Hawaii cruise Pride of America

[WillCruiseForMoney]

12 hours ago, markdunn said:

I'm close to booking the Pride of America for mid-October. 

Circling back to the original poster's point about price, I'm wondering about the flights that NCL offers (currently 2nd passenger flies free). Flying to Honolulu isn't cheap of course but if I'll be in a middle seat on an indirect flight, I'll factor two full airfares into my overall decision.

If people do use NCL's flights, is there a way to "game the system" - figure out which airport to fly from with the greatest change of a direct flight? I'm in the SF bay area so have SFO, OAK, even SMF within a couple hours. 

Thanks for an insight!

 

I am sure that sometimes you get good flights, but not always the case.

 

For my last POA cruise it included free airfare and I live in the Bay Area.  Unfortunately NCL had me flying from SFO to Salt Lake City then on to Honolulu.  Return trip was the same and the layover in SLC was 2+ hours each way.  I ended up cancelling the free air portion and booking my own flights.  

 

[CaptainHazelwood]

We had NCL provide flights the last time we sailed POA.  They booked a ridiculous short layover at LAX on the way (we made it, but just barely) and they had us sitting around Honolulu until Saturday night flight, which meant the sun was coming up once we finally made it back to Arizona.  We won't do that again.

[philv]

Hi Folks, We booked POA for September with the NCL air deal. I’m a little worried about the comment somebody made about ridiculously short layover in LA, they almost missed their flight to Honolulu. We are in Denver and expect layover in LA. Can anyone supply additional info?

[markwfpb]

Thanks sugcarol and don't-use-real-name. After more research and what you've pointed out (and since this is for one of those big birthdays), I think we'll do our own plane tix. When I saw the NCL air price, it took me a bit to realize that was the average for the two passengers (with one being free) not their price for the one paying passenger - so the airfare didn't seem to be such a bargain!

[markwfpb]

Wow WillCruiseForMoney, I would not want to fly through SLC and sit through a layover  just to be farther away from Honolulu for the final flight!

[CaptainHazelwood]

15 minutes ago, philv said:

Hi Folks, We booked POA for September with the NCL air deal. I’m a little worried about the comment somebody made about ridiculously short layover in LA, they almost missed their flight to Honolulu. We are in Denver and expect layover in LA. Can anyone supply additional info?

They booked us on a smaller commuter jet to LAX with about a one hour scheduled layover.  United (I think) was out of gates, so our plane had to sit and wait for about 30 minutes until a gate opened up.  That gave us about 30 minutes to "run" to the next terminal building and board the plane.  Not a fun way to start a vacation.  The people in the row behind us on the first plane were also going to Hawaii for POA.  They said they had made the trip the prior year, were on the same flights, and had the exact same thing happen then.  Yikes!!

[don't-use-real-name]

3 hours ago, CaptainHazelwood said:

They booked us on a smaller commuter jet to LAX with about a one hour scheduled layover.  United (I think) was out of gates, so our plane had to sit and wait for about 30 minutes until a gate opened up.  That gave us about 30 minutes to "run" to the next terminal building and board the plane.  Not a fun way to start a vacation.  The people in the row behind us on the first plane were also going to Hawaii for POA.  They said they had made the trip the prior year, were on the same flights, and had the exact same thing happen then.  Yikes!!

You better hope that the connection at LAX will be with the same carrier or one of its code share

partners. If the connection is with airline X arriving in terminal 2 and that outbound Hawaiian

connection is with United in terminal 7 - GOOD LUCK - if in the same terminal or adjacent one

have the gate agent meeting the flight to alert the gate at the connection (AND the number of

potential guest/passengers making that same connection) - Speak Up if the airline does not

know they may care less about. Some airlines with many connections may have the FA 

announce the gate number of connection departure. If handicap assistance is needed have

that transmitted to the arriving gate agent - Don't be complacent - Speak Up ! ! ! 

AND about your checked luggage - if the connection is with United there are enough daily

trips to get your delayed luggage to you in the same day. Watch out for the NCL airline with

once daily trips - not good !

[CaptainHazelwood]

2 minutes ago, don't-use-real-name said:

You better hope that the connection at LAX will be with the same carrier or one of its code share

partners. If the connection is with airline X arriving in terminal 2 and that outbound Hawaiian

connection is with United in terminal 7 - GOOD LUCK - if in the same terminal or adjacent one

have the gate agent meeting the flight to alert the gate at the connection (AND the number of

potential guest/passengers making that same connection) - Speak Up if the airline does not

know they may care less about. Some airlines with many connections may have the FA 

announce the gate number of connection departure. If handicap assistance is needed have

that transmitted to the arriving gate agent - Don't be complacent - Speak Up ! ! ! 

AND about your checked luggage - if the connection is with United there are enough daily

trips to get your delayed luggage to you in the same day. Watch out for the NCL airline with

once daily trips - not good !

Likely all good advice, but after that first (and only) experience having NCL book our flights, I've always just booked my own since.  To do anything else would just give me flashbacks to Megacorp where some secretary who didn't like anybody would decide what to book.

[estrawder3]

19 hours ago, don't-use-real-name said:

I don't know so much about "gaming the system" but there are non-stop (best kind of direct flights)

from US cities:

New York (JFK & EWR)

Atlanta

Chicago

Dallas/Ft. Worth

Minneapolis/St. Paul

Denver

Salt Lake City

Phoenix

San Diego

Los Angeles

San Francisco (shortest distance non-stop flight)

San Jose

Oakland

Portland

Seattle

 

Airlines:

Alaska

American

Delta

Hawaiian

Southwest

United

 

What airline NCL books reservations with is uncertain -

NCL may divert Mainland traffic to one common airport for a semi-chartered commercial flight -

Discuss the flight options with NCL for something that is close to your expectations.

 

At this moment the cabin seating spacing is the best for comfort - when cruising starts

again those middle seats will no doubt be filled and welcome to sardine travel !

This is great information, we took advantage of the flight deal from Newark (it was a deal, compared to what I paid to get there for my honeymoon)  It was worth the savings to roll the dice, so maybe we get lucky and we get a direct flight.   I "linked" 3 cabin reservations when I booked and was told that we would all be on the same flight.   Let's see how that goes. 

[NikiPinkston]

We're booked on the POA September 28th (4th time we've rescheduled) & we had air fare included with our first booking 3/28/2020.  We fly out of San Diego & NCL had us flying to Phoenix for an hour layover before our flight to Honolulu.  When we rebooked, I turned down included air & we'll fly with Hawaiian Airlines (love them!) as we like to fly non-stop & it just wasn't worth it to us to use NCL's free air. We also like to arrive a few days early to our destination & something else to be aware of is that NCL will only allow you to arrive 2 days prior to your cruise with their air included (for a small fee).  BTW, this is our second POA cruise & we really enjoyed our balcony last time!

[farmersfight]

1 hour ago, NikiPinkston said:

We're booked on the POA September 28th (4th time we've rescheduled) & we had air fare included with our first booking 3/28/2020.  We fly out of San Diego & NCL had us flying to Phoenix for an hour layover before our flight to Honolulu.  When we rebooked, I turned down included air & we'll fly with Hawaiian Airlines (love them!) as we like to fly non-stop & it just wasn't worth it to us to use NCL's free air. We also like to arrive a few days early to our destination & something else to be aware of is that NCL will only allow you to arrive 2 days prior to your cruise with their air included (for a small fee).  BTW, this is our second POA cruise & we really enjoyed our balcony last time!

 

Fingers crossed 🤞 that your Sept 28th PoA cruise goes. I'm booked on her for Oct 23-30, 2021. But, I'm booked in an inside stateroom. I'm hoping I guessed right in that you can't see much from a balcony since the ship sails in the evening/night (except for the time it sails past the scenic Napali coast). This will be the one & only time I book an inside stateroom because I'm like you, "I've got to have me a balcony"!

[GonzoWCS]

On 3/20/2021 at 3:48 PM, BirdTravels said:

POA is the absolute best way to see  Hawaii and is with every penny. 7 days in port every day. Two overnight port calls allowing you to do a luau or maybe a sunrise bike ride down a volcano. No protracted sea days. 
 

The drink package works like any other cruise. (Alcoholic mai tais). Best deal at sea. 

Thanks for the overview.  We have been looking at this cruise for some time

 

Cheers

[NikiPinkston]

15 hours ago, farmersfight said:

 

Fingers crossed 🤞 that your Sept 28th PoA cruise goes. I'm booked on her for Oct 23-30, 2021. But, I'm booked in an inside stateroom. I'm hoping I guessed right in that you can't see much from a balcony since the ship sails in the evening/night (except for the time it sails past the scenic Napali coast). This will be the one & only time I book an inside stateroom because I'm like you, "I've got to have me a balcony"!

We're still hoping the POA will sail, farmersfight, but since the CDC is so arbitrary, Plan B is to postpone this cruise until March, 2022 and visit New Orleans in October (another one of our favorite cities).  Prayers & fingers crossed that our cruises will be a go!  p.s. We always enjoy popping out on our balcony to see the sights and, on POA, especially the Napali Coast & the volcano if it's active.  (On a Mexican cruise, we once saw a shark that was swimming along beside the ship!)  It gets very crowded on deck for these events, so do go early to get a good spot.  The only time we didn't use our balcony was on a Mississippi River Cruise because the bugs were as big a hummingbirds.

[farmersfight]

2 hours ago, NikiPinkston said:

We're still hoping the POA will sail, farmersfight, but since the CDC is so arbitrary, Plan B is to postpone this cruise until March, 2022 and visit New Orleans in October (another one of our favorite cities).  Prayers & fingers crossed that our cruises will be a go!  p.s. We always enjoy popping out on our balcony to see the sights and, on POA, especially the Napali Coast & the volcano if it's active.  (On a Mexican cruise, we once saw a shark that was swimming along beside the ship!)  It gets very crowded on deck for these events, so do go early to get a good spot.  The only time we didn't use our balcony was on a Mississippi River Cruise because the bugs were as big a hummingbirds.

 

Yeah, the CDC is being ridiculous by "dragging their feet" and not issuing that technical guidance so cruise lines can restart out of U.S. ports. Looks like RCL, Celebrity & Crystal got tired of waiting and will operate out of Nassau, Bermuda & St. Maarten. I bet the CDC will wait and watch what happens with these cruises. If they are successful (no covid cases), I bet the CDC will finally do what they should have done a long time ago to get the cruise lines restarted out of U.S. ports.

 

I used to live in Houston, TX, so I am very familiar with New Orleans. It was an easy 5 hr drive from Houston. Did numerous weekend trips to New Orleans and even saw the Saints play in the Superdome multiple times. Who dat? Who dat? Who dat say dey gonna beat dem Saints? Who dat? Yeah, I love New Orleans also.

[Von & John]

5 hours ago, NikiPinkston said:

... The only time we didn't use our balcony was on a Mississippi River Cruise because the bugs were as big a hummingbirds.

 

I grew up on the Mississippi...

Were you perhaps cruising during a "Fish Fly" Hatch?

[chengkp75]

16 minutes ago, Von & John said:

 

I grew up on the Mississippi...

Were you perhaps cruising during a "Fish Fly" Hatch?

I worked the River, and have four words:  May Flies, June Bugs

[Von & John]

1 hour ago, chengkp75 said:

I worked the River, and have four words:  May Flies, June Bugs

 

And let’s not forget 2 more...

Mosquitos & Bats

[NikiPinkston]

2 hours ago, Von & John said:

 

I grew up on the Mississippi...

Were you perhaps cruising during a "Fish Fly" Hatch?

We were there in May and, despite the bugs, we loved every minute of it and plan to do it again!  (We sat out on the bow a few nights and it was just lovely - no bug issues.)  Natchez was one of my favorite ports!

Edited March 27, 2021 by NikiPinkston
Wanted to add a sentence.

[don't-use-real-name]

1 hour ago, Von & John said:

 

And let’s not forget 2 more...

Mosquitos & Bats

Yea for the Bats - they eat their weight in Mosquitos every night !

As for the June Bugs they don't bug me this far north on the river - - -

BUT dem May Flies - man the winter snow plows to clear the roadways and bridges !

Then the birds come and it is feast - no famine here -

Those that fall into the river - hummmm fish have plenty to eat - no wonder the

river bottom fish are so fat.

Nature sure has it's peculiar ways to balance things out - so what the heck is she

doing to keep us from Cruising - some balancing act !

[NikiPinkston]

5 hours ago, farmersfight said:

 

Yeah, the CDC is being ridiculous by "dragging their feet" and not issuing that technical guidance so cruise lines can restart out of U.S. ports. Looks like RCL, Celebrity & Crystal got tired of waiting and will operate out of Nassau, Bermuda & St. Maarten. I bet the CDC will wait and watch what happens with these cruises. If they are successful (no covid cases), I bet the CDC will finally do what they should have done a long time ago to get the cruise lines restarted out of U.S. ports.

 

I used to live in Houston, TX, so I am very familiar with New Orleans. It was an easy 5 hr drive from Houston. Did numerous weekend trips to New Orleans and even saw the Saints play in the Superdome multiple times. Who dat? Who dat? Who dat say dey gonna beat dem Saints? Who dat? Yeah, I love New Orleans also.

Not to get off-topic, but we love Texas! I was born here in Southern California, but my Dad was from Dallas & we have family there.  I think we'd move to Texas in a hot minute but we wouldn't leave our kids and grandkids.  A big bonus would be being so close to New Orleans! We do have road trips planned to Yosemite & Lake Tahoe, Santa Barbara/Solvang, and Las Vegas (in case anyone needs ideas for land vacations in California.)  Big Bear is always great, too! (The view from our backyard...)

[Von & John]

1 hour ago, don't-use-real-name said:

Yea for the Bats - they eat their weight in Mosquitos every night !

As for the June Bugs they don't bug me this far north on the river - - -

BUT dem May Flies - man the winter snow plows to clear the roadways and bridges !

Then the birds come and it is feast - no famine here -

Those that fall into the river - hummmm fish have plenty to eat - no wonder the

river bottom fish are so fat.

Nature sure has it's peculiar ways to balance things out - so what the heck is she

doing to keep us from Cruising - some balancing act !

 

How far North do you live?

 

[don't-use-real-name]

9 minutes ago, Von & John said:

 

How far North do you live?

 

My avatar line - Bloomington MN (think Mall of America)

Yes we get June Bugs - but nothing to make an issue about.

I think there is some goofy recipe fry-em in a pan and cover with chocolate

something akin to protein survive food - can you stomach that ?

 

Side note:

I love your state and especially the Alaska Railroad - tying that in with many

cruises - what a great way to experience Alaska -

NOW

if we can get back to that cruising topic - gotta find a cure for the Canadian

travel restrictions  - damn covid virus can can't chocolate coat it or 

freeze it outdoors like we do with bugs.

[Von & John]

52 minutes ago, don't-use-real-name said:

My avatar line - Bloomington MN (think Mall of America)

Yes we get June Bugs - but nothing to make an issue about.

I think there is some goofy recipe fry-em in a pan and cover with chocolate

something akin to protein survive food - can you stomach that ?

 

Side note:

I love your state and especially the Alaska Railroad - tying that in with many

cruises - what a great way to experience Alaska -

NOW

if we can get back to that cruising topic - gotta find a cure for the Canadian

travel restrictions  - damn covid virus can can't chocolate coat it or 

freeze it outdoors like we do with bugs.

 

Now that I'm on the computer vs. my cell, I can see you are from MN...

I grew up in IA...

 

I don't think any of the major cruise lines will be sailing in AK this year...
However, we are open to anyone who would like to fly up 🙂 

And there are some smaller cruises happening...

[Sailing12Away]

We sailed POA in July 2019 and used the free air promo. Hubby & I flew on Alaska Air from JFK to SFO, then on to HNL. Going there we were able to book an exit row at no cost from JFK-SFO, and for the 2nd leg we upgraded to comfort plus for a small fee. We were close in missing our connection because when we landed at SFO they had no gate for us to taxi to for over 40 mins. Thankfully the next gate we needed to get to for our connection was literally the next one over, so we had enough time to run for a quick tinkle and then hop on the next flight. 

 

My sister was traveling from O'Hare, so I think they connected in Seattle. We all got to Hawaii within 30 mins of each other and caught up in baggage claim, then took the NCL shuttle to the ship. 

 

At the time it wasn't a B1G1, but rather "discounted" air. Cost for the NY flights were charged at $600/pp, which was essentially B1G1 anyway as I couldn't find anything on my own for cheaper than $1K.

[nickcapp]

Pride of America bookings are gone off the website through October. Looks like no summer Hawaiian cruises. Can't say this is unexpected. 

 

My August 14th reservation remains in my account so far....