mel-b

I wonder if there's a way to bump this thread to the actual Pride of America forum? I'm thinking it might be seen better if so. If any of y'all know how I can do this, please let me know. In the meantime, I'll continue on with my review.

Probably like most of you, I researched the heck out of Maui and how best to maximize our time on the island. We decided to at least drive the road to Hana and see the sunrise at Haleakala.

We disembarked the POA around 830am. Here's a shot of her docked in the port:

This port is very industrial. Everything you might've heard/read is true. We exited the ship and walked through a building and out into a parking area where the tour buses/shuttle and car rental vans would pick up passengers. Since this first day in Maui would be full (as in no set time to return to the ship that night), we opted to rent a jeep through discounthawaiicarrental dot com. We used this Jeep for the entire time we were in Maui. If you are adventurous, enjoy personal freedom (as in not being guided by an official tour), and don't mind driving long and winding roads, renting your own vehicle is the way to go.

We were paired with Thrifty (located at the airport). We had to wait a bit longer than we wanted at the port for the Thrifty van, but I suppose we were mostly impatient and wanted to get as early a start on the road to Hana (RTH) as possible. This is recommended mostly due to daylight. I suppose in hindsight, if we had been on the RTH in the dark, certainly on our way back and close to the town of Paia, it would've been okay. My DH was willing to drive it in the dark. I, however, was the nervous nellie.

Let me stop at this point and make a most necessary recommendation. A lot of people acquire the cd which narrates the RTH. There is an app (which we downloaded and I believe costs around $5) called Gypsy Guide Road to Hana. I can't recommend this enough. We nicknamed the narrator Ricky Bobby just 'cause. He was awesome. The real deal. He'd narrate between stops. Speaking of stops, he'd encourage us to pass over some of them because quite frankly, there isn't enough time to stop at every pullover or waterfall. He did good to reign us in. He does not continue to narrate past Haleakala National Park (Ohe'o Gulch/Seven Sacred Pools). Ricky Bobby was quick to remind us the back country is technically forbidden per rental car contracts. I will say this - if we would've had more time, perhaps stay on the side of the island where Hana is located, we would've given the backcountry drive a go. Oh well, there's (hopefully) next time. I personally loved the RTH the most in terms of Maui. This area is amazing. I hope to return and spend more time in the town of Paia (the start to the RTH) and Hana.

Ok, where did I leave off? I believe I left off at the point of being able to have access to our cabin. It was great to change into a swimsuit and lounge in the sun on the balcony. Having a lounger out there was super. It was mentioned that cabin 9700 is aft and has a connecting interior door to suite 9698, which is a wraparound cabin. We became cruise friends with the folks in this cabin, and had breakfast with them on their balcony one morning. This gave us the opportunity to see the layout of the room. Of course, the balcony is awesome as it had a dining table for four. Two loungers as well. The room itself had a nice espresso machine. I believe this suite had the ability to order full hot breakfast unlike our cabin category which was continental only. The suite seemed to suit them well as they were an older married couple traveling with her father.

I took the opportunity to book half of our dinners online pre-cruise. Moderno was available for the first evening. We actually dined here twice. I'm glad we had the upgraded dining package. I believe if this had not been gratis, we would've paid for it anyways. Moderno is on a smaller scale than, say, Texas de Brazil. The wine suggested by the server was great and we ended up having a couple bottles of that particular wine throughout the cruise. The salad bar was nice. If I recall, there was a ceviche available which was quite tasty. All of the meat was excellent, but I distinctly remember the lamb. My DH does not like lamb, however, he liked Moderno's. We especially enjoyed the pineapple which they placed on a rotisserie and basted with brown sugar and cinnamon (if I recall correctly). The server provided the recipe to my husband, and we've duplicated that at home. It was that good.

After this gluttonous dinner, we hung out in the Aloha cafe aft of deck 11 to watch the sailaway. The pictures we were able to get of downtown Honolulu as the sun was setting were magnificent (I attached a shot above).

We did not partake in the sailaway party as we were pretty tired at this point. We also did not partake in the pub crawl which was offered once we first arrived on the ship. We originally committed (without payment), but opted to keep our reservation at Moderno instead (eat versus drink). I believe the pub crawl takes place around 6pm, therefore before the sailaway time of 7pm.

Stay tuned for our first official day - Maui!

Exactly 30 days from today we will be in room 13002.... can't wait... got to finish teaching 2 semesters of summer school first....

So exciting!! I wish we were counting down to go again too!

Thank you for reading! Have you written a review on the POA? I sure would love to read about your experiences and why you personally have done the b2b, and on multiple occasions now.

 

You bring up such a great point about cabin 9700. Thank you for mentioning the connecting interior door between that cabin and the wrap around suite next door. Initially, I was concerned. We lucked out though because it was a husband and wife and her father. They were very quiet. And we became friends with them and were able to enjoy their space one morning for breakfast as well. But, it could be noisy and that's a risky proposition to take. If we were to do the cruise again, I'd not book that particular cabin but would still like to be on deck 8 or 9 aft.

I should probably add that when we booked the cruise, there weren't many options left for aft balcony cabins. We booked only a few months out. If I recall, 9700 was the only aft available on deck 9. We didn't want deck 10 so we took the gamble on 9700 with the connecting interior door. If there had been many other options, we would've steered clear of 9700. But if you really really want an aft balcony, and it's the only one available, it might be worth the gamble.

mel-b thanks for you review. We are one of the lucky one's that have been able to do this cruise b2b three times now and a fourth 2017 and we always stay 5-7 days on land before.

We are also booked in aft 9702, we have stayed in this one for the last two.

 

Our 1st cruise was 9700 but had a lot of noise from the party in the family suite next door plus you could hear it through the adjoining door. So we don't cabins that have adjoining doors anymore

 

Being from Canada our flights are around $8 to $1000 plus 8 hour light just isn't worth for us.

Thank you for reading! Have you written a review on the POA? I sure would love to read about your experiences and why you personally have done the b2b, and on multiple occasions now.

You bring up such a great point about cabin 9700. Thank you for mentioning the connecting interior door between that cabin and the wrap around suite next door. Initially, I was concerned. We lucked out though because it was a husband and wife and her father. They were very quiet. And we became friends with them and were able to enjoy their space one morning for breakfast as well. But, it could be noisy and that's a risky proposition to take. If we were to do the cruise again, I'd not book that particular cabin but would still like to be on deck 8 or 9 aft.

We are in an aft balcony as well! Do you have any pictures of the balcony? It sounds amazing!

Let me see what I have. I didn't specifically take shots to post here in my review, but there's a good chance I have some anyways. When I was doing my research, I referred to a few shots of aft balconies on the POA from a Google images search as well as YouTube. Deck 9 seemed to be a safe choice. Deck 10 is right under the aloha cafe.

My husband and I are going next May, our first time in Hawaii as well, and super excited! I'm loving what you have to say so far! :)

Yay! Thanks for reading my review, Kattus.

Need to take a break to pick up the 6 y.o. from an ever so awesome Lego Minecraft summer camp. But I'll leave you with a parting shot of downtown Honolulu during sail-away. We ate our first dinner aboard the POA at Moderno. I'll give you my thoughts on that when I return!

After check-in was completed, we boarded the ship through the Atrium. It is classy IMO and designed well to give off the "you're now entering the white house" feel. Certainly less overwhelming and (for lack of a better word) cheesy than some older Carnival ships I've been on. You know, late 90s early 00s bright lights and colors and all that jazz. The ship was clean, too. I'm not one to noticed every nuance like floorboards are dusty. But it honestly seemed clean and new for not being such a new ship.

We grabbed some grub from the buffet area on deck 11 and ate in the aft section of deck 11 (Aloha cafe). We enjoyed this area frequently throughout the cruise. It's shaded from the hot sun, and there are plenty of nice outdoor couches/chairs in which to lounge. Since we were hot, tired, and waiting for our room to become available, we remained in this location and enjoyed a few of the day's drink specials. Our room appeared to be one of the last sections to become available, around 3pm.

The room as I mentioned above was an aft balcony cabin, 9700. It does the job. It was clean and beds pushed together. Typical bathroom with clingy shower curtain. Plenty of ample storage for luggage and clothing (always always I bring too much in clothing and shoes). The balcony is where it's at. Very deep in size. We had a lounger and a regular chair plus small side table. There's plenty of room to add another lounger and chair if needed. All in all, it suited our needs. But remember, we aren't too picky. And, with the amount of time in port, we used the room for the 3 major S's...plus coffee!

Did I mention food? If you haven't caught on by now, my DH and I lovvvve food. Colorful, flavorful, fun, unique, fresh food. We were on the quest for good coffee and juicy tropical fruit on this trip (coconut and pineapple at least). Hula Grill was our first seriously awesome, good coffee experience. The kind of experience where you sit there with warm cup in your hand, breathing in the heavenly aroma of the brewed bean. Bold, full of flavor. Kona coffee. Ranks up there IMO with coffee experiences I've had in (especially) Thailand and Puerto Rico. I'd move to Kona on the Big Island just to learn how to cultivate this precious bean. But, I digress. Back to the review!

After breakfast at the Hula Grill, we loaded our luggage in a cab and drove the relatively short distance to the pier. There she was, docked and sitting pretty. You know that giddy feeling you get in your belly when you drive up on the ship for the first time on embarkation day?! The POA is not a gargantuan of a ship. She's just right.

Embarkation was easy. We arrived around noon if I recall. We wanted to have lunch aboard the ship. We didn't think our room would be ready until at least 1pm, so we'd take advantage of that time to eat and explore (room was actually ready around 3pm). The line to drop our luggage at the pier was not too long. We got leid while waiting for check-in. Took the obligatory "welcome aboard, sweaty" picture.

Me and DH

My husband and I will be sailing on the POA departing October 31st. I can't wait to hear your experience on the ship and what you did on each island.

Thank you for reading! I hope it's helpful and enjoyable for you as you prepare for your cruise on the POA!

Waikiki Beach in the evening, in front of Duke's

DH with his first of many Mai Tais @ Duke's

Breakfast @ Hula Grill (above Duke's)

I'm really looking forward to your review. We have been on many cruises, but this will be the first time on NCL. Our cruise is in January 2016. We chose this cruise because, like you, we have never been to Hawaii and we thought it was a great way to see the islands for the first time.

Karlou, I really hope you enjoy the POA and this way of exploring Hawaii as much as we did!

Eagerly following

Thank you for following!

Anxious to hear more.

I'm anxious to write it - hoping to get all applicable details out of my memory and onto this page!! Thanks for reading

Also looking for a more current review of POA. Can't wait to read yours.

Thanks for reading this!!

Thanks for posting a review. Looking forward to more :)

Thanks for joining me on my review journey!

Looking forward to the rest of your review!:)

I am certain your review was one I read from start to finish! Thank you for posting it, and for reading mine!

With our 6 year old squared away with the grandparents and our oldest two beyond jealous they weren't going with us (It's our anniversary, y'all! Besides, you're not skipping classes at A&M so, sorry!...) we took a direct flight from DFW to Honolulu on the Friday before embarkation. We decided to do our exploration of Oahu on the back side of the trip, after the cruise.

Easy enough flight. 8 hours is long, but the jet lag even longer.... the struggle was real y'all. At least it made for waking in Maui at 230 am to catch the sunrise over Haleakala a bit more doable..

We opted to stay at the Holiday Inn Beachcomber in the Waikiki beach area. Since we just needed one night prior to embarkation, and we were beyond exhausted, it didn't matter all that much where we laid our heads. This hotel is in the heart of it all and across the street from the beach. And Duke's. We threw our luggage in the room and headed to Duke's for some grub and a Mai Tai. Watched the sun go down, Mai Tai in hand and calamari in mouth. Didn't get much better than that! We did not make it to the famous Hula Pie at that point since we were nearly nodding off on the table. But, we did make it back to Duke's at least 2 more times after the cruise. I can honestly say out of all the (many) Mai Tais I tried, Duke's was the tastiest.

We crashed by 9pm. And guess what time we woke up? Yep. Dark-thirty. As in people were still partying. 3am. Couldn't. Go. Back. To. Sleep. And hungry. Hangry was more like it. Thankfully, the Hula Grill (which is above Duke's) opened around 6am. We were not the only risers partaking in breakfast and Kona coffee! Once again, another great spot to take in the sun rising, morning surfers, drink coffee and take in the scene.

I think I covered a good portion of why we chose to book this cruise versus by land only. I won't deny that it is a fast-paced way to see Hawaii. BECAUSE we were newbies to the islands, we couldn't think of a better way to do it. If we hadn't cruised on the POA, we more than likely would not have seen the Big Island and would've had to choose between Maui and Kauai (Oahu was a given due to the work conference I mentioned). Which would've meant missing out on two of the four islands. Even though time is limited on each island, if you're willing to maximize it and enjoy exploring, you can cover a lot of ground. I honestly can't think of a better way to do Hawaii as a first-timer. And should we have the chance to return, we'd consider doing this cruise again. Let me say, we would have no hesitation doing so. I'd love to do the cruise again then end up on Kauai, Maui or the Kona side of the Big Island for another week.

I agree more than one week in Hawaii is needed. Two weeks would be about right IMO. Of course, who wouldn't do more than that?! We had 11 days. I'll begin at the beginning of our arrival.

Not to say this cruise wasn't unbelievable in the 7 days we had. It was. We found ourselves commenting how cool it would be to do a back-to-back on this ship. It's IMO perfect for that. In fact, I believe there have been several people to do so, especially ones from overseas (Australia as an example). Oh to have a month long holiday from work...

When I initially booked this cruise, I admit I had some trepidation. Was this truly the best way for us to maximize our time and $$ in Hawaii? And for our first trip to the islands no less. The answer is, yes. I can't recommend enough, however, to research research research. Most of you reading these reviews on CC probably have that in your nature. I think knowing what the basic pros and cons were (according to others who went before us) going into this trip was an advantage. I knew it would take a lot, I mean A LOT, for us to ever be disappointed. Glass half full, right?

I mentioned NCL offering a special for this cruise. Room credit (not much, I believe $75) and upgraded dining. I'll talk more about the food later but for now, I can't recommend enough the upgraded dining package. If you love food, good food, it's worth it. It was nice to have this option "for free."

We love balcony rooms. Once you go balcony, it's hard going less. If you can splurge in this area, do so. There's nothing like (IMO) waking up and having coffee/tea in your robe on the balcony watching the sun rise. Or watching the ship come into port - Hilo on the Big Island stands out in my memory. Coming into port looking at the summit of Mauna Kea volcano in the distance with snow on its cap...

We booked aft balcony 9700. We chose an aft because that is a personal fave of ours. We enjoy watching the wake of the ship as we sail. We also chose the aft so that we could see both sides. This would be most enjoyable during the cruise-by of the Na Pali coast on Kauai (although we ended up watching that from the aft Aloha Cafe on deck 11). During our itinerary, we did not cruise by an active lava flow on the Big Island because the lava was not flowing toward the ocean at that time (so we were told). *Note - the only way to see active lava flow on the big island is by air.

Hi all, and thanks in advance for journeying with me as I review and reminisce our cruise on NCL's Pride of America. Like most of you, I spent the months leading up to our cruise researching the heck out of the ship, the islands, activities etc.. I found unlike other cruise lines and ships, the POA seemed to not have as many recent reviews as I would've liked. What was available was a mix of yays and nays. I vowed upon returning to the mainland to write a review as a form of paying it forward. It has taken me 2 months to do so but, hey, it's a start right?!

Bear with me as I look through my notes and find the time to transpose everything to this review. I hope you will find it quite helpful. I will be as honest and candid as my memory allows!

Let me give you some background info before I get into the meat and potatoes of the actual trip. My husband (46 y.o.) and myself (36 y.o) are celebrating our 10 year anniversary this summer. We love to travel, and cruising is one way in which we do so. Most of the time, we cruise with our 3 kids. As we began to plan what to do for our anniversary, Hawaii was definitely on the list. Neither of us had ever been. I had heard in passing from many who had gone before us to not cruise. "Try to take 2 weeks, and stay on 2 islands," they said. We had cruised with NCL once before, on the Epic when she first came out. We loved it. Most of our cruising has been with Carnival. Galveston (our home port) is easy to get to and the Carnival Magic has been great for taking our kids. We sailed her twice. But, we really really loved our experience with NCL so when they sent a flier in the mail with deals relating to the POA, we were intrigued.

My DH had to be in Hawaii for a conference in April. It just didn't seem fair that he go alone, you know? So we bumped up our anniversary celebration to wrap around the work event. It became a matter of do we stay on two islands (Oahu being one due to the conference), or do we cruise POA? It appeared those who loved POA, LOVED it. And those who didn't love it so much, well, I think their expectations were not aligned. I'll explain why I believe that throughout this review.

DH and I are fairly laid back. I'm the kinda gal who drives a rowdy SUV, can get a little mud on the tires but do so while wearing heals and a dress. We like to travel that way as well. We like nice places and things, but can acclimate to any setting and have a good time regardless. What most people seemed to dislike about the POA, did not matter to us. The ability to unpack once and see 4 different islands was what convinced us to book the POA. I have only one regret... we didn't book a back-to-back. This cruise would be unbelievable if done for two weeks straight.

We will also arrive in Oahu on Friday afternoon. We've made no plans for Friday night but hopefully we'll use the time to help get over the jet lag. My cousin visits Hawaii nearly every year but has never cruised around them before. He recommends the Old Lahania Luau on Maui. We've reserved a rent car and we plan to drive there from the cruise ship on Sunday afternoon (about 25 miles)...the luau begins at 6p, I think. We are picking up the car Sunday morning but we haven't planned anything before the luau. I suppose we'll figure something out between now and then. I did some research concerning other cruise ships that might be there at the same time we are. There will be two other ships visiting Maui while we are there but both will be at Lahania rather than our location. The Ruby Princess and the Grand Princess will be there...one on Sunday and the other on Monday but I don't recall which ship on which day. Doesn't matter which, I guess, but the bottom line is Lahania may be more crowded than usual both days as well as other touristy places on the island. The good news is that I didn't find any other ships scheduled at any of our other stops for the rest of the cruise. Anyway, we plan a beach trip on Monday morning before we set sail for Hilo.

 

On Hilo, we plan to take the Volcano and Akaka Falls excursion offered by NCL. The excursion was originally titled Rainbow Falls but I read somewhere that due to some construction we go to Akaka Falls instead. The next day in Kona we plan another beach day.

 

On Kauai we are taking the Na Pali Explorer excursion the first day and we'll just do a bit of shopping the second day there as the ship leaves at 2p.

 

Our plane doesn't leave until 7p for the flight back to Houston so we are going to Pearl Harbor after we disembark.

You're further along in your decision making than us for sure! By the way, congrats on 25 years of marriage! What a great way to celebrate (Hawaii). My DD and I will technically be celebrating our 10 year with this trip even though our actual anniversary falls in July. He has a work conference to attend in Honolulu after the cruise, so that made this trip a must-do during this time.

I don't think I'll make plans for when we arrive either as I'm not sure about the jet lag. We'll be coming from Texas as well, DFW. I think I've been reading that it's acceptable to board the POA around noon? That's our plan at least. Thanks for passing along the info on the ships that are in port. It's nice to know we may have most of the stops to ourselves.

I'd really really love to work in that luau on Maui, but I suspect with our desire to drive the Road to Hana the first day, it just won't work logistically. I'm considering another luau on Kauai called Smith Family I believe. I've heard great things about that one. Otherwise, we're looking at either Chief's or Paradise Cove on Oahu.

I should look into the Hilo excursion you mentioned through the ship. I figure Volcano Nat'l Park will be a must. I'd like to find transport for that day versus renting a vehicle. Kona, I'm considering renting something for that day if it's doable and touring a coffee plantation. We're a bit obsessed with a good cup of joe..

Is the Na Pali Explorer excursion you mention through the ship? I'd really like to take that in, either via small boat or by small plane. I have a friend who has spent a decent amount of time on Kauai recommend the north shore. Ke'e Beach and the Kalalai trail which is a portion of hiking on the Na Pali coast off of Ke'e beach. Hanalei town is also in the north shore area and comes recommended, so we might try to scope that area out.

Did you book Pearl Harbor on disembarkation day through NCL or on your own? We did our own but aren't sure on transportation due to having our luggage..sure looking forward to this trip!

I was curious about what excursions if any you had selected. I've read every opinion and write up I could find on each stop and we've selected a few!

I'm probably behind the ball somewhat! Planning for Hawaii has been a bit more time consuming than other places of travel..So far, we have a hotel for the Friday night we arrive into Honolulu. As for Maui, we will be renting a jeep and probably doing the Road to Hana the first day. Second day in Maui, more than likely we'll drive to Haleakala crater for the sunrise and the remaining of the day I'm not yet sure. Haven't decided anything for Hilo or Kona, although I'm susupecting we'll want to do the Volcano National Park in Hilo...not sure if it's worthwhile to retn vehicles in those two ports? Kauai I haven't even gotten to yet..We'll be stying in Oahu on Waikiki beach after the cruise is over for a few days. Pearl Harbor that day we disembark and probably a luau on Oahu versus Maui or Kauai (due to timing). Can't decide on that either!!! What about you?