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Pride of America Review - 10/27 Sailing (Long)

DivotMaker

By DivotMaker,
in Norwegian Cruise Line

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DivotMaker

DivotMaker

Posted
Posted

Just returned from our Pride of America 7 day trip to Hawaii. This was our first time visiting Hawaii, so we figured a cruise would be a good way to get a feel for the islands and see if/where we'd like to return in the future. We were also celebrating our 15th anniversary :-)

 

A little about us: We're both in our mid 30's and this was our 7th cruise. We've been on the following cruises:

 

Carnival - Easter Caribbean

NCL - Alaska

NCL - Canada/New England

RCL - Western Caribbean

Princess - Mexican Riviera

RCL - Baja Mexico

NCL - Hawaii

 

Now, about our cruise...We had cabin 9652 too and it was on the port side. It provided an excellent view of the Napali Coast on the last day.

 

Flew into Honolulu from LAX and arrived at around noon. We had debated renting a car and driving around Honolulu prior to departure, but we're glad we didn't. We were exhausted after 6 hours of flying! Plus, my wife is 3 months pregnant, so that would have added to it. The shuttle transfer to the pier was smooth and since we cruised with NCL in the past, we were able to use the Latitudes line and bypass about 150 or so people in the

regular line. We checked in within about 5 minutes of arriving at the pier. Very smooth. We were on the ship by 1pm and eating lunch!

 

We got oriented with the ship and just relaxed. By 2:30, our cabin was ready for occupancy and we went and checked it out. It was decently clean (not excellent), but we were satisfied. We're both non-smokers and we always worry about getting a cabin that's been excessively smoked in. Happened once before and it was miserable (ended up changing cabins). Anyway, we set sail at 8pm and were anxiously looking forward to our first stop in Hilo.

 

Hilo

 

We rented a car in Hilo and were off the ship around 8am. We rented through Alamo for the entire trip. We headed straight for Wal Mart to pick up some souvenirs, soda (soda cards are $52, so we opted for a 6 pack of 24 ounce plastic bottles instead for $4), and some snorkel gear. If you like chocolate macadamia nuts, you can buy them at Wal Mart instead of the factory (few bucks cheaper). 30 minutes later we were headed for Volcanoes National Park. Paid the $10 entrance fee and made the entire loop around Crater Rim road.

 

We also stopped at the Thurston Lava Tubes. Both sites were awesome! We then made our way to Rainbow Falls and saw the incredible Banyan tree up the hill. While there, a huge piece of a limb fells about 40 feet from us. We were just standing in the exact spot it fell about 2 minutes earlier! Next was Akaka Falls which was stunning as well. We stopped at a local place called Blane's which was decent but nothing to rave about for a couiple teri

burgers. At this point, it was time to return the car and just get on the ship before it left without us!

 

Maui

 

We rented a car for both days (two separate rentals, as parking seemed to be difficult overnight). We rented a convertible the first day. One thing to note about the Alamo cars--We found them dirty and in poor condition. That was true for all the cars we got through them that week. Not usually the case back home which surprised us. Anyway, after picking up the car, we started out on the Road to Hana. As they say, it's the journey, not the

destination. We only made it about 3/4 of the way, but that really was enough for us. It was enjoyable, and we're happy to say that we did it, but in our personal opinions, it seemed a little over-hyped. We then took a drive to Da Kitchen in Kihei (sp?) and had the best pulled pork ever! Portions were gargantuan (one plate would have been enough) and prices were great. From there it was on to south Maui to visit some of the beaches. We stopped at about 5 or 6 and got a feel for what was what. From there, we drove through Lahaina and made a trip around west Maui (beautiful drive). We then backtracked to Whaler's Village and had dinner on the beach while the sun was setting.

 

Maui Day Two

 

Picked up the rental car and headed straight for the beach! I snorkeled for a few hours and saw some turtles and fish. Very cool! We then went to Lahaina and walked around there and saw the large banyan tree. Pretty interesting to say the least! At that point we were pretty exhausted and headed back to the ship.

 

Kona

 

Kona is a neat little area. We took a shuttle down to the local beach and did some snorkeling and relaxing. Had a "decent" shave ice with ice cream.

 

Kauai Day One

 

Rented a car and drove to Haena State Park. The water was murky so the snorkeling wasn't very good. We stopped at Wishing Well Shave Ice and it was excellent. We had them with macadamia nut ice cream and they were very tasty! Our next stop was Po'ipu and we visited the beach and spouting horn. Stopped at Puka Dog in the Po'ipu Shopping Village on a friend's recommendation. I have to say, those dogs were EXCELLENT! Great service and the best lemonade we've ever had. They have a menu online (http://www.pukadog.com/menu/26/english-menu). We had the Pineapple Field and the Coconut Beach--Can't say enough good things about them. A little pricey at $6 each, but you have to try new things on vacation!

 

Next we headed to Waimea Canyon and saw some great sites. It's a beautiful location and the scenery is amazing. We stopped at around mile marker 5 and watched a great sunset. A note of caution here: the road is very steep and full of curves. We though about watching the sunset from up top (around mile marker 18), but didn't want to risk the drive down at dark. Just something to consider if you are planning on a sunset at Waimea Canyon.

 

Kauai Day Two

 

We were exhausted from day one, so we decided to take the shuttle to Kmart and get some souvenirs. There was a vendor out front selling Malsatas (sp?) which are similar to deep fried donuts--quite tasty and very inexpensive.

 

Ship Review

 

This was our 3rd NCL cruise. We were a little nervous about the Pride of America after reading several threads about rude American staff onboard. In our experience, the POA staff ranked among the highest in customer service. With the exception of our room steward (he never said a word to us when we spoke to him, possibly a language barrier), we were greeted and made to feel welcome the entire time. It was good to have conversations with ship employees familiar with our state as well. So, if you're concerned about service, put those concerns aside!

 

The food was excellent and varied. All you can eat prime rib was a hit. The morning buffet was a traffic jam, but if you went outside to get your food, there was nobody in line (took us a day to figure that one out). We didn't try any of the paid restaurants, but the menus did look pretty good. The Cadillac Diner was a blast. Milkshakes were only $3.50 and they had a pretty good selection on their menu (onion rings, meatloaf, hot wings, to name a few).

 

The entertainment was pretty good as well. We're not into the late night partying scene, but they seemed to have a lot to offer if you are. There was a good presentation on the history of the POA that you shouldn't miss.

 

Debarkation was a breeze and very efficient (most likely due to no customs lines).

 

All in all, this was a wonderful experience. It gave us an excellent overview of Hawaii and we're anxious to get back for a land trip to spend more time on some of the islands.

 

If you have any questions, please don't hesitate to ask. I also have a few of the daily activity sheets I can scan and e-mail if anyone is interested.

 

Regards

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AZGrandma

AZGrandma

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Picked up the rental car and headed straight for the beach! I snorkeled for a few hours and saw some turtles and fish. Very cool! We then went to Lahaina and walked around there and saw the large banyan tree. Pretty interesting to say the least! At that point we were pretty exhausted and headed back to the ship.

 

* * *

 

I would be interested in knowing which beach you ended up choosing for your second day in Maui! I am overwhelmed at the idea of choosing beaches, there are so many and so much to consider (sand vs. rocky w/fish; calm vs. waves for bodysurfing, etc.)

 

Also, what was the water temp. like? We are going in Jan. and I've had several warnings that the water will be cool. That will be new for me.

 

Lastly, what time did you return the car to the airport at Hilo? Not that I want to cut it close, but I do want to spend all the time I can on the island! Sounds like you timed it just right. 4pm?

 

Thanks for any help you can give!

 

Leslie

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Lauraloha

Lauraloha

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Posted

the best uncrowded beaches are in Makena, south of Kihei, and through Wailea. Try Maui Prince beach park for good shade, and snorkeling.

 

BIg Beach makena and Little Beach makena are stunning.

 

on the west side, try Fleming's Park in Kapalua and the little beach out in front of the Napili Kai is awesome too.

 

good snorkeling in front of the Napili Shores, very lagoon like and turtles.

 

Kaanapali Beach is the worst. It's man made.

 

have fun on Maui

Lauraloha:)

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Lisa99

Lisa99

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Posted

Thanks for the great review.

 

How did you get from the dock to the rental car agency at each port? Are there shuttles, walking distance, etc?

 

We're on the America Nov 17 sailing and are really looking forward to it.

 

Thanks!

Lisa

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anthk333

anthk333

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I was on the same sailing and just want to add that I was very impressed with the crew as well. There were a couple of minor hiccups over the course of the week, but nothing that I haven't seen on internationally crewed ships as well.

 

Lisa, we rented cars in Maui and Kauai, and there were rental car shuttles available at the dock in both those ports.

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ohioNCLcruiser Great Review Rare

ohioNCLcruiser

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I was on the same sailing and just want to add that I was very impressed with the crew as well. There were a couple of minor hiccups over the course of the week, but nothing that I haven't seen on internationally crewed ships as well.

 

Lisa, we rented cars in Maui and Kauai, and there were rental car shuttles available at the dock in both those ports.

 

Glad to hear you had a good time. How was the crew now compared to then?

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Terre Great Review Rare

Terre

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Thanks for your review...we sail the POAm December 15th. From what I've been reading, it looks like things have improved over the last couple of months. Some friends of ours took this ship back in May and had horror stories.

 

We had already decided not to expect too much; after 15 cruises we've gotten a little more laid back about them anyway. Thanks again for taking time to write your review.

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picturethis

picturethis

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Posted

Thanks for the info. My family of 5 adults with 3 cabins are sailing on 11/17 and can't wait. I printed your info and am taking it with us.

This is our first try with NCL. Been on Royal 4 times and Celebrity once and loved them all. Looking forward to trying NCL and this trip to Hawaii.:)

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