My Pride of America Review -

[lozzajelly]

Thanks for the great review, you can never have enough information about places or experiences you've never done before. Me and hubby are going on our first cruise in November and after reading your review I cannot wait.

 

Thanks again

[biensur]

We are on the POAM Dec 23 - 3 generations, to celebrate Mom and Dad's 50th wedding anniversary.

 

How kind of you to take what must have been quite a long time, to provide such a well thought out and impartial review.

 

You will never know how many people will benefit, but I can assure you our family of 10 definitely will. Thank you so much for being such a positive contributor!!!

[dinobja]

Do you remember your cabin number? I am staying deck 9 aft as well in 9204.

[Genessa]

Thanks so much for the detailed review!

 

You answered some of my questions and, even better, gave me tips for things I never even thought about!

 

We love cruising, but, like you, we are cruising Hawaii for HAWAII and didn't want the plane hopping, etc.

 

We're also staying at the Hilton and were debating doing Pearl Harbor our first full day, and whether or not to rent a car...

 

I've "saved" your review for reference - our cruise isn't until July.

 

Thanks again!

[Peppitdog]

:rolleyes: Thanks for the great review, I have been a little apprehensive about this cruise, because I have read about all the bad food, and small rooms. Could you tell me if the specialty restaurants are all an extra charge or not?

 

Also do they have coke cards like on RCL? Thanks again for letting me know this is a good cruise.;)

[beechparty]

The speciality restaurants that do not have a charge are Little Italy which we thought was great and Cadillac Diner which was also good. All the others have a $10, $15 or $20 cover charge. Lazy J Steak house has a $15 unless you order the surf and turf and then that is $25 and then the Japanese(Teppanaki - sp?) part of East Meets West is $20. All the others are $10 I believe.

 

I do believe that have a coke card but I would really consider how much you will be on the ship before you buy one. You can bring sodas on the ship and put in your fridge. I have bought the soda cards on other cruises but didn't feel the need on this ship. If you plan to spend everyday off the ship, you really are not on the ship that much. This is not like a regular cruise. There is only one afternoon at sea.

 

Again - thanks everybody for the nice remarks!

[caprcorn28]

Thanks for the review!!

We're looking at what Hawaiian itinerary to do - Feb '07. It will be our 15th Anniversary this fall and Dad and Step-Mom's 5th Anniv Jan - Thought that it would be a great way to celebrate!!

[Donootz]

Thank you for your wonderful naration, it was wonderful. Would you recomend renting cars instead of the planned shore excersions?

[beechparty]

We did a little of both. I think it really depends on what you like. We like adventure but not a lot of hassle. We like smaller groups instead of large tour buses. We took planned shore excursions for the adventerous things we really wanted to do that were offered with small groups. We rented a car on Hilo and did our own tour of the Volcano at our own pace.

We rented a car for both days in Maui. We did the whale excursion here but did it spur of the moment from the Lahaina pier.

We did not plan to rent a car on Kuaia but ended up doing it last minute after the planned excursion was cancelled.

[cruisienewbie]

It was a great trip!

 

I might have been a little long winded on the review, though.:D

 

It was a great review. Did you say you were in Alabama? I am and will be sailing in July. I was wondering a few things...

 

1. On your way there how long was your flight? Did you feel jet lagged at all?

 

2. With the cruise being so port intensive did you feel tired and rushed?

 

3. How would you rate the on board activities and did you get a chance to experience them?

 

Thanks for any insight you can give.

[beechparty]

1. The total flight time from Atlanta is around 10 hrs. and coming back about 8-9 hrs. For some reason the time difference did affect us. We always wanted to eat and sleep earlier that local time. We have never had a problem with this before when we traveled to Europe or Asia.

2. We felt a little tired and rushed but because we chose to do as much as possible. In Kona, we did the Capt. Zodiac first thing in the morning, then toured the port area shopping, ate lunch and still had some free time on ship that afternoon. That helped. Then Friday afternoon is a sea day. You can always do as much or as little as you want. There were people on our ship that never got off the boat, go figure.

3. We didn't really experience many onboard activities as we were there to see the beautiful islands. My dh and ds did the gyroscope and thought it was ok. THey loved the fitness center. They thought it was one of the best. I thought the pool activites were a little lame but I am not really into that. The guitar player in the Lanai lounge was good. We would go to bed fairly early after touring every day we were tired.

Hope this helps.

[IScubaSlo]

Couple questions for you?

 

1. Did you rent cars ahead of time?

2. General daily cost of rental?

3. Was driving around easy?

4. If you were to go there and stay an extra week, which island would you

choose and why?

 

5. How much would you say shore excursions would cost for 4 people

for the week (an average) wont hold you too anything.......

 

I already have Pride of Am booked for 2-3-07, aft balcony 8th floor, but I just got off the NCL SUN yesterday and the food was so bad, I was thinking of cancelling this cruise.....

 

Any info would help......

 

You can email me at: Lovecruzin@aol.com

 

Thanks

[snorklinbarb]

Hi beechparty,

Thanks for the enjoyable review. I'm in the middle of posting one on our 2 wks on the Jewel and know how much time it takes to organize.

 

Quick question - you mentioned tipping the backwaiter (and kind of implied that had Stephen done his job better he might have gotten tipped, too).

 

Was it customary to tip at dinner? Thought that POAM had the $10/pp svc fee and that only Aloha had none (thus leaving tipping as you go up to the guest).

 

Could you clarify? Or did you tip above & beyond for truly outstanding svc?

[MButte]

snorklin'barb:

 

I think you are referring to my comment on tipping on the PoAm in my review of our 2/18 trip?

 

Yes, we were charged the standard $10 per day/per person. But being in the hospitality industry, I usually tip on the high side anyway (unless service is downright horrible), as I know the staff depends on this income, so the ship's service staff was no different.

 

In each of the specialty dining rooms we ate in, I left an additional $5.00 tip in cash. In the Jefferson Bistro situation I related, I made sure I gave it directly to the back waiter, who deserved the reward.

 

I also routinely left a $1 cash tip per drink for the beverage servers and bartenders. I also thanked our cabin steward with a $20 the last day.

 

I have no idea how NCLA divides up the service charge they collect amoung the staff. I do know that any additional gratuity added on the chits is divided up amoung at least the staff working in a particuliar area. So if you want to recognize an individuals good service, cash is the way to go.

 

As an aside...in the US when you see the term 'Service Charge' on a bill in a hotel or restaurant, by law, the operation is allowed to retain any portion of the amount and is under no legal obligation to pay the service staff any part of it, assuming that the service staff is making at least the minimum hourly wage. If the word 'gratuity' is used, by law, the entire amount has to be paid to the staff and the operation can not keep any of it. A Gratuity can be split amoung a group of employees, but as long as only employees get it.

 

I never felt any pressure to leave a tip, but the staff was always very appreciative to get it.

[tootsy]

What a super, super review! So informative, helped answer many questions for my cruise coming up. Welcome home, and thanks again

[beechparty]

Sorry, I haven't checked the boards lately.

 

1. yes, we did reserve the cars ahead of time except for Kuai. We had a cancelled tour so rented last minute. We also rented last minute in our post-cruise in Ohua and almost didn't get a car. We got the last car and no choice on cat, etc.

2. We rented convertibles through Hertz for around 70 a day, i think.

3. Driving was very easy to navigate. There are usually just a couple or just one main road that gets you where you want to go and everything is usally well marked. Also, the rental places have maps and free guide books with maps.

4. This is a hard question. I loved all the islands and am so glad I got to see all of them. I would want to stay on the Big Island if I had never been there because of the Volcano and great snorkeling in Kona. Loved Kauai. If I were going to stay a week in Jan - Mar would probably choose Maui because I love Whale watching and I didn't spend any beach time there because did Road to Hana one day and whale watching the other day.

So from my experience after the cruise, probably Kauai or Maui because I would want to go and relax and enjoy the beauty, whereas this trip we actively toured.

5. It's hard to say because it depends on how much you want to do with the ship and how much you want to do on your own.

 

As far as food goes, there were parts that were not great - dining rooms - but with planning you can avoid that . If you want to see all of Hawaii, I would not let the food deter you. EAt in the buffet and speciality restaurants and you will be fine. Don't go for the food, go for the islands. You will be so tired from touring that you really don't want to go through the long dining experience anyway.

Hope this helps

[gayla59]

Thanks so much for such a comprehensive review. You relly answered all the questions I had and I really appreciated your slant on the restaurants and tours.

[FatherChristmas]

We are on the April 15th sailing of the Pride of America. We arer staying far 3 nights at the Marriott Resort on Waikiki:) Traveling from Duluth, Minnesota after a long, cold, snowey winter. 5 days to go before our trip.

We also bought the "Revealed" books for Maui, Kauai and ohuahu:eek:

Happy sailing (Pardon the spelling)

[cella]

It was a great trip!

 

I might have been a little long winded on the review, though.:D[/

 

 

How comfortable were the beds in your cabin?

[beechparty]

They were fine. I am pretty picky about beds and I don't remember a problem, although I was very tired every night :)

[rotc]

Beechparty - Thanks SO much for the excellent review. My DH & DS are on the 7/8 POAM and can hardly wait. I purchased all of the Revealed books and they are just excellent. (Would highly recommend them to anyone cruising the islands). :)

[gladiola]

Thank you for your detailed review, it was very informative. You said you used ABC for pick-up in Honolulu, would you share their telephone number?Thanks in advance...