Review - Pride of America October 3-10, 2009

[Barbee524]

Here’s my really long review of our cruise on the Pride of America, October 1-10, 2009.
I have split this review into four parts; the first sections cover the ports and what we did in port. The second part is about the Pride of America and the cruise in general, the third section is general information and the final section is my final thoughts. Each section starts at the bold type so if you just want to know about the cruise in general, etc. scroll down to that section.
Ports of Call
Thursday, October 1, 2009
Chicago to Honolulu
We boarded our flight to Honolulu at 10:15 am and arrived in Honolulu 9 hours later at 2:15 pm local time. We picked up our rental car and we were on our way to our hotel. We spent 2 nights at the Hotel Renew at Waikiki Beach. The hotel is one block from Waikiki Beach. I would definitely recommend this hotel which is the number 2 rated hotel in Waikiki on the Trip Advisor website. I think the fact that it doesn’t have a swimming pool or restaurant is the only thing keeping it rated number 2 and not number 1. It has a very relaxing spa-like atmosphere and one of the most comfortable beds I’ve ever slept in. Though they don’t have a pool you can borrow beach towels, beach chairs and snorkel equipment from the hotel at no charge.
After we dropped our bags in our room we decided to walk down to Duke’s for dinner. We were actually too early for dinner so we waited in the bar until the restaurant opened for dinner at 4:45, early for Hawaii but we were still on Chicago time so according to our body clocks it was 9:45. Dinner was very good and we shared a piece of Hula Pie for desert. The pie was good but I don’t see what all the fuss is about, it’s basically an ice cream pie with chocolate sauce. After dinner we returned to the hotel and it was bed time for me.
Friday, October 2, 2009
Honolulu
Well I was up at 4:00 am so I had plenty of time to get ready for our morning at Pearl Harbor. We left the hotel at 6:00 and stopped at Leonard’s Bakery for breakfast on our way to Pearl Harbor. We received tickets for the first boat out to the Arizona Memorial which starts at 7:45 am. After we received our tickets we walked around and looked at the displays in the visitor center. Promptly at 7:45 we went into the theater to watch a movie for 23 minutes regarding the history of the events of December 7, 1941 and the attack on Pearl Harbor. After the movie you depart the theater for a short boat ride over to the Arizona Memorial. Visiting the Arizona Memorial is a very moving and solemn, you are told prior to boarding the boat that you are visiting a gravesite and to please be respectful, you are told to turn off all cell phones and pagers and that if your children cannot keep quite to please wait outside the memorial. I did see a couple asked to either keep their child quite or wait outside.
Tip – Sit on the left side of the theater as they load the passengers on the left into the first boat though you spend the same amount of time at the Memorial if you take the second boat.
After Pearl Harbor we decided to drive up to the North Shore of Oahu. Once you get outside of Honolulu Oahu is beautiful. We stopped at the Dole Plantation and walked around a bit, it is free to get in however; they have features that they do charge you for once you are inside such as the train and the maze. We just walked around for a bit though we did buy a pineapple whip and split it. It’s sort of like a soft serve pineapple sorbet and very good. We continued our drive up the North Shore with a couple of stops along the way to watch surfers. We had lunch at Giovanni’s Shrimp Shack where we split an order of shrimp scampi. We continued driving around Oahu and arrived back at our hotel about 2:30. Just in time to get ready for our luau that evening.
We went to the Paradise Cove Luau; we were picked up at 3:45 by bus at the hotel next door to ours about a 30 second walk away. The luau was fun and the food was OK.
Saturday, October 3, 2009
Honolulu and the Pride of America
We slept in for a bit and left the hotel to return our rental car at noon. We had rented from National and the location at Waikiki Beach does have a shuttle to the cruise terminal there was no extra charge for returning the car to Waikiki instead of the airport. The cruise terminal was about a 10 minute ride from where we dropped off the car.
There was no need to use a porter at the cruise terminal we just dropped our bags at the luggage belt once we entered the terminal. However, if you are not able to carry your own bags I recommend you ask the security guard at the entrance if there is some one who can assist with your bags. You will need to show your identification and cruise document three times before you board; to the guard at the main entrance, to the guard before the security scanner, and to the clerk when you check in. I think it took between 30 to 60 minutes and we were on board the Pride of America.
Once on board we went to the Aloha Café for lunch as our cabin was not ready, nor had we expected it to be ready. After lunch we went up to the top deck and started working our way down on our own self guided ship’s tour. Before long it was announced that all cabins were now ready, I don’t remember the exact time but it was before 2:00.
The Cabin – We were in cabin 9596 portside. I have read many reviews which mention how much smaller the cabins on the POA are than on other ships. Yes it’s small but unless you’re in a suite it’s not that much smaller than other cabins we have had and it is bigger even without the balcony than the inside cabins on some ships I’ve been on. I felt the bathroom was about the same size as others we have had and larger than the bathroom I had with an inside cabin on the Majesty of the Seas.
After dropping my carry-on we went back to one of the bars until it was time for the muster drill, a necessary evil. I can’t say if they muster drill was too long or not they always seem to go on forever though it was probably between 15 to 30 minutes. After the muster drill we went up to our cabin to unpack our bags which had arrived prior to the muster drill. We had dinner in the Skyline dining room this night. I will discuss the food and dining later in this review.
After dinner we went up to the Waikiki Bar on deck 13 for the sail away. It rained during the sail away. We went to bed fairly early so we could be up and out early to enjoy Maui the next day. Early to bed and early to rise became our trend for this cruise.
Sunday, October 4, 2009
Maui
After a quick breakfast in the Aloha Buffet we were off the ship at 8:00 to pick up our rental car. First up the Road to Hana. We did not drive the entire road to Hana, my husband was the driver in all ports and he thought the drive would have been enjoyable if it hadn’t been for the other drivers on the road. We also didn’t want to spend the entire day driving the Road to Hana and back.
We then drove down to Lahaina and did some shopping and stopped for lunch. After Lahaina we drove to the Iao Needle State Park and walked around for a bit. After the Iao Needle we drove down by Waimea and Makena and stopped at a beach. We turned in the car about 5:00 after putting about 150 miles on it.
We had dinner at the Lazy J Steakhouse and then a drink at one of the bars. After one drink it was off to bed for me since I was getting up very early the next morning.
Monday, October 5, 2009
Maui – Day 2
2:45 am and my alarm goes off so I can get ready for my excursion; Haleakala Crater at Sunrise. I had been thinking I was crazy for booking this excursion all along. But getting up in the middle of the night and suffering in the cold was definitely worth it for the sunrise I saw. Since I was going by myself on this excursion I booked it directly through NCL. It was about 45 degrees at the summit of Haleakala which wouldn’t have been too bad if it hadn’t been for the wind so if you plan on doing this dress warmly. With the exception of my hands I was OK I did see one woman with a pair of socks on her hands, I wish I had been as smart as she was. The sunrise was spectacular and worth suffering in the cold. Taking the bus down the crater you will pass a lot of bike riders; you can take an excursion for the sunrise and ride (coast) a bike back down the crater. I was back onboard after the excursion at 9:15 am and my husband was off golfing.
I napped for a bit and then got up took a shower and went to lunch at the Aloha Buffet. My husband returned from golfing about 2:00. I spent the rest of the day reading on the balcony while he napped.
We had dinner in the Cadillac Diner and then went to the Second City show in the theater. This was one of if not the best show I have ever seen on a cruise ship it is a "do not miss" onboard.
Tuesday, October 6, 2009
Hilo
We were upgraded to Jeep at no charge since Alamo was out of compact cars; this was great for our drive up to and through Volcanoes National Park. I heard later on that they ran out of cars and many who went later to pick up cars did not get one. VNP is about a 45 minute drive from the airport where you pick up your rental car. We drove along Crater Rim Drive stopping for many photo ops. We also stopped at the Jagger Museum. Part of Crater Rim Drive was closed due to strong volcanic gasses. I heard that they did close off the Jagger Museum area later in the day for the same reason. We then drove down Chain of Craters Road stopping along the way and turned off onto Hilina Pali Road. This is a little used one lane road which winds down a bit over 8 miles to a magnificent view of the coastline.
We drove back into Hilo and stopped for lunch. After lunch we made stops at Rainbow Falls, the Boiling Pots, Pe’e Pe’e Falls and Waiale Falls. We turned in the Jeep and headed back to the ship.
Back onboard I attended the lei making class and made a beautiful orchid lei. We had dinner in the dining room.
After dinner we went to up to the Waikiki Bar on deck 13 for the lava flow sail by. The lava flow was spectacular and should not be missed. After the lava flow sail by we went to the Second City Late night show and then off to bed.
Wednesday, October 7, 2009
Kona
Beach day! We took the tender into port and had been told we could use the beach at the end of the tender pier. The beach really is right at the end of the tender pier but we were not able to use it this morning. It was being used for either qualifying or training for the Ironman Triathlon which was to be held in Kona the following Saturday. While I did enjoy the awesome scenery at this beach, we decided to take the shuttle to Kahalu’u Beach As it turns out the triathlon was the reason for the shortage of rental cars in Hilo they had been moved to Kona. You purchase your shuttle ticket to the beach n the blue shopping center right across the street from the tender pier and the shuttle bus picks you up right in front of the stores. The cost is $10.00 for a round trip ticket, $20.00 if you want snorkel equipment. Kahalu’u Beach is a much larger beach than the one by the pier and has many facilities. We rented beach chairs for $6.50 and spent most of the day parked in the sand. It was well worth the $10 per person.
We had dinner in Jefferson’s Bistro this evening.
Thursday, October 8, 2009
Kauai
We were up and out to pick up our car by 8:00 am. I am pretty sure Kauai means "Island of the Wild Chicken" they are every where on this island and can pose a hazard when driving. We headed out to Waimea Canyon which is about 45 minutes from Lihue. We took the canyon road from beginning to end making several stops along the way for photo ops. We came back down the road and headed back towards Lihue. We made a stop at the Kauai Coffee Company, they have a very small museum and of coarse a store. I did purchase some coffee to take home. We drove back into Lihue and stopped at Wal-Mart for some souvenirs to take home. Wal-Mart is a good place to pick up inexpensive souvenirs.
After Wal-Mart we stopped for lunch. We then drove out to see the Spouting Horn. This is a natural hole in the rock formation along the coastline. When the waves come in it forces water up through the hole and it shoots up into the air. We wanted to go to Barking Sands Beach but we must have missed a turn so we drove back to Lihue dropped off the car about 6:00 and went back to the ship.
We had dinner at the buffet.
Friday, October 9, 2009
Kauai – Day 2
My husband is golfing again and I had originally planned on going to either the beach or the pool today. Unfortunately I was too sunburned from our day at the beach in Kona to do either. I went to breakfast at the buffet and then came back did some started packing and then sat on the balcony and read.
My husband came back from golfing and we had lunch in the Cadillac Diner. It is pouring out as we leave Kauai behind. We sailed by the Na’Pali coast this afternoon and even though it was overcast it was spectacular.
We had dinner in the buffet and then went to the final Second City show.
Saturday, October 10, 2009
Honolulu to Chicago
We self disembarked and were off the ship at 7:30. We had rented a car through NCL and it stated on the excursion ticket that the first shuttle was at 7:30. Not true the Alamo office doesn’t open until 8:00 and we were picked up closer to 8:30 so it was close to 9:00 before we picked up our car.
We took another drive up the coast of Oahu and dropped off the car about 2:00 for our return flight. The flight home was uneventful (always good when flying).
Ship Stuff, dining and thoughts on NCL
First off I really wanted to be able to write a glowing review of the Pride of America. So I’ll start with some things I liked about NCL. There are coffee makers and coffee in every cabin, not just the suites. We usually order just coffee in the morning from room service since there was a coffee maker in our cabin there was no need for us to use room service. Every cabin also receives robes, nice touch. You can request an iron and ironing board from housekeeping, no need to pay for pressing of garments. I did not miss having formal nights it was kind of nice to take a casual cruise, especially with this itinerary. The ship was very nice and easy to get around, sure there were most likely some worn spots in the carpet and few areas could use a coat of paint, I didn’t really notice them. However, I think this is true on most ships unless they are brand new or have just come out of dry dock. A breadbasket is left on the table for you and don’t have to wait for the assistant waiter to make the rounds with the bread. I liked that there were open railings on the balcony and not plexi-glass panels they made a great footrest and your view was not effected by salt spray, though people with children might not like this (too easy to climb on).
Cabin Amenities – There is a mini-fridge that is loaded with beverages, including liquor for purchase, some snacks for purchase. The bathroom has a soft soap dispenser above the sink and body wash and shampoo dispensers in the shower. We also received a shower cap, lotion and a shoe shining cloth. There is a hairdryer by the desk in the cabin and bathrobes in the closet. And best of all each cabin has its own coffee maker and coffee. I did like that the hair dryer stayed on without having to hold down the on/off switch it was also more powerful than the hairdryers on Royal Caribbean.
Now’s here’s what I didn’t like. I hated Freestyle dining. NCL advertises that you are free to eat "wherever, whenever", this is a yes and no statement from them. You can eat "wherever" as long as you make reservations on the day of embarkation, you can eat whenever as long as it is not in one of the specialty restaurants. If it’s Freestyle I shouldn’t have to make reservations.
We found the food to be downright lousy. We tried the Lazy J Steakhouse; it was OK but no where near the quality you receive for the same $25 additional charge at Chops on Royal Caribbean. We also tried Jefferson’s Bistro for an additional $15, the food was fair. However the service here was excellent the only service that was up to the level we have experienced in the main dining room on other cruise lines. But not comparable to the service in the specialty restaurants on other cruise lines. Perhaps this was because the majority of the servers here did not seem to be native born Americans. After dinner at Jefferson’s we decided if we were going to be eating lousy food we weren’t going to wait 2 hours or pay any extra for it so we cancelled our remaining reservations and had the rest of our meals in the buffet. This was the first time we have ever eaten dinner in the buffet on a cruise. We ate in the Skyline Dining room twice it was OK the first night and service was pretty quick. The second time we ate there we agreed to share a table with other diners. Maybe this was what slowed down the service but it was two and a half hours for dinner. I had ordered prime rib for dinner and it was inedible. It seemed to have been pre-sliced and sitting in a chaffing dish it was gray and tasteless. Though I later heard that the prime rib in the buffet had been very good the same night.
Our cabin attendant was great and kept our cabin very clean. But I don’t know who teaches them how to make a bed. The first night our queen size bed seemed to be made up with full size sheets, the sheet hung barely an inch over the side of the bed so that as soon as you moved in bed you ended up sleeping on the mattress pad. Our attendant did get the correct size sheets for the bed and re-made it for us, I gave her an additional $20 tip for this. Though the bed was still made strangely, sort of just smashed under the mattress on one side and here’s the really strange part – knotted in the corner of the other side of the bed. Now I am laying odds that the attendant is making the bed the way she was shown how and that the head of housekeeping needs to take a course in hospital corners.
The crew seems to enjoy the same privileges as the passengers on this ship. You will need to wait behind them in line at the buffet. Which made me wonder that if they preferred the food in the Aloha Buffet just how bad is the food in the crew dining area? The server in the Gold Rush saloon liked to play darts while he was working. But what was really annoying was the two tables of crew member at the Waikiki Bar during the lava flow sail by. I really thought that the seats in this prime viewing location should have been for the passengers and not used by the crew members after all we only get to see this once most of them will have another chance before their contracts are up.
I have no complaints regarding the crew. They were courteous, friendly, and helpful.
Now you’re thinking the bad out weighed the good. Not really, after reading other reviews of the Pride of America I didn’t have very high expectations. So why did I book this cruise? I booked it to see Hawaii and for that this cruise works. The ship is in port every day and time in port is extensive. In comparison Royal Caribbean offers 59 hours in port, Carnival 52.5 hours in port, and on NCL we spent 85 hours in port.
So would I recommend this cruise? Yes - If you want to visit the ports of Hawaii and are not concerned about having a traditional cruise experience take this cruise and think of the ship as a floating hotel. If you want a traditional cruise experience and don’t mind less time spent in port take another cruise line.
Would I Cruise on NCL again? Maybe, if the itinerary was appealing to me and not offered by another cruise line.
General Information
There are free shuttles in every port to K-Mart, Wal-Mart, Hilo Hatties, and a few other shopping centers depending on the port.
We used the Hawaii Revealed books by Andrew Dougherty for each port. These books are a great resource and have very good maps. You can also bring along your GPS if you have one, I was told they have a hard time with the Hawaiian street names and on man told me his asked him "what language he wanted to use."
Final Thoughts
I tried to write a fair and honest review of my experiences on this cruise, hopefully if you cruised with me or on the Pride of America at a different time your experiences onboard were better than mine though ours were not all bad. I did not have real high expectations to start out with so I can say my expectations were met and in some cases exceeded. We did enjoy ourselves, it was just different from what we have come to expect on a cruise. However, our experiences on the Islands of Hawaii were fantastic. We were given a great overview of the islands, now the only hard part is deciding which island to visit when we return to Hawaii for a land vacation.
Oh and please excuse any typos you may find.

[locapatadeperro]

Your time and effort in creating this post is very much appreciated.

We are booked on Norwegian's POA cruise Jan 2 - Jan 9, 2010.

If Norwegian challenges us with "service issues," we will stay focused on the joy of visiting different islands without the airport hassles!

"So would I recommend this cruise? Yes - If you want to visit the ports of Hawaii and are not concerned about having a traditional cruise experience, take this cruise and think of the ship as a floating hotel."

[BopRN]

Thank you for your honest review. We are also traditional RCCL fans but are booked on POA in May. We also want more time on the islands than other cruiselines offer. So POA it is!
We will also go with lower expectations than traditional cruises...and will certainly enjoy what NCL has to offer with open minds.

[BLTLSOH]

Thanks! I'm taking this same cruise this weekend, and your review was quite helpful. One question - what time was the muster drill? We're coming from the east coast, and wondering how late we'll have to stay up that first night.

Thanks!

[EricaLovesCats]

Thank you for a fantastic read! I love detailed reviews. My family and I are still just in the planning stages, but we plan to take this cruise either Spring or Winter 2011.

My husband will especially love no formal nights, lol. We've always been happy eating at the buffet, to me that it truly freestyle dining. This will be our first experience with NCL so I do have a question on the "freestyle" dining...you mention that you must reserve where/when you want to eat on the first day? That seems like extra work on NCL. And I bet that is a very long line (line to make your reservations) since everyone must do it on the first day...doesn't seem worth it almost.

[Barbee524]

Originally Posted by BLTLSOH

Thanks! I'm taking this same cruise this weekend, and your review was quite helpful. One question - what time was the muster drill? We're coming from the east coast, and wondering how late we'll have to stay up that first night.

Thanks!

Muster drill was at 4:30 and they have a make up the next day.

[Barbee524]

Originally Posted by EricaLovesCats

question on the "freestyle" dining...you mention that you must reserve where/when you want to eat on the first day? That seems like extra work on NCL. And I bet that is a very long line (line to make your reservations) since everyone must do it on the first day...doesn't seem worth it almost.

The line actually wasn't very long to make reservations. I would avoid making reservations for the nights the ship is in port overnight. That way you don't have to be back onboard by a specific time in order to make your reservation. There is a charge for "missed" reservations.

[njhorseman]

Originally Posted by EricaLovesCats

Thank you for a fantastic read! I love detailed reviews. My family and I are still just in the planning stages, but we plan to take this cruise either Spring or Winter 2011.

My husband will especially love no formal nights, lol. We've always been happy eating at the buffet, to me that it truly freestyle dining. This will be our first experience with NCL so I do have a question on the "freestyle" dining...you mention that you must reserve where/when you want to eat on the first day? That seems like extra work on NCL. And I bet that is a very long line (line to make your reservations) since everyone must do it on the first day...doesn't seem worth it almost.

Originally Posted by Barbee524

The line actually wasn't very long to make reservations. I would avoid making reservations for the nights the ship is in port overnight. That way you don't have to be back onboard by a specific time in order to make your reservation. There is a charge for "missed" reservations.

I'm confused? Is it not true that you (OP Barbee524) are talking only about the specialty restaurants when referring to the reservations line and in particular the "charge for missed reservations"?

[Barbee524]

Sorry for the confusion the reservations and charges I am talking about are only for the specialty restaurants. I think you can also make reservations for the dining rooms if you have a certain number of people in your party. I'm not sure what the number is since there were only 2 of us we could not make reservations for the dining room.

Though I still feel that having to make any reservations defeats the whole concept of "anytime, anywhere"

[Molokai-Chuck]

Excellent review... Mahalo.

Chuck

[cewtaldad]

My wife and I were also on this cruise and I must say that your review is dead on accurate. We too thought that the service on the ship was less than acceptable. We enjoyed the islands and what better way to see Hawaii in 7 days than by ship.
To future POA cruisers, if you expect great service onboard, you will probably be disappointed. But if you are excited about seeing Hawaii, you will be more than satisfied.

[keishashadow]

thanx for the detailed review of the POA, warts & all

we weren't blown away by the food on the Star this summer, yet looking forward to booking the POA. It's all about the intinerary for us this trip.

couple Qs for u:

1) do u recall approx what time the sail by was for volcano & how long you could view?

2) did u see any chicken wings aboard - we wound up eating them everyday aboard the Star?

[cewtaldad]

Volcano sail by was approximately 9:45 pm. Chicken wings in cadillac diner were actually very good. Mild and hot to choose from.

[keishashadow]

Originally Posted by cewtaldad

Volcano sail by was approximately 9:45 pm. Chicken wings in cadillac diner were actually very good. Mild and hot to choose from.

thanx
booked POA for next summer today!

[McDebbie]

Thanks for the review, we are thinking of going in October next year. Glad to hear you had a great time but seems it went by all too fast!

[Barbee524]

Originally Posted by McDebbie

Thanks for the review, we are thinking of going in October next year. Glad to hear you had a great time but seems it went by all too fast!

It always goes by too fast. We have a 14 day cruse next April and that will most likely also fly by

[flashdog_1]

Thanks for the review. You guys sure made hay while the sun shone on Maui!

[beachchick]

Originally Posted by Barbee524

Sorry for the confusion the reservations and charges I am talking about are only for the specialty restaurants. I think you can also make reservations for the dining rooms if you have a certain number of people in your party. I'm not sure what the number is since there were only 2 of us we could not make reservations for the dining room.

Though I still feel that having to make any reservations defeats the whole concept of "anytime, anywhere"

You don't have to make reservations for any venue. You can take your chances when you're ready to dine that there will be space at that exact time in the venue you choose. (Teppanyaki is different, of course; that is a tiny space with set dining times, so you can't just show up at 6:20 if the dining times listed are on the hour or half-hour.) You might have a wait if you want to eat at a popular place and at a crowded time, justs like on land.

The only way that "anytime, anywhere" could work in the way some people interpret it, that is to allow every single passenger to dine at the exact moment they want in the exact restaurant they choose, would be for every dining venue onboard to hold the entire complement of passengers because they'd have to assume that it's possible that everyone might want to dine in the same place and at the same time. Because there is no way to accomplish that (not enough space, crew, etc. for it to be logistically or even physically possible), there is a reservation system for those who choose to use it.

beachchick

[EricaLovesCats]

Originally Posted by njhorseman

I'm confused? Is it not true that you (OP Barbee524) are talking only about the specialty restaurants when referring to the reservations line and in particular the "charge for missed reservations"?

Sorry, it was me that was confused. I thought you did mean that you had to book a certain time for the regular (free) dining room. Family and I aren't rich so we don't want anything to do with all the specialty restaurants...we just want to use the included places like buffet and regular dining room. So to clarify, the regular dining room is free style dining? As in show up when you want? Or are only specialty restaurants freestyle and the dining room is traditional? Sorry all, I'm new to NCL.

[Barbee524]

All of the dining venues are free style. You can show up at the dining room anytime during the hours they are open.