Very Long Review of Pride of America Nov 8-18, 2012

[hill6]

A little after 5 p.m. we got to the NaPali Coast. We watched part of it on our balcony before we headed up to Little Italy for dinner. Folks gathered along the railing on the aft side but you were easily able to go around the barrier to get to the railing for pictures. The view was spectacular. Once we turned away from the coast the crowds left/

 

 

Little Italy has recently changed their menu. I had the Caprese salad and shrimp risotto. They were delicious.

 

We made the show this night. It was a combination show the comedian was there, the Frankie Vallie and the Four Seasons Tribute was there and they had the ship’s crew come on stage at the end.

 

 

This is what we had also seen from the top of Waimea Canyon the day before.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Part of the crew singing at the end of the show. The guy in the blue shirt is the cruise director. Very nice gentleman. We met him at the Meet and Greet and spoke to him all week.

[hill6]

Before I forget, let me talk about the buffet in detail. I liked the layout of the buffet on NCL. The buffet food was pretty good; however I do give the edge to Carnival a bit on this one. I think Carnival has a little more variety for some things and they offer stuff like homemade chips and salsa at lunch daily. One day the buffet was Spanish themed and the food contained a lot of olives. I despise olives. Carnival pizza is a little better (not a deal breaker). NCL does win for a few things they do have on their buffet. They sell liquor from a station in the buffet. You could get a beer, wine or a mixed drink. They also had pretzel rolls that were superb at dinner time. I would grab one of them and also the fresh made crepes for dessert. The banana filled ones with fresh made whipped cream were to die for. The buffet area also had a section of kid sized tables and chairs with a kid sized buffet station. It was adorable. Mike liked the macadamia nut cookies at dinner time. They seemed to run out of them really fast (please make more). Also around 9 pm a number of the crew went to the buffet to eat. It was nice to see that they ate the same food as the guests did. They also sat in the buffet area.

[psyfi]

Debbie and Mike, any recollection of how long the scenic sail by of the Na Pali coast lasted? You said you got there about 5, an hour? Thanks!

[rocklinmom]

Hi Debbie,

Thank you again for this wonderful review! We go next July and I can't wait. I have three picky kids/teens and was wondering if you could give me an idea of food options on POA. Specifically if you saw the following:

chocolate chip cookies

chocolate chip pancakes

fettucini alfredo

I'm thinking the Aloha Cafe will be the way to go, but am hoping that the dining rooms will have some good kid options too.

[MSUcruisers]

We munched on them as we packed and waited to get near the NaPali Coast on the north side of Kauai.

Do you remember what time you sailed by the Napali Coast? We want to make reservations on the Teppanyaki for the last evening of our POA cruise. We generally eat early, but can book later to make sure we don't miss Napoli.

[hill6]

We munched on them as we packed and waited to get near the NaPali Coast on the north side of Kauai.

Do you remember what time you sailed by the Napali Coast? We want to make reservations on the Teppanyaki for the last evening of our POA cruise. We generally eat early, but can book later to make sure we don't miss Napoli.

 

 

I would do the 7:30 pm dining for the Teppanyaki. The first seating is 5:30. That would be cutting it too close.

[hill6]

Debbie and Mike, any recollection of how long the scenic sail by of the Na Pali coast lasted? You said you got there about 5, an hour? Thanks!

 

We started to see the coastline a bit before 5. I think it was over by 5:40 give or take a few minutes. You turn around and then start to sail away from the coast but you can still see for a bit.

[hill6]

Hi Debbie,

Thank you again for this wonderful review! We go next July and I can't wait. I have three picky kids/teens and was wondering if you could give me an idea of food options on POA. Specifically if you saw the following:

chocolate chip cookies

chocolate chip pancakes

fettucini alfredo

I'm thinking the Aloha Cafe will be the way to go, but am hoping that the dining rooms will have some good kid options too.

 

There are quite a few different food stations up on the buffet area.

 

I did see chocolate chip pancakes one morning on the buffet. They had different type of pancakes daily so they will only be there one day. Same thing with the scrambled eggs. They did have waffles daily.

 

There is a pasta station at dinner time. Not sure if alfredo sauce was available.

 

Each night on the buffet they had cookies. I am pretty sure they had chocolate chip daily.

[psyfi]

We started to see the coastline a bit before 5. I think it was over by 5:40 give or take a few minutes. You turn around and then start to sail away from the coast but you can still see for a bit.

 

Thanks!

[rocklinmom]

Thank you for the food info! :)

[hill6]

Your very welcome.

[hill6]

Saturday, November 17th. Today we got off the Pride of America. It was pouring rain when we returned to Honolulu. Debarkation was painless. We got our debarkation time from the board they had setup in the lobby a few days earlier. You pull the time you wanted to leave. We took 8 am which was the earliest figuring we could then get off any time we wanted. They called our number a bit before 8 am and we were off the ship right away. No customs to clear. We then waited almost 40 minutes for the Thrifty shuttle from the Waikiki location. Once again another strike for that location, also not impressed with the driver’s attitude. They seemed to act like they didn’t have our reservation and wasn’t sure if they could help us. It was very strange. We get there and it starts to pour once again. It is an outdoor location and our bags got soaked. The only positive is that once we got the car we went right to our second hotel, Outrigger Waikiki as it was just down the road. We were able to check right in and go to our room. It was a bit after 9 am. Our room was on the 6th floor and was an ocean front room with a Jacuzzi. Wish we were there longer to enjoy it more.

 

 

Room 626

 

 

 

 

 

[hill6]

After changing into dry clothes we drove back to Pearl Harbor to tour the USS Missouri and the Aviation Museum. The Missouri is a great thing to explore. The ship served a huge part in our history. It was amazing to think that we were at the spot where WWII ended with Japan and seeing the documents that were signed ending the war. DH and I were both in the Navy so it has some extra special meaning to us. The aviation museum was ok but I thought it could have been a little better. We ate lunch at the museum. The food was ok. Not great but not bad. On the bus ride back to the main parking area we saw Aloha Stadium where they play the Pro Bowl.

 

 

Pearl Harbor Survivor

 

 

 

 

 

Document ending WWII with Japan

[hill6]

After leaving the museum we went over to Hilton Hawaiian Village to check it out. We had a reservation to stay there in November 2011 but never made it when the trip was cancelled. It was huge and I was kind of happy we didn’t end up staying there. It was too big. We walked around for a half an hour, found the penguins and then left.

 

 

 

The rainbow on the side of the tower looked different than what I remember seeing pictures of.

 

 

 

We went back to the Outrigger and went to the beach for a while. We had dinner that night at Dukes. Had a coupon for a free dessert from one of the many magazines we picked up. After dinner we went shopping and got all the last minute souvenirs we needed. We got a bunch of souvenirs at the International Marketplace. The further you walk back the better the deals get.

[hill6]

 

 

 

Made out of sand.

 

 

View from our balcony at night.

[hill6]

Sunday, November 18th. We were up early and had breakfast at Hula Grill in the hotel. Had a coupon for a free pineapple dish that we also got out of a magazine. Nice quick breakfast and reasonable pricing. After breakfast we went and climbed to the top of Diamond Head. OMG what a climb that was. It was a very long and very tiring climb. We almost gave up a few times. It was very uneven and steep. I don’t understand how folks ran up (or down) it. I would have face planted many times. I understand the shirts that say I survived the climb of Diamond Head. We eventually made it to the top and the view was spectacular.

 

 

 

You can see some of the twisting paths up the mountain. The parking lot is in the middle of the photo on the right side. It just kept twisting and turning.

 

 

the long and winding road. Towards the top they threw in lots of stairs too.

 

 

 

[hill6]

 

the view was breathtaking from the top. The Outrigger Waikiki is just to the right of the pink hotel.

 

 

 

You can see how built up Honolulu is.

[hill6]

After Diamond Head we returned to the hotel and had lunch at the Cheesecake Factory next door (we didn’t eat in any other chain restaurants on the trip but this was right next to the hotel and they had a lunch menu and we got to watch football). We ate at a high top in the bar and watched football. I think we paid about $1 more for each of our entrees than at the Cheesecake Factory by our house. After lunch we went back to the beach and did the one thing that was left on my list of things to do. Ride in an outrigger canoe. The one thing I didn’t realize is that you provide the power. I got in the first seat which is also the wettest seat. I got a few facefuls of water. We went out and rode the waves in twice. The place we did it through gave us a CD with some pictures on it (Royal Hawaiian Hotel – the pink one). It is an amazing memory.

 

 

 

 

[hill6]

After the beach we went upstairs, showered, and packed our suitcases. We had dinner at Hula Grill in the hotel and used another coupon for free Caesar salads and a dessert. The view is amazing there at sunset - Especially if it the last one on the islands.

 

 

 

 

 

 

We returned the rental car to the Thrifty location near the airport and caught the shuttle immediately to the airport. We went through security and waited in the United Club. The flight back to Denver on United was horrible. The seats were extremely uncomfortable and we were in first class. Hardly got any sleep. Our flight from Denver to Newark was much better. We landed on time and our luggage was off the plane almost immediately.

[hill6]

Summary. If you have just over a week to go to Hawaii and you want to see/do as much as possible, the Pride of America is the way to go. The ship is in great shape, the crew is fantastic and very caring, you have entertainment included, and a tremendous variety of dining options. Having taken nine Carnival Cruises (and two Princess ones), I am partial to Carnival and use that as my basis for comparison. I know that this will not be our last NCL cruise. We live close to the NYC port and will most likely cruise NCL from there next.

 

 

If you go to Hawaii, plan, plan, plan. I researched the trip heavily and used quite a few recommendations from Cruising Goddess’ review. She wrote timeframes for going places. I knew the trips were doable. Also do not wait to get there to try to book a car. Some folks we spoke to on our bus for Road to Hana did not book a thing and the rental cars were all gone. They spent the entire first day in Maui on the ship. Also look online for codes for stuff like the rental cars. I found a code that saved us a significant amount off of the original prices I had the cars reserved for. Our cars ended up costing just over $400. They were originally over $600. Also pick up the coupon books in each port. We got some free food as you read.

 

I would book this trip again in a minute. We did so much but there is so much that we didn’t do – particularly on the island of Kauai. The only thing I would do differently is build in more time to relax. We were exhausted and our feet hurt from all the walking, climbing and hiking. (If you hike there are many places to hike there). If you are willing to drive on your own, do it. The ship’s tours are on larger buses and often cannot go as far as a car can.

 

Here is a link to all of my pictures if you are interested in looking at them.

 

http://www.flickr.com/photos/hill6/

 

I THINK IT WAS THE BEST VACATION I HAVE EVER TAKEN!!! WE HAVE A LIFETIME OF MEMORIES.

[puddles99]

Thanks again for this extensive review - can't wait for our own POA adventure in a few months :D

[KCTravel]

Awesome review Debbie!! Very informative and great pictures. Looks like the outrigger canoe was fun!

Karen

[Sunny AZ Girl]

Thank you for the wonderful review! I agree....the trip of a lifetime!

 

God willing, we will return in 2014. This time we will be cruising on the Rhapsody of the Seas to enjoy the 5 days at sea (I really do enjoy my sea days). We only chose that cruise because it still spends 7 days in the islands, like the POA and we can still spend our precious 4 days pre-cruise on the North Shore. Otherwise I would stick with the POA for sure. It is a wonderful ship as you say. They are working very hard to make it better every day.

[Aussiegirl58]

Thankyou for such an enjoyable and informative review. We will be doing this cruise in May 2013 and can hardly wait. The outrigger canoe ride is something I am looking at for my hubby and friends to do. The photos look good.

[hill6]

Thanks everyone. Ginny the round trip from the US would be nice but I think the POA you get so much more time to enjoy the islands.

 

Karen, glad you enjoyed it.

 

The outrigger canoe ride was really fun. I think it was a great way to end the vacation.