Pride of America, Hawaii Cruise

[darceyg]

Have to wait until 2010 for my Hawaiian cruise but would love any info re ship, excursions, best cabins etc. Actually anything at all. Cheers, Darcey !

[karen327]

try going to the hawaii boards, most posts are about the poa, lots of good info.

[Ms belp]

Have to wait until 2010 for my Hawaiian cruise but would love any info re ship, excursions, best cabins etc. Actually anything at all. Cheers, Darcey !

 

Congratulations, Darcey! I have to wait until 2011 for my Hawaiian cruise. Lots of time to research (pass the time).:)

[Flossie]

Ms Belp , you are not alone, we have to wait til 2011 for our Hawaii cruise too. Seems like a long time away! we just got back from an Alaska cruise,I hope that Hawaii will be as great as Alaska was. Have you done any looking at what month is the best to go to Hawaii with weather, prices etc?

[dtracker]

Yep, we're 2011 also. :(

 

DT

[karen327]

Have to wait until 2010 for my Hawaiian cruise but would love any info re ship, excursions, best cabins etc. Actually anything at all. Cheers, Darcey !

 

When in 2010 are you going? We will be on the POA for the Feb. 13th 2010 cruise and I can't wait. We have our airline tickets already and were able to use frequent flyer miles and will be spending one week before the cruise in Honolulu and also on Big Island. I am now working on finding hotels and deciding on what we want to do, may have to wait and see what hotel specials come out later. I have been reading the Hawaii threads and cruise reviews, and also just ordered 2 Revealed books from Amazon. Can't wait til they arrive.

Karen

[kb996]

we just got back from an Alaska cruise,I hope that Hawaii will be as great as Alaska was.

 

Hawaii IS as great as Alaska. I loved Alaska so was a bit hesitent about Hawaii. It is beautiful! I'm back 1 week and already thinking about a 2nd trip.

[dtracker]

Hawaii IS as great as Alaska. I loved Alaska so was a bit hesitent about Hawaii. It is beautiful! I'm back 1 week and already thinking about a 2nd trip.

 

What were your favorite things about the PoA and Hawaii, Kb?

 

DT

[Ms belp]

Ms Belp , you are not alone, we have to wait til 2011 for our Hawaii cruise too. Seems like a long time away! we just got back from an Alaska cruise,I hope that Hawaii will be as great as Alaska was. Have you done any looking at what month is the best to go to Hawaii with weather, prices etc?

 

Hi Flossie, No I didn't check any months out; I booked strictly because it begins on my 56th birthday.:) We went to Alaska last May. Gosh, wasn't it incredible? You just can't describe it to anyone who hasn't been there.

[kb996]

OH my gosh, where to start ...

 

POA is a beautiful ship, the staff is wonderful! The service of the US flagged ships has gotten a bad rep but we thought it was great. If you want "yes sir, no sir" and nothing else you won't like POA. If you like "Hi, how was your day? What did you do?" Then POA is for you. I loved talking to the staff. EVERYONE was so very nice and efficient at the same time. They all love to talk about where they are from and where you are from.

 

NOTE! I love going on international flagged NCL ships also. I've talked to alot of nice folks there to. It was just different on POA. Easier to talk to folks.

 

Hawaii ..... Hawaii is beautiful. Lush, green, huge mountains, wonderful scenery.

 

Everyone seems nicer in Hawaii, locals and tourists. Even the TSA agent when I stupidly forgot that I was bringing a cream in my carry on to the nice man at the United counter who remembered me and didn't make me wait in the long line to check my carry on (and didn't charge me!).

 

When you're in Hawaii your on their time. It's very layed back and relaxed.

 

I wish you all could go this year!!

[NYAustinGal]

Hi Flossie, No I didn't check any months out; I booked strictly because it begins on my 56th birthday.:) We went to Alaska last May. Gosh, wasn't it incredible? You just can't describe it to anyone who hasn't been there.

 

Ms. - we set sail on my 50th! What a way to turn 50. We are flying in the day before, so when I wake up on the morning of my birthday, I will be in Hawaii ... and later that day, I will be sailing to Maui. Can't think of a better way to turn the big 5-0 than in Hawaii 5-0!!!!

[dtracker]

OH my gosh, where to start ...

 

POA is a beautiful ship, the staff is wonderful! The service of the US flagged ships has gotten a bad rep but we thought it was great. If you want "yes sir, no sir" and nothing else you won't like POA. If you like "Hi, how was your day? What did you do?" Then POA is for you. I loved talking to the staff. EVERYONE was so very nice and efficient at the same time. They all love to talk about where they are from and where you are from.

 

NOTE! I love going on international flagged NCL ships also. I've talked to alot of nice folks there to. It was just different on POA. Easier to talk to folks.

 

Hawaii ..... Hawaii is beautiful. Lush, green, huge mountains, wonderful scenery.

 

Everyone seems nicer in Hawaii, locals and tourists. Even the TSA agent when I stupidly forgot that I was bringing a cream in my carry on to the nice man at the United counter who remembered me and didn't make me wait in the long line to check my carry on (and didn't charge me!).

 

When you're in Hawaii your on their time. It's very layed back and relaxed.

 

I wish you all could go this year!!

 

Me too, Kb. Thanks.

 

DT

[coldinerie]

It may sound cheezy, but one of the most fun and memorable moments on PoA is the diner experience. My daughter (11 at the time) and I would get hotdogs, onion rings and one strawberry milkshake (to die for) with two straws. To this day, every time we see a strawberry milkshake, we remember the great cruise to Hawaii and all the fun we had as a family. Hawaii was truly a magical experience. Going during whale breeding season is just a bit more magical. Enjoy your trip, we always will think fondly of PoA!

[Daycare Provider]

I am seriously considering the POA instead of a 7 night resort stay on Maui...I too have read bad reviews of this ship...We are looking to book for our daughters 16th birthday. The sail date is 6-19-10..

Please offer some highlights of the ship. Dh and I will be 40 on this cruise...we love to play and dance the night away. Will this ship keep us acitive? we love the disco, comdey shows, dancwe shows, casino...the SPA...I want to hear about it all. I have already found private tour guides in all of the ports, so I won't be booking an excursiosn through the cruiseline. We also plan on doing a pre and post stay...Any advice would eb helpful.

Thank You...

Angela

[TeresaJ]

I am seriously considering the POA instead of a 7 night resort stay on Maui...I too have read bad reviews of this ship...We are looking to book for our daughters 16th birthday. The sail date is 6-19-10..

Please offer some highlights of the ship. Dh and I will be 40 on this cruise...we love to play and dance the night away. Will this ship keep us acitive? we love the disco, comdey shows, dancwe shows, casino...the SPA...I want to hear about it all. I have already found private tour guides in all of the ports, so I won't be booking an excursiosn through the cruiseline. We also plan on doing a pre and post stay...Any advice would eb helpful.

 

Thank You...

 

Angela

 

Angela,

 

We will be on the 6/19/2010 sailing. I am 37, DH is 40 and our kids will be 6 and 9 when we sail. We are also going with my husband's family. They are all in their early 40's and have kids ranging from 9 -15. We plan on coming in a few days before the cruise too to adjust to the time difference (we are in Wisconsin).

 

I have also read some bad reviews of the ship but lately I have been reading some really good one's. I do know that there is not a casino because this is a US flagged ship that does a US route. I haven't read much about the nightlife as it seems most people are tired out from the day's activities because there are no sea days on this itinerary and it is port-intensive.

 

Good luck with your findings.

[Wineshipper]

DarcyG: If you can get an aft facing balcony on the POA I would recommend it. If not aft, balcony would be my recommendation.

 

To All: I also read bad reviews for this ship prior to our cruise. It was our first cruise and we where concerned about the reviews. What we discovered:

1) Loved it, I think that some people try to compare to traditional cruise. POA is about the ports. Wonderful way to explore 4 islands.

2) Balcony is a must if it is within your budget. I will never forget stepping out on the balcony in the AM and seeing a double rainbow that appeared to end 10 feet from where I was standing. Whale watching and dolphin watching from the balcony. Seeing the lava flow into the ocean at night.

3) Loved NCL freestyle, really loved the less formal format

4) Had to cruise again, will be doing POA again. DW laid off from work last month, but will go again as some as we can.

[fridaythe13th]

We are looking at the POA for May 2011 for our anniversary. I was looking at regular balconies and they seem really small. Has anyone been in a balcony cabin? Maybe we should splurge with a suite.:eek:

[Kapuna]

The balconys on the aft cabins are much larger !

[Flossie]

I have been reading alot the last two weeks about this cruise and it seems like that most people rent a car in each port for the day and travel the island on there own. I know that DH will not want to do this. He always likes to do the ships excursions, I might add that we have never as to date had a bad one. So has anyone done the ships excursions? if so which ones should I be looking at. Or should I try and talk him into renting a car on some islands.

 

I too have heard some bad reviews about POA but I have been looking at some of the pics from others that have been and the pics do not look that bad and they seem to have good service. I did check out other lines and one only goes to Hawaii two weeks out of the year and the other that I looked at had 5 sea days in a row, I really do not think that DH would go for that at all. We like sea days but 5 in a row is alittle much for us.

 

Thanks for all the input, I have always gotten some good info on these boards.

[EmmasNana]

This was our first cruise in 2007. We loved the ship. We had a regular balcony and thought it was fabulous and had plenty of room for the two of us. I bought the "Blue books" for each island from Amazon.com and studied them for 6 months planning our trip. BTW, I sold them on amazon when I got back for almost the same price I paid. We did rent a car on each island except the Kona side of the Big Island.

Definetly do the Road to Hana. This excursion we booked through a local as I didn't feel comfortable having DH drive on the curvy roads. He was able to enjoy everything much better that way. As far as night life on the ship...we were just too tired after a day on the islands that we did not see even one show so I couldn't tell you about that.

We really enjoyed the trip. I wouldn't do it again though. It is kind of like been there, done that. Someday we may go back for a week or so but would stay on the Big Island, staying on the Kona side and renting a car.

[hawaiilvr]

Here's my review:

 

http://www.cruisecritic.com/memberreviews/memberreview.cfm?EntryID=34799

 

Suffice it to say - great time, great ports, would go again tomorrow! We had so much fun.

 

We rented cars in each port and saw so much and did so much, I can't believe we were only there for a week. My review has all the details.