Beagle Feels Sincere "Pride Of America" - A Lengthy Trip Report w/Pics

DH did some packing and I reviewed our disembarkation information. We were given stickers, but I wasn’t about to put my luggage outside my door. I do most of my packing in the morning so that just doesn’t work for me.

By 6:15 we headed to the Hollywood theater for the Las Vegas show. It was good. After the show we headed one floor up to the Mardi Gras room for the adult comedy show with Michael Somerville. He was funny again and it was not raunchy or “too much”. He really played to his audience and everyone seemed to enjoy the show. I loved the Mardi Gras room and we had excellent seats. The picture is a bit blurry, but it gives you an idea.

We went to the Skyline for one last dinner. We saw our new friends from the rappelling trip. I think they enjoyed the whole cruise as much as we did.

DH had the NY Strip, Italian soup, and bibb salad.

I had the bibb salad and fried flounder. The salad was good, but the fish was just ok.

Up Next – Disembarkation, Pearl Harbor and Final Thoughts

Thanks, Beagleluv I have really enjoyed reading your reviews of Pride of America, I'm scheduled for July 14,2018. I've received a change in schedule, we will be at sea on Tuesday (no Hilo). I'm still excited just from reading your reviews. Thanks A Million

Hello Ksamcard,

Thank you for reading along. I'm glad your still excited about going. Thankfully you still get to stop at Kona. That was a great day. I think you will really enjoy the POA!

Thank you very much, Beagleluv for this fantastic review. I have enjoyed reading it and, although our cruise isn't until November, it has made us even more anxious for our cruise to get here.

Hey We B Cruzin,

I'm glad you have this booked. You will have a wonderful time!

Just booked this cruise today for January 2019. Following your adventure for now.Thanks for sharing.

 

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Hey Postal,

I am glad you have this booked for Jan 2019, I think that is prime time whale watching.

I hope you have a wonderful trip!!!!

Day – 10 Disembarkation, Pearl Harbor and Final Thoughts

I cannot believe this is coming to an end. This is the kind of trip that takes over a year to plan and poof, it’s over. :loudcry: Ok, here we go.

The buffet was so ridiculous that we made plates and went straight back to our room and ate on the balcony. We had booked our excursion through Norwegian, it was the Early Bird Pearl Harbor tour with an airport drop off. We had to meet at 7:45 in the Hollywood Theater. We were not the only people with luggage. I am so glad we kept it as it was very easy taking it with us.

We were escorted off the ship and on the bus by 8:06am. Our driver was Frank and on the drive, he gave some history about Pearl Harbor and explained how much time we had and when to return to the bus. When we arrived, we walked over as a group and then Frank gets tickets for our time to tour the USS Arizona Memorial. The times were 9:15 or 9:30. We had to be back on the bus by 11:30.

We were both so happy that we did not leave Hawaii without going and paying our respects.The 20-minute movie they play first, gives all the details of what led to that fateful day. When the lights came on and the movie stopped, the silence in that room very touching as everyone was trying to process it all. Some generations were reliving it, some generations were just learning it and other generations were getting a reminder of the tragedy. You could hear a pin drop, even the babies and toddlers didn’t make a sound. We all stayed in that silence while getting on the shuttle boat to go out to the memorial.

My pictures don’t do any justice here, but I’ll insert a few.

We were at the airport by 11:50. It was very hectic getting through security. It’s like the line didn’t move for a long time and then all of a sudden, we breezed right on thru. We went to the food court and stood in line at the Burger King for 40 minutes. Please try to avoid that if you can. That was DH’s craving and we had a long day of travel ahead and that didn’t start things off very well.

Goodbye Honolulu

We boarded our flight on time and everything went great with our layover in LAX. Our luggage made it on the tight connection as well. We did not have a minute to spare but, we made it!!

We left at 2:26 Saturday and walked into our front door at 10:30am Sunday morning without a wink of sleep. But it was all worth it.

FinalThoughts

I don’t have too many final thoughts as I’ve already made a long report, longer!!

I really liked the ship itself. It was easy to get around and had plenty of bars, restaurants and seating. The buffet is just too busy at 7am because everyone has a full day of excursions planned and they need to eat and go. The dining room staff was always pleasant and efficient. I did miss getting to know the staff and being at the same table at the same time every night. I know many people don’t like assigned times but that really works for us and keeps us on schedule. If you have an idea of when you are going to dinner, you can make reservations for the Liberty and Skyline dining rooms.

The staff all over the ship did a great job and we thought everyone was friendly. The few standouts were David, the manager at the Waikiki Bar and Casey, the manager of the Gold Rush Saloon. Of course, I can’t forget Tamara, our room steward. She was really funny and super sweet.

I’ve had many people ask me if I would go back. Probably not and only because of the distance and the cost. We really did love every minute of our trip, but we can take 3-4 vacations for what this trip cost. I don’t foresee us going back but never say never.;)

If I can answer any questions, just let me know.

Thank you all so much for following along.

Thank you for your great review! I have been following along and your review has made me even more excited for my trip at the end of the month :)

I'm sure I have a ton of questions for you but my one question at the moment... what was the approximate time of the Na Pali coast sail by? Trying to plan out my evening and figure out dinner plans. Thanks so much!

Thanks for the great review, and for letting me re-live our POA adventure with you. It took us almost 35 years to get back to Hawaii after honeymooning there, and we found the POA a great way to do it.

The unspooling of your review over the last few weeks and the timing of its conclusion has been perfect prep as we are about to start packing for our week pre-cruise on Oahu. The review has given me some great insight into the ship and what to expect, even though we will no longer be visiting the big island at all [emoji22]. I guess that gives me a reason (as if I’d need one) to try to go back someday!

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Thanks for including your Pearl Harbor experience. Just got word today that the JULY 26 cruise WILL NOT go to the big island. Read they had 500 earthquakes yesterday (mostly tremors, I imagine) and that there was one lava flow that was 20 feet tall. Such destruction, so sad. Now we're boarding the ship on Saturday as scheduled but will overnight in Honolulu and have the entire day Sunday there as well. Any suggestions of what to do or not do in Honolulu?

I saw your picture of the leis. Does NCL give them to everyone ?

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I saw your picture of the leis. Does NCL give them to everyone ?

 

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Yes, right after you pass security.

Yes, right after you pass security.

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Thanks. We leave Tues morning for Honolulu and then board Sat.

 

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Enjoy your trip!

Thank you for your great review! I have been following along and your review has made me even more excited for my trip at the end of the month :)

 

I'm sure I have a ton of questions for you but my one question at the moment... what was the approximate time of the Na Pali coast sail by? Trying to plan out my evening and figure out dinner plans. Thanks so much!

Hey Ecourtney,

Sorry for the delay. I’m going to say that we did the sail by between 4-5. Have a great time!

Thanks for including your Pearl Harbor experience. Just got word today that the JULY 26 cruise WILL NOT go to the big island. Read they had 500 earthquakes yesterday (mostly tremors, I imagine) and that there was one lava flow that was 20 feet tall. Such destruction, so sad. Now we're boarding the ship on Saturday as scheduled but will overnight in Honolulu and have the entire day Sunday there as well. Any suggestions of what to do or not do in Honolulu?

Hey KYborn,

I wish I had more advice. We spent our precruise time on Waikiki beach. We loved hiking Diamond Head. A friend told me there was an excursion riding ATV’s but I never even looked into that.

Good luck and I hope you have a great cruise!

I saw your picture of the leis. Does NCL give them to everyone ?

 

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Hey Hvac,

The ladies got a nice lei and the men were given the beads. I later saw the beads at a store for $1.99. I insisted Hubby keep his but I don’t see him ever wearing that again. :p

I'm so glad you mentioned this in your current review.  I just now finished reading and really enjoyed reading it and your beautiful pictures.  I feel terrible that the weather didn't seem to cooperate on your trip.  Even with the wet weather you're pictures are really beautiful.  When we were in Oahu for the 5 days (Sep. 2017), we were debating on whether to hike up Diamond Head or go to one of the other overlooks and went to the other one.  Kicking myself now after seeing your pictures, especially the one with the view overlooking Waikiki Beach. 

I know you mentioned you're prone to motion sickness - I am too.  I tried ginger on one cruise and it just didn't cut it one of the days when the water was choppy, so I stick to my loyal friend, Dramamine non-drowsy.  But when we were flying into Honolulu on our trip to Hawaii, our landing pattern was similar to yours from your pictures, but we flew in a over the mountains instead of around Diamond Head (did get those views on the flight home), but other than that, it was the same from the pictures you posted.  Ours was the 9.5 hour flight and as we were approaching landing I was really enjoying it and the scenery, until I could feel that turning in my gut, but luckily we were five minutes from landing.  I grabbed the barf bag and told my DH if we don't land soon, I'll be needing it.  Lol!!!  But I'd never felt motion sickness on a flight before and was curious if you felt that way too, just before landing.  I didn't even think to take any Dramamine with me on that trip, but no issues before landing on our flight home.  We've never done a helicopter tour and I really loved your pictures of that.  I did recognize a few of the places we were while there, but from a much different perspective.  Did you take something for motion sickness for the helicopter tour?  We'd love to do one someday.  Friends of ours did a helicopter tour in San Juan the morning before they got on Valor on their Valor cruise out of San Juan and I'd just love to do that, but if necessary, I'll be prepared with my loyal friend.  

Again, I really enjoyed this and do hope to get back to Hawaii someday.  There is still so much we'd love to see and do.  We went with a wholesale vacation package, but one that just covered all flights, hotel, rental cars so we could do our own thing.  It was a lot less expensive that way than we thought.  Friends of ours did an Alaskan cruise on Legend that same year and their cruise (one week) was more than we paid for the 2 weeks in Hawaii.  But like you said, that price is still more than 2 - 3 cruises.  🙂

On 4/20/2019 at 12:53 PM, pghsteelerfan said:

I'm so glad you mentioned this in your current review.  I just now finished reading and really enjoyed reading it and your beautiful pictures.  I feel terrible that the weather didn't seem to cooperate on your trip.  Even with the wet weather you're pictures are really beautiful.  When we were in Oahu for the 5 days (Sep. 2017), we were debating on whether to hike up Diamond Head or go to one of the other overlooks and went to the other one.  Kicking myself now after seeing your pictures, especially the one with the view overlooking Waikiki Beach. 

I know you mentioned you're prone to motion sickness - I am too.  I tried ginger on one cruise and it just didn't cut it one of the days when the water was choppy, so I stick to my loyal friend, Dramamine non-drowsy.  But when we were flying into Honolulu on our trip to Hawaii, our landing pattern was similar to yours from your pictures, but we flew in a over the mountains instead of around Diamond Head (did get those views on the flight home), but other than that, it was the same from the pictures you posted.  Ours was the 9.5 hour flight and as we were approaching landing I was really enjoying it and the scenery, until I could feel that turning in my gut, but luckily we were five minutes from landing.  I grabbed the barf bag and told my DH if we don't land soon, I'll be needing it.  Lol!!!  But I'd never felt motion sickness on a flight before and was curious if you felt that way too, just before landing.  I didn't even think to take any Dramamine with me on that trip, but no issues before landing on our flight home.  We've never done a helicopter tour and I really loved your pictures of that.  I did recognize a few of the places we were while there, but from a much different perspective.  Did you take something for motion sickness for the helicopter tour?  We'd love to do one someday.  Friends of ours did a helicopter tour in San Juan the morning before they got on Valor on their Valor cruise out of San Juan and I'd just love to do that, but if necessary, I'll be prepared with my loyal friend.  

 

Again, I really enjoyed this and do hope to get back to Hawaii someday.  There is still so much we'd love to see and do.  We went with a wholesale vacation package, but one that just covered all flights, hotel, rental cars so we could do our own thing.  It was a lot less expensive that way than we thought.  Friends of ours did an Alaskan cruise on Legend that same year and their cruise (one week) was more than we paid for the 2 weeks in Hawaii.  But like you said, that price is still more than 2 - 3 cruises.  🙂

Hey there,

Thanks for reading my Hawaii review. That was by far the greatest vacation of my life. We did so much in such a short time. I hope you get back there soon. I loved the helicopter tour and didn’t think about getting air sick but I was feeling it the last five mins. My motion sickness seems to have a mind of its own. Sometimes I don’t feel quite right on a flight landing and other times I’m great. I don’t take the non drowsy Dramamine or use the scopolamine patch unless it’s a dire emergency. They make me feel lethargic and dry me out. Food and drinks don’t taste good either so I try to avoid them. I feel so bad for motion sickness sufferers! It’s not fair. I would love to go out deep sea fishing but I don’t dare. 

Thanks again for finding this post! 

Thank you so much for this!!

I'm booked on PoA for July 10, 2021 as part of a trip to celebrate my 50th birthday - a couple of days in Honolulu pre-cruise and probably 4-5 days at Disney's Aulani after the cruise. It may be 809 days from embarkation, but hey...never too early to start planning!

On 4/20/2019 at 9:53 AM, pghsteelerfan said:

. 

I know you mentioned you're prone to motion sickness - I am too.  I tried ginger on one cruise and it just didn't cut it one of the days when the water was choppy, so I stick to my loyal friend, Dramamine non-drowsy.  But when we were flying into Honolulu on our trip to Hawaii, our landing pattern was similar to yours from your pictures, but we flew in a over the mountains instead of around Diamond Head (did get those views on the flight home), but other than that, it was the same from the pictures you posted.  Ours was the 9.5 hour flight and as we were approaching landing I was really enjoying it and the scenery, until I could feel that turning in my gut, but luckily we were five minutes from landing.  I grabbed the barf bag and told my DH if we don't land soon, I'll be needing it.  Lol!!!  But I'd never felt motion sickness on a flight before and was curious if you felt that way too, just before landing.  I didn't even think to take any Dramamine with me on that trip, but no issues before landing on our flight home.  We've never done a helicopter tour and I really loved your pictures of that.  I did recognize a few of the places we were while there, but from a much different perspective.  Did you take something for motion sickness for the helicopter tour?  We'd love to do one someday.  Friends of ours did a helicopter tour in San Juan the morning before they got on Valor on their Valor cruise out of San Juan and I'd just love to do that, but if necessary, I'll be prepared with my loyal friend.  

 

 

I have motion sickness and I take Bonine before every plane ride and daily on cruise. 

Thanks so much for this awesome review.  I loved it!  Hawaii has been on my bucket list for a while and based on my research, a cruise on POA is the way to go since it visits each island.  I've done only one NCL cruise; it was my first cruise ever - on the Epic.  As others have mentioned, I've heard some negative things about POA so I loved reading your review.  I'm definitely going to look into this.

Just got through reading your wonderful review.  Our sale date is August 24, 2019- Doing this cruise to celebrate our 40th anniversary, on the 25th-- We did this cruise on the old Hawaiian American cruise line, in the 1980's-- Did the 15 night deal on Princess--

and have done the big island staying at condos----  

I just hope that we don't miss any ports like  the two sailings coming up in July--- but when taking a cruise, one needs to take  the attitude of just "going with the flow"---no pun intended, tee hee.  At least if told a month in advance, one can go to a "plan B" so to speak.  

Regarding one of the shows- Lights, Camera, Action---- We are always exhausted after a snorkel trip, which we will be doing on day 2 in Maui--  Is this a "can't miss kind of show?"  Is this the one with  "Singing in the Rain" and stuff like that?  Do you remember what other songs are done?  

If you can post the dailies, that would be appreciated.  Anita