Pride of America Review 8/13/16

This is a review of the POA 8/13 Hawaii cruise. We had a great time!

Myself (47) and my DH (53) are originally from England, but now live in Phoenix, AZ. We have been on more than 15 cruises with this being our 3rd on Norwegian. We have sailed in categories from an outside cabin to an owner’s suite. We had been on land trips to all the Hawaiian islands before but it has been 15 years since our last visit.

Pre-Cruise

We had booked a non NCL package with a travel agent that provided two days hotel pre cruise, transfers and a Pearl Harbor tour. We arrived at 11:45 and were greeted at the gate with flower leis and transferred to our hotel. We stayed at the Ohana Waikiki Malia. It was basic but clean and in a great location, just a block from the main street. When we arrived we were told that our room would not be available for an hour so went out for a walk down to the beach and had lunch at Dukes. We split fish and chips and just watched the world go by. We headed back to the hotel where our room ready. Later we headed out into Waikiki and watched the sunset at the pier, it was so pretty. We waked around for an hour or so and eventually ended up eating a light dinner in an Irish Bar. The next morning we had an included city and Pearl Harbor tour which we enjoyed.

The travel agent we booked with offered $200 in excursion credit, not seeing a tour on the islands we wanted to take, we booked a sunset dinner cruise on the Star of Honolulu. The cruise left at 5:30pm and basically heads up the coast to Diamond Head. We had a buffet dinner than we wandered around the ship. There was also Hawaiian entertainment available to watch. We found a great table at the aft of the ship and stayed there for sunset. The Friday cruise also offers a view of the Friday night fireworks that are let off from the Hilton, this was an added bonus. The cruise is not something I would pay for as I think it is overpriced, but we enjoyed it for free and the views of the coastline were lovely.

On Saturday prior to embarkation we headed down to the beach parks at the far end of Waikiki then headed back to the hotel to shower and finish packing.

Embarkation

We were picked up at 12pm, arrived at the terminal around 12:30pm and were onboard by 1:10pm. I found the process efficient and the lines were short. As cabins were not yet ready we went to the skyline restaurant for lunch. The lunch menu had many good choices. After eating a leisurely lunch we wandered around the ship to get our bearings until the rooms were ready which for us was around 3:30pm. Our bags were already delivered and we immediately unpacked.

Ship

I really liked the ship. Being recently refurbished it felt new and clean. It also never felt crowded. The first few nights there was no one around after 10pm which was strange. We went for a drink in the Saloon Bar and were the only ones in there even though the Olympics were on the TV.

One annoying thing was that we really enjoy walking the promenade deck before retiring but they seemed to always be cleaning it between 9:30 and 11pm so you could not walk around.

Food

Food was pretty good. Buffet was standard buffet food but we always found something we liked. We sat in Moderno for breakfast which was less busy. We also ate in the main dining room 3 times for breakfast which was relaxing. Only had a couple of lunches on board as we were normally on shore. Ate once in the diner for a late lunch, but was not that impressed. Every evening apart from one we ate in Liberty. Twice we had to wait for a table the other times we were immediately seated. Food was good and we did not feel the need to book a specialty restaurant (first time ever we have no done so). We ate in East meets West one evening and enjoyed the change from the main dining room. If you want to eat in this restaurant you have to book early in the cruise as it filled up rather quickly.

Entertainment

Entertainment was average. Best show was Oh what a night, we had seen it on a cruise earlier in the year but it was still good. The magician was awful – we walked out. We saw two production shows (Las Vegas and Camera Light Dance) which were both quite good. We also went to a couple of trivia competitions.

Cabin

As this was a port intensive cruise we decided to just book an outside cabin. I was not expecting much but was pleasantly surprised. Reviews had been saying how small the rooms were but it was no smaller than on other NCL ships, perhaps even a tad larger as the bed was on the wall rather than in front of the window and we had a sofa next to the bed. On other NCL oceanview cabins there was no sofa. The room apart from bathroom appeared to have been recently refurbished. There was plenty of storage and the bed was comfy. We were in 4546 which was very quiet.

Maui

Day 1

We rented a car from Dollar ($33 for the day). The car rental shuttle lines are well organized at this port. We waited about 20 mins for the next shuttle as we just missed one. Once we arrived at the rental office the paperwork was quickly processed and we were on our way in about 10 mins. We drove to the IAO Valley and saw the needle. Next we stopped off at the Tropical Plantation which is very pretty and had a coffee and tea. From there we headed to Lahaina where a hula festival was taking place under the huge banyan tree in front of the courthouse. We wandered around the town and headed up to Kaanapali where we found a public beach and stayed there for a while. Overall a nice day. We dropped the car off and took the shuttle back to the ship.

Day 2

We booked a cycling tour down Mt Haleakala . We were picked up at the Longs near the cruise ship. We were then taken to their store for coffee and snacks prior to heading up the volcano. We had a tour of the summit then headed outside of the park to start our 26 mile downhill ride to Paia. We started with 10 riders and there were only 5 of us on the bikes by the end (the others retired to the van). The ride was pretty wet most of the way down as you ride through the clouds but it was fun with great views.

Hilo

We rented a car from Enterprise ($37). The shuttle lines were not signposted here and a rather rude lady was directing and shouting at everyone where to go. Luckily we had rented from the non airport location and the lines were shorted for that location. A shuttle arrived in about 10 mins and again the paperwork was quick and easy. We headed out to Volcano National Park. We stopped at the visitor center for some information and maps then headed to the Kilauea Iki Trailhead. This is an amazing 4.5 mile hike which takes you through rainforest onto the floor of a crater then ends at the Thurston Lava tube. It took us about 1hour 45 mins with several photo stops. From VNP we headed to the black sand turtle beach called Punaluu. It is a really pretty cove and we saw several turtles. From there we headed to the Punaluu bake shop for a light lunch (they have great priced sandwiches and pastries). Next we headed back to Hilo and stopped at Rainbow falls before returning the car. A shuttle was waiting to take us back to the ship

At 9:30 we were able to start seeing the lava flow into the ocean. There were multiple flows and the entire area was glowing a bright orange. An amazing view and we were so lucky this started back up a few weeks ago.

Kona

We had nothing specific planned for Kona but my DH had heard that his scuba diving for later in the cruise was cancelled, so he wanted to snorkel at this stop. We took the tender over to shore and were able to catch the first Kona Trolley of the day that was about to leave. This shuttle is only $2 and we took it to Kahaluu Beach Park. I relaxed on the beach reading whilst my DH snorkeled. He said there were plenty of fish and a handful of turtles to see. We took the 1:30pm shuttle back to town. We went to the Kona Brewing Co for a snack and a beer sample. After wandering around the town a little we headed back to the ship

Kauai

Day 1

We rented a car from Dollar for 2 days($53). Today we had booked a Kayak tour up the Waimea River.

We stopped in Kapaa on the way to the tour company office. Once there were were provided instructions, then taken to the river. We kayaked for about 50 mins up the river and docked so that we could hike to the waterfall. It had been raining and the trail was so muddy it was really difficult to walk in and people were constantly slipping. Close to an hour later we reached the waterfall. It is so pretty and it was a relief to be able to wash off all the mud. We had snacks then hiked back to our kayaks then kayaked back down the river to the waiting bus. Very fun but quite tiring. We parked at the Harbor Mall which cost $15 for overnight parking.

Day 2

We had planned to visit Waimea Canyon so got up early and walked to our car. Unfortunately there was an accident on the road to the canyon and we were diverted. About 30 mins of going nowhere we turned around and headed north. We decided to head to Hanalei instead. We stopped to see the Kilauea light house and a couple of scenic outlooks on the way to the town. Hanalei is a very cute town. We stopped for coffee/tea and wandered along the beach. We then headed back and stopped at Anahola beach park which is a really scenic and soft sand beach. We hit a lot of traffic coming back through Kapaa so you need to ensure you allow plenty of time to return the car. We were back on ship by 12:45.

At 5:15pm we started the Na Pali coast sail by. It was amazing. As we got closer the sun came out and cloud lifted. A double rainbow appeared it was just spectacular.

Debarkation

We had a relaxing breakfast in the Skyline restaurant. Our flight was not until 1pm so we stayed on the ship until they called the last group. This was around 9:10. There was hardly anyone leaving the ship so it was easy to exit. We choose self-debarkation so just wheeled our cases off. We used Uber to go to the airport and were through security by 10am.

We arrived home in Phoenix at 11pm that evening,

General

Half way through the cruise chocolates started appearing in our room at night. I was confused first of all why they started midway through a cruise then realized that we hit Silver level mid cruise.

This did not feel like a typical cruise as so much time is spent on land and there are no sea days so it took longer to get familiar with the ship.

Overall a very enjoyable time. It was tough to go back to work!

Let me know if you have any questions.

Interesting review, thank-you for sharing.

Thank you for your review, it was great! We are about to cruise on the POA in October - our first ever cruise! A quick question.... Were you offered a wine (bottles) or soft drink package on board? I can't seem to buy either of these on my NCL page. Thanks!

Glad you had a good time. NCL doesn't change your latitudes level until after the cruise is complete so not sure about the chocolate thing.

For the person asking about the wine package, they do have one where you can buy so many bottles for a set price. This info was posted on another thread months ago but I can't exactly recall the topic. Seem to recall you could buy up to 6 bottles on the ship. It was listed in the Dailies.

Very good review, thanks for taking the time to post it.

Horseymike :D

Are there porters at the Honolulu Cruise Port on embarkation day?

Thank you we are on this cruise next June, some helpful tips.

Great report! Thank you for sharing.

We were expecting a table setup in the atrium offering the wine and soda packages but there were none. However we asked a bar steward in the John Adams bar about the Vino Vivo package and he provided the paperwork for us to signup for it. Different packages for 4. 6 or 8 wines were offered. We selected the 4 wine package and found a nice Sauvignon Blanc and a Malbec we were happy with. Definitely a good deal. We had no problems getting our wine at any venue.

Thank you for your review, it was great! We are about to cruise on the POA in October - our first ever cruise! A quick question.... Were you offered a wine (bottles) or soft drink package on board? I can't seem to buy either of these on my NCL page. Thanks!

The setup in Honolulu was different to other ports we have visited. In Florida you normally drop off your bags with a porter before you enter the building. In Honolulu you took your bags inside and dropped them off at the scanner.

However I do remember seeing a handful of porters outside that were available for assistance if you needed it.

Are there porters at the Honolulu Cruise Port on embarkation day?

The room apart from bathroom appeared to have been recently refurbished.

Yes...everything was new following a drydock in March. We were on the first cruise post-drydock and they were still finishing up some of the work as we sailed the ship back to Hawaii from San Francisco.

At 9:30 we were able to start seeing the lava flow into the ocean. There were multiple flows and the entire area was glowing a bright orange. An amazing view and we were so lucky this started back up a few weeks ago.

I am officially JEALOUS...wishing we would have had this opportunity!!

Thanks so much for sharing your review...it was fun to read about what you did at each port.

We were very lucky to have seen the Lava flow.

We are going on this cruise in Feb. 2017 and your review was informative. Thanks for posting.