Pride of America May 24-31st

[llachance]

A week on the Pride of America May 24 – 31 2008

 

Arrived at Honolulu International Airport at noon on Saturday the 24th of May. Gather the luggage and a $28.00 cab ride later we were at the port. Our documents indicated that we were new cruisers (not) and so we had to use the regular line rather then the Latitudes line. That said the longest wait was in the security line (folks it is just like at the airport....) and we were aboard the ship by noon. Rooms were ready sometime after 1:00 or so. They took the embarkation pictures before we ever registered so be prepared. They were selling coke cards in the atrium and we bought two for the week.

 

Once on board we were greeted with Champagne, OJ or Mimosas. We headed up to the buffet to have lunch. The action stations are in full swing. If you use them as they are set to use there isn't an issue. If you try to walk through like it is a buffet then you will be stymied! All the stations are labeled. If you don't want the food that is there don't go! Simple. Had a Mai Tai and then got back off the ship to have lunch with my mother (she lives on Oahu). In the atrium they were also selling wine packages. We bought the Gold Wine package for $200.00 (it is now $235.00 they upped the prices that day but honored – after some discussion the lower price – if you print it as $200 in the daily don't ask me to pay more). This package allowed us to make dining room reservations for The Bistro, Little Italy, the Steakhouse and East meets West that day. There were 2 of us on the package and we were able to add my step son to the reservation. We just paid his cover charge when we ate. Muster drill was painless (at 4:30pm) and that evening we had dinner in the Liberty Dining Room. Food and service were fine.

 

Maui – we booked 2 excursions through NCL. One was unavailable because the show was “dark” on Sunday nights. Since you can't do it on Monday they really need to take it off the availability list. But that let us eat in Teppanyaki that night and it was very good. We spent the morning and early afternoon visiting the volcano and on the second day we rented a car and drove the road to Hana.

 

Hilo – visited Volcanoes National Park using Roberts Hawaiian. It also included a stop at a macadamia nut factory allowing you to buy a sandwich for lunch since their tour doesn't include lunch (sandwich, soda and chips were $6.00 they probably have a deal). NCL provides lunch as part of their package. Both tours go to exactly the same place in the parks because everywhere we went we saw the buses from the ship. This evening we went to Tony & Tina's Wedding ($35.00) and had a blast. They do a good job with the show.

 

Kona – went on the Epicurean Excursion. Stopped and sampled coffee, chocolate and after a long bus ride ate a wonderful restaurant on a vanilla farm (NCL excursion). This was worth every penny but know that you will spend a lot of time driving (the Vanilla Farm is almost back to Hilo) and bring a book to occupy your time. My husband and step-son did the body glove snorkel. They saw a lot of fish but my husband has been spoiled by some of the other places we have snorkeled! Went to Hilo Hatties here. Very nice quiet store.!

 

Kauai – went with NCL on the Safari Train excursion. Well worth the time....best part was the boat ride to the fern grotto. Lunch wasn't included but once again – where we stopped to get on the boat – they had fixed price lunches available. On the second day I sent my husband and step son to Waimea Canyon since I had been there before. My step son wasn't as impressed as my husband was.

 

We were in Cabin 11540. Very easy access to pools and bars and food. It is a balcony cabin that is supposed to sleep three. It is not really good for 3 adults. When you fold out the couch to sleep you can not access the balcony. The bathroom and shower were the smallest I have ever seen on a cruise ship! And I thought the bathrooms on the Dawn Princess were small. Be prepared. The hair dryer was a regular hair dryer but it was on the desk – good if someone else wants to use the bathroom – bad if the couch is made into a bed because you can't sit at the desk. Our cabin attendant was so great that I opted to give her an additional tip at the end of the week. Heard a lot of people complaining about their cabin service. If you turn the dial on your door your service will probably be better. If you have a problem take care of it right away. Don't let it fester and ruin your vacation.

 

The service on the ship was fine. Except for one or two cases during the week the kids that are working on the Pride of America take pride in what they are doing. There are many of them that are on their 4th and 5th contracts so they know what is expected of them. The other thing that I found was that there appeared to be a lot of more senior people doing jobs like waiting tables etc. It also seemed that they provided a little bit better service then some of the younger kids.

 

Freestyle 2.0 – got the fruit menu the first day. I didn't bother with it because we were so close to the buffet. Didn't bother with the coffee pot in the room for the same reason. No bathrobes but I didn't ask. Beds and linens were very comfortable.... White Hot Nights – lots of fun. Only saw the magician. Didn't make the rest of the shows because we were either too tired or in the middle of dinner.

 

Rum runners worked well! I enjoy a drink in my room – also spent enough at the bar! One bag got sent to the naughty room....best they could tell my travel hair dryer was the cause for alarm :)

 

We purchased the ship board cruise credit so I will be looking for a cruise in 2009. Actually think we may go on this one again. We already will be on the Jewel for New Years! Any questions – please feel free to email me at llachance1@earthlink.net.

 

Lisa

[ali07]

Thanks for the great review! We're doing the trip in 2010 and have staterooms on the other side of ship from where you were. It sounds like we'll be in good shape.