Pride of America planning Qs

[trish1c]

This trip is still in the dream stage & a minimum of 2 years away. :o But I thought I'd start asking Qs now.

 

1. Has anybody seen any price trends? I'm tempted to book now & watch & wait. Right now we can get the Freestyle choice, which may go away. Since POA has to pay American prices & taxes for alcohol, I'm thinking the UBP is the way to go here. Are the drink prices on board more than on other ships?

 

2. CW says no flights home before noon or 5 hours after you dock, which ever is later. How far is the cruise port from the AP? What's traffic like on a Saturday? I'm not talking about doing anything crazy like trying to book a 10 a.m. flight but I would like to know the lay of the land.

 

3. We tend to book excursions independently. However, last cruise we learned that in Jamaica nobody can beat the cruiseline's prices for certain things because the attractions offered deals to the cruiselines but not the independent vendors. Are there any things like that we need to know about? I will start lurking in the Hawaii port of call board & on tripadvisor.

 

4. We are planning to do about a week pre-cruise. Does anybody have any suggestions for websites to search for accommodations? I like bargains but not cheap stuff. For example I'd happily pay $300 - $400 per night for some property that usually goes for double that but if I can't get a deal, I'd rather keep it under $200 per night, if possible. It doesn't have to be a hotel; tripadvisor had a vacation rental section where we could get a reasonable deal on condos. I have to further investigate the ground transportation options in connection with that though. I have heard that Honolulu especially has a great bus system. Since we'll be with people on the cruise, I'd prefer something a lot more isolated before the cruise. I also like the idea of having a kitchen (vs a kitchenette with only a microwave & small fridge). I'm really looking for stuff that isn't going to show up on the big commercial sites like hotels.com, priceline, or expedia.

 

I'm sure I will be back with a ton more questions.

[Manbo]

We did the POA in Oct 2012 and loved it. we did some of the exact things you are thinking about.

First we did a mix of excursions through NCL and on our own. For example, we found Ricky's Tours through an CC message board and had a blast! In Kona we went to the beach on our own and rented Kayaks for a little ocean sail!

The best thing we did was stayed a week AFTER our cruise. We found the Hyatt Place, 1 block from the ocean in Waikiki, with free breakfast for a great price!

We rented a car with GPS that had all the attractions loaded and drove around to see everything!

CC is a great resourse, we can't wait to go back and do it over again!

[Molokai-Chuck]

The POAm does not offer UBP. I would book now if you have a date in mind, as the POAm does not usually go down in price, but when it does, you can usually rebook very easy. Also to be sure you get the room you want.

I think the Freestyle Choice goes away at the end of this month.

 

The HNL airport is about a 15 min cab ride away from where you dock. I would not do a flight out before noon if possible.

 

Chuck

Edited January 27, 2015 by Molokai-Chuck

[puddles99]

1. As others have said, I would recommend booking now (or soon). We watched the prices just go up and up and up after we booked (in 2012 for a 2013 cruise).
   
2. I see you're from NJ . . . there won't be too many flight options back to the east coast on a Sunday (unless things have changed drastically from when we booked). More than likely you're options will be too early (10am or earlier) or late afternoon / evening. I'd recommend spending the day lazing on a beach before getting on a plane. We made the mistake of spending the day touring but after our non-stop week, I really feel like we made the wrong choice!
   
3. Hawaii is pretty easy to do on your own. We booked a few excursions through NCL because either the option looked better than any private excursions we found (such as the Molokini Crater snorkel we did that included transportation from pier) or we wanted to avoid loss of deposit funds if tendering were not possible (in Kona). There are lots of great tips on the Hawaii forum.
   
4. Can't help you with this one :) We used Starwood points to book the "First Lady of Waikiki" through spg.com

If you're interested, you can read the details of our cruise & the excursions we would recommend in the review linked in my signature. Hope that helps!

[dexddd]

This trip is still in the dream stage & a minimum of 2 years away. :o But I thought I'd start asking Qs now.

 

1. Has anybody seen any price trends? I'm tempted to book now & watch & wait. Right now we can get the Freestyle choice, which may go away. Since POA has to pay American prices & taxes for alcohol, I'm thinking the UBP is the way to go here. Are the drink prices on board more than on other ships?

 

2. CW says no flights home before noon or 5 hours after you dock, which ever is later. How far is the cruise port from the AP? What's traffic like on a Saturday? I'm not talking about doing anything crazy like trying to book a 10 a.m. flight but I would like to know the lay of the land.

 

3. We tend to book excursions independently. However, last cruise we learned that in Jamaica nobody can beat the cruiseline's prices for certain things because the attractions offered deals to the cruiselines but not the independent vendors. Are there any things like that we need to know about? I will start lurking in the Hawaii port of call board & on tripadvisor.

 

4. We are planning to do about a week pre-cruise. Does anybody have any suggestions for websites to search for accommodations? I like bargains but not cheap stuff. For example I'd happily pay $300 - $400 per night for some property that usually goes for double that but if I can't get a deal, I'd rather keep it under $200 per night, if possible. It doesn't have to be a hotel; tripadvisor had a vacation rental section where we could get a reasonable deal on condos. I have to further investigate the ground transportation options in connection with that though. I have heard that Honolulu especially has a great bus system. Since we'll be with people on the cruise, I'd prefer something a lot more isolated before the cruise. I also like the idea of having a kitchen (vs a kitchenette with only a microwave & small fridge). I'm really looking for stuff that isn't going to show up on the big commercial sites like hotels.com, priceline, or expedia.

 

I'm sure I will be back with a ton more questions.

 

Are you set on Hawaii or would French Polynesia be an option? The whole area of FP gets as many people in a whole year that Hawaii gets in 10 days.

[trish1c]

Are you set on Hawaii or would French Polynesia be an option? The whole area of FP gets as many people in a whole year that Hawaii gets in 10 days.

 

Someday I'd love to do FP & a whole bunch of other places. But it's my 50th birthday :eek: and DH is giving me this trip to Hawaii as a surprise so don't tell him I'm on here planning. lol

 

Right now, Freestyle choice is an option for this booking. Because NCL America -- the subsidiary of NCL -- has to abide by American laws, wages & taxes, I assumed drinks would be more so the UBP would be helpful.

 

Right now, balcony cabins for this March 2015 are $1969 pp. They are showing at $2819 for 2017 which is a pretty big difference & why I think (hope) they might go down.

 

I'm playing with airfares this March to get a sense of what the schedules are. It looks like NYC to LAX with an overnight layover & time to get out of the AP for 5-6 hour nap in a nearby hotel. We go to So Cal every summer & I could sleep in almost any LAX hotel with interior halls; the ones where your room opens to the parking lot always seems a little iffy to me. The flight back without having to waste another vacation day seems to be late Saturday night 9:00+ p.m. local & get back to NYC around 3:00 p.m. Sunday, local time.

 

Because of how the flights work, we need to stay on land before the cruise so as to not have to exceed our allotted vacation time.

[cyndepet]

Someday I'd love to do FP & a whole bunch of other places. But it's my 50th birthday :eek: and DH is giving me this trip to Hawaii as a surprise so don't tell him I'm on here planning. lol

 

Right now, Freestyle choice is an option for this booking. Because NCL America -- the subsidiary of NCL -- has to abide by American laws, wages & taxes, I assumed drinks would be more so the UBP would be helpful.

 

Right now, balcony cabins for this March 2015 are $1969 pp. They are showing at $2819 for 2017 which is a pretty big difference & why I think (hope) they might go down.

 

I'm playing with airfares this March to get a sense of what the schedules are. It looks like NYC to LAX with an overnight layover & time to get out of the AP for 5-6 hour nap in a nearby hotel. We go to So Cal every summer & I could sleep in almost any LAX hotel with interior halls; the ones where your room opens to the parking lot always seems a little iffy to me. The flight back without having to waste another vacation day seems to be late Saturday night 9:00+ p.m. local & get back to NYC around 3:00 p.m. Sunday, local time.

 

Because of how the flights work, we need to stay on land before the cruise so as to not have to exceed our allotted vacation time.

 

Lol - great about planning your own surprise 50th :D I'd probably be doing the same. We just did WDW for mine a couple months ago.

 

We are doing POA this May - we booked last spring when they had a great deal on flight, cruise and 2-night pre-cruise hotel. I have not seen the prices drop since.

 

They do not offer the UBP on the POA. Your choice instead would be an air credit.

 

I've booked rental cars for Maui and Hilo, a private helicopter tour in Kaui, and an NCL excursion in Kona. So a good mix of everything.

 

Have fun planning!

[Lorey2007]

But it's my 50th birthday :eek: and DH is giving me this trip to Hawaii as a surprise so don't tell him I'm on here planning. lol

 

Right now, Freestyle choice is an option for this booking. Because NCL America -- the subsidiary of NCL -- has to abide by American laws, wages & taxes, I assumed drinks would be more so the UBP would be helpful.

 

Right now, balcony cabins for this March 2015 are $1969 pp. They are showing at $2819 for 2017 which is a pretty big difference & why I think (hope) they might go down.

 

 

Don't forget to click on the AARP discount while pricing. I was able to get the AARP discount, $200 OBC.. About a week before final payment I was able to get UDP added with the promotion and 2 price drops.:) I booked one year out.

Edited January 28, 2015 by Lorey2007

[Silver Sweethearts]

I'm playing with airfares this March to get a sense of what the schedules are. It looks like NYC to LAX with an overnight layover & time to get out of the AP for 5-6 hour nap in a nearby hotel. We go to So Cal every summer & I could sleep in almost any LAX hotel with interior halls; the ones where your room opens to the parking lot always seems a little iffy to me. The flight back without having to waste another vacation day seems to be late Saturday night 9:00+ p.m. local & get back to NYC around 3:00 p.m. Sunday, local time.

 

How about the Hawaiian Airlines non-stop out of HNL to JFK at 3:35 p.m. on a Saturday??

[Budget Queen]

I have been on NCL several times in Hawaii, their itinerary is superb. :) Hawaii is one place that is easy with rental cars. So much of Hawaii is just drive up. I suggest you take out some Hawaii travel books from your library and read up on sights.

 

I spend at least a week prior and after the cruise, so about 3.5 weeks. I would suggest taking a look at alternative islands rather then spending all your time on Oahu (which is my least favorite island). I've gone to Hawaii and Maui for a week each. :) Easy and cheap to fly between islands. :)

 

There are occasionally $999 late booking deals I saw a one time $899 last year in Nov. But most people can't late book. So booking early can be the best option. Just be well aware of what you are booking and if any cancellation fees involved.

[tempus137]

How about the Hawaiian Airlines non-stop out of HNL to JFK at 3:35 p.m. on a Saturday??

 

We just booked that non-stop. It's the only to NY, although I think the 3:35 departure is for daylight savings time. In December it's 4:35, but the same arrival time (Hawaii doesn't use daylight savings).

[Mom2B&Z]

I agree that with a bit of research, Hawaii is ridiculously easy to tour from the ship on your own. We had rental cars in all ports except Kona, and had a great time exploring the areas on our own. There were no ship tours cheaper than what we could do ourselves with a rental car. Plus Hawaii in a convertible is amazing :)

As for price trends, we booked about a year and a half in advance. I kept my eye on suite prices, and about a month before sailing prices dropped like a stone. I waited too long and missed out on an upgrade from BA balcony to SE suite (20 mins late to be exact), so keep an eye out for last minute upgrades. We sailed the weekend before Easter and the ship was full.

The airport isn't far from port, but traffic is awful. My parents were travelling with us and did easy walk off disembarkation. They had an 11am flight booked and got themselves onto the 10am flight, mind you this was an inter-island flight so ymmv.

As for accommodations, Ita with the suggestion to spend some time on another island. We spent a week in Kona after the cruise and it was amazing! You can drive and see so much from either Hilo or Kona on the big island, though weather is better in Kona. I would have loved to spend more time in Maui, and we are definitely spending time in Kauai when we return. We booked a week at a time share resort (Paniolo Greens in Waikoloa) it was great having a full kitchen to prepare some meals as Hawaii is very expensive. My sister booked some private accommodations (B&B's and cottages), some were great but one cottage was outright scary. She does amazing pre vacation research, so definitely be careful.

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

[cb at sea]

Definitely book a hotel room, if your flight is in the evening. There is NOTHING worse than trying to kill time....it's awful! Get a hotel, use the pool and restaurant, and shower before boarding that horrendous nighttime flight home!

[luv2gonow]

Great thread also doing research for Hawaii.

 

I see freestylebis ending? What does that mean only traditional dining times?

Thanks

Kerri

[cyndepet]

Great thread also doing research for Hawaii.

 

I see freestylebis ending? What does that mean only traditional dining times?

Thanks

Kerri

 

I'm not quite sure what you mean by freestyle is ending? Unless you are referring to the change in promotions that NCL is offering this month? That has nothing to do with freestyle dining - there are still no set, traditional dining times on NCL.

[Kattus]

Following. We're looking to go ourselves next March or April, and I recently spoke to my PCC and asked if he knew if the cruise packages (air+hotel+cruise) would be continued for 2016. He said he will let me know if/once they renew the contracts. For anyone who has sailed the PoA before, is it usually less expensive to do the cruise packages or book air and hotel on your own. Either way, we would fly in on a Thur and spend Thur and Fri night in a hotel and fly back to NY the following Sat after the cruise. :cool:

[Imalismom]

This trip is still in the dream stage & a minimum of 2 years away. :o But I thought I'd start asking Qs now.

 

1. Has anybody seen any price trends? I'm tempted to book now & watch & wait. Right now we can get the Freestyle choice, which may go away. Since POA has to pay American prices & taxes for alcohol, I'm thinking the UBP is the way to go here. Are the drink prices on board more than on other ships?

 

We are going mid July of this year. We booked a 2 bedroom suite (SI), and the price has only risen about $900.00 since we booked. We did have to pay for our own UDP and Gratuities. If we had cancelled and rebooked, we would have just about broke even with the increase in price, so we just left it and paid for it ourselves. Since we booked so long ago, our final payment is not until May 4th, so the price may change after that.

 

2. CW says no flights home before noon or 5 hours after you dock, which ever is later. How far is the cruise port from the AP? What's traffic like on a Saturday? I'm not talking about doing anything crazy like trying to book a 10 a.m. flight but I would like to know the lay of the land.

 

Have not been, so can't answer this one - I can tell you we are using JohnnyCab for all our traveling needs pre and post cruise.

 

3. We tend to book excursions independently. However, last cruise we learned that in Jamaica nobody can beat the cruiseline's prices for certain things because the attractions offered deals to the cruiselines but not the independent vendors. Are there any things like that we need to know about? I will start lurking in the Hawaii port of call board & on tripadvisor.

 

A good place to start would be with this topic: http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2193040

it shows a lot of excursions that people have planned - I know I really checked out who I am booked with, and they all came very highly recommended no matter what site I looked at for reviews.

 

 

4. We are planning to do about a week pre-cruise. Does anybody have any suggestions for websites to search for accommodations? I like bargains but not cheap stuff. For example I'd happily pay $300 - $400 per night for some property that usually goes for double that but if I can't get a deal, I'd rather keep it under $200 per night, if possible. It doesn't have to be a hotel; tripadvisor had a vacation rental section where we could get a reasonable deal on condos. I have to further investigate the ground transportation options in connection with that though. I have heard that Honolulu especially has a great bus system. Since we'll be with people on the cruise, I'd prefer something a lot more isolated before the cruise. I also like the idea of having a kitchen (vs a kitchenette with only a microwave & small fridge). I'm really looking for stuff that isn't going to show up on the big commercial sites like hotels.com, priceline, or expedia.

 

The only suggestion I have is to go directly. I had previously booked with Expedia, and then found that going directly through the vendor was a LOT cheaper - luckily, I could get a full refund through Expedia, which is what I did :)

 

 

 

I'm sure I will be back with a ton more questions.

 

OK, so CC tells me I don't have enough letters in this answers - so here is more "letters" for cc :)

Edited May 1, 2015 by Imalismom

[jenmouse]

We are sailing this August. We booked our cabins (four of them) back in late 2012, when they were first available. In the past month, I have been able to apply a free gratuities promo to our booking, and then remove that and get the $75 per cabin, per port credit that they are offering right now. Both times it was very easy to get the changes made; no questions whatsoever. So I would book the cruise as soon as you can to make sure that you get the cabin you want!

[kaviaq]

I've experienced the opposite of what others have posted. Our prices dropped by nearly half and NCL was great about it right up until they received our payment. Then, even when there was a substantial price reduction, all they offered us was $100 cabin credit. I told them to shove it! It reminded me why we switched to Celebrity many years ago!

 

Unfortunately, NCL only ones offering Hawaii in the summer.....

[mcmomny]

We flew in about 4 days before the cruise and stayed for two days afterwards which made the flights a lot easier on us.

 

We booked way out and never saw a price drop, only price increases.

 

We rented a car for each island and did our own thing and loved it!

 

We stayed at a cheaper hotel before our cruise which was just fine for us as we were out sight seeing each day but our last two days in Hawaii we stayed at Turtle Bay to spoil ourselves and relax and it was a lovely place. I booked directly with the Hotel and got a better deal than any internet sites.

 

Have fun, we really enjoyed the planning of this trip and had a wonderful time!

[fiftyguy]

When my wife and daughter went to Hawaii a few years back they paid for a "day room" and loved it. It was at the Hawaian Hilton. It gave them a chance to shower, rest etc before their flight back to east coast. I don't remember what they paid, but their flight was at five and they were done with touring.

Also they liked the port side of the ship for the NaPali Coast sail by.

Happy planning.