Hawaiian cruise on pride of america (solo)

[latebuyer]

I'm interested in hearing what people thought of this cruise. I notice some cruises in october have no single supplement. Is that common for this cruise or is it just because i thought its storm season then? I wouldn't go this year, but would be interested in the future. It looks like a great itinerary. I'm actually from vancouver and there are cruises from here but it looks expensive when you double it. I probably need to do more research.

[Sauer-kraut]

NCL is the only cruise line that can do 7 day island cruises, as it is an American flagged ship.  Every other line needs to do a trans-pacific and then do the islands making it a 2 week cruise. 

[Sailing12Away]

We were just on this cruise the last week of July, first week of August. It's a great way to visit Hawaii if you've never been there before. You get a little taste of each island, and the hassle of travel between them is taken care of while you sleep at night.

 

The 2 overnight stays in Maui & Kauai help you pack a lot into those days as well. Keep your eyes on the prices, and go for it when you see them drop.

[Firepath]

I've been watching POA October pricing for the last few months and it seems like the single cabins have been mostly sold out for a while. 

[latebuyer]

I thought the sail away inside was no single supplement on some sailings. I saw it on vacations to go.

[smplybcause]

28 minutes ago, Firepath said:

I've been watching POA October pricing for the last few months and it seems like the single cabins have been mostly sold out for a while. 

 

That's because there's not many. 4 or 6? Very very few that they added in during a refurb. 

[Firepath]

24 minutes ago, christinand said:

I thought the sail away inside was no single supplement on some sailings. I saw it on vacations to go.

I watch there and NCL website . It looks like they have single studios on every sailing. The next 3 weeks are sold out but available nearly every week after that. 

[latebuyer]

Sorry i was told by another poster not to post competitor's websites as cruise critic doesn't like it. Hint to cruise critic: if you could post cruise prices in canadian dollars too that would be helpful.

[bakersdozen12]

On 9/29/2019 at 6:07 PM, Sauer-kraut said:

NCL is the only cruise line that can do 7 day island cruises, as it is an American flagged ship.  Every other line needs to do a trans-pacific and then do the islands making it a 2 week cruise. 

 

Actually, Un-Cruise Adventures also does 7-day Hawaii cruises. 

[wwiems23]

We did this cruise and really liked it. It's a great way to see all the islands. It's definitely a different atmosphere than a Caribbean cruise because it is so Port intensive so it's less about your on board activities, etc. We are gamblers so it was weird cruising without a casino and most of the workers are American so that takes the fun out of getting to know people from different places but it's something I would definitely do again!

[dexddd]

POA has studios for singles.  Yes, not many, but they were added two drydocks ago.

Edited October 1, 2019 by dexddd

[doverboy]

We were on the inaugural sailing of the POA back in 2005.  Absolutely had a blast.  took our 3 children (TA said they would only cost 299 each)(failed to remember we had to get them there).  We arranged rental cars in each port. Was picked up and driven to airport hub and off we went. Saw more of the islands than any tour bus excursion could do. One highlight was sailing around the Southern end of Hawaii and the ship turned off the lights so we could see the lava flows. The scenery on the west side of Kauai is out of this world and you can see where Jurrasic Park did some of the movie shots.

If you decide to travel alone be careful of sampling too much Kona coffee.  It is available for tastings in just about every business in Kona.  Our son was 12 and was bouncing off the ceiling of the car from too much caffeine. Get a Puka Dog on Maui

[Longstockingpippi1]

On 9/29/2019 at 5:01 PM, christinand said:

I'm interested in hearing what people thought of this cruise. I notice some cruises in october have no single supplement. Is that common for this cruise or is it just because i thought its storm season then? I wouldn't go this year, but would be interested in the future. It looks like a great itinerary. I'm actually from vancouver and there are cruises from here but it looks expensive when you double it. I probably need to do more research.

You could hop on any POA cruise this month and get a sailaway inside stateroom for one for about $1077 not including gratuities. Pretty good price I think. Unless you really want the studio cabin. Me I just wanna be on the ship, doesn't matter what stateroom. 

[dexddd]

14 hours ago, doverboy said:

We were on the inaugural sailing of the POA back in 2005.  Absolutely had a blast.  took our 3 children (TA said they would only cost 299 each)(failed to remember we had to get them there).  We arranged rental cars in each port. Was picked up and driven to airport hub and off we went. Saw more of the islands than any tour bus excursion could do. One highlight was sailing around the Southern end of Hawaii and the ship turned off the lights so we could see the lava flows. The scenery on the west side of Kauai is out of this world and you can see where Jurrasic Park did some of the movie shots.

If you decide to travel alone be careful of sampling too much Kona coffee.  It is available for tastings in just about every business in Kona.  Our son was 12 and was bouncing off the ceiling of the car from too much caffeine. Get a Puka Dog on Maui

Those were the days.  When NCL had three ships there rates were super low.  We went May 2006 with two kids and had a great time although service so bad at that time we said never again.  Reviews got better with just one ship and went on post drydock repo in 2015 and it was great.

 

We have a great picture of our 3 yo son at the time sitting on the beach in a lounger winking and holding a huge sub in one hand.  That picture is in our hallway and it cracks me up every time I see it.

 

Thanks for the memories.

[Budget Queen]

The Studios are little bargain.   For some reason this ship has been selling poorly and there has been and ARE multiple inside cabin sail away rates with NO supplement.   I picked up 2 in August.  I’ve done this itinerary over 10 times.  

 

 

Superb 

[Budget Queen]

On 10/1/2019 at 12:29 AM, christinand said:

I thought the sail away inside was no single supplement on some sailings. I saw it on vacations to go.

 

It sure has been.   And continues

[Budget Queen]

On 10/1/2019 at 12:55 AM, Firepath said:

I watch there and NCL website . It looks like they have single studios on every sailing. The next 3 weeks are sold out but available nearly every week after that. 

Forget the costly studios.   😀😀.  Insides are the bargain.   

[Budget Queen]

15 hours ago, Longstockingpippi1 said:

You could hop on any POA cruise this month and get a sailaway inside stateroom for one for about $1077 not including gratuities. Pretty good price I think. Unless you really want the studio cabin. Me I just wanna be on the ship, doesn't matter what stateroom. 

AND-  right now you can redeem 2 Cruise Next certificates for at least $250 off.     I did this on both the POA cruises I did in August. 😀

[marktwothousand]

NO CASINO???

 

Also, I heard service And staff isn’t as good as the Caribbean-flagged ships. Not sure if there’s any truth to that. 

[smplybcause]

27 minutes ago, marktwothousand said:

NO CASINO???

 

Also, I heard service And staff isn’t as good as the Caribbean-flagged ships. Not sure if there’s any truth to that. 

 

Never leaves Hawaiian waters so no. Being able to have a beverage package on the cruise is also recent, for a long time there was some obstacle so no drink packages. Because it's a US flag ship it has to have a certain percentage of US workers - it seems that difference is where most people find the difference. I wouldn't think it'd be any different than a hotel/restaurant in the US, but I haven't made it on POA yet. 

[dexddd]

15 hours ago, marktwothousand said:

NO CASINO???

 

Also, I heard service And staff isn’t as good as the Caribbean-flagged ships. Not sure if there’s any truth to that. 

No casino.

 

Staff is largely US citizens.  Back in 2006, yes, service not good.  Today, no real difference than any other NCL ship.  POA we had great service in 2015.  Only one bad apple and it was the guy working bar in buffet.

[Budget Queen]

17 hours ago, marktwothousand said:

NO CASINO???

 

Also, I heard service And staff isn’t as good as the Caribbean-flagged ships. Not sure if there’s any truth to that. 

It’s a US ship.   Pure myth.  Service is excellent