Pride of America, 7 day Hawaii cruise

[BLADZINKA]

Hi everyone, 

Never been on a cruise before and going for the honeymoon for the 7 day Hawaii cruise on board of Pride of America. 

I have read lots of bad reviews about the ship, but not getting discouraged as we've picked the cruise for Hawaii, not for the cruise itself or for the sake of spending the holiday on the ship, I know there are more modern ones and better ones out there. 

I just have one question... We were given cabin  10140, which is a normal balcony cabin. All fine, but only after we booked it I started looking into the ship, dining options, activities etc and came across these photos online. The balconies on deck 10 seem very 'built up' compared to deck 9 or 8. The pipe in the photo is a different cabin, so please ignore it, our own doesn't have anything blocking it but I am still a bit worried that the balcony is so covered up. If you see the deck below, the walls end where the balcony railing is, whereas deck 10 balcony walls 'stick out' and there is the roof above as there is a pool and a cafe on deck 11 above. 

I'm worried it will obstruct the view but I could be getting too worked up about it. Not sure what to think as this is our first cruise ever. Would you say I'm being paranoid or better to change for deck 9? 

Any advice will be greatly appreciated. 

Thanks in advance. 

[Flatbush Flyer]

13 minutes ago, BLADZINKA said:

Hi everyone, 

Never been on a cruise before and going for the honeymoon for the 7 day Hawaii cruise on board of Pride of America. 

I have read lots of bad reviews about the ship, but not getting discouraged as we've picked the cruise for Hawaii, not for the cruise itself or for the sake of spending the holiday on the ship, I know there are more modern ones and better ones out there. 

I just have one question... We were given cabin  10140, which is a normal balcony cabin. All fine, but only after we booked it I started looking into the ship, dining options, activities etc and came across these photos online. The balconies on deck 10 seem very 'built up' compared to deck 9 or 8. The pipe in the photo is a different cabin, so please ignore it, our own doesn't have anything blocking it but I am still a bit worried that the balcony is so covered up. If you see the deck below, the walls end where the balcony railing is, whereas deck 10 balcony walls 'stick out' and there is the roof above as there is a pool and a cafe on deck 11 above. 

I'm worried it will obstruct the view but I could be getting too worked up about it. Not sure what to think as this is our first cruise ever. Would you say I'm being paranoid or better to change for deck 9? 

Any advice will be greatly appreciated. 

Thanks in advance. 

For a first trip to Hawaii, an inter-island cruise makes sense for some folks. However, if you fall in love with Hawaii (hard not to do when you see Kauai and swear never ever to again go to the Caribbean), make the next trip a land-based one. There's way too much to see and do than will happen with a cruise of 7-10 days. 

[robbinsca]

We booked a balcony on our first cruise, and one other, but now get an Oceanview. The balcony is always smaller than you want, and you will probably want to look out over the water a few times from there, but cruise ship rooms are pretty small- you will want to be out on deck. Of course, on a honeymoon you may look at things a little differently....😉

[tutuwahineLV]

First, Congratulations on the nuptuials, and honeymooning in Hawaii.  

Now, don't stress...that is actually a great balcony.  Protected from the sun, and rain.  The only concerns I would have about that room is possible noise from the deck above.  We had one on that deck once....and the elephants running were loud, but only during the day.  Also noticeable noises when they're moving the deck chairs around. If you're a very light sleeper, you might want to move down a deck, so you have only rooms above and below.  

Personally,  I'd be quite happy in that location.  

And don't believe all the negative reviews....the ship, and her crew are wonderful.  The vast majority of people who are happy with their trip….just keep steppin forward.  The complainers are always going to find someone to listen to their complaint, and they love coming on these boards trying to find someone to agree with them.  

Go in with an open heart, and enjoy this special time in your life.  Remember, the universe returns the energy you put out, where your focus goes, your energy follows.   If you start out looking for the flaws, and problems....that will come your way.  

Look for the Rainbows, and blessings. 

[dexddd]

When you going?

 

No worries about the ship.  Went 2016 after drydock and ship was in great shape.  It Is going in May for extensive drydockand should be looking great.  We had great service and it was similar to any other NCL ship.

[latebloomer56]

We went in 2018 the week before the volcano erupted. Loved time at each port will return again (was second time 1st. on Princess not enough time in port).

Can't answer about the cabin as we had an aft cabin, as I love the aft cabins. We didn't do a suite this trip because they really didn't sell us on the double cost with so much time in port but loved what we had with this aft cabin.

As for horror stories, we had no issue with the crew or ship. The crew we interacted with were always friendly, but not pushy. Had no cabin issues tolets ran fine and shower always had hot water.

Enjoy your wonderful celebration don't worry Hawaii is beautiful you will have a great memory.

[BLADZINKA]

2 hours ago, tutuwahineLV said:

First, Congratulations on the nuptuials, and honeymooning in Hawaii.  

Now, don't stress...that is actually a great balcony.  Protected from the sun, and rain.  The only concerns I would have about that room is possible noise from the deck above.  We had one on that deck once....and the elephants running were loud, but only during the day.  Also noticeable noises when they're moving the deck chairs around. If you're a very light sleeper, you might want to move down a deck, so you have only rooms above and below.  

Personally,  I'd be quite happy in that location.  

And don't believe all the negative reviews....the ship, and her crew are wonderful.  The vast majority of people who are happy with their trip….just keep steppin forward.  The complainers are always going to find someone to listen to their complaint, and they love coming on these boards trying to find someone to agree with them.  

Go in with an open heart, and enjoy this special time in your life.  Remember, the universe returns the energy you put out, where your focus goes, your energy follows.   If you start out looking for the flaws, and problems....that will come your way.  

Look for the Rainbows, and blessings. 

Thanks very much 😊🙏

I haven't been letting the bad reviews get to me, I'll see it for myself and develop my own opinion then but I am sure we will have an amazing time. The only concern I had was the balcony, but at the same time I was thinking I was getting paranoid so great to hear feedback from someone who knows what they're talking about 😊

 

[BLADZINKA]

1 hour ago, dexddd said:

When you going?

 

No worries about the ship.  Went 2016 after drydock and ship was in great shape.  It Is going in May for extensive drydockand should be looking great.  We had great service and it was similar to any other NCL ship.

Going in September 😊

[Luvmypups]

We have done NCLs Hawaiian cruise 4 times and love it.  You shouldn’t go for the ship and what it has to offer as you will be getting off every day to see Hawaii.  It will be a place to sleep and eat.  After going multiple times and learning what we wanted to see and do, we started renting a car at each stop and driving. In Maui we even got a hotel in Lahaina for the overnight stay so we didn’t have to make the long drive back to the ship late in the evening.  The only time you really need to have a great viewing spot on the ship is when you cruise along the Napali coastline and you won’t want to do that from your balcony anyway.  We have had more fun each time we have gone and would do it again in a second.  You will have a great time, it’s what you make of it, so enjoy!

[BLADZINKA]

1 hour ago, Luvmypups said:

We have done NCLs Hawaiian cruise 4 times and love it.  You shouldn’t go for the ship and what it has to offer as you will be getting off every day to see Hawaii.  It will be a place to sleep and eat.  After going multiple times and learning what we wanted to see and do, we started renting a car at each stop and driving. In Maui we even got a hotel in Lahaina for the overnight stay so we didn’t have to make the long drive back to the ship late in the evening.  The only time you really need to have a great viewing spot on the ship is when you cruise along the Napali coastline and you won’t want to do that from your balcony anyway.  We have had more fun each time we have gone and would do it again in a second.  You will have a great time, it’s what you make of it, so enjoy!

Thanks a million for your feedback, great to hear that 😊

[BirdTravels]

2 hours ago, BLADZINKA said:

Thanks very much 😊🙏

I haven't been letting the bad reviews get to me, I'll see it for myself and develop my own opinion then but I am sure we will have an amazing time. The only concern I had was the balcony, but at the same time I was thinking I was getting paranoid so great to hear feedback from someone who knows what they're talking about 😊

 

The POA is the absolute best way to see Hawaii. The cruise is port intensive with 2 overnights, so unless you’re giving up your dinner time, you won’t be on your balcony in daylight much. 
 

Hawaii is beautiful. We go there often (mostly non-cruises). 
 

Congrats and Enjoy!