Top 10 Things to Know about the Pride of America

My family sailed on the PoA from June 6-13, 2015, and because I found these forums so helpful, and am surprised at how many negative reviews there are of this ship, I wanted to post my own "Top 10" about this cruise. This also appears as a member review here:

http://www.cruisecritic.com/memberreviews/memberreview.cfm?EntryID=507602&et_cid=2232003&et_rid=153540757&et_referrer=Boards

1. Cabins: Let’s get this out of the way… the rooms are small. We stayed in a mid-ship balcony room on Deck 9 (cabin BA9584) with two adults and an 18 year old boy who slept on the sofa bed. Because I knew about the rooms and had proper expectations going in, this wasn’t an issue. The room would have been much better for just two people, but at night with the sofa bed out you had to climb over that bed in order to get to the balcony. The bathroom was also very small, with a shower barely big enough to fit one normal-sized adult. However, the space is designed extremely well with lots of drawers and shelves, and storing luggage under the bed is a necessity. Having the balcony was great and made the room feel larger; I felt it was definitely worth the increased cost to be able to get some fresh air in the morning, afternoon and/or evening. We were on the port (left) side so we enjoyed viewing the Na Pali coast of Kauai from our balcony. The bottom line is that if you care about having a decent amount of space in your room, book a suite.

2. Dining: We are not “foodies” and do not frequent gourmet food establishments, but we felt the food was great. In fact, it exceeded my expectations that had been set low due to other reviews and being told that NCL wasn’t “on par” with some of the other cruise lines (we had previously been on cruises with Carnival and Holland America). The Liberty Dining room had the best waiter ever, whose name was David and he sings opera. The buffet in the Aloha Café was laid out very nicely, and even when very busy, we were able to find a table. We ate breakfast here daily so that we could eat outdoors on the back deck. We also ate in two of the specialty restaurants (La Cucina and Teppanyaki Grill) and they were good, but I was glad to have the Ultimate Dining Package as I didn’t feel they were worth an extra cost. If you do want specialty dining, book them either in advance or as soon as you board the ship, as the reservations book up very quickly.

3. Activities & Excursions: They had many activities on the ship scheduled throughout the day even though they were in port every day, so you will never get bored when on board. We did four excursions: Segway Tour of Lahaina, Haleakala Sunrise Bike Tour, Volcanoes National Park with Rainbow Falls Tour, and Mountain Tubing Adventure on Kauai. Segways and Mountain Tubing were booked through NCL and the other two were booked through Shore Excursions Group. The excursions were fabulous, and while expensive, we did not want to waste time shuttling over to get a rent a car and navigating on our own while worrying about getting back to the ship on time. Most reviews say to get your own car, but you have to decide what you prefer; we really enjoyed the comfort of a bus where we could relax, enjoy the scenery, and have a tour guide point out all of the sights. Also, I was worried that being in port every day would make for an exhausting week, but it turned out that we got back each afternoon with plenty of time to sit by the pool and read or engage in on-board activities.

4. Entertainment/Shows: The shows on board were first rate. We went to every evening show except the Polynesian one, and I highly recommend them. Do NOT miss the comedian Bud Anderson or the Magician Charles Bach, both of whom appear on more than one occasion. The magician does an underwater escape in the pool that is not to be missed, and do whatever you can to make it to “Oh What A Night” –those guys are amazingly talented and also quite funny; I had a smile on my face for the entire show. Even those who aren’t familiar with Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons will appreciate the level of talent and showmanship. If you like great melodies and 4-part harmonies DO NOT MISS THIS SHOW! (Beware, though—the CD they sell does not have these same men’s voices—it’s a different touring company.)

5. Staff: Other reviews have mentioned the carelessness or even rudeness of the staff, but that was not my experience at all. The staff members were excellent, highly knowledgeable and service-oriented.

6. Attire: You will not need formal attire (although the photographers are out every night so you can dress up/down according to your preference). The establishments that have a dress code (Liberty Dining Room and The Bistro specialty restaurant) only require for women shorts below the knee, pants, dresses/skirts, and for men they require long pants, closed toe shoes and collared shirts.

7. Items to Bring/Luggage: Due to the size and layout of the rooms, be careful about what you bring. Key items include Power strips (we were so glad we had these, we used two of them), clips/clothespins if you want to hang your bathing suits to dry on your balcony furniture without having them blow away, hanging bathroom kits, and tote bags or backpacks so you can bring various things on your excursions. Keep in mind that luggage gets delivered on the first day at a variety of times. My husband and son got their suitcases at 2pm, within an hour of boarding, but I had to wait until 7:30pm to get mine. If you need something the first day, pack it in your carry on (this includes bathing suits, as many folks used the pool area that first day).

8. Pool Areas: Speaking of pool areas, they have two good-sized pools and plenty of lounge chairs on multiple levels with both sun and shade. The pool water was not salt water, and the temperature was perfect and quite refreshing. You do not need to pack beach towels as you are given one per person in your room, and can exchange them or get additional towels at the main pool area. The pool in the back is the “quiet” pool for adults, and it was very nice except that it got pretty windy on the back end of the ship, and it’s also right near the only bar on the ship that allows smoking, so if you care about second-hand smoke, select a lounge chair on the other side of the bar.

9. Kids/Teens/Young Adults: There were a lot of kids, teens and young adults on this cruise, perhaps because we went in June. What pleased me the most was that they set up a separate group for 18-20 year olds with an activity planned for each night at about 9 or 10pm, so my son made lots of friends on board, spent the days and evenings with us and then after dinner or the show he then went to hang out with this group. He also had friends to go ashore with on two of the days when our port was within walking distance of a beach (Kona and Kauai.)

10. Summary: This cruise is simply the best way to see multiple islands in a short timeframe with no transportation time wasted. To fly to different islands requires getting to the airport, waiting in the security line, dealing with luggage, flying to the new destination, getting luggage again and transporting to the next hotel. Cruising avoids all of that wasted time and mental hassles, because you enjoy your evenings on the ship and wake up in a new place. The POA is a beautiful ship with great people and amenities. Oh yeah, and the scenery’s not bad either!

Glad to hear that you enjoyed the cruise and yes I believe POA has the smallest cabins out of it's fleet.

We are sailing POA in about a month. We cannot wait!

Sailing in April of next year....Great review and tips. I can't wait.

We just go off of her on the 18th. She is a beautiful ship with a great crew. We were treated great by everybody we came in contact with. Food was good and entertainment was good. Wish I was still cruising.

You included helpful tips. Glad you enjoyed.

Thanks for the info!!!

We were looking at POA and Celebrity.

Celebrity cruises from Vancouver for 10 or 11 day cruises and charges about the same price for POA's 7 day cruise. POA stays in Hawaii.

It is likely that we could save on airfare, since there is only a one way flight to or from Hawaii.

If we wanted to stay in Hawaii a few days, we would go with POA.

Thank you so very much for posting this! As you can see from my countdown, our cruise on PoA is coming up soon. I have been looking for recent reviews. You gave lots of very helpful information.

We loved our POA cruise and pretty much the same experience as you did.

We are huge Celebrity fans, but the POA is the way to go to see the most of Hawaii in a short amount of time (my young adult kids were NOT into a whole bunch of sea days just to get 4 days on land). I would do it again for sure. Thanks for posting such a positive review.

Thanks for your quick review. On our last cruise, we received an upsell to a suite and LOVED it. However, prices are much higher on this ship, so we're currently in an inside. With 3 cruises under our belt with balconies, I'm not expecting to stay in the room that much, but hoping for price drops or an upsell as our date approaches :rolleyes:

Proper expectations going in is key, I agree. Glad you enjoyed the POA!

Aloha fellow Zonie - Agree with your post. We sailed last September and had similar experiences on board with the restaurants & crew, and while we were also on deck 9, our balcony was on the Aft (9200) and we too had an excellent view of the Na Pali coast... coming & going! We'll be heading back next month (courtesy of Hawaiian Airlines) to spend a week on Oahu... can't wait.

I would add that bringing a "24-pocket shoe hanger" to go over the closet door really reduces the clutter factor in a smaller cabin. It's great for stashing sunglasses, flip flops, sunscreen, and whatever when not in use.

so there is a closet door? I have only sailed on a Princess, & their closet space is open. like the idea of shoe pocket hanger. thx

limmerb, thanks for honest info on cabin size! enjoyed your review. 13 days to our POA cruise[emoji4]

Yes, there absolutely is a closet door, and it is opposite the bathroom but you can still have both doors open at the same time. It's designed quite well despite the small size. I'm glad you found the review helpful, you'll have a great time. Enjoy!

We were in suite 13002 and the room was spacious and the balcony was over 440 square feet. Well worth a few extra bucks for the 5 of us.

Do they offer breakfast room service. Is it just continental and is there a charge.

Yes you can order breakfast in room service. Continental is free (coffee, milk, juice, pastries) but more than that there is a charge.

Do they offer breakfast room service. Is it just continental and is there a charge.

Yes you can order breakfast in room service. Continental is free (coffee, milk, juice, pastries) but more than that there is a charge.

Continental breakfast free up to 10:00 am. There are now some cooked to order breakfast items, but you will pay $7.95 per order. Lunch and dinner or any other miscellaneous orders, the $7.95 delivery fee applies, but no charge for individual food items except bar/soda orders. Easier to just walk to the buffet and eat, or bring a plate back to the cabin.

Great thread!! We just got off the ship a couple of weeks ago.

One thing that I would add just in case some people don't know is that there is no casino onboard. Since you're in Hawaiian waters the whole week, and Hawaii doesn't allow gambling = no casino. That's why the Las Vegas vacation packages are so popular with the locals. They don't even have the lottery. :eek:

Here's a link to my ongoing review.

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2241872

You can also check out my review. It's one of the only reviews on cruise critic that has video slideshows that accompany each part.

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2239376

Hi what cruise are you on in April 2016?

My first time on NCL, first time to Hawaii too, so we're very excited.

I've heard some good things, but I know that this is a different cruise line from our usual. ( HAL and Carnival)

All I really want to know is whether we can order our usual tea and coffee with breakfast pastries, delivered to our cabin in the morning. And if we can, do we have to pay a service charge for this ?

On our previous cruises, with other lines, we've always done this and other than tipping the room service waiter a couple of dollars, there hasn't been any charge on our bill.

I'd appreciate anyone who can set me straight on this.

Also are there hair dryers in the cabins?

My first time on NCL, first time to Hawaii too, so we're very excited.

I've heard some good things, but I know that this is a different cruise line from our usual. ( HAL and Carnival)

All I really want to know is whether we can order our usual tea and coffee with breakfast pastries, delivered to our cabin in the morning. And if we can, do we have to pay a service charge for this ?

On our previous cruises, with other lines, we've always done this and other than tipping the room service waiter a couple of dollars, there hasn't been any charge on our bill.

I'd appreciate anyone who can set me straight on this.

Also are there hair dryers in the cabins?

Based on the news reports on CC, it looks like you can still order continental breakfast from room service without the new service charge.

Also, hair dryers are supplied in every cabin.