New To NCL/Pride of America

[Le Pappy]

We're Diamond members of Royal Caribbean, and we're set to take our first NCL cruise on Pride of America.  We've heard it is the best way to see multiple islands.  Any tips for experienced cruisers sailing NCL for the first time would be appreciated.  We plan to do all of our excursions through the cruise line, but we are completely unfamiliar with how things work on NCL, and POA specifically.  Thanks!

[hallux]

4 minutes ago, Le Pappy said:

but we are completely unfamiliar with how things work on NCL, and POA specifically.

What things, exactly?

 

A tip - at the top of the thread list in the NCL forum is a drop-down, that is a list of ships in the NCL fleet, you can select the ship name and it's a pre-filled search for threads about that ship.  Start there...

 

Free At Sea questions?  Browse the thread list - several questions about it have been asked in the last week or two and it's THOROUGHLY explained in those threads and the many others that came before them.

Edited June 2 by hallux

[ColeThornton]

Read through the FAQ section on NCL.com.    Lots of handy and useful information for new cruisers.

 

 

https://www.ncl.com/faq

[mcmomny]

The POA is basically your floating hotel, as the Islands are the main focus for most passengers. 

 

There will be a few things on board to do but after long ports days we just relaxed and enjoyed a nice dinner and a few drinks.

 

We never swam nor saw a show while on the POA. Small ship. We had friendly crew but some cruisers complain about the crew.

Our food was good and so was the service. 

 

We throughly enjoyed this cruise and Hawaii. 

 

We went in 3 days early and stayed 2 days after.

 

Enjoy!

[dexddd]

Understand POA is a bit different.

 

They used to have a wood fired oven in the buffet which had very good pizza.

[Ellis1138]

The PoA is unique in that it's the only American flagged ship in the fleet. 

 

That said, this is not a standard cruise ship; it's honestly more of a super nice ferry/hotel. Don't go on this expecting to enjoy the ship's shows, amenities, etc. It also has no casino, due to Hawaiian law. The best way to enjoy doing this cruise is to use the ship as the place to eat breakfast and sometimes dinner and to sleep in between islands.

 

My husband and I ate breakfast on the ship and then dinner when we had to be on board and sailing. On the overnights, we ate lunch and dinner on the islands. We rented a car at each place and drove. It helps that I'd been to Hawaii twice, so felt confident.

 

Enjoy!

[TeresaJ]

We are experienced cruisers and sailed on POA in February. We loved the cruise and would consider it again someday. It is like a "floating hotel" to see four islands. Lovely cruise.

 

The drink package comes with your cruise if you choose Free at Sea. Also, you get one specialty dining option, $50 excursion credit per cabin, and 150 wifi minutes (although I ended up upgrading during the crise because it wasn't enough to keep up with family for me).

 

Ship is smaller and older but still in great shape! Do not expect a "Monster" of the seas type ship for this sailing.  You will be so busy in the ports that an extra large ship is not needed.

 

We enjoyed the hot tubs and pool area on the ship during downtime.

 

Champagne Bar is a lot of fun. Music some of the nights.

 

Steakhouse is really good.

 

Sailaway on Aft deck 11 Lan 'ai Bar is the best. We saw whales numerous times.

 

We did NCL excursions since it was our first time in Hawaii. All great!

 

Enjoy your cruise!!

 

[BirdTravels]

11 hours ago, Le Pappy said:

We're Diamond members of Royal Caribbean, and we're set to take our first NCL cruise on Pride of America.  We've heard it is the best way to see multiple islands.  Any tips for experienced cruisers sailing NCL for the first time would be appreciated.  We plan to do all of our excursions through the cruise line, but we are completely unfamiliar with how things work on NCL, and POA specifically.  Thanks!

 

Welcome to Cruise Critic!

 

I preface this by saying that we're Diamond members on Royal and Diamond members on NCL (this year we have 2 RCCL and 3 NCL cruises booked... so far). 

 

Diamond Voucher. Well, there are none. You can add the Hawaiian Beverage Package to your reservation by paying the gratuities on the retail price of the package. It's a good deal. And gives you all drinks $15 and under. No bottled water. No energy drinks. But as many Mai Tai, Blue Hawaii, and frozen drinks as you want. No limit to the number of drinks. 

 

Specialty Dining. NCL really pushes their specialty dining and offers the most specialty restaurants than most lines. You will get 1 or 2 included specialty dinners with your reservation. Take advantage. Restaurant reservations open online 120 days prior to departure (130 days for suites). 

 

My Time Dining. NCL embraces Freestyle Cruising - MyTime all the time for all passengers. No set dining times. Show up when you are hungry or when it fits your busy schedule. 

 

Formal Nights. There are none. NCL embraces Dress up or Not (and most people are not). There will be photographers available every night taking pictures and if you want some vacation snaps in your finest Hawaiian ware, get a few taken. 

 

Like smaller ships on Royal, entertainment is first come first serve seating. 

 

POA - Hawaii. You have picked the absolute best way to see Hawaii. And it is the absolute best ship to cruise Hawaii - focusing on the Hawaiian island and not wasting time transiting from the west coast. You are in port every day. You have two overnight port calls... so take advantage - Get off and do a luau for dinner. Wake up early and take a sunrise bike ride down the volcano in Maui.

 

Personally, I would say go see and learn about Hawaii. Don't spend your time sitting on a beach. But that is just me. 

 

The POA is an older, smaller ship. The ship is flagged in the United States and, therefore, has a predominantly US crew. 

 

Pro Tip: It is a 12+ hour flight to Hawaii which is 6 time zones behind home. Show up in Hawaii 1-3 days early if you can. And force yourself to operate on Hawaiian Time to get over the jet lag. You don't want to be falling asleep in your poi. Your first day is a travel day leaving NC in the morning and getting to Honolulu in the late afternoon. On Day 2 and 3, take a tour out to the Polynesian Cultural Center or the Arizona Memorial. And get in some beach time.

[LouChamp]

Aloha. We are blessed to divide our time between NY and Honolulu.  We sailed in the Pride of Aloha when NCL first established its US flagged division because the Pride of America was damaged during construction.  We previously sailed the Star which had to travel to Fanning Island due to regulations. We then sailed your ship.  As others have posted, all of the suggestions and thoughts are on point. While the 12 hour flight is not an issue for us as we are fortunate to fly several times per year, I would recommend flying in a few days before and stay A few days after.  We love the Halekulani for staycations  in Waikiki but the Westin Moana Surfrider is excellent as it is on Kalakaua Avenue the main street in Waikiki. There is so much to do on the islands and the Pride is an excellent way to sample the islands without wasting time flying to each one. After your vacation you can then decide to return to stay longer on islands you liked.  Please keep us posted and I can provide any additional information I will try to do so. Enjoy!

[ryarger]

As someone already mentioned, a key difference about PoA specifically is its largely American crew. This is a requirement due to being a US-flagged vessel (which is a requirement to sail exclusively in US waters).

 

The mix is somewhere between 60-80% US citizen. They lean heavily towards college students and other younger folk.

 

Many people see this is as a downside, saying that the crew is lazier and less deferential than a typical cruise.

 

That was not at all our experience. I thought they were wonderful. We got to know several young people working their way through college and we thought their service was terrific.

 

i do love getting to meet people from all over the world on a typical cruise, but having most of the crew be native American English speakers was a fine trade off.

 

They will also have some local Hawaiian “ambassadors” on board that give port talks and even some performances and demonstrations. My wife did a lei making activity that was a blast.

 

Some cruise lines frequently have experts and educational port talks but this is the only NCL cruise we’ve done that had this and we appreciated it.

[Le Pappy]

Thanks everyone! All great information. We had been recommended to this cruise by friends who had toured Hawaii twice, both as a land visit and by Pride of America.  Certainly, we plan to use the ship as our base and it's attractive because we don't like flying small puddle jumper type planes. All of the recent reviews and Youtube videos appear to show the ship is in great shape for its age.

 

We're planning on spending a couple of days touring in California prior to flying over to Honolulu and tour a couple of days there prior to departure.  This is a retirement celebration trip, and will complete our quest to visit all 50 states.

 

We understand the ship is older and smaller.  We really don't care about entertainment.  I guess my only other question is other than the my time dining, what will surprise us about NCL after having completed approximately 20 cruises on RCL and half a dozen on Carnival.  If the answer is "very little", that is great.

 

Thanks again to everyone.  We're really looking forward to the trip!

[mskaufman]

@Ellis1138 summed things up well.  We have cruised NCL multiple times as well as other lines.  POA was the weakest NCL ship we have been on.  However, it did a great job of getting us to multiple islands at a reasonable cost.  Nothing bad to say but it was not the regular cruise experience we have come to expect.

[carohs]

There are zero sea days. None. It was so much fun, but I think I had just as much fun researching each island and deciding what to do when and where. Ship excursions are very limited; I loved what we got to see at a fraction of the cost by renting a car. Rental car agencies are generally a few miles away or less. 

 

As for the POA: ship was decently maintained and crew generally nice. Activities onboard very limited but after a long day of exploring we weren't looking to do much more than sit and enjoy a drink or two. We still found opportunities to learn the hula and make flower leis, too. In Hawaii, the FAS does include bottled water. Protip, if you like MDR breakfast, the cappuccino is also included in the dining room with FAS beverage package in Hawaii. Otherwise, specialty coffee is extra. 

 

Biggest con: the food. Some well made dishes but I'd say 2/3 things we tried were only "fine." Anytime dining is as it sounds, never had to wait more than 5 minutes for a table. Just show up at the MDR when you are ready. Oh, and one of the two MDRs has a stricter dress code. FAS also includes one or two specialty dining depending on when and where you book your room. Worth it; best meal we had all week. 

 

Traveling with kids? Kids club was only open when not in port. So like every other day from 7-11. If you travel during school breaks you may run into more kids at the pool as people return from shore. Just wasn't much anything else for kids to do onboard, really. 

[valleyvillage]

I especially love the Hawaii Beverage Package! Also includes fountain soda, freshly squeezed juice, bottled water (flat and sparkling), non-alcoholic beer, and speciality coffee (limited to dining rooms only).

[schmoopie17]

We were looking at the POA for next year, but eventually decided on something else.

 

However, when we were considering it, we figured that it wouldn't be worth it (at least to us) to get a balcony, since there are no sea days and the bulk of the traveling is done at night.

 

Saving about $600 p/p, which could be applied to airfare, excursions, etc.

 

But, as always...YMMV.