Pride of America and Oahu Pre-Cruise Review July 14-26

[nan24]

Thank you for a great and interesting review. Planning on doing this cruise in June/July 2017. Wondered about the weather in July, besides being hot was it humid?

[Retiring cajun]

Very humid. Just got off on August 22!!

[nan24]

Thanks for answering. Think we may try for a different time, not too fond of humidity!

[Notion_of_the_Ocean]

July is not bad weather wise. Temperatures will read high 80s but there is almost always a breeze with an occasional mist which is quite refreshing.

[finest14]

Thanks for the great review and visuals. I was already excited for our November cruise but now even more so...Mahalo!

[Mid43]

Thanks for taking the time Notion! Great review, thank you.

 

Was wondering in Kona, the tender port, did you notice taxi's at the drop off point? I have a tour about 10 - 15 mins away that begins at 8am, want to make sure I will have a ride there.

 

Thanks!

[5CMaryland]

Great review Brandon! Thank you so much for taking the time to do this! You had mentioned you got car sick on ride to Hana. How did you do in the helicopter ride?

 

Also, how long in advance did you/should you reserve these exclursions? We are on POA in May 2016.

 

Thanks.

[VideoAndy]

Thanks for doing such a comprehensive review!

[Kalaki]

Greetings everyone! I just returned from the Pride of America today. I have to say that the complaints on here do not hold water to the experience they actually provide. This trip was the best trip I have ever been on and would even say it was life changing.

 

I will be reviewing each day play-by-play with both a written narrative and (technology willing) photo/video slideshows. There will be approximately 11-12 written portions and slideshows so subscribe and stay tuned over the next several days. The first entry will be coming soon. :D

I have just spent the last couple hours going through your 6 page review. It is the most comprehensive and entertaining review I have seen on cruise critic. Thank you so much for sharing I learned a lot!!! Like Hawaii your review is AMAZING!!!

[FranknBeans]

I have just spent the last couple hours going through your 6 page review. It is the most comprehensive and entertaining review I have seen on cruise critic. Thank you so much for sharing I learned a lot!!! Like Hawaii your review is AMAZING!!!

 

Having done this cruise 2 times before and both b2b and booked again for 2017 I can assure you won't be disappointed in this cruise.

 

When reading reviews you have to remember that on POA (as an example) there are 1707 cabins if your reading one bad review for a particular week that % doesn't even register. Also people will jump at posting a bad review before a good review.

And I guess you can say the same for positive reviews. JMO

 

Enjoy your cruise.

[ransrider]

Can anyone give me recommendations for a lunch stop while driving to Haleakala? Doesn't have to be fancy, clean and fairly priced would be best. Checked out the town of Kula where a bistro was highly rated on TripAdvisor but when I checked it's road-side appeal on Google maps, it was less than appealing (of course the date the picture was taken was 2011). We plan on driving to Iao Valley first and then over to Haleakala. Anything else we should view before returning the car? Thanks for any help you can offer.

[Notion_of_the_Ocean]

Greetings everyone, I have been away from this site for a while. I am thrilled to see that so many have found this review useful. There has been talk of returning to Hawaii in 2017. My personal travel dream is to sail the Paul Gauguin around the South Pacific. I don't know when the latter will happen but hopefully it's sooner rather than later. :o

 

Thanks again and I will answer any questions that you have. :cool:

[Notion_of_the_Ocean]

Great review Brandon! Thank you so much for taking the time to do this! You had mentioned you got car sick on ride to Hana. How did you do in the helicopter ride?

 

Also, how long in advance did you/should you reserve these exclursions? We are on POA in May 2016.

 

Thanks.

 

The helicopter tour should be reserved ASAP if you haven't already. We made our reservation over a year out and didn't get the original time that we wanted (8am) and had to settle for 9:30am.

 

I took a half a dramamine before the flight and it was either enough or none was needed in the first place as I had no issues with the motion of the helicopter.

[MichPil]

Shortly after 5am the rise and shine call comes in. This was one of our busy days. We brought along muffins, and other light foods for breakfast and hit the road at 5:45 for Pearl Harbor. We had scheduled our Arizona Memorial tour in advance online for 8am. By sheer dumb luck we get there and were asked if we would like to go on the tour at 7:30am instead and we agreed. The tour begins with a 25 minute movie about the history of Pearl Harbor. Following the movie, we exited the theater to find the boat waiting for us. The boat ride is probably 7-10 minutes. When we arrived at the memorial there was a tour director there ready to explain the site. You have the option to go along with his talk or explore on your own. Remember that tours are constantly running and it will only be 15-20 minutes before the next group arrives and you have to get back on the boat... so I would say listen to what he says in the background and take it all in on your own. On a side note but an important one... there are no restrooms available during this tour and it runs an hour and change so keep that in mind.

 

 

 

We had a quick food break at the car and then returned to the park.

 

 

 

Next we walked along the harbor and saw the USS Bowfin in the distance before getting our tickets to the USS Missouri. To get to the USS Missouri you either need a driver with military permissions or you wait for their shuttle. It will likely take you 30 minutes from ticket purchase to standing before the USS Missouri. Let me just say that this sight is amazing! Coming from someone that isn't even a history buff, I was fully engaged in the battleship scene from climbing the ladders up to the top accessible lookout deck facing the USS Arizona to the military ceremony that was going on at the main deck, to the living quarters down below. Probably the best part is seeing their mess hall, sleeping area, kitchen, and various other quarters on this level. I think the slideshow will tell the story better than I ever could here with my words. For the followers here, allow a minimum of 90 minutes to take everything in on this battleship. We were moving fast though because we had lots of things to see today so my guess is you will likely be here longer than that.

 

 

 

It just so happened that there was a Pearl Harbor survivor there on this day to sign autographs for purchased books. There are only eight survivors still alive and he said that he is 95 years old. God bless for him for what he's been through and being out and about and sharing his experiences with others! I'm sure I can speak for the crowd when I say that it adds so much to hear firsthand experiences.

 

 

 

It was about the noon hour when we left Pearl Harbor for, our next stop, Diamond Head. Now, this is the heat of the day and it was HOT HOT HOT! (I think I only lasted one picture with my shirt on.) The drive from Pearl Harbor goes from somewhat tropical to big city to desert-like all in a time frame of about 20 minutes...very interesting. The hike starts on pavement but quickly turns to an uneven path (watch your footing!). The slope is gradual for about 3/4 of the trail followed by hundreds of stairs. I wouldn't say it's a hard trail as it is only .8 miles to the top lookout but I wouldn't say it is the easiest either. The views of the crater and Waikiki at the top are quite something to see. It takes about 40 minutes to climb and 30 to descend. Also, the tunnel towards the end of the trail smells like body odor so hold your breath while you are walking through there.... just thought I'd throw that out there. At the completion of the hike, I got a t-shirt to prove that I hiked Diamond Head that has the entire trail map on the front.

 

 

 

The next part of our road trip takes us to Waikiki. We parked close to an ABC store. Jeanine and Nancy wanted to see the Harley Davidson store and then we went in the ABC store before going to the beach. The original plan was to hang out in Waikiki for the day but everyone quickly realized that Waikiki just lacks in comparison to the appeal of Ko'olina so we called to move our dinner reservation up so we could just head back there. Waikiki seems extremely overhyped to me.

 

We did get to see the Moana Surfrider which we planned to stay there before we looked into the Ko'olina area. I'm sure it would have been great if we didn't know any better but it was one more confirmation that Ko'olina is superior. A thanks to them for the tasty mango drink. That was great during such a hot day like today.

 

 

 

Our fourth stop was Duke's, and this is well worth the time. Dinner is in an open-air dinning room with the band playing on the patio. We ordered everything from fish, steak, and chicken here among the group and it was all very tasty. OF course, the Hula Pie is why everyone comes here though and it did not disappoint. Mac nut ice cream, chocolate fudge, and Oreo crust are among some of the many elements that make this dessert to die for. This is a must eat!

 

 

 

There were several rainbows and even a double rainbow on the final leg of the road trip back to Aulani which were beautiful to see. Actually everything from the rainbows through the onset of night was just unreal in beauty. It was a fantastic serenade for our last night at beautiful Aulani and Ko'olina.

 

 

 

This is the only time we really took advantage of the pools and hot tubs at night. The two-story infinity hot tub has a fantastic view until well after the sun goes below the horizon.

 

 

 

Disney had a movie playing on the lawn where we watched the Starlit Hui earlier in the week. I watched a little of the movie on the balcony while we were all getting ready for the cruise tomorrow. I was up kind of late tonight so I sat on the balcony and took in the stillness of Ko'olina at night. A few planes approached the island which was fun to watch. I even thought I saw the lights of the Pride of America as a few dots way off by the horizon line. Very peaceful! The resort and Ko'olina get an 11 out of 10 in my book and I would return in a heartbeat. These four days were simply incredible and all I can think to say is a big mahalo to Aulani for these memories. With that, that is a wrap of my pre-cruise portion of the narrative.

 

 

 

Coming up:

 

The Road Trip Slideshow

 

Pride of America Embarkation Narrative

 

 

I mean no offense. But I read that you said there was only 8 survivors however every year in Washington DC they honor those that are survivors from Pearl Harbor on December 7th and according to the records there still 2000 that surviving Pearl Harbor war vets. One of them is my grandfather he is 94 years old.he was about a 150 feet from mess hall when it was bomb. Is it possible he meant his state? I know there 3 in the state my grandfather from still.

[supersecdd]

I'm researching luaus to attend on O'ahu, and have narrowed it down to Chief's Luau and Paradise Cove. Did you pay for upgraded tickets or the basic ones? I just want to make sure that if we do PC, that we get good seats and have the best experience. Were there any bad views, in your opinion? (either in the stadium for the Imu ceremony or general luau show). Thanks! :)

 

I heard from my friend who currently lives there, that Paradise Cove is the best luau to go to and we plan to do so.

[supersecdd]

Latitudes party was at 5pm right before sail away.

 

The late night venue of choice tonight was One Hit Wonders.

 

Thanks for all the wonderful info. Will we get an invitation to the Latitudes Party or shall we just look for it in the daily newsletter? Is there a daily newsletter (haven't been on NCL in decades)? What is the name of the room or area where you go for late night venues, piano bar type (not big drinkers)?

[supersecdd]

Teppanyaki is a pretty entertaining restaurant and worth visiting once during the trip. They put on a show with their equipment, spell out NCL with fried rice, and make a snake out of eggs to mention a few of their tricks. There is plenty of food to eat here: Miso Soup and Seaweed Salad, Fried Rice and Veggies, and my choices were Filet Mignon (this was the best dish), Calamari, and Lobster (too much sauce... I love the taste of lobster obviously but the sauce masked it). Desserts are green tea cake and fruit sashimi. Fruit Sashimi is probably the best of the two. If you have a celebration cake coupon saved though and don't know when you will use it, then, in my opinion, this is the night. I never usually get to eat those cakes when we

 

How do you get a celebration cake coupon?

[Notion_of_the_Ocean]

How do you get a celebration cake coupon?

 

I got it for saying I was a recent college grad ( I was actually 1 year out at the time so it was pretty legit.)

 

Any special occasion really.

[supersecdd]

I got it for saying I was a recent college grad ( I was actually 1 year out at the time so it was pretty legit.)

 

Any special occasion really.

 

Whom do you ask for the coupon and when?