Pride of America questions - first time NCL

[lithlith]

We are considering a cruise on the Pride of America next year and have a few questions as we have never cruise with NCL before.

 

1) Balcony room - worth it or not? We had a balcony when we cruised Alaska and loved watching the whales and the scenery. But we've also had balcony rooms in the Caribbean and felt there really wasn't anything to see but ocean. What's the scenery like on the Hawaii cruise? Is there a particular side of the ship to book a cabin on?

 

2) Beverages - does this ship have drink stations similar to Carnival or Princess where you can walk up anytime of day and get a glass of water? What else is available for drinks that are free - lemonade? ice tea? juice? hot chocolate?

 

3) Which ports are tender ports for the Hawaii cruise? How does the tendering process work on this ship? NCL excursions first? or first come first serve? or something else?

 

4) Are cabins ready when you get on board the ship or do you have to wait until a certain time to access your room?

 

5) How does the MDR work? Do you have to have a reservation or set time for dining or can you show up whenever you like? Is breakfast or lunch available in the MDR or only dinner?

 

6) Is there an ice cream or frozen yogurt machine on board?

 

7) What are the passengers like - old, young, families, couples?

 

8) What are some not to miss features of this ship?

 

Feel free to jump in with any other pieces of advice you have about sailing on NCL's Pride of America - we're all ears!

[puddles99]

1) Balcony room - worth it or not? We had a balcony when we cruised Alaska and loved watching the whales and the scenery. But we've also had balcony rooms in the Caribbean and felt there really wasn't anything to see but ocean. What's the scenery like on the Hawaii cruise? Is there a particular side of the ship to book a cabin on?

This is a pretty personal thing - we really enjoyed having a balcony to see the lava sail by (which doesn't always happen - depends on Mother Nature!) and the NaPali Coast from our own private space. But you can also go up on deck for these sail-bys. The POA cruise is really port-intensive so most folks agree that a balcony is less "necessary" than it may seem on other itineraries.

 

2) Beverages - does this ship have drink stations similar to Carnival or Princess where you can walk up anytime of day and get a glass of water? What else is available for drinks that are free - lemonade? ice tea? juice? hot chocolate?

You'll be able to find water, iced tea, lemonade, some flavored waters, coffee, hot tea, and I believe hot chocolate available at any time at the buffet.

 

3) Which ports are tender ports for the Hawaii cruise? How does the tendering process work on this ship? NCL excursions first? or first come first serve? or something else?

The only tender port is Kona. You can pick up tender tickets at Guest Services so you don't have to wait for NCL excursions to clear first (although you automatically get a tender ticket with an NCL excursion).

 

4) Are cabins ready when you get on board the ship or do you have to wait until a certain time to access your room?

If I recall correctly, cabins were ready around 2pm - but it may have been earlier.

 

5) How does the MDR work? Do you have to have a reservation or set time for dining or can you show up whenever you like? Is breakfast or lunch available in the MDR or only dinner?

You don't need a reservation, but if you turn up at a popular time, you may need to wait for a bit (kind of like eating on land without a reservation).

 

6) Is there an ice cream or frozen yogurt machine on board?

Yes - at the buffet

 

7) What are the passengers like - old, young, families, couples?

When we were aboard, there weren't too many kids (but there were some). It was a pretty good mix of honeymooners, anniversary celebrations, family reunions, and typical vacationers.

 

8) What are some not to miss features of this ship?

While the ship is beautiful, it's not a "destination." This cruise is really about Hawaii, not the POA. There are some pretty cool homages to all things patriotic throughout the ship and we enjoyed the down home feel of the Cadillac Diner (and the milkshakes!). But really, it's all about getting you to the next beautiful island.

 

You can read more about our trip in the review linked in my signature & I'd also be happy to try to answer any questions you may have. Enjoy your adventure!

[Manbo]

We loved this cruise & plan on doing it again soon. The ship is great, but since the main attraction is Hawaii, there is not as much cruise ship things. We agree about not needing a balcony in the Caribbean, but loved our balcony on P of A.

We rented a car in Maui and kept it overnight. I recommend self touring there. We did in Hilo, and in Kona just walked to the beach.

Do some research, it will be your be awesome!

[lithlith]

Thank you both for your replies! We appreciate you taking the time to respond.

 

We are well aware that Hawaii is the main attraction, which is why we are considering this specific cruise. :-)

 

Having never cruised on NCL before we were hoping from Cruise Critic to get more of an idea of what it is like to cruise on NCL, what their ships are like, etc.

[buckeye82]

Thank you both for your replies! We appreciate you taking the time to respond.

 

We are well aware that Hawaii is the main attraction, which is why we are considering this specific cruise. :-)

 

Having never cruised on NCL before we were hoping from Cruise Critic to get more of an idea of what it is like to cruise on NCL, what their ships are like, etc.

 

 

POA is a pretty ship with a friendly crew. I know that Hawaii is the main attraction, but perhaps because we spent a week in Hawaii pre-cruise, had been to Hawaii before and live in a semi tropical climate we enjoyed the amenties on the ship very much.

 

Our deck of cabins was not ready until three oclock on embarkation day. We had lunch and enjoyed sitting in the pink champagne lounge listening to the music from the atrium and looking at the small museum in the lounge area. Our family of five enjoys trivia and we played several times. We went to almost all the shows and I was surprised that everyone in our party enjoyed them very much. There were Hawaiian ambassadors aboard and my adult daughters enjoyed the hula classes when we were back on board in time to participate. We also enjoyed the lei making crafts.

 

My husband and son spent some time in the Gold Rush saloon watching sports and I would breeze through to pick up popcorn as a snack. My adult kids enjoyed the white hot party. The sail away bbq was nice. We couldn't find a table down by the pool, but realized that there were tables on little alcoves jutting out over the pool deck and we enjoyed seeing Honolulu slip away and we then headed to the back of the boat to see the sun setting.

 

We enjoyed our balcony cabins very much (aft). The bathrooms were tiny. You just have to be ok with roosters crowing every morning in port and some port noise (unloading a cargo ship early one morning in Kauai). The Na Pali Coast sail by was spectacular from our balcony.

 

No casino and Bingo was for prizes only (no cash).

 

We rented a car in every port except Kona. There were a couple of days that my daughter wanted to do something more adventurous and the really nice people at the excursion desk helped her pick out kayaking and rappeling. She had a blast.

 

Overall, if you have the time and desire to, you can find plenty to do aboard the POA.

[chengkp75]

Thank you both for your replies! We appreciate you taking the time to respond.

 

We are well aware that Hawaii is the main attraction, which is why we are considering this specific cruise. :-)

 

Having never cruised on NCL before we were hoping from Cruise Critic to get more of an idea of what it is like to cruise on NCL, what their ships are like, etc.

 

While the POA will give you a feel for NCL's corporate "feel", and the freestyle dining concept, the POA is just different from all other NCL ships. Even the advertising I've seen accentuates the idea of a moving hotel, rather than a cruise ship. While there are things to do onboard, there are not the bells and whistles that are on other ships.

 

The crew is also different from other NCL ships, and all other cruise ships in general. There will not be the overriding desire to please the guest (some call it fawning) that the international crew show. It is a fully US crew (I know, some exceptions), with US perceptions of service industry. I know full well the problems NCL faced with the US crew in the past, and some of them still apply, but they have done wonders in improving the cruise experience on POA. I worked 4 years as Chief Engineer on NCL ships in Hawaii, being there from day one, and a good friend of mine is still Chief on the POA, so I keep in touch.

 

Balconies are nice, but not essential on a POA cruise. There is no lava viewing on the big island now, but even when there was, the ship used to stop and turn 360 to allow everyone to see, and viewing was just great from a dining table near the window. The Na Pali coast is also best seen from on deck, and if I remember, they turn around and go back the way they came, so both sides get a view.

 

I know they used to have TV screens with wait times for restaurants posted throughout the ship, not sure if they are still in use. All dining venues act like a normal restaurant ashore, just show up and eat.

 

Hawaiian state sales tax will be charged on any purchase while in port, and until the ship reaches 2 miles offshore, at which time the Chief Purser will reprogram all the POS machines to no longer charge tax.

 

The two overnights are in my mind a great way to see the islands. I will make one warning. Nawiliwili park, right next to where the ship docks in Kauai tends to be a crew hang-out during the day, and is extremely dangerous at night. The Kauai county police admit to having almost no authority there. Crew have had incidents of assault and rape at night.

 

Don't know if you are a golfer, or want to golf on your cruise, but one aspect of the POA product that I felt NCL failed to advertise enough was their golf package. It includes 5 rounds of golf at PGA courses (in beautiful settings), carts, transfers to/from the ship, and club cleaning and storage by the pro shop. I don't think they do a package anymore, but they do offer individual courses, and club rentals.