Help with Pride of America

[jenmouse]

We are preparing to book a cruise on Pride of America that will hopefully include several members (and generations) of our family. For my husband, sons, and me, we are looking at booking a balcony stateroom. I heard that the volcano you pass is no longer active; is that true? And taking that into consideration, do you have a preferred side of the ship for the best scenery?

 

I was also reading reviews of the luau at Kauai. A lot of reviewers said it was a "do not miss" shore excursion, and wonderful. Others said the the food was horrible, and the buses back to the ship were worse. Has anyone done this shore excursion, and if so, can you share your experience?

 

Any other tips or feedback that you can share would be excellent. Thanks!

[conandrob240]

My parents just came off this cruise last week and they said it was wonderful. There IS an active volcano flow right now. There had not been a flow for a while but it is flowing now. They said the captain passed it twice to give both sides of the ship a good look and he did the same along the Napaali coast.

 

In our experience at luaus, the food isn't what you go for. Think typical buffet food- never going to be great. If you have any nights prior to the cruise, do the luau there in Honolulu. Paradise Cove is. Good luau with good food and you won't have to waste a ship night.

[jenmouse]

I'm okay with okay food, just not horrible. We will be in Hawaii for a few nights before the cruise, so doing the luau there may be an idea. Hopefully the lava will still be flowing when we go. It won't be until summer 2015, but we need to get this going since there are so many of us, and it did open for booking already.

[DaisyGoldberg]

If you select the Manor House option you get express service to the luau -- a small motorcoach that leaves first, a leisurely ride on the train (no lines for these or photos), first dibs on the shopping area, an escort to a private multicourse meal a short walk away on a lovely outdoor patio with live music and torchlight, a short walk back to front row seats, a good show, and an escort back to your coach that leaves immediately.

 

No lines, no crowds except at the show itself where you're whisked to the tables closest to the stage. Food was very good. I saw the buffet line that the majority of the luau folks got -- no comparison.

 

I think the price difference is $40. More than worth it -- you'll likely be back on the ship before the first big motorcoach leaves the luau.

[jenmouse]

That sounds really nice, Daisy. I looked at Paradise Cove and it is less than the Manor House, BUT I have Fibromyalgia and my father-in-law has had knee surgery, so something exclusive like that may be the way to go. I will have to talk to the group (we have time) and see what they think.

[tip]

I would certainly recommend the port side. Evenif the lava is not flowing, you will get an excellent view of the Napali coast.

 

I would avoid the ship's excursions if at all possible. They are way overpriced. We went to the luau at Paradise Cove while we were in Honolulu pre-cruise. A bus will pick you up at a hotel and will drop you off just steps from the luau. We found seats at a table right in front of the stage. The food was good and the show was a great deal of fun.

[genealogyfan]

When we went in April we sailed North of the Island of Hawaii as the volcano wasn't flowing

 

In regards to the luau on Kauai we went to the Smith Family luau via Roberts Hawaii - had NO issue with buses

 

The place was fully crowded. We were bused (about 10 of us) from the ship - it was a great luau -arrived got a tram tour of the gardens, dinner was good, and so was the entertainment

 

We joined about maybe 5 or 6 other people from another tour on the way back so our bus had maybe 15 people on it going back

 

What I did see what maybe 4 or 5 huge buses of people going on the cruise sponsored luau that night - each bus was full. I heard that it took a long time to get back on the buses (the luau via the cruise was to another luau not the Smith Family one)

[kato92]

one ship tour I do recommend is the Halehakali(sp?) sunrise tour. Amazing sight! Dress warm if you go, it is very cold up there and dark. Bring a flashlight.

[Lady Anna & Sir Troy]

When we were on: the starboard went slowly past the volcano, then the ship turned so the port could get a glimpse. It was portside for the Na Pali Coast viewing.

 

We had dolphins swim up by our balcony in Hawaii and that was one of the coolest sights we have seen in our life!!

 

L.A.S.T.

[Ilovesailing]

Having done this cruise 3 times on POA definitely book an aft cabin as you will get to see lava if it's flowing and its perfect for Napali Coast. Some prefer the front of ship for Napali but we see more sea life such as whales dolphins aft ship. We also were able to see lavea flowing on our cruise in 2008 and because we were aft we got to see it for what felt like a much longer time.

[Molokai-Chuck]

I am a port side person for the POAm sailings.

 

Chuck

[Zchiliman]

First, I would do a port side balcony as well, while both sides are fine. While the volcano is quite a sight, the na pali coast is breathtaking, which is on the port side, and is not to miss. That being the case, we always enjoy the na pali coast sail by in the aft hot tub:D!

 

Regards to the Luau, Imagine 1200 people all together in this lovely warehouse enjoying this luau. Not playing down how great the show is, but we were slightly disappointed in the luau just because of the crowds. When people complain about the food... Hawaiian food is just not that good. Its a lot of starches and meat, so there is not tons of flavor in any traditional hawaiian meal. That being said, I would look at doing a luau at a more intimate venue on Oahu or on Maui. I don't think you would regret doing this excursion, but I would try to find an independent luau .

[jenmouse]

Thank you all so much - you are really helping us! We booked cabin 9644. I can't believe how few balcony staterooms they have that sleep four! We are getting excited because we have more family members going than we thought we would. I think for the luau we will either do the Paradise Cove one or do the Manor House option for the ship sponsored one. Of course, we have a while to decide. And this may be something the group wants to stick together for, so we will need a group discussion. If anyone else has feedback, please keep it coming! I really appreciate you all taking the time to share.

[Katemusical]

My hubby and I leave in two days on our cruise...YAY! We are going to the Old Lahaina Luau in Maui...we know from other folks how great this luau is. Yes, you have to provide your own transportation, but it is suppossed one of the best in all of the islands.

ALOHA!

[MelissaFreed]

I'm not sure how flexible you are with your schedule, but we did the Old Lahaina Luau in Maui. We rented a car and made the 30-40 minute drive to Lahaina. Car rentals in Hawaii are so easy and cheap. They all send shuttles to the piers, counter service was fast. We rented at almost every port, usually through Thrifty. Lahaina is a cute town that you could definitely spend all day in. The Luau itself was fantastic. Not very large, so it was nice. Its right on the beach.

[ClaireAndMike]

My sister and I did that cruise last December. I think that starting in March 2011 there was no lava flow (I'd been monitoring cruise critic and reading all the POA reviews I could find) and had fully expected NOT to see any but a few hours before dark on Tuesday of our cruise (Hilo to Kona), the cruise director came over the loudspeaker and said that lava had been spotted and "hopefully" we'd be able to see it that night. Also that it was the first time in months that lava had been visible. Supposedly. I think it was one of the coolest sights I had ever seen in my life and was probably even more special because I didn't plan on seeing it. It was a complete surprise.

 

We didn't do the luau so I can't speak to that.

 

It was absolutely the best trip ever.