PRIDE OF AMERICA - Extensive Review & Hundreds of Pictures!

[ragbagger]

:D Ernie

Thanks so very much for your excellent review and photos. We're first-time cruisers sailing on the PoAm the 30th of this month. Every tidbit of info we find adds to the anticipation! Jolly good show!

 

Best regards,

[stargazers]

We were on the Panama Canal cruise and just got off on Friday. While our cabin was fine, others in our group also had issues with housekeeping, especally when first getting on. I know our steward left as soon as we got to L.A. I'm sure they knew he was going, he told us on our first day on board. We were in 9036 and it looked like his supervisor was working on his rooms when we got off-she did not look happy. We were late getting off, but hey, that just meant I could stay on longer! :) They said we could stay in our rooms while waiting, that may have delayed some of the housekeeping. While a lot of the blame goes to the individual, I'm starting to think the supervisors may need some additional training. They should catch these sort of things before the passengers get on board.

 

All in all, we had a great cruise, and I would do it again. It was nice to hear of your gift on disembarkation. They had those on sale in the gift shop....we did not get any remembrance for being on the first paying passenger cruise, just our Latitude pins stating Pride of America. :rolleyes:

 

Kristy

[crewsin250]

Hi Ernie, your reveiw and photos are great!!

 

I have one request if you don't mine, is there any way you could e-mail me a photo of your Inaugural Gift.

 

I have a lot of interest in this ship, because I worked on her for a year and a half at Ingalls in Pascagoula, Ms. the birthplace of the Pride of America. I will also be sailing on her 12/31/05 and the anticipation of the shipbuilder and ship reunion is so exciting.

 

Thank You

Paul

crewsin250@yahoo.com

[azjocruiser]

Ernie - She is beautiful!! thank you for sharing - seems a lot of people have been waiting patiently for such an extensive posting. Can't wait to board on 7/23 - Joanne :)

[Cruising89143]

Ernie, great review and pics as always. I would not have been a happy camper with my room not being cleaned.

 

Overall the ship looks nice. Some areas looked like Joe Farcus had a hand in decorating. Still do not like the fact that she has no bow but I guess her interiors makes up for her exterior shortcomings.

 

Thanks again for sharing.

 

Gordon

[eroller]

Hi Ernie, your reveiw and photos are great!!

 

I have one request if you don't mine, is there any way you could e-mail me a photo of your Inaugural Gift.

 

I have a lot of interest in this ship, because I worked on her for a year and a half at Ingalls in Pascagoula, Ms. the birthplace of the Pride of America. I will also be sailing on her 12/31/05 and the anticipation of the shipbuilder and ship reunion is so exciting.

 

Thank You

Paul

crewsin250@yahoo.com

 

 

That's great Paul! You really had a hand in this beautiful ship, and I'm glad you will have the opportunity to sail her. I was so impressed that I plan to book her the first week in October. 2 days was not enough to experience all this great ship had to offer.

 

Pics of the inaugural gift are on their way to you.

 

Ernie

[eroller]

Ernie, great review and pics as always. I would not have been a happy camper with my room not being cleaned.

 

Overall the ship looks nice. Some areas looked like Joe Farcus had a hand in decorating. Still do not like the fact that she has no bow but I guess her interiors makes up for her exterior shortcomings.

 

Thanks again for sharing.

 

Gordon

 

 

Hi Gordon,

Believe me, I wasn't happy about the cabin ... not even for two nights. I'm really not sure what the problem was, but it was my only complaint about this wonderful ship.

 

The pictures really don't do the ship justice. Some of them make the ship look a bit "over the top" and in person I didn't feel that way at all. I liked some areas better than others, but there wasn't anything onboard that I disliked.

 

Believe it or not, even her exterior has grown on me. I can't get past the stubby bow, but the rest is not so bad. POA definitely looks bigger than she is which is deceiving. In person, standing on the pier, she just looks massive ... larger than the Voyager Class (to me) which of course she isn't.

 

Glad you enjoyed the review and pics.

 

Ernie

[dgund]

Excellent review and wonderful pictures. Thanks for taking the time to post them.

[bankofdad]

Thank a million eroller! We really appreciate all of the effort.:D

[eroller]

Glad to hear that it's not a problem w/ my computer. Talk about a tease :D

 

The pictures that I've been able to view so far are absolutely fantastic. They could definitely be considered to be used by NCL for their Pride of America brochure!

 

 

All the pics should be up and running now. Fotki told me they had a minor "server problem", but it appears to be fixed.

 

Thanks for being patient.

 

Ernie

[avalon1025]

Sailed one nighter r/t San Francisco, the ship will be perfect for the Hawaii cruises, found the ship a bit too themed for my taste (think Hall of Presidents at Disney World) and the cabins (I had a standrd inside) extremely small (think a dark Soviergn of the Seas cabin). I have had insides before, but never felt closed in like on this ship. Mine was even a quad and the beds stick out from the wall vs receeding into the ceiling like on other ships making the room feel even smaller.

 

Overall some great public rooms (the wine bar and Jefferson bistro come to mind), some Carnival like (the Mardi Gras nightclub and the Skyline Dining Room), overall a fine ship for families cruising around Hawaii.

 

I found the staff extremely friendly though a bit green when it came to elegant dinning, making up the cabin etc (I had a used/chewed drink stirer on my floor and some elses toothpaste on the sink when I got into my cabin...ugh!)

 

100% better than Pride of Aloha

[7nucruzers]

eroller - thanks so much for your wonderful review and pics! My parents are taking my daughter to Hawaii on POA for her hs graduation. They sail 7/1/06. They are booked in cabin 9500 AC Deluxe Family Penthouse - she was so excited to see the pictures of "her" cabin online - we have two questions. You did not have a pic of a 2nd bath - is there one? The brochure description says there is. Two senior citizens and two teenage girls (she's bringing a friend) need space and a lot of it! That's why they booked a room w/ 2 baths so we were just curious since there was no picture. Also, the brochure does not indicate a hot tub on the balcony but from your pictures it appeared there was one. Can you clarify? This would just make it even better for them! Thanks again - we appreicate it so much and the girls (and grandparents) are soooo excited.

[balanceok]

What a resource your review will be to this board and all of us that plan on sailing this ship. You've answered just about every question I could have asked.

 

We're booked with an Inside Cabin for January 28th, so your comments on the inside cabins is very helpful.

 

I can't open the link to your pictures, but will keep trying.

 

Thanks so much.

[eroller]

eroller - thanks so much for your wonderful review and pics! My parents are taking my daughter to Hawaii on POA for her hs graduation. They sail 7/1/06. They are booked in cabin 9500 AC Deluxe Family Penthouse - she was so excited to see the pictures of "her" cabin online - we have two questions. You did not have a pic of a 2nd bath - is there one? The brochure description says there is. Two senior citizens and two teenage girls (she's bringing a friend) need space and a lot of it! That's why they booked a room w/ 2 baths so we were just curious since there was no picture. Also, the brochure does not indicate a hot tub on the balcony but from your pictures it appeared there was one. Can you clarify? This would just make it even better for them! Thanks again - we appreicate it so much and the girls (and grandparents) are soooo excited.

 

 

The bathroom pic for cabin 9500 *is* the second bathroom. Apparently I didn't take a pic of the main bathroom. It's actually a half/bath. Yes, there was most certainly a hot tub on the balcony ... and it was a very nice forward facing balcony.

 

The cabin was gorgeous .... I hope they enjoy it! I'm sorry I can't remember every detail, as I looked at a lot of cabins and suites it becomes hard to remember what was what.

 

Ernie

[eroller]

 

We're booked with an Inside Cabin for January 28th, so your comments on the inside cabins is very helpful.

 

I can't open the link to your pictures, but will keep trying.

 

 

 

Keep trying with the pics. They seem to be working now.

 

I really liked the inside cabins. Just like I commented in my review, they were well decorated, had great lighting, and were laid out well. They actually seemed larger than the outside cabins.

 

One hint. If there are just two of you, but sure to book an inside cabin that holds just two people .... not three or four. This way you won't have the upper beds extending out and taking up air space in the cabin. It will give the impression of a larger cabin, and having they upper beds extending out (even just a few inches) gives the impression of a smaller cabin.

 

Ernie

[7nucruzers]

eroller - thanks for your responses!

[7nucruzers]

eroller - I can't seem to bring up the pictures now - I was able to earlier but I'm trying to show them to my daughter and they won't come up - am I doing something wrong? I'm clicking on link in your original post.

[eroller]

eroller - I can't seem to bring up the pictures now - I was able to earlier but I'm trying to show them to my daughter and they won't come up - am I doing something wrong? I'm clicking on link in your original post.

 

 

No, you are doing everything right. Just keep trying. The Fotki host site has been having server problems yesterday and today. Very frustrating I know, but don't give up!

 

Ernie

[crewsin250]

Thanks Ernie, for the photos and I hope to add this to my collection also.

Paul

[Sea Going Fool]

Thanks for the informative review. My husband and I are booked on the POA for Dec 3, 2005. We're looking forward to our first cruise in Hawaii and reading this only makes the anticipation more exciting.

[cindya01]

I really enjoyed your review and pics......I'm sailing on the POAmerica, New Years Eve 2005 and only had a minimal idea of what the ship was like. Now I'm really excited!!!!!! Thanks for your time and effort, it's really appreciated.

 

:D Cindy

[hawai50]

Thank you for all your pictures and encouraging words about the ship. We are looking forward to our trip and you have made the ship come alive for us:)

[Darthtater]

My two sons (10 and 12) and I are sailing on her July 8, 2006, and we booked the cruise while on the NCL Star. We were told that the BA cabins on the back of the ship were a bit bigger than the same priced balcony cabins on the sides of the ship? What do you think? I have never had a cabin on the back of a ship before. Anyone out there have any insight on this type of cabin?

[rph9168]

You were lucky to be on the ship only two days. The previous 13 days were not so great. Almost sounds like you were on a different ship than I was. I guess if I hadn't :( paid for the cruise it might not have been as bad and I could have overlooked the many inadequacie we experienced.

[eroller]

You were lucky to be on the ship only two days. The previous 13 days were not so great. Almost sounds like you were on a different ship than I was. I guess if I hadn't :( paid for the cruise it might not have been as bad and I could have overlooked the many inadequacie we experienced.

 

 

I'm sorry you didn't have a good time. Many people on your sailing did judging from the posts I've read. Others didn't. Happens all the time on every ship. Two people come off the same cruise with completely different impressions.

 

As for paying ... it doesn't matter whether I paid or didn't pay for my 2-day cruise. I tell it EXACTLY like it is, the good and the bad. I've sailed on over 60 cruises (every one of them paid for BTW - none free) and I usually write reviews. If you read any of them you will see I don't hold back. I spell out the good and the bad. This being said, I've never had a bad cruise ... just some that are better than others.

 

The only thing I found truly unacceptable on POA was the condition of my cabin. It was unacceptable no matter what price you paid. Were I on the ship for a longer period I can guarantee I would have had a visit with the Chief Housekeeper and the problem would have been resolved.

 

Ernie