Pride Of America Luau

[DALSAL]

Has anyone done the new luau that POA is offering? I believe it is Luau Kalamaku. I was wondering if its worth going. I know there is a theard here from someone that is in the show,and it sounds pretty good,but was just wondering if anyone had been yet.Any info would be appreciated!

 

We are doing the Waimea Canyo,Wailua River and Fern Grotto,which is a 7 1/2 hr tour thru NCL and then only have a few mins before leaving for the luau,so this will make it a pretty full day.I really dont want to do the luau if gets only so so ratings.

Thanks,Dot

[natlpkgoal]

I saw the show on Thursday night & it was great! Was not impressed with the food, though. Saw some tables had Show Only signs on them. Not sure if you can do that thru the ship, but it would be a great option, because then you'd have more time to get there. When we first got there, we had photos taken & time to see arts & crafts. We weren't told about that & there are some nice handcrafted items there.

[sk84fungirl]

Not sure which luau Pride of America does, but we were on Pride of aloha and did the Luau Kalamaku. The show was excellent and the food was good. There was an open bar if you are a drinker.

 

We had an aswesome time and expected the food to be worse, but was pleasantly surprised. We attended on Monday, 5/14 in Kauai.

[palex9]

greeting from an ex tour guide that has worked all over the world. if you are paying $100 for a show and a dinner, each had better be excellent or you are being ripped off. if the food is anything than outstanding file a complaint and let the ship know. actually an excursion like this should cost no more than maybe $60 a person. for $25 you can get very good asian buffets and for a show might be worth another 25 or so. plus 10 for transportation. ncl is overcharging for all its trips, thats the truth.

[DALSAL]

Thank you both for the info. Im glad to know its good...one thought the food was good,the other thought it was so so..:) that sounds about right. We are not that picky eaters,so Im sure that we will find something to eat.

 

For the two of us,the Luau Kalamaku will be $190. Thats probaby high,but it will be worth it to us,Im sure. Thanks for the feed back! Dot

[sk84fungirl]

Thank you both for the info. Im glad to know its good...one thought the food was good,the other thought it was so so..:) that sounds about right. We are not that picky eaters,so Im sure that we will find something to eat.

 

For the two of us,the Luau Kalamaku will be $190. Thats probaby high,but it will be worth it to us,Im sure. Thanks for the feed back! Dot

 

It was two of us as well. Thing is, we were going to have a good time. Did not want to be worried about driving late at night. We just wanted to relax. Yes, it was expensive. Here's an idea of what you can expect on the menu:

 

• pupus to include pineapple, coconut, and taro chips
  
• rolls
  
• Open Bar
  
• tossed salad greens
  
• some kind of smoked salmon dish
  
• a dish with clear noodles
  
• poi
  
• terryaki beef
  
• mahi mahi in coconut milk
  
• purple sweet potatoes
  
• pineapple updside down cake
  
• lemon chiffon cheese bars
  
• some type of coconut dessert
  
• coffee

Sorry I can't remember the entire menu or names of items.

 

You're in Hawaii, have fun!

[DALSAL]

Thanks! I cant believe you could remember all of that food! I thought the same thing about relaxing and having someone else to drive you. Paleex had thought that was too much money,and I was agreeing that it was,but worth it to us. Besides,most ship excursions are over priced,but sometimes you should bite the bullet if it fits into what you want/need at the time. Dot

[Bettyboop66]

The luau was EXCELLENT. Was it the best food I've ever had? No. Was it the worst food I've ever had? NO! The pork and the pineapple upside down cake were really good. And the open bar was very nice, with good drinks. Not watered down at all. But the show.......WONDERFUL. I can't say enough good things about the show. I've never been to a luau before so I can't compare it to anything but in my opinion it was great. (can you tell that I enjoyed the show? LOL) The fire dancers at the end were unbelievable.

[DALSAL]

The luau was EXCELLENT. Was it the best food I've ever had? No. Was it the worst food I've ever had? NO! The pork and the pineapple upside down cake were really good. And the open bar was very nice, with good drinks. Not watered down at all. But the show.......WONDERFUL. I can't say enough good things about the show. I've never been to a luau before so I can't compare it to anything but in my opinion it was great. (can you tell that I enjoyed the show? LOL) The fire dancers at the end were unbelievable.

 

Thank you so much for letting us know! Im so glad to hear that you enjoyed it. I have one other question! Is it very tiring? I guess what I mean by this is...We are doing the Waimea Canyon,Wailua River and Fern Grotto earlier in the day and have like 45 mins before the pickup for the luau. I think the first excursion is about 7 1/2 hours and the luau says its 4 hrs. Is there a place to sit and rest while waiting for the dinner and show? Or will we be forced to wander around until that time? We might feel fine,but just in case,I was just wondering if we could just veg out if we wanted to.I figured since we would need to be eating dinner,we might as well make it the luau! I just hope I dont regret it. Thanks,Dot

[Bettyboop66]

DALSAL,

It is not tiring at all. They do have all the tables set up and ready when you arrive so you can sit down right away if you want to. They do have a couple of the dancers set up for the photo from the ships photographers of course. There is a little craft area set up and there are also train and carriage rides around the plantation that you can take if you want to. I think that there were some Hawaiian games set up and a few other things to do. A little gift shop and you can purchase the crafts if you want to. But the bar is open and you can start drinking and resting right away if you want to. I hope that you enjoy it as much as we did.

[sk84fungirl]

The luau was EXCELLENT. Was it the best food I've ever had? No. Was it the worst food I've ever had? NO! The pork and the pineapple upside down cake were really good. And the open bar was very nice, with good drinks. Not watered down at all. But the show.......WONDERFUL. I can't say enough good things about the show. I've never been to a luau before so I can't compare it to anything but in my opinion it was great. (can you tell that I enjoyed the show? LOL) The fire dancers at the end were unbelievable.

 

 

I feel the same way. The luau and our flight around the Kauai were two of our highlights. We enjoyed them thoroughly and will never forget them!

 

I've tried to post pictures and just can't seem to get it right. :confused: Oh well!

[DALSAL]

DALSAL,

It is not tiring at all. They do have all the tables set up and ready when you arrive so you can sit down right away if you want to. They do have a couple of the dancers set up for the photo from the ships photographers of course. There is a little craft area set up and there are also train and carriage rides around the plantation that you can take if you want to. I think that there were some Hawaiian games set up and a few other things to do. A little gift shop and you can purchase the crafts if you want to. But the bar is open and you can start drinking and resting right away if you want to. I hope that you enjoy it as much as we did.

 

Thank you! That is so good to know. Probably after a bus ride and boat ride,I will be ready to walk around some.

 

sk84fungirl, which flight did you take in Kauai? Regular plane or helicopter? We have an hour flight the 2nd day,and am looking forward to it. We are taking the airplane tour. Dot

[runningout]

Any suggestion on what luau to do maybe pre-cruise in Honolulu?

[swifs]

What time do the buses leave the ship for the Luau? We were going to drive to Waimea Canyon and could drive straight to the Luau rather than going back to the ship to catch the bus if that would be incovenient.

[sk84fungirl]

Thank you! That is so good to know. Probably after a bus ride and boat ride,I will be ready to walk around some.

 

sk84fungirl, which flight did you take in Kauai? Regular plane or helicopter? We have an hour flight the 2nd day,and am looking forward to it. We are taking the airplane tour. Dot

 

 

Sorry, I have been MIA. We took a plane ride with AirVentures. Absolutely fabulous.

[Kylie]

What time do the buses leave the ship for the Luau? We were going to drive to Waimea Canyon and could drive straight to the Luau rather than going back to the ship to catch the bus if that would be incovenient.

 

Our bus left the ship at 4:30 but we wondered if some buses left a little before or after that. Our ticket said 4:30 so that's when we met in the theater. No way they can transport that many people at one time.

[alikim]

Just out of curiosity, how much did they charge for the photo?

 

And also, we didn't buy the package deal with luau and train ride. If we change our mind later, can we buy tickets to train ride once we get there?

 

Thank you so much

 

DALSAL,

It is not tiring at all. They do have all the tables set up and ready when you arrive so you can sit down right away if you want to. They do have a couple of the dancers set up for the photo from the ships photographers of course. There is a little craft area set up and there are also train and carriage rides around the plantation that you can take if you want to. I think that there were some Hawaiian games set up and a few other things to do. A little gift shop and you can purchase the crafts if you want to. But the bar is open and you can start drinking and resting right away if you want to. I hope that you enjoy it as much as we did.

[RangerMom]

I would like to know what the best Luau in the islands would be. We are looking at the Old Lahaina Luau in Maui. Would one in Kuai be better?

[DALSAL]

We just got back and LOVED the luau! They started taking bus loads around 4:30 and finished up around 5:15. I think they said it took 13 bus loads as we had over 800 ppl for our luau.It is still not opened up to the public yet,only to NCL. We really enjoyed the "story" that was told,and the food was pretty good.The pulled pork was really tasty.And,the drinks! Oh my,I had a two limit for myself,but others were taking 2 at a time!

 

I always like to get a Christmas ornament,and had looked at a few,but was glad I waited to buy one. I ended up getting one there,and they had a lady doing the personalizing.She would put whatever you wanted on it and she had several to choose from.I think the most expensive one was $16.

 

It was a full day,but very relaxing.Dot

[GoneCruzn]

Thank you everybody for the informative and helpful posts about the Luau. I'll be on the PoAm and it's great to know I can do the canyon/river/grotto and still be able to do the Luau. Seasoned cruisers who've been to Hawaii are laughing at me because I plan to go to a Luau. So let them laugh. It's my first trip to Hawaii and I'll be a TOURIST and want to do all the corny touristy things, and see and do as much as humanly possible on a cruise. I'm getting more excited by the day (as if it's possible to be more excited than I already am) after reading all the wonderful posts. But now that I can stop worrying about the Luau, it's time to worry about what to do about not being able to carry a purse or any type of bag to Pearl Harbor -- hopefully I can find some tops and shorts with zippered pockets. The search for info on the boards continues. :D

[Wendolyn]

At first, we were leaning toward the Old Lahaina luau, but the prospect of having to drive so long (40 minutes each way) was not too appealing. We nearly booked the Pale Kai one near our port in Maui, but then discovered they don't operate on the night we're there. So, we decided to go with the NCL Luau Kalamaku and I am happy to see such good reports!

[makiramarlena]

I think I am sold on the open bar alone. I need someone else to transport me so I will probably be booking whatever NCL offers.

[TBE]

Here are a few links to view regarding the location of the Luau.

 

NCL evening Luau Kalamaku

(http://www.gaylordskauai.com/ldefault.aspx)

(http://www.kilohanakauai.com)

(http://www.kauaiplantationrailway.com/track.htm)

(http://www.kauaiplantationrailway.com/plexp.htm)

[DALSAL]

Also,I noticed a LOT of ppl were asking for 2 drinks at a time to cut down on standing in line for the drinks...but toward the back of the building.there was also a bar that had either no line,or very short lines.Everyone was going tothe front bar area...The drinks were very good! :) Dot