a November or early December cruise, it is something to keep in mind.  That is generally a very slow time of year for all of Hawaii travel (other than Thanksgiving week) so it may be that NCL chooses this time period specifically for that reason.

Edited November 16, 2019 by Beachiekeen

[jmcmo]

Thank you so much for this very thorough review.  We are booked for 2021 and already making notes from all your suggestions.

 

[amelia3171]

Thank you so much for your wonderful, positive review; your photos are fantastic. We had a similar experience with iPhone 11 photos being better than with a DSLR.

 

I also absolutely love your tunics, the turquoise paisley one is particularly stunning. 

[smithop]

What a great review, you are quite the planner, your ILs were very lucky to have such a wonderful trip.

 

We own a timeshare in Waikoloa and go to Hawaii every year, have never done the cruise.  You made it perfect for first time visitors to get a taste of all the islands and hit some of the best places to visit.

 

Thanks for putting this review together.

 

Next time you are in Kona, try the Swedish shave ice, its in one of your photos, near the palace.  They can put a scoop of chocolate mac nut ice cream in the center, oh its heaven in a shave ice!

[Firepath]

I really enjoyed the report and your photos are great. Thanks for writing it!

[dexddd]

You made a wise choice picking 12.  Very quiet up there.

[EmeraldBay]

Thanks for your inspiration.  We are doing this as our first cruise for our 50th.  Best DIL ever!

[Beachiekeen]

2 hours ago, amelia3171 said:

Thank you so much for your wonderful, positive review; your photos are fantastic. We had a similar experience with iPhone 11 photos being better than with a DSLR.

 

I also absolutely love your tunics, the turquoise paisley one is particularly stunning. 

Aww thanks! I got that for $14 at TJ Maxx! Best deal ever! It really came in handy.

Edited November 16, 2019 by Beachiekeen

[Beachiekeen]

3 hours ago, jmcmo said:

Thank you so much for this very thorough review.  We are booked for 2021 and already making notes from all your suggestions.

 

Have a great time! You have lots to look forward to!

[Beachiekeen]

35 minutes ago, EmeraldBay said:

Thanks for your inspiration.  We are doing this as our first cruise for our 50th.  Best DIL ever!

You are so welcome! I loved doing it! Have a wonderful time!

[Beachiekeen]

2 hours ago, smithop said:

What a great review, you are quite the planner, your ILs were very lucky to have such a wonderful trip.

 

We own a timeshare in Waikoloa and go to Hawaii every year, have never done the cruise.  You made it perfect for first time visitors to get a taste of all the islands and hit some of the best places to visit.

 

Thanks for putting this review together.

 

Next time you are in Kona, try the Swedish shave ice, its in one of your photos, near the palace.  They can put a scoop of chocolate mac nut ice cream in the center, oh its heaven in a shave ice!

I saw that place! But I love Ululani’s so I couldn’t pass it up. 
 

I love planning and had a ball doing it! I’d do it all again just the same!

[Beachiekeen]

1 hour ago, dexddd said:

You made a wise choice picking 12.  Very quiet up there.

Yes we loved it. We didn’t even bid for an upgrade to the OS (even though it killed me!) because we didn’t want to lose that deck! 

[Beachiekeen]

1 hour ago, Firepath said:

I really enjoyed the report and your photos are great. Thanks for writing it!

I can’t wait to read yours next!