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Pride of America Cruise Review to Hawaii
7 Night Hawaii (Honolulu Roundtrip)
Sail date: February 02, 2019
Ship: Pride of America
Cabin type: Balcony
Traveled as: Couple
Reviewed: 5 years ago
Review summary
We recently returned from the 7- day cruise. Here are a few thoughts 1. The on- line reqistration was easy and efficient. I would recommend booking specialty dining and excursions early. We did and were able to attend a lot of things that would have been filled up otherwise 2. The embarkation process was very fast. We arrived approximately one hour after initial boarding time to miss the rush. We were able to process-in including baggage, identification and walk-on in under 30 minutes. We should have packed swim suits in our carry on as we didn’t get our luggage until about three hours after boarding. We immediately went to eat and then hung out on deck until our cabin was ready about 1 1/2 after boarding 3. The specialty restaurants were very good but the buffet was only average and was heavily weighted with oriental and ethnic foods. The servers and wait staff in the buffet were surly and appeared to not really want to be there. 4. Our cabin (balcony outside) was a bit cramped as expected. It was listed as being able to accommodate 3 but was adequate for only 2. If you have more than a couple, pay for an upgraded cabin. 5. Shore excursions filled up quickly but were generally good. We booked a couple through another source and found them cheaper. Kona had the most activities available. Kona also is a tender port so plan your activities accordingly and expect a 30-45 minute wait for tender services. Other ports are walk-on/off and you can expect to be able to leave the ship at the posted port time. 6. Car rentals were generally easy. On Maui the airport is close by, Hilo had car rentals at the cruise port and Kauai had a shuttle to take you to the airport to pick up the car. 7. We kept the car overnight on Kauai and had no trouble finding street parking very near the ship for overnight at no cost. There is a mall close by that offers parking for $20 if street parking is full. 8. Go to Waimea Canyon on Kauai. If you have a rental car go early to be there at sunrise. There are multiple overlooks and informal viewpoints. On Maui the road to Hana is great but fire the bus so you don’t have to concentrate on driving. 9. Download Uber or Lyft apps and use instead of taxis. We found them to be less than 1/2 price of taxis and you don’t have to deal with taxi drivers who claim no English and then take convoluted routes to up the fare costs. You can also schedule Uber rides for arrival times at the pier. 10. On Kauai we went the Smith Family Garden Luau. It was cheaper then the Luau Kalamaku that the ship heavily promoted. It was also much more personal as the owner talked to every table and seemed very engaged. The gardens are beautiful and if you arrive at open time at 4:45, you have plenty of time to explore after an initial tram ride through the grounds. The dinner has all you can eat and open bar. They put on a great show after the dinner and the traffic was not an issue. 11. The entertain on the ship was EXCEPTIONAL. The production shows were top-notch and the smaller lounge acts were plentiful and good as well. The final show, VEGAS was memorable. The bottom line is that the ship is dated, the crew was generally OK and the food was average at best. Would I use NCL Pride of America again? Yes, it is a great way to see multiple islands without packing and unpacking and flying between islands.Embarkation
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Ship Quality
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Ship tip
Schedule activities including specialty dining beforehand. We did and were able to do what we wanted. Others scheduling later missed some of the activities and dining.
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Disembarkation
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