Review of our September 10, 2011 cruise on the POA

About 9 months ago, my husband and I decided to celebrate our 43rd wedding anniversary with a cruise around the Hawaiian Islands on the Pride of America.

Unlike most who travel to Hawaii, we decided not to spend any extra time on the Island of Oahu, arriving the evening before our cruise and flying back home the afternoon of disembarkation. Although we are senior citizens and retired, our vacation time had to work with the schedule of our housesitter/dogsitter so we could only be gone for a week.

Having been thoroughly spoiled on our last 5 cruises (all to Alaska) with stays in suites, we opted for an Owner’s Suite on the Pride of America. We usually spend a lot of time in our cabin and love the extra space, the solitude, and all the “perks” that come with staying in a suite. Maybe it would be different on a Hawaiian cruise, but we still wanted some “down” time to spend in our suite.

Also, we opted not to rent cars in any of the ports as my husband didn’t want to do any of the driving so we booked excursions through NCL, Roberts of Hawaii, Ricky’s Tours & Marylou’s Tours.

YAY another review. Looking very forward to your Review !!

We leave in eight weeks. I can't wait to read your review.

FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 9, 2011

Our 6-hour Alaska Airlines flight left Seattle right on schedule at 5:40 PM arriving in Honolulu at 8:40 PM. We had arranged for Hawaii23 to pick us up at the airport and take us to the Embassy Suites Hotel where we were staying. We called Mark at Hawaii23 at 9:00 PM as we were still waiting for our luggage. Mark indicated to us since he was very busy, his friend, Ben, would be picking us up. When we finally got our luggage and went outside, we finally found Ben, and were off to our hotel. His minivan was rather new and very clean.

Departing view of Seattle and the Mercer Island floating bridge.

We arrived at our hotel and were greeted with a delicious glass of some type of Hawaiian juice or punch. Check-in went very quickly and we were in our suite on the 15th floor by about 9:55 PM. Our suite was very nice and quiet except for some early morning noises of what sounded like garbage trucks.

Embassy Suites bedroom

Embassy Suites living room

Embassy Suites bathroom

Since our bodies told us it was after 1:00 AM (Seattle time), we took our showers and went to bed.

Sorry the pictures are so big -- any ideas of how I can make them smaller?

YAY!!! I'm so excited to see that you have started your review!

I can't wait to see your pictures of that beautiful Owner's Suite! :D

I hope you don't make them smaller. When pictures are small it is hard to make them out. I really appreciate you taking time to post your review and with pictures it really makes it special.

Can't wait to read and see more. We leave in 11 weeks.

Thanks...Sheila

Looking forward to more of your review!!! I love the pics large, it is so much easier to see details. Thank you for taking the time to do this!!!:D

SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 10, 2011

I awoke early to a beautiful sunrise over Honolulu. We found Honolulu a little overwhelming since we weren’t used to the heat and humidity. And, we didn’t expect such a huge city with the skyline full of hotels and the traffic was horrendous.

View from our Embassy Suites Hotel room

Another view from our balcony

About 8:00 AM, we went down to our “complimentary cooked-to-order” breakfast, which was a breakfast buffet with an omelet line. Breakfast in the open air restaurant was pretty good and we really enjoyed the guava juice. Little birds were all over the place seeking handouts and any crumbs they could find.

After breakfast we headed off towards the beach to take some pictures.

Since we were getting uncomfortably hot and couldn’t find shade to sit in, we decided to visit the U.S. Army Museum of Hawaii. It is a very nice museum and it was nice and cool inside. It features the military history of the Hawaiian Islands from ancient times through the modern era. We probably spent about an hour there looking at all the displays. It was well worth our time.

Then it was time to head back to our hotel and finish packing as we wanted to arrive at the pier early. We took a taxi from our hotel to the pier which cost about $20 (with tip) and took about 15 to 20 minutes. We arrived at the pier about 11:00 AM with no crowds at all.

Our first view of the Pride of America from our taxi

11:15 AM and no lines for check-in

About 11:30 AM, a young lady came around placing shell leis on the men and flower leis on the women.

Small Priority Lounge

Since we had booked an Owner’s Suite, we waited in the Priority Lounge until it was time to board the ship. A little after noon, James, the Concierge, along with a couple of the butlers, escorted those staying in suites and penthouses on board the ship. We were taken to the Lanai Bar where we were greeted with complimentary champagne. Our butler, George R., took our carry-on luggage to our suite so we wouldn’t have to carry it around with us while we waited for cabins to be ready.

Lanai Lounge

We spent about 45 minutes in the Lanai Lounge sipping champagne and you had the opportunity to make reservations at any of the speciality restaurants, make spa appointments, etc. A little before 1:00 PM we were escorted down to Lazy J Steakhouse for lunch. Anyone staying in a suite or penthouse is eligible to enjoy a quiet breakfast and/or lunch every day at the Lazy J Steakhouse.

Our suite still was not ready when we finished lunch so we walked around the ship taking pictures and enjoying the views.

Aloha Tower

Diamond Head

Pool Area

A little after 2:00 PM we heard the announcement that some of the cabins were ready, ours included, so we set off to find our Owner’s Suite #12502.

Your photos are just lovely. They look like postcards! Can't wait for more. Can't wait for my cruise. Thanks for adding to my anticipation. More, more, more!

Judy B.

I still have a lot of pictures to edit but before I go further I wanted to mention a few other things:

Quick Overview

We had a very enjoyable cruise and it would have been even better if it wasn’t so hot and humid. We’re just not used to temperatures in the upper 80’s and low 90’s along with the high humidity.

Virtually everyone we met – crew, staff, servers, officers – had a smile and greeted us with “hello” or “aloha” – and many asked how our day was going.

When you’re standing in a line, take time to talk to the people in front or behind you. Ask them where they’re from – ask them what excursions they’ve enjoyed. It makes standing in line go much faster and you meet people from all over the United States and beyond. We had many (over 300) people on our cruise from Australia and enjoyed talking with many of them.

Try to get enough people in your roll call to agree to come to a “Meet & Greet”. Ours really didn’t get going until a few weeks before our cruise, but we set it up and had around 20 show up for a great meeting with Captain Buz Radican, Cary the Hotel Director, Frank the Food & Beverage Director, Alain the Executive Chef, Jamie the Beverage Manager, Chris the Bar Manager, Lauren the Cruise Consultant Manager, Rachel the Group Services Coordinator and others. It will only take about ½ hour of your afternoon and is very much worth it.

The Captain is very proud of his ship and his crew and is really interested in doing a good job and getting feedback from the passengers. On Friday, Captain Buz set up a follow-up meeting to hear from us what we liked and didn’t like about the cruise and to listen to any suggestions or questions we had. About 8 to 10 of his senior officers and staff also attended but only 6 Cruise Critics showed up. They all listened to us and made notes of what we said. It was very impressive that they took time out of their busy schedule for us.

Would you like to have dinner with a Ship’s Officer? Make sure you sign up for the “Officer’s Sponsored Dinner” which occurred for us on Tuesday night. You must sign up by Sunday, 5:00 PM, at the Guest Services Desk. Then, if your name is chosen, you’ll be notified by letter.

I can't wait to read more about how your cruise was Sandy. Your pictures are just right!

My kids are planning to wear their swimsuits under their clothes when we board, in hopes of finding one quiet moment in the pool. Your pool picture makes that prospect look very promising!:)

Did you take that picture after you had lunch? I know that they'll be scared off by all the activity at the pool during the cruise, so this may be the only time that they actually swim.

My kids are planning to wear their swimsuits under their clothes when we board, in hopes of finding one quiet moment in the pool. Your pool picture makes that prospect look very promising!:)

 

Did you take that picture after you had lunch? I know that they'll be scared off by all the activity at the pool during the cruise, so this may be the only time that they actually swim.

Yes, albertamom, I took the South Beach pool picture after lunch -- about 2:00 PM. There was also a smaller outdoor pool located aft on Deck 12 (Oasis Pool) but I didn't get a picture of that one.

Dining - We had no problems with the food as we found great food (including desserts) everywhere we ate. We felt the portions were adequate, especially if you want a 5-course dinner. And you could always ask for more if you wanted. A couple of times I couldn’t decide what I wanted for dessert, so I ordered one for eating in the restaurant and one to go so I could take it back to our room and eat it later.

The only real complaint we have is that we found the service in the Cadillac Diner to be very, very slow even though there were only a few people dining there.

Breakfast – We had breakfast 4 times in Lazy J Steakhouse and 3 times in our suite. The food was good and service was great! Breakfasts in our suite were always delivered at the time we had requested.

Lunch – We had lunch twice in Lazy J Steakhouse and it was very good. One day we had the chilled Apple soup in the buffet then made sandwiches and took them back to our suite. We had lunch once in the Skyline Restaurant and the food was outstanding! (The Skyline Restaurant is only open for lunch on Embarkation Day and Friday, noon until 2:00 both days.) One day we got burgers & hot dogs from the Key West Bar & Grill (potato chips, fries, potato salad also available) and took them back to our suite to enjoy.

We ate lunch off the ship at Kimo’s in Lahaina enjoying their delicious fish & chips and Hula Pie for dessert (a must). One of our excursions included lunch at the Maui Tropical Plantation which was a salad & sandwich buffet which was also enjoyable.

Dinner - Saturday was Lobster Night so we had dinner in the Skyline Restaurant. It was a small lobster tail with red snapper, rice pilaf and garden vegetables. We thought it was very good

On Sunday we had an early dinner in the Cadillac Diner since we had eaten an early lunch and at 7:00 PM we were invited to attend the VIP Captain’s Reception. The sandwiches we had were good, but the service was extremely slow.

On Monday we had dinner in Teppanyaki which was excellent and the chef was very entertaining. We were at a table for 8 and enjoyed meeting our fellow cruisers.

On Tuesday we dined in the Liberty Restaurant with the Cary the Hotel Director and Dave West, System’s Analyst, along with 2 other couples. It was great fun and the food and service was exceptional!

On Wednesday we had another enjoyable dinner at the Liberty Restaurant.

Thursday we went on a tour (Wailua River boat ride to Fern Grotto) with Roberts Hawaii Shore Excursions which ended with the Smith Family Luau. The food was delicious at the Luau and we enjoyed the hour-long show before we were driven back to the ship via a mini-bus. It was about 9:45 PM before we finally got back to our suite.

On Friday we enjoyed a wonderful dinner in Jefferson’s Bistro.

One complaint I did have had to do with our final bill. We started off with $550 of OBC, $300 of it showed on our invoice as “non-refundable” and $250 which we got with our NCL World Points was refundable. At the end of our cruise we had a $15.88 credit, which showed up as “unused non-refundable credit”.

Why don’t they use up the “non-refundable” credit first, and then use the part that is refundable? The $15.88 was not that much but it could have been much more. Anyway I went down to the reception desk the last morning and filled out a gratuity voucher to give that $15.88 to our butler, even though we had already given him a generous tip. You can indicate on that voucher anyone you want the gratuity to go to.

Since the gift shops were open that last morning, I guess I could have gone in and bought a couple of little souvenirs, but I didn’t think of that at the time.

I do suggest that every other day or so you go down to the reception desk and ask for a copy of your bill. It’s much easier to take care of any mistakes as they happen rather than wait for the last morning when you get your final bill.

We made it to our Owner's Suite #12502 shorlty after 2:00 PM, and here's what we saw:

The door to our suite, complete with doorbell!

Owner's Suite #12502 is the "Bird of Paradise" suite

A welcome sign to welcome us!

Our wonderful, hardworking room stewardess, Rebecca!

George Rodriguez, our wonderful butler!

A pretty bouquet of fresh cut flowers on our table!

More please!! We leave in just a month. Can't wait for the rest of your review!

Thanks for taking the time to do this, it's wonderful...

More please!! We leave in just a month. Can't wait for the rest of your review!

Thanks for taking the time to do this, it's wonderful...

Thanks, langleyfld, since CC only allows 6 pictures per post, I'll work on all the "suite" pictures I have, then get back to my review.:)

A fruit plate was on the dining room table.

And a bottle of champagne and sparkling water were on ice.

The mirrored and lighted entryway.

The coffee and bar area. The frig is in the cabinet right below the coffeemaker.

The living room area.

Looking from the living room area back towards the front door. The little half-bath is on the left just inside the front door.

Wonderful pictures and an interesting review!

Liking the the review as we will be on her in 5weeks and cant wait

Living room area and sliding door to deck. Yes, there is a CD/DVD player below the TV (and also one in the bedroom).

Dining area, desk next to large window and sliding glass doors to bedroom

Dining area and sliding glass doors to bedroom

Looking from the bedroom door towards the rest of the suite. The very small 1/2 bathroom is just behind the bar area.

Looking from the sofa towards the front door. The door on the right behind the dining area leads to the main bathroom.

On my last cruise (Nov. 2010) the CC Meet & Greet was in one of the Garden Villas. With 3 bedrooms, baby grand piano, private hotub, etc., it was awesome!! We have never spent much time in our cabin, but it would be a nice splurge one day. Right now though, I feel lucky to be going to Hawaii as we are planning a wedding for our youngest daughter for April 2012. The same date as the 100 anniversary of Titanic!! lol

Have enjoyed your reviewand Pictures so much--we are 5 seniors who are leaving on the Pride of America on Dec 3-and so looking forward to it!! Did you book the Smith family Lau through Robert's tours?