Pride of America - July 18-25, 2015 - The best week EVER!

[Imalismom]

So, after a million and three tipping questions being asked and answered, I think it is my turn to do a review

 

But before I start, I want to say that I LOVED my cruise, I loved the people working on the ship (except for one waitress), I loved my

stateroom - Cabin 13002 - (but I would improve one thing), and I would tell anyone who was worried about the Pride of America, to NOT WORRY at all...

 

Even when I had a problem, people bent over backwards to fix the problem (only encountered two problems). I had read so many

bad reviews that I really was not looking forward to what I may or may not encounter on the ship - and all that worry was for

NOTHING!!!

 

So... let the review begin....

 

 

I start with the title for today:

 

When you get caught between the moon and New York City....

 

Houston to Honolulu – July 14th

 

Today is the day. 4 years ago, my husband and I took our youngest to Florida Technical Institute of Technology in Melbourne Florida

and left her standing in the dorm parking lot as we drove away.

 

It was the first time she had really been out of Katy, Texas where she was born and raised. Yes, she had small family trips, but this

was somewhat permanent.

 

As we drove away, tears rolled down both her and my face. I did not know how I was going to survive this young lady going to the

college of her choice, and I think she was unsure of how she was going to survive us leaving and the only person she knew was her

dorm roommates.

 

She would soon become an Alpha Phi Sorority girl, and would soon start to grow and grow and grow.

 

In four years, she would accomplish a degree in Civil Engineering graduating with honors, a minor in Sustainably, and along the way

amass:

 

* Civil Engineering Senior Design Showcase-Best in Show (Project Manager/Hydrological Engineer)

* American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) College Edition: New Faces of Engineering

* Outstanding Senior in Civil Engineering

* Sorority Woman of the Year

* DiscoverE College Edition Nominee: New Faces of Engineering

* Alpha Phi 15 Faces of 2015

 

So, when you look at how to celebrate going from tears to a new job in Maryland (Hydrology Engineer), how do you celebrate? You take

her on a trip she has always dreamed of – you take her to Hawaii. Not just one island, but you decide to take her to all the islands,

via the Pride of America, and let her bring one sorority sister along too.

 

We decided to do four days at the New Otani Kuimana Beach Hotel prior, so that time can catch up before the cruise (thank you dear

husband - it is now 3am and I am wide awake, so this is acclamation time is a good thing).

 

My dear husband is an aisle person on a plane, and so am I, so for the very first time ever, I find myself in a window seat on the plane.

We took up the whole second row, Emily (we asked Ali to bring a friend from school, so she choose a sorority sister to come along) was

in 2a, Ali was in 2b, Dennis was in 2E, and I was in 2F – we settled in after some nervous times of all meeting up together.

 

Ali (wearing glasses in this picture) and Emily were coming in from Baltimore (via Dallas) flying Southwest, and we came from

Houston, and all met in Los Angeles.

 

United to Honolulu was to leave at 1:45. We got in at 6:30am (thank you United lounge you were a lifesaver all day!!)…. We got in

with no problem, but the girls had a touchdown at Dallas for an hour – no change of planes, just a stop and get more people type thing,

however, LAX put a ground stop in , and we started to fear they would not make it to the 1:45 flight. See, southwest does not interline

luggage, so that added a degree of time to the equation. They did finally make it in, however, that same ground stop impacted our

crew for the 1:45 flight, so we were delayed until 3pm. So, the girls enjoyed lunch in the lounge, we also had lunch, and soon were

boarding to Honolulu.

 

 

The flight was great. I had beef wellington on the flight and it was awesome, but I forgot to take a picture of it - I watched “The

Longest Ride”, and then took a small nap.

 

 

But what really amazed me were my thoughts while looking out the window before the nap.

 

 

I love to cruise. When you cruise the water is constantly moving as the ship slices through the ocean. Here, I am looking at the ocean

from 36094 feet, to me, it looks like a dried up muddy river bank. It does not look dangerous at all – it looks like I could just go down

and walk right over it. Then I look at the clouds. Remember in chemistry class when you made the crystals grow on the pipe cleaner?

You watched in amazement as they took shape and clung to the pipe cleaner? That is what I think of as I look at the clouds.

 

 

Then I look back down at the dried up muddy river bank (Pacific Ocean), and it is so still that I see the shadows from the clouds right

on the ocean. I took a picture, and if you look you can see the shadows. How is this the very same ocean that ships slice right

through? Wow is all I can think.

 

 

All of a sudden, all I can think of is “When you get caught between the moon and New York city, the best that you can do, the best that

you can do is fall in love”… wait, where did that song come from? How did it just pop into my head. Oh, yeah, it was the song I

would sing as I was learning how to fly a small two seater Cessna. All of a sudden, I am back to my days of my CFI telling me I can

do this, he can leave this plane, and I can take it up and set it back down all by myself. Only now, my mind is saying, “In repentance

and rest is your salvation, in quietness and trust is your strength” where did that come from? Wait, I know where it comes from

(Isaiah 30:15), but why is Burt Bacharach and Isaiah fighting for space in my head? Why does the Pacific Ocean look so darn peaceful?

All I can do is think of Psalm 46:10 when I am told to “Be still and know I am God”, and I drift off to sleep….

 

 

I wake up to be really close to Honolulu. In fact, you can now see it on the flight map (yes, I am one of those that really love to watch

the flight map instead of a movie). You can see the coast line now, you can see the waves lapping at the shore, you can see 4 shades

of blue in one glance (maybe I should sit at a window seat more often?)….

 

We land, and walk off the plane and I get hit with a rush of warm air… The airport is sorta open and closed – wow – this is cool! Leis

are everywhere and all you can smell is flowers – this is even more cool!!

 

When I started to plan this trip in earnest, one of the things I wanted was for my money to go to local people as much as possible. I

did not want to rely on big business, I wanted to help out the mom and pop who were struggling to make it each and every month. I

spent many hours on cruise critic to see who used what, and who came highly recommended, and who did not. One of the people I

settled on was JohnnyCab. He was a one person show at the time, but has now hired one more person to help him. He has a three

year old daughter name Charlotte who often comes with him as he shuttles people from airport to hotel… He is also trying to break into

the tour business, but is having a really hard time competing with the big businesses who are tied in with sites like Expedia. So, I

booked JohnnyCab to meet us at the airport, and even arranged for him to get leis for everyone when we met up. After using him four

times - I would HIGHLY recommend him to everyone - you can google him as I am not sure I can put his website here in this review.

 

 

He was there waiting for us, with lei’s in hand, and I was so tickled that he brought Charlotte with him. She loves frozen (what three

year old doesn’t), and she fell fast asleep on our way to the hotel. We get to see him again the next day as he did a tour of O’ahu for

us.

 

He got us to the hotel, which I picked because I wanted to be on the beach, but not on the busy Waikiki strip. In researching, this hotel

is right in front of the Queen’s Surf Beach, which is right where the locals like to hang out. This hotel has a large Japanese following, so

a lot of things are written in English and Japanese all throughout the hotel. I don’t know why they call it “The New….” as it has been

here for a very very long time.

 

 

I knew from research that the only rooms we could really afford here were the smaller sized rooms, so after a long discussion, we

decided to get three rooms, so we could spread out, and sleep or not sleep (as in my case), so dear hubby is in one room, I am in

another, and the girls are in the third (this seems really weird to be on a vacation and not be in the same hotel room as my husband),

but after getting to the rooms last night, we were so glad we did it this way. The rooms are so very nice, but indeed smaller than an

interior stateroom on a ship. The three rooms where half the price of one of their suites (upwards to 1000.00 a night), but hold a full

size bed, and a dresser/vanity, and bathroom, a very very small closet and that is all. We are all together, so it’s like one very big

suite, only no connecting doors - Since hubby is 6 feet 4 inches, he needed to extra room without me to really fit on the bed :eek:

 

 

The rooms include a $16.50 credit for each person for breakfast, so we met up at 8:45 the next morning for breakfast.

 

More to come....

Edited July 27, 2015 by Imalismom

[Imalismom]

okay - before I post any more - how do I make the pictures be SMALLER, but but not a postage stamp size?

[carmzav]

Following along!

[Imalismom]

I think I have the picture sizes figured out….

 

The New Otani Kaimana Beach Hotel (TNOKBH) – or how to have breakfast every morning on the beach….

 

I am not a very big “crowd” person, so when I do go to a city that I know will be crowded; I try to find a nice hotel that is off the beaten path.

 

So I decided on the TNOKBH because it was still right on the beach, was somewhat affordable, and still close enough to everything. The “moderate”

rooms are the most inexpensive, and they are 202 sq.ft but very nice. They come with a full size bed (not queen as the website says), a

small dresser, a very tiny closet (with an emergency flashlight in the closet), a TV, and a bathroom that is big enough for one.

 

We had first booked this through Expedia, but then found booking directly through the hotel was cheaper and included breakfast for $150.00

a night per room - the price has gone up since we booked in 2014 though. So we cancelled Expedia, and booked directly with them. We decided

that since the room was so small to book a connecting room for hubby and I and a separate room for the girls. Only problem is, there are

NO connecting rooms, but we were in three rooms side by side. The no connecting rooms was something they forgot to mention when we booked

and asked for them (I'd put a smiley face here, however, they count as an image, and I can only put so many in each post).

 

The breakfast was SO filling, and well worth adding it to the room cost.

 

 

Even though the rooms were the cheapest in the hotel, we still had a fantastic view of the beach and Diamond Head!!

 

 

 

 

When you look on a “map”, this is where it is located:

 

 

One of the things I liked about it was that it was within walking distance of most places:

 

Right next to Kapiolani Park

2.1 miles from Diamond Head crater

10.2 miles from Honolulu Airport

1.4 miles from Dukes at the Sheraton Waikiki

2.7 miles from the Ala Moana Center (a $6 Uber ride)

 

One of the best things I loved about the hotel prior to getting there was a picture of their restaurant:

 

 

But the picture did not do it justice until you are actually there and sitting and eating:

 

In the morning, a lot of the local people seemed to gather at this portion of the beach – Standup paddle boarders were very abundant.

A lot of people were just swimming for exercise, and several exercise classes were held right on the beach that often involved getting

into the water. One morning, we were invited to swim along with some of the swimmers, but we declined (I for one knew I could

not keep up with them LOL!!)…

 

 

The one thing I will take away from this hotel stay is sitting on the beach wall, and watching the sun rise over Diamond Head – truly inspiring:

 

 

 

 

Up next: Dear hubby tries to find his old marine barracks… or JohnnyCab takes us all over Oahu!!

Edited July 28, 2015 by Imalismom

[Retiring cajun]

enjoying your review! 16 days to our POA cruise[emoji4]

[CruisnDeb]

Following--96 days until I board the POA!

[Kattus]

Another follower :)

 

Looked into this hotel as a pre-cruise option, but the dates we wanted were sold out well in advance!

[greatlakesgirl]

Great start to your review! I'm so glad you had a wonderful trip and found the POA to your liking. Looking forward to the rest of your write-up. :)

[Imalismom]

Following--96 days until I board the POA!

 

Another follower :)

 

Looked into this hotel as a pre-cruise option, but the dates we wanted were sold out well in advance!

 

I will get into this later, but please - if you are doing specialty restaurants - book the Jefferson Bistro on the first night and ask to ONLY be seated in Gary Duncan's station - you will be glad you did!!! Be forewarned(!), after you do, you will want to change some of your other reservations and come back to him!!

 

=================================

Just a note - I am off for two weeks tomorrow to go visit all my grand-kids in several states, so I will work on this review as I get some spare time - I promise!

=================================

[Imalismom]

Today is July 15, 2015 – It’s the day we asked JohnnyCab to take us to some fun places in Oahu, and then my husband wanted to take us to the Marine Corps Air

Station Kaneohe Bay to see his old barracks…

 

So we started out before breakfast with just a small walk – had to go get the traditional picture with the banyan tree and the Duke Statue

 

 

After breakfast, Johnny was there and we were off –

 

We went to a lot of lot of places – his cost was $300.00 for over six hours of touring.

 

The big highlight for me was Spitting Cave. The whole cliff side is made of formed lava. If you were a “Lost” fan, you have seen spitting cave. There is

no beach and you can’t go in the cave or really get to it as it’s constantly being pounded by waves. As we were leaving (like we had already climbed down

the trail to get to it or I would have gone back up to watch – a cliff driver from Dallas Texas was coming with his family to have them video him diving all

the cliff – now this is NOT recommended, but still would have been cool to watch I am sure.

 

 

From there I really did not take notes as to where we went next and next and next…

 

But some the places we went to were the North shore, the Pineapple fields (but most of the pineapples had been harvested), Pali Lookout, Hanauma Bay, Makapu Bay and a stop at Fumi’s Shrimp for lunch.

 

Hanauma Bay is famous for the “toilet bowl”, and its snorkeling, although we did not snorkel while we were there.

 

 

If you are planning on going into the water, there is an entrance fee (I think it was $7.50).

 

Pali Lookout was so windy!!!! What I learned from this spot was that:

 

Time has all but erased the violent history of this spot, once a bloody battlefield where Hawaiian warriors fought for control of the island.

More than two centuries ago in the spring of 1795, the King of Oahu, who also ruled Maui, Moloka’i and Lana’i, sought to defeat Kamehameha,

ruler of the Island of Hawaii. With the use of newfound firepower acquired from a trading vessel, Kamehameha forced the defenders of Oahu back

into Nu’uanu Valley until they reached the Pali. Refusing to surrender, many warriors jumped over the cliff. With the victory, Kamehameha gained

significant momentum in his drive to unite the islands, an event that occurred in 1810 when Kaua’i, which had proved unconquerable, finally

agreed by treat

 

But there is also an urban legend that someone tried to commit suicide by jumping off the cliffs and the winds pushed her back up. Now, I know this

is just a legend, but the winds were so great the day we were there that I could actually imagine it happening!

 

There is a $3.00 parking fee to park here, and when we were there Heather Titus was selling her photography book

“Beautiful Essence of the spirit of Aloha” -- it is a beautiful book, and well worth the price – you can see her work at hawaiianlotus dot com

and the book came with a free DVD of the Majestic Beauty of Oahu.

 

 

 

Makapu Beach

 

Just around the corner from Makapu'u Beach on the sea cliff is Makapu'u Lighthouse. A paved trail leads to it that can be accessed from a

parking lot along Kalanianaole Highway. You are able to have a nice view of Makapu'u Beach and two islands - Rabbit Island is the larger

one, (also known as Manana Island) and Black Rock is the the smaller one, also (known as Kaohikaipu Island). This stop was busy, but we

were able to spend as much time as we wanted and get some really nice pictures.

 

 

Lunch was at a local place called Fumi Shrimp (north shore side) – hubby had the spicy garlic shrimp, I had the coconut shrimp, Johnny had

the butter garlic, Emily had chicken (she does not like shrimp), and I forget what Ali ordered – but it was all very good. With tax and a drink,

lunch was about $20 a person. - The serving was generous; the shrimps fresh and plum – several of us could not finish it all. It you watch

Hawaii 5-0; you have probably seen Fumi’s.

 

Sorry I jumped around so much, but I saved the best for last. See, dear husband was a marine for 4 years, and I was in the Air force for 7

years. I tease him about being an ex-marine, and he tells me there are no ex-marines… but I proudly wear my air force veteran pin when

I put on my Hawaii cap (the hat is in the first picture in this reply). And I do say I am ex-air force.

 

So, since neither of us retired, we do not have an ID card. We both are tied in to the veteran’s hospital here in Texas, and we both have a Veteran’s

Hospital Card, and hubby driver’s license says Veteran on it. But none of that will get you on a military base or so I would have thought…

 

So, dear hubby really wants us to see the barracks that he lived in while stationed at the Marine Corps Air Station Kaneohe Bay… which is

a closed base... so here is how the conversation went:

 

Johnny Cab pulls up to guard gate

 

Guard: Can I help you?

Johnny: I am on a tour and the gentleman (hubby is 66) wants to see his old barracks

Guard: Does he have an ID card?

Johnny: No, but he has a veterans hospital card - want to see it?

Guard: Um, sure

Dennis hands it to Johnny who then hands it to the guard who looks at it.

Guard: You may go in, have a nice tour.

 

WHAT?!?!?!?!?!?!?

 

I still in in shock over that one!!! Hubby says he thinks it’s because the card said he was a marine and marines stick together….

 

Now, the guard knew we could not get into anything, or really go much of anywhere, so that may be why, but still it never should have been allowed.

 

So, we are on a mission to find his old barracks – which by the way are no longer there. But Ali and Emily got to see a marine base up close and

personal – they got to see that gas is a heck of a lot cheaper on a military base, and that the officers have nicer base housing then the enlisted people do.

 

So sadly six hours went by all too quickly… and Johnny left us at the Ala Moana Shopping center (prearranged), where there is a coach store around

every corner almost… We did a little shopping, we were going to eat dinner, but decided to order pizza and sit on the balcony when we got back to the

hotel, and I got to experience my first UBER ride back to the hotel.

 

Tomorrow we see the tears of the 900-plus sailors.

Edited July 29, 2015 by Imalismom

[Imalismom]

Here are some pictures from our breakfasts at the Hau Tree Lanai (i'm figuring out how to make the pictures a little bigger, but not giant size)

 

Best pineapple ever!!! I think we had two of these every morning !!

 

Fresh Island Quarter Pineapple - $6.00

 

 

Hawaiian Breakfast

 

Kaimana Breakfast $16.00 -- Two Island Eggs any style, choice of Bacon, Ham,S pam

 

 

Specialty Omelets

 

Choice of Breakfast Potatoes or Rice.

Served with Wheat or White Toast -- Egg Beater available on-request

*HTL Omelet - $18.00 Fluffy three-egg omelet with choice of fillings(one meat & one vegetable with mixed cheese) Additional Fillings - $ 3.00 each

 

and

 

Crab Benedict $20.00 Mini Crab Cakes, Bacon and poached Eggs on grilled English Muffins topped with Hollandaise Sauce Served with Breakfast Potatoes

 

 

 

French Toast

 

French Toast ~ Hawaiian Style $15.00 Island Baked Sweet Bread crusted with Macadamia Nuts & Shredded Coconuts sprinkled with Fresh Seasonal Berries

 

 

and

 

Pancakes

 

Pancakes Supreme $ 16.00 topped with a mountain Whipped Cream & Fresh Seasonal Berries sprinkled with Mac-Nuts

 

 

 

 

Since we had a breakfast coupon every morning, we did enjoy each and every breakfast we had!!

Edited July 29, 2015 by Imalismom

[happytrailsandsails]

I am loving your review! We go in June, 2016. Just wondering, is the breakfast at Hau Tree Lanai for guests of the hotel only, or can anyone go? Also, would you need reservations for this?

 

Thanks!

[Imalismom]

I am loving your review! We go in June, 2016. Just wondering, is the breakfast at Hau Tree Lanai for guests of the hotel only, or can anyone go? Also, would you need reservations for this?

 

Thanks!

 

Anyone can eat breakfast at the restaurant - however they do recommend that you have reservations - there are two standby lines - one line is for hotel guests and the other line is for anyone not staying at the hotel. I did see both lines with people in them, but I do not think either line waited very long... There was one morning we could not get reservations at 7 AM like we wanted, so we just went down and stood in line and only waited for five minutes.

[BLBobbie]

Enjoying your posts! Hope you keep such good notes when we go on our next cruise together, I'll need to put them in my scrap book. :) I can't believe you didn't gain more weight than you did with all that wonderful food you are describing! I want the crabs Benedict, yum.... great job my friend!

[Eriksgarden]

We're going in 4 weeks! Cannot wait!

[kezza]

great review, looking forward to the next instalments

[onelegcraig]

Following from Canada. We have just booked POA for May 2017.

[klepton]

Following... looking forward to the rest of the review! :D

[slckac77]

Can't wait for the rest of your review! Enjoying it very much! We go in January.

[sprint180]

Hurry, its a slow day at work. I want something fun to read.:eek:

[Imalismom]

Hurry, its a slow day at work. I want something fun to read.:eek:

 

I will be back home Thursday night - I have been in the country in upper state New York (Salem) where there is NO internet connection... so I will try to get my next segments done this upcoming weekend... stay tuned....

[ndabunka]

Glad to hear that you enjoyed your trip on PoA as much as we did the following week but your title had me envisioning this....

 

Is Flo there with you or was it just a dream?

http://www.ispot.tv/ad/7dAF/progressive-best-day

Edited August 11, 2015 by ndabunka

[Kattus]

Bring on the next installment! ;)

[Luv Cruising Land or Sea]

Great review so far -looking forward to the rest - we are on POA next April but have 3 days prior on Oahu and 3 days post on Maui. Thanks for keeping such great notes!