Pride of America - Best and worst shore excursions?

[ndamro]

We didn't book until mid September and I believe it was already on sale at that time... we didn't use a TA though as none of them were able to match the online rates we were finding, which were incredible. We also snagged a great cabin that I did not want to lose, so I probably would have paid anything for it.

 

I'll have a look though - I looked a few weeks ago just out of curiosity and I believe all the rooms in my category are sold out. Would they still offer a refund of the difference in this case? Can you even get a refund without a travel agent? I had read about this in another post, but figured since I'd booked online (priceline I believe since Expedia won't take CDN customers!:mad: ). I would just consider it gravy at this point :D

 

Good for you that you were able to save some money! That should help with the rental cars! :D

 

Knew about the first one - I have a little book all made up so we know what time we're in port everyday till so we can make reservations right away accordingly.

 

Thanks for the tips! :)

[ndamro]

I checked that site you listed and it says that all the rooms are sold out and won't even let me see a price listing ;) Same with Priceline and Expedia - but on the front page (before it says they are sold out) it states that interior's were from $999, which is about $200 more than we paid I believe (close anyway). Granted that could be for a better cabin grade, but I think there are only 2 grades above ours. NCL doesn't list that sailing as an option either!

 

Looks like its going to be a busy ship!

[comfixit]

Wow! It just went from being really inexpensive to being sold out. Thats news to me. Just yesterday I did a post showing that inside cabins were $499 and Balcony's were less then $1000. How quickly things change. Either its a glitch or likely they sold off the remaining berths to a last minute cruise broker.

 

There are usually two ways you can gain an advantage from fare changes.

 

Price Drops - The most common way. You (if you booked with the company directly) or your TA if you used one calls the cruise company and asks for refunds or comps based on the difference in the price you booked the cruise compared to the lower rate available. If you have to handle it yourself usually you just call the company, tell them how much you purchased your room for and how much the price has dropped and ask them what they can do for you. If you dont like the answer you speak to a supervisor and ask again. You can usually go up quite a few levels. So don't accept the first no.

 

Price Increases - Believe it or not in some rare (but becoming more common) circumstances you can actually get upgrades based on price increases. My parents on this cruise booked a Ocean View cabin for around $8xx per person. A balcony cabin unobstructed was roughly 14xx at the time they booked. Well the price of the balcony dropped to around 1100 and the price of their category of Ocean View room climbed to $1495. So I told my TA and she called up the cruise line and got them to downgrade my parents room from the now more expensive Ocean View room to the now less expensive Balcony room.

 

For some reason the Ocean View climbed back up to somewhere nearer book rate and the Balcony plumeted from it's rate. The result became the opportunity to downgrade to a better cabin at no cost.

 

The cruise line was not very thrilled with the request, but our TA was insistent that we were giving up a room they could charge more money for and asking to take a room that was less profitable based on the current rates in the system. They did it grudgingly, but now my parents have an unobstructed balcony instead of an unobstructed ocean view room.

[S1Blum]

We just got back last week from POA cruise. We did a lot of things on our own - Pearl Harbor, drove to the volcano from Hilo and Akaka Falls - did run short on time doing both however - snorkeled & parasailed in Maui at Kaanapali beach on our own, toured Oahu on own. We did book the Captain Zodiac tour in Kona and it was really great. Good snorkeling, the guide was enteraining, the ride exciting and we saw dolphins! We also did helicopter trip in kauai that was really nice. There is a beach close to the dock in Kauai that we body surfed at - huge waves the day we were there...bigger than North Shore in Oahu when we were there. Did the Luau in Maui through the ship, but I was somewhat dissappointed with it. Food was good and entertainment was average, but there were probably 800 people there and the setting faced the back of a hotel. There was no "imu" ceremony, just sort of laid the food out behind the group and said "go get it by table". It's a good idea to know what you want to do before you go and reserve cars ahead of time. In Oahu on our return day, Thrifty was sold out...they will hold a reservation for 24 hrs without any obligation. It's a great itinerary and the weather was wonderful!

[ndamro]

Wow! It just went from being really inexpensive to being sold out. Thats news to me. Just yesterday I did a post showing that inside cabins were $499 and Balcony's were less then $1000. How quickly things change. Either its a glitch or likely they sold off the remaining berths to a last minute cruise broker.

 

There are usually two ways you can gain an advantage from fare changes.

 

Price Drops - The most common way. You (if you booked with the company directly) or your TA if you used one calls the cruise company and asks for refunds or comps based on the difference in the price you booked the cruise compared to the lower rate available. If you have to handle it yourself usually you just call the company, tell them how much you purchased your room for and how much the price has dropped and ask them what they can do for you. If you dont like the answer you speak to a supervisor and ask again. You can usually go up quite a few levels. So don't accept the first no.

 

Price Increases - Believe it or not in some rare (but becoming more common) circumstances you can actually get upgrades based on price increases. My parents on this cruise booked a Ocean View cabin for around $8xx per person. A balcony cabin unobstructed was roughly 14xx at the time they booked. Well the price of the balcony dropped to around 1100 and the price of their category of Ocean View room climbed to $1495. So I told my TA and she called up the cruise line and got them to downgrade my parents room from the now more expensive Ocean View room to the now less expensive Balcony room.

 

For some reason the Ocean View climbed back up to somewhere nearer book rate and the Balcony plumeted from it's rate. The result became the opportunity to downgrade to a better cabin at no cost.

 

The cruise line was not very thrilled with the request, but our TA was insistent that we were giving up a room they could charge more money for and asking to take a room that was less profitable based on the current rates in the system. They did it grudgingly, but now my parents have an unobstructed balcony instead of an unobstructed ocean view room.

 

That's fantastic! :) I know our category has been sold out for a while, and we were actually able to obtain a larger cabin meant for passengers with disabilities. We called the cruise line before we booked with the company to ensure that it was alright if we reserved that room since neither of us are disabled and they said it wasn't a problem, if they needed the room later on they would contact us and probably bribe us with an upgrade to get it from us but that they couldn't force us to give it up. We took it, but no bribery calls yet ;) I believe the cabin is about 2x the normal size, so I guess that is worth any discount I might have forfeited!

[ndamro]

I called NCL this morning to ask about the timing on the second day in Maui. The lady at the Hawaii desk told me that since the itenerary that was sent with passenger tickets indicates 8am for the 2nd day, they cannot guarantee that we are able to get off the ship prior to 8am that day. She said sometimes the ships go out to sea at night for some kind of manoevers??

 

To be honest I'm not sure she was 100% sure what she was talking about, as I indicated that NCL has shore excursions that leave at 3:30Am and a couple of others around 7am and she said she wasn't aware of those :confused:

 

Not sure I want to risk losing my money on the snorkel trip we have booked.

[sk99]

Comfixit, were you able to get your money back after the final payment?

I tried and was told by my TA that NCL does not do that.

[comfixit]

Sk99

 

Yes it was after final payment. And if your TA truly says that getting a deduction is impossible they are either very naive or more likely uninterested in truly representing your interests when it will cost them time and negatively impact their commissions.

 

 

This is an example of a TA that is more interested in making a living then truly serving the customer. And to be honest thats most people in most professions. In the future you will want to avoid on line TA's (if this was the case) and talk to people who have had very positive experiences with travel agents for a recommendation.

 

 

As for right now, call NCL, tell them you have noticed a price drop on your sailing of the (whatever ship) in (whatever category cabin) for (whatever date). Ask them who you need to talk to about discussing a rate reduction or cabin credit. They will ask for your booking # realize you booked through a TA and tell you that they have to talk to NCL direction. Then ask the NCL agent “Is there any way short of switching the booking from my TA over to you guys that I can speak to you directly on this matter?”. At this point the TA will most likely tell you no that is the only way they can't speak to you about this when your represented by a TA.

 

 

Now you have everything you need to properly prod your TA. Call the TA, inform them that you called to complain to NCL about the policy of not even discussing price drops after final payment and they informed you that it was in fact possible. But they also said your TA has to call and also informed you that the only way you could discuss anything directly with them was to switch the booking away from the TA to them, otherwise your TA is the only one who can discuss the matter. At this point your TA will be a bit fuming because they will have been proved wrong, forced to make the call on your behalf and worst yet probably thinking incorrectly that the NCL agent hinted at a way for you to completely disavow them of their commissions by switching the order over (which you can by the way do via fax if need be).

 

 

Be pleasant but firm when discussing the situation with everyone. If your persistent I have 0 doubt that you will be rewarded for your efforts. If your TA refuses to represent you properly then ask NCL what the procedure is to change your agent and do so.

 

 

 

I wish you all the best luck, but you don't need luck, just persistence. If you have more then two weeks I am pretty confident you will get something.

[Onessa]

At Hilo, I would suggest renting a car and going to Volcano NP - visitor's center, rim stops, and don't miss the lava tube! The ship's tours offered don't give you enough time! The nut factory was VERY commercial (particularly on Sundays and/or this time of year when the factory itself is closed or not very active).

 

On Kauia, you may want to do at least one tour with one of the private companies (either throught NCL or independently). There are alot of private roads that are not available to individuals who just rented a car and other roads that really require 4x4. We did the NCL sponsored "backroad adventures" and it was pretty cool - VERY BUMPY. Our driver indicated that he sometimes does the tour to the "grand canyon" but he doesn't talk much during that one because he wants to keep his eyes on the road.

 

We did a few snorkel excursions and would recommend the Molakini (terribly misspelled!) and Turtle Arches on Maui. Good crew, fast boat, nice locations for snorkeling - we saw at least 12-14 sea turtles.

[mitsguy2001]

Skip the Body Glove Snorkel in Kona, but do it with Fair Wind instead (you'll have to set it up on your own).

 

Why do you not recommend Body Glove? Fair Wind is not an option for me, since the cruise that I'll be on won't reach Kona early enough. Since Fair Wind isn't an option, do you recommend Body Glove, or one of the other ones?

[mitsguy2001]

My husband and I did the Kona by Land and Sea and Walk the Land Of Frozen Fire. They were just ok...not worth the money paid. We were on a tight budget so we had decided before the cruise to rent a cars on Maui, Kauai and Ohau, all with Enterprise. I recommend you reserve in advance - there were many passengers dissapointed to find all cars gone once we were in port. Armed with travel guides from Auto Club, a sandwich and friut from the Aloha Cafe, we enjoyed exploring each island. Have fun!!!

 

Why do you not recommend Land of Frozen Fire? What did you not like about it? My girlfriend wants to do that one. Is there a different volcano excursion that you recommend? How about Volcano National Park and Rainbow Falls Odyssey?

[karfest]

I called NCL this morning to ask about the timing on the second day in Maui. The lady at the Hawaii desk told me that since the itenerary that was sent with passenger tickets indicates 8am for the 2nd day, they cannot guarantee that we are able to get off the ship prior to 8am that day. She said sometimes the ships go out to sea at night for some kind of manoevers??

 

To be honest I'm not sure she was 100% sure what she was talking about, as I indicated that NCL has shore excursions that leave at 3:30Am and a couple of others around 7am and she said she wasn't aware of those :confused:

 

Not sure I want to risk losing my money on the snorkel trip we have booked.

 

As much as I like NCL, their customer service people don't always know what's going on. We asked some of the staff if the ship ever leaves during the night and they laughed! The ship stays docked the whole time. You can come and go all night if you want. We left at 4am to bike down the volcano and ran into several staff just coming back from a night on the town.

[3boyzmom]

We just got back from the P of Amer., so I thought I'd share our experiences. Keep in mind we're fairly adventurous but not very physically fit! We have 3 boys, ages 11, 10 and 6, so our adventures were limited by age and weight limits. None of the kids were old enough or weighed enough for a zipline.

 

Our itinerary was 2 days in Kona and no stop in Hilo. We did the surf Kona- loved it! The instructor was positive, helpful and wonderful with the kids! The other day we rented a car from Enterprise (minivan) and drove to Punaluu black sand beach. VERY long ride, (2 hours?) but beautiful, turtles on the beach and decent snorkeling, but not wonderful. Better snorkeling right there at the small beach at the pier.

 

Maui- did Discover Scuba- awesome! Also did the Haleakala Crater and Maui Ocean Center. This wasn't my favorite. A LONG time in a bus for our kids. Lots of people raved about the aquarium, but since we're from California, we have aquariums here that are as nice.

 

Kauai- did the mudbugs. LOVED IT! You are COVERED in mud, but it's not stinky. Some beautiful scenery and a hand-dug tunnel from the sugar plantation days. Swimming in natural pools with a waterfall. VERY fun. We also did the "tubing the ditch." Very relaxing, beautiful, but not as long as I would've hoped. You're in tunnels for almost 70% of the time, which was very neat! The water's a bit chilly. Guides are fun, and they were great in dealing with my disabled brother and even the elderly people on the tour.

 

Have fun!