Live from the Pride of America - 09/21-09/28/2024 - Hawai'i (Oahu to Maui to Hawai'i to Kaua'i)

[Seas2mountains]

I'm excited to share a live review from the Pride of America! 😎  We will embark on Saturday with two nights at an area hotel before beginning the cruise. Since we have been blessed to be able to travel to Oahu multiple times in the past for land vacations, we have gone to most of the places to visit on that island. We will spend the time relaxing by the pool before the cruise and we have the same hotel booked for several days after the cruise.

 

I loved reading these live reviews from other CC members so will do my best to post photos and share our experience. 

 

My husband and I should be on a flight to Hawaii tomorrow at this time. We have not started packing yet but have time to do that this afternoon and evening.  We are in our late 50's, are empty nesters, and have jobs that allow us to travel frequently throughout the year. 

We booked this cruise in March of this year after we reached the Diamond level for Latitudes rewards. Immediately after booking the cruise, we contacted the phone number listed to request one of the cabin upgrades offered to Diamond members. We booked an obstructed outside view cabin and were upgraded to a balcony cabin within two days of the phone call. I believe the upgrade saved us about $2,000-$3,000 based on the cost of the balcony cabins when we booked it. Our cruise has been sold out for several weeks. 

 

We are both military veterans so we also were able to use the 10% off military discount which we greatly appreciated. We sent in our NCL shareholder info to get an additional $100 OBC.

 

We just booked another cruise for next September and booked a balcony cabin and used the new process to request our other Diamond upgrade to a club balcony suite but it has been more than a week and we have heard......nothing. 

 

Our last NCL cruise was in June/July on the Prima and we had a wonderful time and absolutely love that ship with our favorite features being the Vibe and the thermal spa area. Our most recent cruise was on Celebrity Reflection this summer and we loved it but did miss a few things about NCL.

 

Here is our itinerary for the week.

Edited Wednesday at 07:57 PM by Seas2mountains

[Seas2mountains]

Last September, we took advantage of an opportunity to take a similar itinerary to the same Hawaiian islands but it was a cruise on one of my favorite ships, NCL Spirit, that continued on to Papeete, Tahiti.  We enjoyed that cruise so much with the near perfect weather, we decided to do it again this September and thought we would try POA despite the mixed reviews. We wish we were able to find one that followed the similar itinerary as last year.

 

Here is the itinerary from last September on NCL Spirit. Since we will be repeating the islands, we will not return to some of the locations we visited last September and have plans to see other sights. I may post some photos of the visits we did last year.

 

I highly recommend a cruise between Hawaii and Tahiti. The weather was so gorgeous and the scenery was beautiful.

 

[cruiseny4life]

Oh well this is exciting! Just drop a live in Hawai'i in our laps for voracious reading (and perhaps lots of gorgeous photos)! 

 

I'm sure you have researched, know where you're going, but I'll still throw in a most fabulous breakfast place in Honolulu! Cafe Kaila (2919 Kapiolani Blvd). It's amongst my favorite breakfast places in the world, along with Snow City Cafe in Anchorage. I can't wait until I'm back in Hawai'i to sample some more of their fare. 

 

The balcony upgrade sounds like you got your money's worth! It's going to be just sublime views from that balcony for you as you transit the islands! You're doing it the right way, by the way. You've been to Hawai'i already. It's not a one-time trip. I approve (as if anyone cares what I approve haha) of you doing this cruise. 

 

Enjoy the aloha state and mahalo for sharing your trip with us. 

[Seas2mountains]

Here is a photo taken last September at Waimea Canyon on beautiful Kaua’i. 

 

And the views before arriving at the canyon. 

[dizzlepop]

18 minutes ago, Seas2mountains said:

I'm excited to share a live review from the Pride of America! 😎  We will embark on Saturday with two nights at an area hotel before beginning the cruise. Since we have been blessed to be able to travel to Oahu multiple times in the past for land vacations, we have gone to most of the places to visit on that island. We will spend the time relaxing by the pool before the cruise and we have the same hotel booked for several days after the cruise.

 

Well hello! We're on this same one, leaving tomorrow (Thursday) from SLC.

 

Curious: are you familiar with any luggage holding service for disembarkation day? Our nonstop flight home doesn't depart until 9 pm.

 

We have a Pearl Harbor tour Friday morning and besides that we have Thursday afternoon/evening and Friday afternoon/evening to find things to do and EAT! Looking forward to our first visit to HI since 1991!

[Seas2mountains]

26 minutes ago, cruiseny4life said:

I'm sure you have researched, know where you're going, but I'll still throw in a most fabulous breakfast place in Honolulu! Cafe Kaila (2919 Kapiolani Blvd). It's amongst my favorite breakfast places in the world, along with Snow City Cafe in Anchorage. I can't wait until I'm back in Hawai'i to sample some more of their fare. 

 

Thank you for the kind words and I'll do my best.  Thank you also for the recommendation. We will keep this in mind and I did map it out from our hotel and it would be a bit of a walk but would be doable as we like to get in long walks each day.

We have some plans made but others may be made or changed last minute so I am open to recommendations from others who are reading this who have been to these islands.

 

We have rental cars in Maui, Hilo, and Kaua'i. We do have a rental car reserved in Kona but have a food tour booked in the middle of the day so we probably won't use it.

[Seas2mountains]

23 minutes ago, dizzlepop said:

Well hello! We're on this same one, leaving tomorrow (Thursday) from SLC.

 

Curious: are you familiar with any luggage holding service for disembarkation day? Our nonstop flight home doesn't depart until 9 pm.

 

We have a Pearl Harbor tour Friday morning and besides that we have Thursday afternoon/evening and Friday afternoon/evening to find things to do and EAT! Looking forward to our first visit to HI since 1991!

Hello! That's wonderful!  Would you be willing to share your experience on this review either during the cruise or after? I love the live reviews that get contributions for multiple people as it is great to hear different perspectives from the same ship.

 

I am sorry I don't know about any luggage holding services but hopefully someone else can provide recommendations.

 

I hope you have safe travels! We appreciated visiting Pearl Harbor in the past and it can be so sad at the same time to consider all the lives that were lost. 

 

We are getting ready to wake up at 4am feeling hungry for breakfast and having to wait until things open up to get food until we adjust to the time changes.

[dizzlepop]

For anyone looking for luggag

26 minutes ago, Seas2mountains said:

Hello! That's wonderful!  Would you be willing to share your experience on this review either during the cruise or after? I love the live reviews that get contributions for multiple people as it is great to hear different perspectives from the same ship.

 

I am sorry I don't know about any luggage holding services but hopefully someone else can provide recommendations.

 

I hope you have safe travels! We appreciated visiting Pearl Harbor in the past and it can be so sad at the same time to consider all the lives that were lost. 

 

We are getting ready to wake up at 4am feeling hungry for breakfast and having to wait until things open up to get food until we adjust to the time changes.

I'd be happy to add my experience on this review 🙂

 

I found a luggage storage place: Aloha Luggage Delivery and Service. They're picking us up at the dock, dropping us off at Waikiki somewhere (we choose), and keeping our bags for the day.

 

Safe travels to you, too. I'm looking forward to Pearl Harbor. WWII history is fascinating.

 

We only have a four-hour time difference, very relived it isn't eight like my usual trips the other direction!

[mking8288]

 

Mahalo, thank you for taking your vacation time to do this.  That'll keep us busy to see what's new, different and changes. 

[Molokai-Chuck]

Looking forward to all of your postings!

We Board the POAm on 12 October. 

YaHoo Mountain Dew!!!!

 

Molokai

[Ellis1138]

I hope you enjoy the PoA! And I hope you don't get one of the Sewer Smell cabins. I stopped updating the document in February 2024, because we finished our cruise. 

https://docs.google.com/document/d/177PtRV7gu31oHHax3Cb2-SY2SRbs4NQ1vfJG9iYCGFc/edit?usp=sharing

 

My PoA tips:

Just eat breakfast on the PoA on the overnights. The restaurants on the islands are very good. 

The Huli Huli chicken in the buffet on Hawaiian theme night looked awful but tasted exactly as it should.

For Kona, go down to the vestibule on Deck 3 around 6:45 am, because you can get on the Early Bird Tenders without a ticket from 7 to 7:30 am. (Assuming they didn't change that.) 

[Seas2mountains]

1 hour ago, Ellis1138 said:

I hope you enjoy the PoA! And I hope you don't get one of the Sewer Smell cabins. I stopped updating the document in February 2024, because we finished our cruise. 

https://docs.google.com/document/d/177PtRV7gu31oHHax3Cb2-SY2SRbs4NQ1vfJG9iYCGFc/edit?usp=sharing

 

My PoA tips:

Just eat breakfast on the PoA on the overnights. The restaurants on the islands are very good. 

The Huli Huli chicken in the buffet on Hawaiian theme night looked awful but tasted exactly as it should.

For Kona, go down to the vestibule on Deck 3 around 6:45 am, because you can get on the Early Bird Tenders without a ticket from 7 to 7:30 am. (Assuming they didn't change that.) 

Thank you for the suggestions! 

 

Wow, that is quite the detailed document that you updated! Fortunately, our assigned cabin is not on the list and there don't appear to be other smelly cabins in the area.

 

We are a little reluctant about POA but knew that when we booked the cruise but knew the scenery and weather outweighed our concerns. Thanks for your previous comments on POA as I found those to be helpful in other POA postings.

This will be a big change from the Prima. 

[Seas2mountains]

I’m not sure who had the great idea to select the 6am flight?!? This meant we had to leave the house by 3am. 
 

We each have one bag checked and both are under 50 pounds. That is an accomplishment for me as my bag is typically slightly heavier. We each have a backpack, too. 
 

We will be gone for 2 full weeks. We will have access to laundry machines at the hotel. We’ve had great success using NCL laundry with our Latitude perks but we are reluctant to trust sending it to the laundry on POA. We may take a risk - will let you all know if we do and the outcome. 

[Seas2mountains]

Before a cruise, I tend to do mock bookings to check on pricing changes for our cabin category and to check for upgrade options. A few times we have been lucky to find a suite or the Haven with a price drop enough for us to decide to pay for the upgrade by contacting NCL. The other advantage is we can see the available cabin number and location to help with this decision. This time, we did not see any deals. 
 

I do the same with the flights when it’s a long flight.  We originally had a direct flight with economy seats but one day a few weeks ago, I found this early flight with a connection in SFO had a price drop for first class seats for both flights. 
 

We’ll decide if the early wake up and connection in SFO plus the additional expense made it worth it or not but we are also scheduled to arrive a few hours earlier than if we stuck to the direct flight. 

 

We are on the first flight! 

[cruiseny4life]

35 minutes ago, Seas2mountains said:

We’ll decide if the early wake up and connection in SFO plus the additional expense made it worth it or not but we are also scheduled to arrive a few hours earlier than if we stuck to the direct flight. 

I think that was the right decision! Arriving early is always a plus. Even if it just means you need to root around the city for a bit before your hotel is ready for check-in. Hope you have a bumpless flight and get in early or on schedule. 

See you when you land - well, I won't be there to see you, but looking forward to hearing from you! 

[vacation44]

Thank you for this live review!   My husband and I hope to try this itinerary when we retire. 

 

What a great cabin upgrade.   Love hearing the positives of higher award status.

 

Looking forward to reading about your adventures.  

[Beachiekeen]

I’m so excited to follow this! My last cruise was the POA in 2019. It was spectacular even then when the ship was due for a much needed refurb. My only regret was that I forgot to order room service breakfast on the balcony on our overnight on Kauai. Besides that it was perfect. Can’t wait to follow your adventure! 

[ckmedsec]

Have a great cruise. Following along on your adventure.

[TeresaJ]

Thank you for sharing! We sailed on POA in February and loved it. We can't wait to go back to Hawaii, it was our first time.  We also went to Waimea Canyon in Kauai and it's a must see!

 

Save travels!

[Seas2mountains]

We departed and arrived a few minutes early on the first flight. We are now in cloudy and cool San Francisco. We have about 30 minutes until boarding for the next flight. 

 

As we were taxing to the runway, I enjoyed this beautiful sunrise but struggled to get a decent photo without waking up my husband. 
 

[Seas2mountains]

Here is the first food photo. I’m happy with fruit and eggs. The kale was good, too. 
 

 

[cruiseny4life]

Are those hash browns??? Sorry, I had to! 

[Seas2mountains]

8 minutes ago, cruiseny4life said:

Are those hash browns??? Sorry, I had to! 

Why yes those were hash browns. Good catch!  Ha ha! 

[Seas2mountains]

We are on the flight to Honolulu.  
 

The best part about getting the upgrade to first class is being in these awesome. Polaris seats. I’m sure we will both get a nap on the 5 hour flight. 
 

My husband likes to play with the partition in the middle that can go up and down. 

 

 

 

 

[Seas2mountains]

First drink is a mimosa.