Photos from the Pride of America 7/23-7/30

[ghulett]

Here are some photos of the ship and of the destinations and ports:

 

http://www.kodakgallery.com/gregh

 

Will write a full review over the weekend.

 

If you have any questions let me know!

[DaisyL]

I loved your photos !!! Can't wait for your review ...

 

What beach was that in Maui ? Did you take any NCL excursions and if so, did you like them? Did you like the shows on the ship; we usually try to attend the production shows and like them the best ? The cabin actually looked quite efficient, what did you have a view of? did you have enough storage for 4 people?

 

thanks again ...

[Linda]

Thank you for sharing your photos. Hope to read your journal soon. It will help our Pride of Aloha cruise later this month.

[travelling mom]

Thank-you for sharing your lovely photos. The weather looked fantastic. Can't wait for your review as I will be on the POAm in two weeks. Both positive and negative reviews for this ship has been posted, so I'm not sure what to expect. I'm curious to know how the size of the cabin was for 4 people. Storage/closet seems efficient. When tendering in Kona, do you require a prior tender ticket and what time did you arrive at the Kona pier.

 

Thanks in advance

[sweetannie]

Your pictures are absolutely awesome. Can't wait for your review/info. My trip is for 9/3/05, did you stay in Honolulu pre cruise? What was your fav excursion? Did you use any other companies beside NCL?

[celebrate]

Great Pictures...especially liked the surfing and the last picture...but you did survive:D

So I guess we all want to know about your excursions and were they NCL or on your own...give us all the info and thanks........

[Sweet Honey Bee]

So enjoyed your photos - thanks!! We're leaving for Honolulu on Monday and will be on the Pride of America on the 13th. Looking forward to it even more now after viewing these pictures. It appears your family had a great time.

[balanceok]

These are great photos. Thanks for sharing.

[ErinFl2003]

Thanks for the wonderful photos. I am anxious to read your review as well.

[Tom1234]

Enjoyed the pics... leaving August 13 .. where did you take the surfing lessons? Certain people on the beach? How much? Who took the pics while surfing. They are great.

Tom

[ghulett]

I loved your photos !!! Can't wait for your review ...

 

What beach was that in Maui ? Did you take any NCL excursions and if so, did you like them? Did you like the shows on the ship; we usually try to attend the production shows and like them the best ? The cabin actually looked quite efficient, what did you have a view of? did you have enough storage for 4 people?

 

thanks again ...

The beach is somewhere around the Kaanapali area.

 

We didn't take any NCL excursions, but rather rented cars in each port. We reserved the cars a couple of months before the cruise and the prices ranged from about $25/day for a compact (Ford Focus) from Budget at the airports in Hilo and on Maui and Kauai, to $35/day (Honda Accord) from Enterprise in town in Kona. If you book ahead, double check that the company offers pick-up at the pier and not just the airport!

 

We went to all of the evening shows in the Hollywood Theater. The singers and dancers were very good, but we thought the material they had to work with was below par. One of the singers, Rebecca, did an excellent solo show on the night we were in port on Maui. The juggler, Barry Johns, was a hoot and not to be missed if he is on board. They had a comedian (whose name escapes me) that was pretty funny if you are liberal, but I don't know if he was playing to the right crowd. He got rather political and I think some people weren't enjoying his sense of humor. He also did a lot of interaction with the audience that didn't always pan out. Another show was a Polynesian dance group that was interesting...the same sort of thing you would get at the Polynesian Cultural Center or a luai. We also went to three of late night activities: "Who Wants to be a Gazillionaire", "The Newly and Not So Newlywed Game" and "The Liar's Club". My teenagers enjoyed the "Newlywed Game". It was very unpredictable. Whereas "The Lair's Club" was totally scripted.

 

The cabin was quite efficient and seemed more spacious than an inside cabin we all shared on the Diamond Princess last summer. Our cabin (7632) is a Cat. G, obscured view. It has what they call a single French window (some have a double French window), which is about 4 feet wide and floor to ceiling. It takes up almost half of the wall! The view was of the back end of one lifeboat and the front end of the next one, with a catwalk and a metal crank thingy to lower the lifeboats. Beyond that was whatever was outside. We could definitely see what was going on out there and the weather, with plenty of light coming in. NCL lists it as 100% obscured. I wouldn't! As for storage, there were four drawers, so we each got one. There were shelves in the closet and a shelf above the desk area and more shelves on the other side, next to the TV and above the fridge. There was also storage in the bathroom behind a mirror in the corner over the sink (sorry, no photos). The closet had plenty of hanging space (about 4 feet long) and an extra bar that could be pulled down for more "short" hanging. I'm not going to say it was spacious, but certainly fine for the amount of time we spent there.

 

Hope this answers your questions without too much over-explaining!:)

[ghulett]

Thank-you for sharing your lovely photos. The weather looked fantastic. Can't wait for your review as I will be on the POAm in two weeks. Both positive and negative reviews for this ship has been posted, so I'm not sure what to expect. I'm curious to know how the size of the cabin was for 4 people. Storage/closet seems efficient. When tendering in Kona, do you require a prior tender ticket and what time did you arrive at the Kona pier.

 

Thanks in advance

 

We had plenty of room for the four of us (two adults and two teens). Please read the above post about the storage.

 

I don't know what time we got to Kona. We woke up and were already there! We ate breakfast and went down to get a tender ticket at about 9:30. It was for the next tender, so we were on the island 20 minutes later. There was a bit of a wait to get back to the ship in the late afternoon. Maybe 15 minutes to get on a tender. They were running two tenders, but a lot of people were returning to the ship at the same time.

 

I hope you have as good a trip as we did.:)

[ghulett]

Your pictures are absolutely awesome. Can't wait for your review/info. My trip is for 9/3/05, did you stay in Honolulu pre cruise? What was your fav excursion? Did you use any other companies beside NCL?

 

I had to work.:(, but my husband was at a convention for two weeks pre-cruise in Waikiki. He and the two teenagers stayed at the Sheraton Waikiki. That is a view from the room in the first set of photos, with Diamond Head and the view from above the palm trees.

 

We didn't do any official excursions, NCL or any other companies, just rented cars and did it on our own. We went to so many terrific and beautiful places, it is hard to name one in particular, but we loved Waimea Canyon.:)

[ghulett]

Great Pictures...especially liked the surfing and the last picture...but you did survive:D

So I guess we all want to know about your excursions and were they NCL or on your own...give us all the info and thanks........

 

The surfing the teenagers did was through Hawaiianfire, started by a group of Honolulu firefighters. It is kind of expensive, $119 for a Waikiki hotel pickup, transportation to a secluded beach the far side of Pearl Harbor and a group (3:1) lesson for about two hours. There's twenty to thirty minutes of shore instruction, then an hour and fifteen minutes in the water. Multiple instructors out in the surf to instruct people in the water. There's a photographer who takes pictures, which are then put up on their website: hawaiianfire.com. Pictures are available for sale on a CD.

 

The other pictures (the teenagers' middle-aged father surfing at Waikiki) came about through a surfing class near the Royal Hawaiian. The old man walked up to a thatched-roof booth, inquired about surfing lessons, and was told by an instructor with the handle of "Lumpy" that hour lessons were thirty dollars. Shore instruction was scantier than Hawaiianfire, with a little more guidance offered out on the water. They had a guy out on a board taking pictures.

 

Water instruction in both cases is similar: the teacher gets off his board, stands in chest deep water, and pushes the student and his surfboard off into the wave as it comes in, yelling instructions. The student paddles, hoists himself up, and rides as far as he can. Thirty minutes and you get the rudiments of it.:)

[ute_fan]

Great photos! We went to Hawaii several years ago on a land vacation, but these pictures make me think that a Hawaiian cruise needs to be in our not-to-distant travel plans.

[ghulett]

Great photos! We went to Hawaii several years ago on a land vacation, but these pictures make me think that a Hawaiian cruise needs to be in our not-to-distant travel plans.

 

My family loved it! We had been to Oahu several times, but none of the other islands. That is not to say that everything went perfectly, it didn't. But if you are expecting a perfect trip with no hiccups, you are setting yourself for disappointment. The ship is beautiful and most of the people working on it are great! They have a few kinks to work out, but I would take this cruise again in a heartbeat! There is plenty to do in the ports for another complete trip.:)

[ute_fan]

We went to all four islands, and it just seems to me that cruising at night in a "floating hotel" makes more sense than doing those island hops in planes. Now if I can just find a money tree that grows faster than mine does I'll be in business :D .

[ghulett]

We went to all four islands, and it just seems to me that cruising at night in a "floating hotel" makes more sense than doing those island hops in planes. Now if I can just find a money tree that grows faster than mine does I'll be in business :D .

 

A floating hotel with a view of flowing lave one night! You can't get that just anywhere!:)

[ghulett]

lave

Oop..LAVA!:D

[Molokai-Chuck]

Mahalo for the posting of your photos.....and the flowers on the ship. It was also good to meet your family and share some time with them!

 

Chuck and Mary

[norcalgal]

WOW! You guys took some great pictures! I sure wish we had rented cars and not done the NCL excursions - I think it would have been a more relaxing week (the constant off-&-on the bus - ugh! that got old real fast!)

Thanks for sharing!!

[missjanet]

You really took some awesome photos - the color of the water seems unbelievably blue. I am really looking forward to your review of your cruise. I especially want to hear about your activities since you rented cars in the ports instead of doing the NCL excursions - we're thinking to do the same thing.

 

I believe you mentioned using Budget to rent a car everywhere except in Kona. In every port, did they come to the dock to pick you up? You mentioned airports in your post. This is the type of information that I am having a hard time finding. You wrote that you used Enterprise in Kona & that you had no trouble with them picking you up & dropping you back off. Plus they're open until 6pm which is 2 hours later than the Dollar at King Kamehameha Hotel (plus they're half the price). I just want to make sure we don't waste a lot of time getting to our rental cars in each port. We don't have the overnight stays in Kahului or Kauai that your cruise did.

 

Also, which nights were the Formal Nights on your cruise? I haven't been able to find that information anywhere yet.

 

Sorry I have so many questions! But I'm really looking forward to your review - the more details, the better!

 

Thanks so much.

Janet

[ghulett]

You really took some awesome photos - the color of the water seems unbelievably blue. I am really looking forward to your review of your cruise. I especially want to hear about your activities since you rented cars in the ports instead of doing the NCL excursions - we're thinking to do the same thing.

 

I believe you mentioned using Budget to rent a car everywhere except in Kona. In every port, did they come to the dock to pick you up? You mentioned airports in your post. This is the type of information that I am having a hard time finding. You wrote that you used Enterprise in Kona & that you had no trouble with them picking you up & dropping you back off. Plus they're open until 6pm which is 2 hours later than the Dollar at King Kamehameha Hotel (plus they're half the price). I just want to make sure we don't waste a lot of time getting to our rental cars in each port. We don't have the overnight stays in Kahului or Kauai that your cruise did.

 

Also, which nights were the Formal Nights on your cruise? I haven't been able to find that information anywhere yet.

 

Sorry I have so many questions! But I'm really looking forward to your review - the more details, the better!

 

Thanks so much.

Janet

 

Budget sent a shuttle to the pier from the airports in Hilo, Kahului and Kauai. There may have been a five to ten minute wait if the van wasn't already waiting at the pier. But not crowded. Enterprise picked us up at the King Kamehameha Hotel (which is right across from where the tenders dock) for there in town location. The airports were not too far from the harbors in the locations we did that, but the airport in Kona is quite a way out of town. It worked out surprisingly well.

 

I'll write more on what we did later. Although the places are pretty much covered in the photos.

 

There was one formal night on our cruise. It was completely optional. We didn't dress any differently that night than other nights, and didn't feel out of place at all. I'd say only about 15% to 20% of the travelers dressed up that night. And I didn't see any tuxedos. I'm sorry, I don't remember which night it was. I will check with my son...he saved every "Freestyle".:)

[luvscorgis]

Ghulett: Thanks for sharing your wonderful pictures. :D I am so looking forward to our cruise next month. The more I read about your experiences, as well as everybody else on this message board, the more prepared I feel for this cruise. Hopefully, we can look at the good and try to overlook the bad.:o Thanks again for taking the time.

[Jfeasel]

I'm going to be taking my 2 daughters on POAM in August 2006. Were there any other kids on board? Did your daughters use the pools on the ship at all? Any hints they would give other teens who are going with their parents?