What a great week!! Until the crash.....
Pride of America Cruise Review to Hawaii
Contributor Level:
Deck Hand
Cruises: 4-6 cruises
Review: 1
Helpful Votes: 46
7 Night Hawaii (Honolulu Roundtrip)
Sail date: December 16, 2006
Ship: Pride of America
Cabin type: Oceanview
Traveled as: Couple
Reviewed: 14 years ago
Review summary
We thoroughly enjoyed the Pride of America. The staff was very friendly and helpful, even though we could tell they were working long hours. We would see staff from restaurants working other duties at various times of the day, so I know they squeeze every hour they can from their schedules. The buffet food was surprisingly better than I expected. It's hard to keep food tasting fresh and not dried out on a buffet service, but the crew did a good job of keeping it fresh by rejuvenating the dishes and replacing them when needed. They kept the service counters continually cleaned, and would hold friendly conversation when approached with questions. Specialty restaurants were overbooked, but we got in with a bit of schmoozing. There were always cancellations or no shows, so with some patience we always got a table. I was amazed at how rude the passengers could be toward crew. Evidently, many in America haven't been trained in etiquette, and haven't learn the art of the language. Sugar catches more than vinegar, yet I heard so many demanding and crass people just blasting at crew members for insignificant things. I've read other reviewers who were hard on crew members, but from what I experienced, I think much of the fault of poor communication began with passengers who are overdemanding. I listened to one lady reeming out the staff - who had answered her questions to best of their ability, and with what I thought was reason - who was simply out of control If I was a crew member, I'd have thought seriously of making her an example of sea survival and tossed her overboard. Overall, we loved the cruise - although with only two days left, my wife had a moped accident and cracked four ribs. In spite of this, she attests to the trip being grand and the experience of the ship and Hawaii well worth it!Ports of call
We didn't do any excursions, but spent the day shopping and walking around town. This is more tourist trap than anywhere else we were. We found Union church and its history to be interesting. The palace was damaged by the recent earthquake, so the upper level was closed. We were tired by the other days, so a resting day and easy time felt good. We bought 100% Kona coffee here for more gifts for friends.
Thumbs Up
0
Don't Miss: Didn't find any musts....
This was where we rented mopeds. We had a great day with them and basically traversed the south and east sides. We drove up to Wailua Falls, out to the Spouting Horn, saw amazing homes (not sure I have 3.9 mil to buy one) and drove out to Popuis Bay. It was here we decided to call it a day, but when we did a U Turn - my wife flipped her bike on a curb and broke four ribs.....
So, we got a taste of the islands medical teams. The 911 gang was there within about 2 minutes!! They were incredible and most helpful. The police took a report, and the bike rental place came out to pick up the bikes. I rode with her to the Hospital, where they kept her overnight to make sure her lung wasn't going to collapse. The Wilcox Hospital team did a great job caring for her in spite of the busyness of the place. Our Dr. "McDreamy" ( actually named Dr. McGreevy) did a wonderful job also. He looked like a brother of Pierce Brosnan - seriously.
Don't Miss: Generally, the island we saw on bikes was beautiful...we'd do it again
Awesome days here. We took in Maui Ocean center - which was good. Of course, coming from Atlanta and being spoiled with the Aquarium there, Maui seemed a bit small, but the variety of fish and sealife, and the feeding in the shark tank at 11AM was excellent. The diver talks with the crowd from inside the tank.
Then, we took the next morning excursion to the top of the crater to watch the sunrise!! It was the most spectacular thing we've ever seen. We were above the clouds!! While freezing cold, it was worth the shivers to see the sun rise over those clouds. We then rode the mountain bikes 30+ miles to the plains again! The views would cause any believer in God to experience some great worship of His creative power on the way down. Our guide was off the chart nuts, but he did a fabulous job of protecting us. Brent was his name - look out for him!!
Don't Miss: Crater Sunrise and Mountain Biking down the Volcano.
Awesome days here. We took in Maui Ocean center - which was good. Of course, coming from Atlanta and being spoiled with the Aquarium there, Maui seemed a bit small, but the variety of fish and sealife, and the feeding in the shark tank at 11AM was excellent. The diver talks with the crowd from inside the tank.
Then, we took the next morning excursion to the top of the crater to watch the sunrise!! It was the most spectacular thing we've ever seen. We were above the clouds!! While freezing cold, it was worth the shivers to see the sun rise over those clouds. We then rode the mountain bikes 30+ miles to the plains again! The views would cause any believer in God to experience some great worship of His creative power on the way down. Our guide was off the chart nuts, but he did a fabulous job of protecting us. Brent was his name - look out for him!!
Don't Miss: Crater Sunrise and Mountain Biking down the Volcano.
This was where we rented mopeds. We had a great day with them and basically traversed the south and east sides. We drove up to Wailua Falls, out to the Spouting Horn, saw amazing homes (not sure I have 3.9 mil to buy one) and drove out to Popuis Bay. It was here we decided to call it a day, but when we did a U Turn - my wife flipped her bike on a curb and broke four ribs.....
So, we got a taste of the islands medical teams. The 911 gang was there within about 2 minutes!! They were incredible and most helpful. The police took a report, and the bike rental place came out to pick up the bikes. I rode with her to the Hospital, where they kept her overnight to make sure her lung wasn't going to collapse. The Wilcox Hospital team did a great job caring for her in spite of the busyness of the place. Our Dr. "McDreamy" ( actually named Dr. McGreevy) did a wonderful job also. He looked like a brother of Pierce Brosnan - seriously.
Don't Miss: Generally, the island we saw on bikes was beautiful...we'd do it again
We did an excursion this day to Volcano parks which included the stop at Mauna Loa nuts factory. We loaded up the nuts for take home gifts for others, and then enjoyed the volcano site. Tour guide was great, and did a fine job of not overtalking, but tossing out great info. She was a local - so the outlook from her perspective on the issues in Hilo was very educational.
Don't Miss: Volcano Park
We did an excursion this day to Volcano parks which included the stop at Mauna Loa nuts factory. We loaded up the nuts for take home gifts for others, and then enjoyed the volcano site. Tour guide was great, and did a fine job of not overtalking, but tossing out great info. She was a local - so the outlook from her perspective on the issues in Hilo was very educational.
Don't Miss: Volcano Park
We didn't do any excursions, but spent the day shopping and walking around town. This is more tourist trap than anywhere else we were. We found Union church and its history to be interesting. The palace was damaged by the recent earthquake, so the upper level was closed. We were tired by the other days, so a resting day and easy time felt good. We bought 100% Kona coffee here for more gifts for friends.
Don't Miss: Didn't find any musts....
Pros: Hawaii was amazing! What a georgious place.....
Cons: Hospital wasn't the best experience....
Recommends Pride of America? Yes!
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