georgiacat

You are welcome.  Enjoy your trip.

Thank you so much for such a wonderful trip.  I enjoyed every minute without leaving home.  Keep up the good work.

Thank you God for Wildra.

SilkySal, did you see the reply above?  I will be glad to answer questions.

We booked with Waikiki Beach Rentals.  After I put in the request, the owner (I assume) answered and dealt with our reservation.  All was  easy.  Note:  rental money is not refundable.  Read the fine print.  We were very pleased with our condo.

Thanks Scottca075 for posting links to my reports.  I don't think I know how to do that.

The complete tour is about 2.5 hours.  We chose the 10 am tour because we like to sleep later than some do; there are earlier choices, but this was the latest.  We had to be at the office at 9:30 am.

We were met at the dock terminal because of the rain and bused to the office (short walk away).  They use short buses.  Below is the list from their website.  Order may vary.

Escorted city tour of Hilo, Hawaii plus hop on hop off shuttles!

Duration  2.5 Hours

Escorted city tour of Hilo, Hawaii plus hop on hop off

shuttles to downtown Hilo and Richardson Black Sand Beach.

Stops: Liliuokalani Gardens and Coconut Island, beautiful, stopped about 20 min because of rain. (could be longer if it were not raining)

Big Island Candies, candy factory; about 15 min.  Yes, we bought candy.

King Kamehameha Statue, photo stop, about 5 min.

Rainbow Falls, waterfall; rain had stopped; about 20 min.  restrooms

Then you had choices.  The bus stopped in downtown and about half of the people got off.  There is a bus stop where the shuttle bus would pick them up and return to the ship (no additional fee) and bus stops to the beaches.  Because of the rain, we elected to stay on the shuttle and return to the beach.  We enjoyed the tour even with the rain.

Downtown Hilo (blue line shuttle, self guided)

Richardson Black Sand Beach and Carl Smith beach

park (blue line shuttle, self guided)

*Note- Buses board at Keikana Office near Port of Hilo

Queen Liliʻuokalani Gardens, Japanese botanical gardens, free

We pre-booked and took the Hoppa On Hoppa Off trolley in Hilo , May 2023.  I would recommend it completely.  It is only $39 pp.  It was raining that day, so mostly rode the tour.  If it had not been raining, we would have gotten off downtown and walked around.  Trolley takes you back to ship after that too, if you wish.  All is explained well.  People can visit the beaches by trolley after the tour if they wish.  The tour is very interesting (even in the rain) and well worth the money.  Especially if you take advantage of the transportation options after the tour.  We just went back to the ship because of the rain.  Hilo gets a lot of rain.  Plan for that.

They were both great.  I put 2 short reviews on the Hawaii and NCL threads.  Look for them.  I will be glad to answer any questions.  We would choose both the hotel and the Pride of America again.

In May 2023 we used https://www.kauaitaxico.com   808-246-9554.  They were very easy to deal with.  I am glad I reserved them ahead of time for our activities.  We were pleased with their service, clean and prompt.

Sounds like you had a good tour.  We used the POA transfer from ship to airport (Delta departure 4:30 pm) via Pearl Harbor and City Tour.  We enjoyed this tour also, used our excursion credits from NCL on it.

Yahooo!!!  Another vacay with Wildra.  Enjoy it for me.  I love your writing and your locks.

We sailed POA in May.  Our room steward was excellent.  One night with Dave, the service in the main dining room was great.  The other two nights in the main dining room, the service was poor.  Service other places, bars, buffet, internet cafe, shops, the service was very good.

My complaints:  the balcony room was very small.  (can't fix that, just be aware).

Buffet food was not appetizing.  That depends on your taste.  They have a great salad bar.  There is a variety of food.

Entertainment was okay.  Most nights we were too tired to attend the shows.  First night singer/piano player was good; we went to hear his performance again in the lobby.  Hawaiian performers were good; the comedian was okay.  Missed the rest.

Ask any questions; I will try to answer.

We were interested in two bedrooms (with 2 bathrooms) for 3 nights pre cruise.  It turned out that the Ilikai was a better deal than renting 2 hotel rooms.  We wanted to be close to the beach.  All fees were quoted up front.  They did require a minimum 4 night stay, and I was okay, even happy, with that.  I believe there was a cleaning fee, but there was no resort fee.  You need to consider that add on for certain hotels.  I was very pleased with our hotel and location.  We enjoy having a common area to gather and a refrigerator to keep drinks cold, even though I don't cook on vacation.

After getting up at 4 am, touring all day until 4:30 pm, doing 2 loads of laundry while the guys rested, I did not want to walk, did not know where to go close by.  We had already eaten at the hotel restaurant and the menu did not vary, good but limited.  All I wanted was a salad with grilled shrimp.  Not the best experience, but it fed us until we collapsed in bed about 8 pm.  I knew what they had and did not feel adventurous.  Some of us have fickle tummies about new food.

I did not see a Waffle House; I would have gone there too.  Gourmets, we are not.  We just like to eat.

Polynesian Cultural Center tour & luau w/transportation

10:15 am Motor coach pick up.  Arrived at PCC about 12:00; hot dog for lunch.

Ito and Almay were our guides through the islands, very friendly & nice.  Put us up front and gave us seats for every venue.

Samoa – made fish (weaving), show, men climbed trees

Aotearoa (New Zealand) – did swinging balls exercise, dancing

Fiji – alter of sacrifice, boat used in film Moana

Tonga – tattoo (tattoo will stain clothing if rained upon)

Tahiti – wedding ceremony

Took canoe ride back to the beginning for the luau.

Aloha Luau was very good; presented with leis upon entrance to restaurant area; virgin pina colada served in pineapple at the beginning.  Buffet with lots of food and you could return for more.  The food was delicious.

During the luau there was a show of dancers on the stage up front:  hula dancers, children, fire dancing, the “queen” made an entrance. It was held in a covered outdoor venue against a background of waterfalls and lush gardens.  We had individual tables.  The setting was gorgeous.

Hawaiian Journeys theater – beautiful pictures, no commentary.  17 minutes

HA, Breath of Life presentation was very good.  A lot of what we had seen on the Islands.  Started at 7:30; ended at 9 pm.

Went to restrooms, then bus.  Back at hotel at 10:30 pm.

This was my favorite day of all the Hawaiian excursions we did.  I chose this situation for our luau, and I am pleased with my choice.  Had a great time; easy to use their transportation.

We did the Roberts Oahu Grand Circle Tour..

Met bus at ABC store #83 at 6:30 am, returns 4:30 pm

Interesting tour with several stops.  Weather mild with a few sprinkles.

We had lunch at the Kualoa Ranch.  I was disappointed that this was only a  lunch stop.  The food was okay.  You could schedule tours from there if you were on your own time.  We had a tour bus schedule.

This tour was good, but basic.  It gave us an overview of the Oahu island.

We stayed 4 nights prior to our POA cruise in May.  We took the taxi Hawaii23 (808-926-9049) ($33 + tip = $40) from airport to hotel Ilikai Resort condo 325.  We rented the condo through Waikiki Beach Rentals.

The condo was 2 bedroom, 2 bath with kitchen, living room and dining room areas.  It had a city view, some traffic noise, but not enough to bother us.  The showers could use handicap bars as the floor was slippery when wet.  Beds were comfortable, 1 king, 1 double/queen, 1 twin.

There was a McDonald’s across the street for breakfast, ABC store on the corner for drinks and souvenirs, and Red Lobster on corner; we ate supper there once.  There is a pharmacy across the street where we found distilled water for the CPAP machine; it was only a pharmacy, not a drug store like we are used to.

Ilikai was very nice.  We ate supper at the restaurant Cinnamon; the menu was good, but limited.  We had hamburgers and loaded tacos (spicy).  The ice cream store was good also.  We were close to the marina; the pool looked inviting, but we did not try it.  We walked along the pathway to the edge of Waikiki beach.  We stopped along the way to watch the surfers and water traffic, boats, parasails, etc.

There is a laundry room on each floor by the elevators.  $3 each for washer and dryer.  They worked with credit card.  The machines have a countdown clock for how much time is left before they finish.

There are bus stops very close to the hotel, and tour bus stops close in the other direction.  We used them and were so glad they were close as we did not rent a car.  Pictures to follow.  I have trouble imbedding pictures into text.

We used our NCL excursion credit ($50 pp I think) against the price posted on the NCL website.  I thought it was reasonable.  We enjoyed the tour more than I anticipated.  But we were exhausted by the time we got to the airport.  We had to do something to kill the time before our flight left at 4:30 pm, and do something with a lot of luggage.

Airport transfer with Pearl Harbor and City Tour; Plane leaves 4:30 pm

The ship provided special tags for checked luggage (black) and a special section close to the exit gate for easy pick up and transfer to bus.

We left the ship about 7:45 am.  Bus tour with NCL providing tour and transfer to airport.  Our luggage stayed on the bus, along with backpacks and other bags.  No purses allowed in Pearl Harbor.  I put money, ID, credit cards in my pants pockets.  Everything was safe; I did not worry about it.

We rode through Punch Bowl cemetery and through downtown Honolulu with the driver giving good commentary..

Stopped for pictures at the King Kamehameha I statue and the Iolani Palace.

We were at Pearl Harbor 9:40 am to 1:30 pm.  Saw the film, walked and looked at all the displays, went through the museum and gift shop; got a sandwich and drink from snack shop for lunch.  Very impressive.  Did not do extra things because I did not know how much time we would have.  If I had known that we would be at Pearl Harbor so long, we would have gone to the Missouri and Arizona Memorial.

We were at the airport about 1:45 pm.  Made our Delta flight to Atlanta; left at 4:30 pm.

to Atlanta; l

The only ship "excursion" we did was the Pearl Harbor transfer to the airport.  We were very pleased with that and I will get a report on it out soon (maybe today).  We did independent excursions on the other islands, and Oahu prior to the cruise.  I will report on those and our transportation choices on the Hawaii thread, hopefully soon.

Yes, we did sail by the NaPali Coast.  It was beautiful.  We were on the port side, and viewed it from our balcony while my husband packed.  I am sorry that NCL has decided not to do this after June.  We could not hear any commentary (if they had some), but my husband filled me in on his helicopter tour commentary.  Loved it.

The ship itself is fine.  I prefer the smaller ships rather than the huge ones they are making now, too far to walk from one end to the other.  The AC in our room was great; we like it cold.  The only real complaint was with the service in the main dining room (training and hiring more staff could help that) and the quality of the food.  More practice for the chefs (who may be new) and training would also help there.

Our family of 3 adults cruised on the Pride of America in May, 2023.  We were in cabins 11544 and 11546, connecting cabins.  This was very convenient for us.  The cabin was the smallest of any balcony cabin that we have had (cruised on Carnival, Princess, and RCCL).  The shower was very tiny.  The balcony was okay, larger than Princess Regal's balcony which is tiny.  I like the size of this ship. 

I was concerned about the location (on pool deck, two cabins from pool area), but there was no noise in the cabin at all.  The only time we heard the pool noise was when we were on the balcony.  It was very convenient to go to the pool or walk to the buffet area.  The elevators were a few doors in the other direction to the theaters.  Dining was at the other end of the ship.  The ship was good.  Our steward was great (can't remember his name).

Dining was not impressive, a source of discontent.  Buffet was okay.  Breakfast was very good.  Be sure you have food before 10 am.  They close down and remove dishes in front of you precisely at that time.  I was caught unawares the first morning waiting on a slow omelet maker/person with nothing on my plate.  I got my omelet, grabbed some bacon because it was close and a roll.  That was all.  The serving pans disappeared with people standing in lines.

The first night we sat in Dave's section in the main dining room.  He was great.  (I did not realize how great until later).  He recommended the shrimp scampi, and it was very good.  Service was wonderful.

The second night we were in the steakhouse.  I asked about the prime rib from our waiter.  He said it was "prime" because that was the name.  It wasn't.  It was tough.  I don't remember much else about that food.  Service not up to Dave's standard.

Third night we had to wait about 20 minutes (always went about 6 pm).  I should have asked for Dave.  We were in the middle of the room.  By the way, the dining room was always half empty, even though people were lined up in the hall waiting for tables.  They don't have enough staff.  I don't know who our waiter was.  About 4 different people came by with different things.  We did get beverages and food, but it took a long time.  Food not memorable.

Third visit was the worst.  Wait time was 45 min (still about 6 pm).  Different waitress who wanted to socialize with table beside us rather than take our order (about 30 min later).  Terrible beverage service.  Food was cold and not the best tasting.  Don't order the "banana split" for dessert.  It was a split banana, 1/2 scoop of vanilla ice cream with a small drizzle of chocolate syrup on top.

After that we ate at the buffet.

I must mention that the Cadillac Cafe was very good.  We were there for a late lunch one day.  The food and milk shakes were delicious; service was very good.

We stayed at the Ilikai hotel for 4 nights before the cruise.  (I will write about that under the Hawaii topic later.)  We checked out about 10:30 am.  Hawaii23 took us from the hotel to the ship.  We were at the ship before 11 am.  Walked through check in easily, checked in with the safety drill station.  We were eating lunch at the buffet by noon.  After that we went to the library and read and napped until the rooms were ready about 3:30 pm.  Later they say that check in is very busy.

We enjoyed our trip to Hawaii and chose this ship for the itinerary.  We were very pleased with that. 

We were on Kauai a couple of weeks ago (May 2023) and used Kauai Taxi Co.  We reserved what we wanted for a 3 legged trip for 3 adults with backpacks.  It was $45 for each leg ($135 paid before we left town).  It was expensive but worth it for me not having to worry about the rides.  They were prompt, sent advance notices that they were coming, and worked with us when we had to shift schedules a little bit.

When we got off the ship there were about 6 or so taxis lined up for the passengers.  I mentioned this to our friendly driver about not having to "reserve" a taxi.  She said that all the taxis would be gone in 30 minutes, and it would be hard to find one.

On the second leg of our trip, the driver gave us the price ($16.80) before I told her it was a prepaid trip.  She checked and thanked us.  Yes, I feel a little bit "put out" knowing what I had paid.  But it was worth it for me not to worry about transportation.

I prebooked on line.  Their response was prompt, if not thorough.  I called the telephone number, and they answered promptly and explained and answered my questions.  Yes, I would recommend using them.

If you are young and like to walk, that might be a different thing.

We did the Historic Kona tour through Shore Excursions.  A 4 hour tour, less expensive than through the ship.  Very enjoyable.  We don't drink coffee, but I bought some for souvenirs for friends.  I really enjoyed the Painted Church and the Place of Refuge.  Those are not found on other islands.

There were 3 of us oversized adults (2 used wheelchairs from plane to shuttle area).  Our son helped with the 2 largest pieces of luggage.  We had 4 pieces of luggage (medium to very large), 3 backpacks, 1 CPAP machine in case, & 1 purse.

From airport to hotel Hawaii23 sent a shuttle van (with logo on side).  There was one other couple on it too, with their luggage.  The van held all comfortably.  From hotel to ship Hawaii23 sent an SUV, and we were the only passengers.  Again, everything fit comfortably.

These are the directions that we received from Hawaii23.  I showed them to the wheelchair pushers, and they knew where to go for the shuttle pick up area.  We waited about 20 minutes for shuttle bus to come; our plane was an hour early.  There were other shuttle buses and taxis waiting in that area.  And people waiting too.  We felt very safe.

We will track your flight and will be in the airport area upon your flight arrival.

 

You will be looking for the Pre-arranged 4 area. 

 

Please exit the bag claim area between carousels 21 & 25 and cross the street to the median. From the median you will see signs for Pre- arranged pickup area number 4. 

Please use the crosswalk once more and proceed into the Pre-arranged 4 area.

 

Look for our driver with a Hawaii 23 sign. 

We were on POA last week.  I haven't had time to recuperate or write any reviews yet.

We were assigned boarding time of 1:30 by computer check in, but our hotel wanted us out by 11 am.  We had 4 days pre-cruise in Honolulu, so we did not want to sight see the morning of.  We checked out of hotel and went to the ship for boarding.  No time checked.  That time of day we just did all the stuff and walked on board.  It was very fast.  It gets really crowded middle of the afternoon.  We went to safety drill station, got check off, ate lunch in the buffet at 12 noon, found the library to read.  Our rooms were ready about 1:30 to 2 pm.  Ask any questions you wish.

We used Hawaii23 808-926-9049 last week for pick up from terminal to hotel and again pick up at hotel to ship.  We reserved them before leaving home.  For 3 of us plus luggage, it was $33 plus tip ($40) each time.  It was worth it to us.  They sent details of where they would pick us up at the shuttle area of the airport, and the wheelchair people rode us there.  We highly recommend them.