First Time in Hawaii
Pride of America Cruise Review
Contributor Level:
Second Mate
Cruises: 7+ cruises
Review: 1
Helpful Votes: 24
7 Night Hawaii (Honolulu Roundtrip)
Sail date: June 04, 2022
Ship: Pride of America
Cabin type: Inside
Cabin number: 10053
Traveled as: Family (older children)
Reviewed: 2 years ago
Review summary
This was a dream destination for our family vacation. We felt it was well worth the money and a great way to see the islands of Hawaii.Embarkation
Quick and easy. We had our luggage tags already printed but they had a table where you could get some in case you forgot. The terminal wasn’t busy at all. We walked right up to crew checking vaccine cards, testing results, etc. Loved the cultural touches throughout the terminal.
Ship experiences
Food and Dining
We really enjoyed the lower capacity in the buffet. We walked right up to build your own pasta and omelet stations. I love that they had a beer, wine, soda station in the buffet area as well. We never waited more than 5 minutes to get a table at the Skyline dining room. The service was a little slow at times but the crew was trying their best and very friendly. We also ate at the two specialty dining restaurants- Cagney’s Steakhouse and Jefferson’s Bistro. Cagney’s was delicious- from appetizers to dessert. The meal did take about 90 minutes. The server said the kitchen was slow that night. Jefferson’s Bistro food quality was great as well and the meal was quicker too. The Cadillac Diner was a fun setting.
Onboard Activities
We loved hanging out by the pool and the hot tubs when we got back on the ships. There weren’t a lot of people usually since most spent the time off the ship. We played some cornhole by the pool which was fun too.
Entertainment
We really enjoyed the stage shows- Polynesian culture, magician and comedian. We didn’t attend the lights, camera, action show though. We did attend the white/neon party. The house band played some pop hits, but we felt a DJ would have been a good addition to keep people on the dance floor. We missed the line dances that we’re used to on a cruise though. With only one showtime per night, we also had to be sure we ate early enough to attend them. Karoake was fun too, but would have been better if the bar in that room was open.
Service and Staff
Our room was always made up when we requested it. I loved the little dials outside the cabin door to let the room steward know what we needed. We were happily surprised at how many connections we made with various crew members. Having less crew and guests allowed us to see the same members more often and was a pleasant change to from past cruises.
Ship Quality
The ship was so clean and an easy layout. The size was perfect for the capacity and Hawaiian intineray.
Cabin / Stateroom
Our family of 4 had originally booked an family inside room. It was the standard inside room size and really tight for 4 adults. We went to guest services to see about getting an upgrade and we were pleasantly surprised when they not only offered us a balcony room across the hall but also allowed our adult children to stay in the inside room. We paid a small upgrade fee which was well worth it. I feel once again this was due to so many empty cabins being available.
Ship tip
Book dining reservations early. Be patient with the limited staff- most are working so hard. Remember you are there for the itinerary. It’s not a big, fancy ship but is well kept.
Thumbs up
0
Ports of call
We did the hoppa on hoppa off Volcano excursion. Aaron was a great tour guide. There were only 13 of us on the tour which made it so easy to move from place to place. Much more economical than booking through the ship. They picked us up right in the terminal too.
Simply gorgeous! As we sailed up to the port we were greeted by Hawaiian singers and hula dancers. The sun was shining and waking up to hearing the peaceful music was priceless. I sat on the balcony and enjoyed this performance before we went to breakfast. We took a Lyft to the Wailua River and did the river cruise and fern grotto which was a beautiful, relaxing excursion. I booked this directly through the Smith Family site. On the second day we went to the beautiful beach which was a 10 min walk from the terminal.
This was our least favorite port. The weather was cloudy and rainy. We planned to do a beach day since they said there were nice beaches nearby. We took a Lyft to one recommended to us but the water was rocky and quite rough. We decided to leave soon after and just walked around the port area. I will say this port had a more Caribbean port feel with so many restaurants, shops and even a small bay like beach righg when yiu walked off the ship.
This is an industrial port. We used Lyft both days to get to/from the beach in Kihei the first day and to the town of Lahaina on the second day. Both towns had plenty of restaurants, shopping and beautiful views.
We went in recreation.gov and booked our tickets for $1 each for Pearl Harbor. This is a must see when in Honolulu. We stayed one night in Waikiki Beach the night before the cruise. We watched the fireworks on Friday night from the hotel balcony. It was a great way to start our vacation.
Breathtaking! The ship even turns around so you can see it from either side. Deck 6 was a great place to watch from and to listen to the narration.
Disembarkation
It was very organized. We got to choose our time by picking up color luggage times from Guest Services a on the 6th night. We had booked our flights through NCL so we picked up our luggage in the terminal and walked right to the airport shuttle quickly and easily. Once again less capacity I felt contributed to how smoothly disembarkation went.