Sailing on the Pride of America - November 5 - 12, 2022 - Review

[fabby50]

27 minutes ago, NikiPinkston said:

Aloha, my CC friends! Just wanted to let you know that we have family here for a few days so I'll continue my review after the holiday. Thank you for all of your kind comments. Wishing you all a very happy Thanksgiving!

And you too!  I really appreiciate you doing this - we will be on the Pride in two weeks, having the dailies is most helpful.

[sberg23]

Hi Niki, thank you SO much for posting your experiences.  We are sailing the POA on 12/10 and have been anxiously awaiting any kind of news and most recent experiences, and we are very appreciative that you are sharing yours 😊

 

I spoke with my PCC a couple days ago and he advised that the POA is pushing closer to 100% capacity as they've been expanding the crew.  Looking at the Day 1 Freestyle (BIG THANKS FOR THIS) it appears that while Skyline MDR is back open, the other Liberty MDR is not yet open for dining (NCL website shows the same).  The website shows Teppenyaki as still being closed, so your Freestyle showing it is now open is good news.  Everybody on the ship wins when there are more available dining options, whether they go there or not.  There are still multiple restaurants not yet open, and you've touched on dining already (really curious to hear DH's concerns with the MDR) so we're looking forward to hearing your daily experiences on dining considering the current staffing vs. guest ratio.  

Lastly, I hope you were lucky enough to sail around Hawaii to see Kilauea.  We are keeping our fingers crossed we get to see it 🤞

 

Looking forward to the rest of your posts.  Have a great holiday!

[CruzinMel]

13 hours ago, NikiPinkston said:

Aloha, my CC friends! Just wanted to let you know that we have family here for a few days so I'll continue my review after the holiday. Thank you for all of your kind comments. Wishing you all a very happy Thanksgiving!

Same to you!!

[NikiPinkston]

On 11/23/2022 at 9:28 AM, sberg23 said:

Hi Niki, thank you SO much for posting your experiences.  We are sailing the POA on 12/10 and have been anxiously awaiting any kind of news and most recent experiences, and we are very appreciative that you are sharing yours 😊

 

I spoke with my PCC a couple days ago and he advised that the POA is pushing closer to 100% capacity as they've been expanding the crew.  Looking at the Day 1 Freestyle (BIG THANKS FOR THIS) it appears that while Skyline MDR is back open, the other Liberty MDR is not yet open for dining (NCL website shows the same).  The website shows Teppenyaki as still being closed, so your Freestyle showing it is now open is good news.  Everybody on the ship wins when there are more available dining options, whether they go there or not.  There are still multiple restaurants not yet open, and you've touched on dining already (really curious to hear DH's concerns with the MDR) so we're looking forward to hearing your daily experiences on dining considering the current staffing vs. guest ratio.  

Lastly, I hope you were lucky enough to sail around Hawaii to see Kilauea.  We are keeping our fingers crossed we get to see it 🤞

 

Looking forward to the rest of your posts.  Have a great holiday!

@sberg23 So glad you're enjoying my review!  I know that we were anxious to read about any recent experiences prior to our sailing, so I'm so happy that it's helpful. We did see the lava from Kilauea flowing into the ocean on our 2016 cruise, but we didn't sail by this time as I believe that all of the current eruption activity has been confined to the crater, and we didn't hear anything about Kilauea while onboard. Have a wonderful cruise!

Edited November 25, 2022 by NikiPinkston

[NikiPinkston]

Aloha! I hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving!

We sailed in a balcony stateroom and the cabin and the entire ship were immaculate and in excellent condition, and all of the officers and crew were the friendliest that we’ve ever encountered. One of the officers told me that we were sailing with 1,600 passengers, or about 73% capacity.

Although we had watched the safety video during online check-in, we were required to participate in an old school muster drill where we showed up to our muster station on day 1 (I assume because POA is an American-flagged ship?), but it went very quickly and we didn’t have to bring our life jackets.

I also wanted to mention that we had made Cagney’s dinner reservations online, and it was a good thing that I wanted to change one of the dates because when we went to East Meets West to do that, I was told that most of the reservations that passengers had made previously online had not been saved. We were able to get the nights and times that we wanted, but I would advise you to stop in there first thing after you board to check on/make your dinner reservations. (East Meets West was only open that afternoon so that passengers could make dinner reservations; it wasn’t open for dinner during the cruise.) We never made reservations for the Skyline main dining room, which was the only MDR open, but there was never a wait at the times we went, usually 5:30-6:00ish. Don’t know about later times.

As I had mentioned, we had dinner in the Skyline MDR our first night aboard, and my cream cheese crab wontons and salmon were excellent, but DH ordered the sirloin strip and it was very tough. There was a young lady about 13 sitting at the table next to us who had apparently ordered the same steak, because we saw her repeatedly trying to cut it and finally stabbing it with her fork and eating it like a hot dog on a stick! I guess no one was in the mood to send their steaks back to the kitchen as service was slow, although our server was very attentive. We had chocolate lava cake for dessert, which is always a favorite!

We also had dinner in Skyline on our last night and were lucky to be seated at a table port-side right by the window so we could enjoy the view of the Napali coast! (I had actually reserved a port-side stateroom so that we could enjoy it from our balcony, but we spent most of our time on deck or in the dining room, so best laid plans…) DH once again ordered the sirloin strip (I guess he’s a glutton for punishment), but with the same unfortunate result. I had an appetizer & a salad that were both very good and, again, service was slow but our server was great. We skipped dessert so that we could catch the ”Icons” show & it was well worth it, but we got something sweet in the buffet afterward.

We had dinner at Cagney’s twice and we each ordered the prime filet & a baked potato with crème brulee for dessert, and everything was amazing! We also ate at Cadillac Diner a few times and the steak DH got there was very good. When we ate in the buffet, it was always a little crowded, but we did manage to find a table. As I mentioned, although there was a good selection, the items we tried weren't hot and the taste was just average. Dolce Gelato was closed but it looks like they also serve shave ice on the POA!

Maui was our first port and, as we had been to Haleakala at sunrise and at sunset and done the road to Hana previously, all of which we very much enjoyed, we took the excursion to Lahaina, an old whaling town on the leeward side of Maui. We had been to Lahaina a couple of times before and I remembered it as a charming little town. However, the pandemic has really taken its toll and Hilo Hattie’s, Bubba Gump's, and most of the cute little shops have been closed down and there was a large homeless population in the park under the banyan tree. It was very sad. There were at least four of those businesses where someone outside offers you a sample and then tries to sell you more products. They were all very persistent, so be aware of that and, if you’re not interested, just walk on by. The shining light was Ululani Shave Ice, which was the best we’ve ever had. We had lunch at Cheeseburger in Paradise, which was also very good. DH had a cheeseburger and I got a salad (I know, we are very boring when it comes to food).

The Aloha Polynesia show that night was excellent as was all of the entertainment that we saw in the theatre. The performers in “Lights, Camera, Music” and in “Icons” were incredibly talented!

The following day, I had scheduled a “free day” to give DH a break from walking too much, so we spent some time at the pool drinking mai tais again. He later said it was the best day of our cruise! Boy, is he easy to please. As you can see from the dailies, I think all of the bars were open, service was pretty quick, and there were servers coming around to take our orders at the pool as well as in other venues. We found it kind of amusing, though, that most of the drinks we ordered were always just a little bit different - stronger, weaker, looked different - and the mai tais we had that day were very strong. It didn’t get crowded around the pool until Friday, our second day in Kauai, as it seemed like a lot of passengers chose to stay aboard that day but, again, we always eventually managed to find a table.

Lunch that day was at Cadillac Diner and it was very good. (Sorry for the blurry photos.) I got the nachos & DH had the loco moco, a popular Hawaiian dish comprised of white rice, a hamburger patty and a fried egg with gravy. We also had banana milkshakes, which were delicious!

That night we had some professional photos taken. I’ve found that the photographers onboard do a very professiona job!

Edited November 25, 2022 by NikiPinkston

[NikiPinkston]

Dailies for days 2 and 3:

DAY 2 P1.pdf DAY 2 P2.pdf DAY 2 P3.pdf DAY 2 P4.pdf DAY 3 P1.pdf DAY 3 P2.pdf DAY 3 P3.pdf DAY 3 P4.pdf

[BermudaBound2014]

15 minutes ago, NikiPinkston said:

Maui was our first port and, as we had been to Haleakala at sunrise and at sunset and done the road to Hana previously, all of which we very much enjoyed, we took the excursion to Lahaina, an old whaling town on the leeward side of Maui. We had been to Lahaina a couple of times before and I remembered it as a charming little town. However, the pandemic has really taken its toll and Hilo Hattie’s, Bubba Gump's, and most of the cute little shops have been closed down and there was a large homeless population in the park under the banyan tree. It was very sad. There were at least four of those businesses where someone outside offers you a sample and then tries to sell you more products. They were all very persistent, so be aware of that and, if you’re not interested, just walk on by. The shining light was Ululani Shave Ice, which was the best we’ve ever had. We had lunch at Cheeseburger in Paradise, which was also very good. DH had a cheeseburger and I got a salad (I know, we are very boring when it comes to food).

 

 

Hi Niki, I've been waiting to see what you ended up doing on Maui 🙂 

 

Just a quick correction. Hilo Hattie is still in Lahaina, they moved to a bigger store location at the outlet mall. You were almost to the new location when you got to the Ululani's Shave ice in your photo (which is the best on the island imo).

 

Bubba Gump's was one of the first to close up shop back in the spring of 2020. I'm surprised nothing has taken that prime waterfront location. Maui has gotten so expensive post-pandemic that it doesn't surprise me that some of the places are sitting empty but certainly Bubba's Gumps location would be enticing for a business with gobs of cash but that has been empty for a couple years now.

 

Regarding the skin care vendors. You are right to warn folks. Any visitor should avoid at all cost. It's high sales scam. Been happening for years. It seems Maui gets it under control for awhile but they keep popping up. https://www.mauinews.com/news/local-news/2019/04/front-st-cosmetics-salespeople-show-an-ugly-face-to-visitors/

 

Your timing was good. There have been very high winds, dangerous rip current, and run off creating a brown water advisory Kaanapali-Kapalua. Plus a really large brush fire up by the "L" near the high school in Lahaina keeps reigniting. 

 

[NikiPinkston]

@BermudaBound2014, thank you for correcting me about Hilo Hattie's! Our tour bus driver told us that the store had been closed and I'm sorry that we missed it! Too bad, because I'm sure that we and other folks would have looked for it. We, too, have the spurious skin care vendors in the malls here in Southern California, and they're really aggressive; I wish we could ban them. I hate to ever have to say anything bad about Hawaii as I know the pandemic has been especially hard for you there. Hopefully, Lahaina will at some point recover. I'm so sorry to hear about the high winds and fire, something we're also very familiar with here. Hope they get it under control soon. Have a lovely day. It's always so nice to hear from you! Mahalo!

[NikiPinkston]

 

We had been to Volcanoes National Park in 2016 and had visited the Kilauea caldera and the museum there, walked through Thurston Lava Tube, and had seen the steam vents along the road. It was quite awe-inspiring and educational, and I would highly recommend visiting if you’ve never done so. At that time, the Captain sailed the POA by where the lava from Kilauea was entering the sea but, currently, the eruption activity is confined to the crater so there was no sail-by.

This time, we opted for the Hilo Hoppa On Hoppa Off bus, which picked us up in the building by the port. We first drove through the “Hilo Walk of Fame” where various celebrities from Amelia Earhart to Babe Ruth have planted banyan trees and then it was on to Rainbow Falls, one of several falls along the path of the Wailuku River. Its name comes from the fact that sometimes in the early morning a rainbow can be seen arching across the falls.

After a stop at Big Island Candies, where we bought some shortbread cookies to snack on and tasted Kona coffee, it started pouring rain, so we stayed on the bus and had to enjoy the view of Liliuokalani Gardens through the windows. Liliuokalani Gardens, which opened in 1919, is the largest Japanese-style ornamental garden outside of Japan. The original 5 acres were donated by the Queen to create a public park to honor the first Japanese immigrants to Hawaii who helped to build its agricultural capabilities. The rain made it impossible, though, to get any good photos.

Hilo is the rainiest city in the USA and normally gets some rain every day but, as the rain had let up a bit and we had come prepared with ponchos and rain hats, we got off in Hilo town and window-shopped some of the little gift shops and galleries there.

We had planned to visit the Tsunami Museum, but DH was pretty much done walking, so we returned to the ship for lunch. I’m afraid this review is going to be boring when it comes to excursions as we’re not as young as we look - LOL - and any of our more physically-demanding adventures are behind us, so, I hope you don't mind me telling you what excursions we've taken in the past.

That night we had dinner at Cagney’s - prime filet with creme brulee for dessert - which was delicious, and afterward attended “Lights, Camera, Music,” which features songs from classic musicals. The performers were excellent and we were once again impressed by the quality of the shows on Norwegian ships!

The following day in Kona, we waited for the morning crowds for the tender to clear up and went into town for a few hours (I think it was about 9:45ish). If you hadn’t booked a ship excursion (in which case your tender tickets were included), tender tickets could be picked up at the Napa Wine Bar or, if you’re Latitudes Gold or above, you could pick up priority tender tickets at Pink’s Champagne bar, both on deck 6.

After a stop at Scandinavian Shave Ice, we spent some time enjoying the little shops and beautiful beaches along the bay. We strolled by Hulihee Palace, built in 1838 and once a summer vacation home for Hawaiian royalty, which unfortunately appeared to be closed, and Mokuaikaua Church across the street, which is the oldest Christian church in the Hawaiian Islands. The church’s congregation dates back to 1820 and the present stone structure was completed in 1837, partially from stones recycled from a nearby Heiau (an ancient Hawaiian temple).

I had wanted to bring home some 100% Kona Coffee but it was $28 up to $60+ for a 7 oz. bag at the ABC Store by the beach, so I passed on it. I guess I’m kinda cheap!

After we returned to the ship that afternoon, we went to check out the evening menu for the MDR and we stopped for a moment on a bench in the corridor outside. When DH got up to take my picture, one of the ship’s officers came by and asked if we’d like a photo of the two of us. To our surprise, we realized later that it was Captain Jozo! Apparently, not only does he rock at sailing a ship, he’s also a pretty good photographer.

That night’s entertainment was “The Company Men,” who did mash-ups of popular songs, both old and new. They were fabulous and, although NCL discourages passengers from taking photos of the shows in the theatre, The Company Men asked that we do so if we enjoyed the show and were going to make any social media posts, tagging them with #thecompanymen

They really are not to be missed!

Edited November 26, 2022 by NikiPinkston

[NikiPinkston]

Dailies:

DAY 4 P1.pdf DAY 4 P2.pdf DAY 4 P3.pdf DAY 4 P4.pdf DAY 5 P1.pdf DAY 5 P2.pdf DAY 5 P3.pdf DAY 5 P4.pdf

[LauraAnneC]

Absolutely loving your trip report. It’s my dream to visit Hawaii one day!

[NikiPinkston]

2 hours ago, LauraAnneC said:

Absolutely loving your trip report. It’s my dream to visit Hawaii one day!

Thank you, @LauraAnneC! You will love it!

[NikiPinkston]

The ship's officers:

[Silver Sweethearts]

As you know, Maui has many things to offer our visitors - though some of those things may not be the experience you had envisioned.  It is a shame that Lahaina was not as you had expected.  Have you had the chance to visit Upcountry?  You would find it very unlike Lahaina.    

[NikiPinkston]

12 hours ago, Silver Sweethearts said:

As you know, Maui has many things to offer our visitors - though some of those things may not be the experience you had envisioned.  It is a shame that Lahaina was not as you had expected.  Have you had the chance to visit Upcountry?  You would find it very unlike Lahaina.    

You are absolutely right, Maui has many wonderful things to offer visitors! We visted pre-covid and stayed at Ka'anapali Beach, at which time we rented a car and explored your beautiful island, thoroughly enjoying the amazing scenery and the people. We also took a guided tour of the road to Hana, a helicopter tour, and visited Haleakala at sunrise, all of which I highly recommend. All of the Islands are dear to my heart and I was just sad to see the way the pandemic had affected Lahaina, but I know that Hawaii had it harder than a lot of other places during the worst of it. Hopefully, Lahaina will recover one day soon, but I would visit Maui again in a heartbeat.

[BermudaBound2014]

Don't mean to derail this great thread, but Mauna Loa began erupting last night for the first time in nearly 40 years. Ash warning has been issued. No VOG warning yet. Those who are visiting Hawaii in the near future may want to be aware.

 

https://mauinow.com/2022/11/28/mauna-loa-volcano-warning-issued-as-eruption-begins-at-mokuaweoweo-summit/

Edited November 28, 2022 by BermudaBound2014

[NikiPinkston]

6 hours ago, BermudaBound2014 said:

Don't mean to derail this great thread, but Mauna Loa began erupting last night for the first time in nearly 40 years. Ash warning has been issued. No VOG warning yet. Those who are visiting Hawaii in the near future may want to be aware.

 

https://mauinow.com/2022/11/28/mauna-loa-volcano-warning-issued-as-eruption-begins-at-mokuaweoweo-summit/

I've been watching the eruption on the news. Keeping you all in my prayers!

[CaptainBazz]

Just started following your review...thanks for doing this...we did this cruise about 6 years ago and it brings back lots of memories. We will be in Honolulu next March on our way to Australia for a cruise and we are looking at the same hotel. Glad you gave it two thumbs up. Looking forward to the rest of your review.

[NikiPinkston]

A view of Nawiliwili Harbor greeted us from our balcony our first morning in Kauai. We had booked “the Journey to Waimea Canyon” through NCL as, last time we were here, we had done the “Director’s Cut” excursion (also through NCL), which we really enjoyed. We saw where Jurassic Park and Indiana Jones, among others, had been filmed; visited Hanalei Bay, a gorgeous spot for pictures; saw Mano Peak, also known as King Kong Mountain for its resemblance to the giant ape; and stopped at the Wailua River Lookout, from which we had a panoramic view of the valley. Highly recommend that excursion!

Our driver, Kanae (Kah-nah-ay), was a native Hawaiian and she was very funny and informative. After picking us up at the port, we made several stops along the way to the canyon and first up was the Spouting Horn along the Poipu coastline, one of the most photographed spots on Kauai. The surf channels into a natural lava tube there and releases a spout of water than can reach 50 feet in the air but, unfortunately, it wasn’t very active during the time that we visited.

We drove through the town of Hanapepe and saw some of the buildings from the film, “South Pacific,” while Kanae entertained us with her stories until we arrived at the canyon. We really enjoyed Kanae’s narrative and her explanation of “Aloha.” She said that Hawaiians don’t diet or exercise and they eat what they please, and they live for the moment. She said that Alo means Now and Ha mean Life, so their philosophy is live for now, which I think we all could probably do more of!

Waimea Canyon is billed as the “Grand Canyon of the Pacific” so, having been to the Grand Canyon in Arizona several times, when we arrived at the canyon, I was honestly expecting more. It’s a very pretty canyon and, hey, I was on a cruise and in Kauai, so any minor disappointment I might have felt was inconsequential. I will leave it up to you to form your own opinion if you decide to visit because, overall, we did very much enjoy the excursion.

After our visit to the canyon, our next stop was the small town of Waimea. Kanae had explained to us that Kauai used to be virtually covered in sugar cane and we saw what was left of an old sugar mill.  As the process to refine sugar cane is very labor-intensive and thereby not cost effective, all of the mills have been closed, and coffee is now widely grown on the island instead. While we were in Waimea, we did a little souvenir shopping and stopped for a shave ice. (Are you seeing a pattern here? This girl loves me a good shave ice!)

We are always overwhelmed by the kindness and goodness of the Hawaiian people. Cars will stop for you before you even reach the crosswalk and, everywhere we went, people volunteered to take a photo of the two of us. In one little shop in Waimea, there was no one behind the register or tending the shop, but rather a sign on the door that read, “Please take your items and pay for them in the shop next door.” Now that is faith in your fellow man!

That evening, the ship was very quiet as it appeared that most passengers had gone to the Luau Kalamaku which, I guess, is kind of a big deal. I had been hoping to get another photo taken as I wasn’t in love with the one from a few days prior but, although every other evening there had been photographers in the atrium, this evening they were all at the luau taking photos. Kelani Cing, Guest Service Manager, to the rescue! Kelani volunteered to take several photos of us and did an amazing job. That last photo here is one that she took and it’s our Christmas card photo this year. Needless to say, we had several Vacation Hero cards to submit before we disembarked!

[NikiPinkston]

Day 6 dailies:

 

DAY 6 P1.pdf DAY 6 P2.pdf DAY 6 P3.pdf DAY 6 P4.pdf

[Maleficent's Dad]

Loving this review, thanks!

I used to work on a ship carrying sugar to Crockett, CA, so your reference to the sugar industry brings great memories to me.  Always loved Nawiliwili Bay, and entering that harbor with the lighthouse and beautiful green mountains.

Agree with your assessment of the Grand Canyon of the Pacific!

[NikiPinkston]

7 minutes ago, Maleficent's Dad said:

Loving this review, thanks!

I used to work on a ship carrying sugar to Crockett, CA, so your reference to the sugar industry brings great memories to me.  Always loved Nawiliwili Bay, and entering that harbor with the lighthouse and beautiful green mountains.

Agree with your assessment of the Grand Canyon of the Pacific!

Thank you @Maleficent's Dad! I agree, the harbor is very beautiful. I never knew until this trip that C&H (Sugar) stood for California and Hawaii! And thank you, too, for your concurrence about the canyon. I felt a bit bad being so negative. We enjoyed that lighthouse, too!

[NikiPinkston]

Our last day aboard is always sad; I’m sure all of you can relate! I believe there were shuttles that took passengers to the nearby shopping area and to Hilo Hattie’s, but we had met our souvenir quota so we planned to stay onboard and enjoy the ship for the last time.

Some time was spent drinking pina coladas and lava flows by the pool, which was more crowded than it had been on previous days, although there were still some lounge chairs available and we were lucky to find a table. After lunch at Cadillac Diner, we returned to our cabin and the disembarkment procedures information was there, so we began packing for the journey home.

Cruising by the Napali Coast that afternoon was peaceful and gorgeous and we were very fortunate to be able to enjoy it during dinner from a window table in the MDR. (This is a stock photo they give you when you buy a photo package.) That evening we saw “Icons” in the Hollywood Theatre, with the fabulously talented Norwegian Cruise Lines performers.

A watery view of Diamond Head and the Honolulu skyline greeted us the following morning as we pulled into port and, after our last breakfast in the buffet, we went to wait on deck 5 for our disembarkation color to be called. There were plenty of places to sit as the gangway was on deck 6 and everyone was gathering there. Disembarkation was quick and easy and, as a matter of convenience, we had booked the NCL shuttle to the airport.

We hadn't gotten as much rain this time as when we had visited previously, so I hadn't yet seen even one rainbow. (You may know this, but Hawaii is called the rainbow state & they even have a rainbow on their license plates as they occur so frequently.) On our last day, on the way to the airport, I could see a rainbow through the shuttle window. It was like Hawaii was saying good-bye to us, until we meet again!

Although our flight departure was delayed about an hour because our plane had to wait for a gate when it arrived from the mainland, we had a good flight back on Hawaiian Airlines.

Because of the the time difference of two hours and the 6-hour flight from Hawaii to the mainland, it was dark by the time we arrived home, but it was nice to see the lights of San Diego welcoming us home.

It's been a privilege sharing our experience with you and I sincerely hope that my review has been helpful. Please feel free to ask any questions and I’ll do my best to answer. Mahalo and Aloha!

Edited November 29, 2022 by NikiPinkston

[TSUmom]

Thank you for a wonderful review and beautiful pictures.  Hawaii is always calling my name and I will return.

[ULCajunCruiser]

Thank you, really enjoyed your review!!!   Fingers crossed that you'll be posting the Day 7 (Friday) dailies??