Pride of America, just back

[bellacarmella]

Well I hope you are helped by this commentary. Here goes.

If flying to Ohau do your own air. You will get the worst flight home if you book with NCL. We booked with them and got a good flight out but they wanted to put us on a 10:00 pm flight to Salt Lake City. Then on to N.J.

Stay the extra day after the cruise or overnight in Ca. NCL has custom air and you could use that also.

 

We did a pre stay at the Marriot, Waikiki. It was very nice and really caters to the NCL cruisers. There is a great park just 1 block from there. Resturants are not great but there are lots in the area. We didn't use them but there is a Hertz car rental in the Hotel. The city buses are clean and there are lots of them.

PEARL HARBOR .. Do not do an excorted tour there. Do it on your own. No matter what you will have a 1 to 2 hour wait after purchasing tickets. It is a nice area and you can visit the battleship for an hour. City buses take you there or get a cab. We did a tour and had to wait for people to show up just to get on the tour bus. Never again.

We rented a car from Thrifty which is about 5 blocks from the Hotel. We drove to the North Shore and around the island. I don't reccomend this. Find a nice beach and unwind instead.

You get the ship at the Aloha Center. It is a great place to shop, eat and relax and is right on the harbor. My husband boarded at 2:00 and went right to resturant reservations. Did same time each night. There is no wait if you do this in advance. Embarkation was a breeze. No matter what you will always need a picture ID even the kids did. Drivers licences work well as they are the same size as your cruise card.

Our room was 8544 on the port side. IT WAS TINY. Do the suite if it works for you. Be prepared as the toilets are like planes, when you flush it is a vacum and this had to be the loudest vacum ever. Could be scarey for little ones. Also bring a clock.

I had been reading these boards and saw all the pos. and neg. about this ship. Heres my take. The ship is small in comparison to others. It will rock and roll depending on wind and waves but most of the time it was fine. Pools are small and loud. The Spa was great, do the spa sampler, facial and upper body massage. Our rooms were always done and clean. No septic smells as reported. Stewards were polite and friendly. I am a health inspector and must say I was impressed that almost everywhere they have special hand sanitizers. Put your hand under it, it spits out a quick dry hand sanitizer.

 

Food. Ok here it gets complicated. We only ate in the Jefferson Bistro and Little Italy, both were pretty good. Do not eat in the main dining as the service there is slow. We did the buffet for breakfast but so did most of the ship. It would have been ok but the service areas do not flow so you are constantly bumping into other people. There was never enough coffee so do that in your room as there are coffee makers and coffee there. Breakfast was ordinary but they did have an omelet station and the fruit was good. They even have a kids dining area with kid size table and chairs.

 

1st Day Hilo... Expect rain, it is the norm there. Definately do the Volcanos Nat. Park. It is a 45 minute ride and worth it. Find the lava tubes as that was awsome. We did a helicopter ride (booked on our own) which took us over the ocean and active flow. There is also a great beach just a mile or 2 from where the ship docks. It is called Richardson Beach. Small but great snorkling and no waves.

Rent a car. We did Thrifty everywhere- (blue chip)pre-booked. All ports have rent a car shuttles for most of the companies. They pick you up, take you to the rental spot and bring you back to the ship. Kona might have been the exception.

2nd Maui ... Rent a car was easy and roads to Lahina where fast and easy.

Found a nice beach just north of Kannapli. On the way you can rent snorkel stuff at Snorkel Bobs. They even have chairs. Very helpful. Don't do Black rock as it is crowded go a little further to Kahana. You will see a bunch of cars parked on the road and a small sign that says Beach Access. There is a parking lot if you can find a spot there or park on the road like everyone else.

It is a great spot. There are clean restrooms showers and a large beach. Snorkeling was great there. We did not have time to do Waiela but I hear there are great beaches there too. Second day we did a whale watch but as of April there were only a few left. LAhaina is a tourist trap so if you need to shop it was as good as any. We did have lunch at the Top Cat and it was very good.

4th Kona ... Big differnce from Hilo. Lush and tropical. We did the Fairwinds tour. It was good for people with kids or who do not swim. It is a slow boat to one snorkel spot where you spend the day. They do give you breakfast and lunch, which were pretty good. Clean restrooms and shade. If you are more adventurous, do Captain Zodiac. Boats are faster, and they move from one area to another. There is no shade and it will be more bare bones. Fairwinds does not offer any pick up so it is a $20.00 cab ride each way. Also we were lead to believe that we had to be on the first tender but if you do that you will be there an hour early. Leave the ship at 8:00 it is only a 15 minute ride. Boat leaves at 9:00. Kona has some very nice shopping so do some there. I got a great tri-color gold sandal pendant there I did not see anywhere else. There were several people going fishing there so If that is your thing I would look into pre-booking it on line. KONA IS A TENDER PORT!

5th.. Kauai The best of all the islands. Rent a car and drive. Poipu is nice but very windy. It has a great little protected cove for toddlers. About a foot of clear water no waves, sandy bottom. The rest of the beach has more currents and coral. There is a dive shop there where you can rent equipment and beach chairs. Tour buses go here so it can be crowded.

We didn't go there but saw from the ship and heard from locals that Princetown is the place to go. So if crowds and kids are not your thing take the drive up there. It is high end and not crowded. We did another helicopter tour and it was awesome. There are many to choose from all are good. Shop for price they all do the same trip. We asked some of the locals for a resturant rec. and they suggested a place in Kapaa called HUKILAU. It was awesome. Just follow Rte 56 about 15 minutes to the Coconut Marketplace, turn in and it is in the back. The Marketplace has lots of shops so you might want to shop a little too. If you continue down 56 for about 3 miles you come to old Kapaa. It is a funky little town with all really cool, hippie type stores and great eateries. Don't miss it. If you continue down 56 you will end up in Princeville. Really wish we did it.

You will leave Kauai at 1:00 in the afternoon. They do this because they sail up the NaPali coast. If you are on the port side you can spend the afternoon on your balcony and view the most awesome sights. Towards the end check for whales, dolphins and flying fish. We saw all of them.

 

All in all it was a great trip. Wish we had more time. Tips, if you do the tours you will be on large buses with many slow moving people. Do your own thing if you can. Rent cars if you can. Eat at resturants in Maui and Kauai.

ABC stores are Hawaii's convience stores and are eveywhere. Walmart and Kmart have shuttle buses (don't ask me why you would go there but if you need too, you can get shuttled there) Don't overpack, we did. You just need shorts or capris and t-shirts and a zip up jacket or sweatshirt for cooler times on the ship. Some people dressed up but most just wore tropical shirts and tops.

The ship was a great hotel and allows you to see more islands. After that you can return someday to the places you like the most. Hope we can do that someday. Feel free to ask me any questions.

Mahalo

[Sailor Cali]

Thanks, bellacarmella, for all the great information. This will be my first time in Hawaii, and your post is helping me get a handle on things.

[lomillerin]

Great info.- one question, you mentioned kids needind picture ID. What do you mean? All ages? I am not sure how to get a picture ID for a 7 year old.

[Darthtater]

Hi- great tips. I tried to book the Fairwinds in Kona and they told me that they would not accept my booking because the ship may not make it there before they left for the tour. How did you book the trip with Fairwinds?

Thanks-

[spleen93]

Thanks for the review!

 

Darthtater - you don't mention that you're coming in by a cruise ship. Give them your cell phone as a contact number.

 

Spleen

[PACURN]

Thanks for the great info.

[monobrow1]

Hi

 

we are in room 8562 port side also on POAM May13th

Did you stay on your balconey for the NA PAli coast afternoon cruise?

 

We are doing a pre stay Friday in Wakiki Marriot-thinking of doing Diamond

head on Saturday, Can you book dinner times at the Marriot?

NOt sure what to do in Honolulu; maybe just do the beach?

Also doing Fairwinds in KOna and Capt Zodiac in Kauia

 

 

Joe

[bellacarmella]

As far as Fairwinds goes, when I called them I got lots of hesitation to book also. I get the impression they do not like the cruise ships. We were the only cruise people on the tour. The day before we got to Kona I happened to meet up with a crew member. I asked about times in Kona and he said the the ship gets in at 6:30AM. He was part of the security team and said that each week he has to be off the ship at 6:30AM and that each week it is in port at that time. It is a tender port and you need to meet in the lounge to get tender tickets. Then as a group you leave to get on the tenders. As I said we were on the first tender, got a taxi right away and arrived and hour early. Take Fairwinds phone number with you.

 

Yes we did stay on our balcony to view the NaPai coast. The decks were jammed with people. So grab a drink at the bar, bring it to the room and enjoy.

 

As far as ID goes, check with cruise line I am not sure about little ones.

[tootsy]

Can you answer a couple of questions about Pearl Harbor for me?

How far is it from the Mariott? If we take a cab, how long till we would arrive there and any problem getting a cab to return to the hotel. Do you have any idea of the cost. I was thinking of an escorted tour,$25.00 pp, but after reading your thoughts, maybe we will take a cab. What time would you suggest we leave the hotel and how long do we have until our transport would leave the hotel for the ship? As you can probably tell , I haven't a clue what to do. Can really use some input. Thanks

[Coolcruise02]

How long is the USS Arizona tour itself? (not including your wait after you got your tickets) Thanks

[bellacarmella]

I am not sure in miles how far Pearl is but it took about 20 to 25 min. to get there once the bus was on its way. I would call a cab company and get an idea how much it would be. As I said city buses go there. I would check on line how that works. If you are staying at the Marriot or other NCL booked hotel you can do your pre-board check in there. It is open untill 8:00 pm They take your picture do all your paper work and give you baggage tags. Then your bags can be transported to the ship. We did Pearl on the Sat. of our cruise. Your bags stay in your room and are picked up inside. We left all our bags (carryons too) at the hotel for transport. We only took handbags as you are not allowed to bring anything into PH. Just a camera. There is a bag check there for $3.00. It wasn't that crowded(according to our driver) but it was 1hr & 45min wait. There was no wait to see the battleship. There are shuttle buses running all the time to get you there. We didn't do an excorted tour but it took a good hour to look around and take pics. You will probably get hungrey while you are there and there are a few concessions to eat at.

So we did that and then got on our line to get in. You will spend a few hours there with the wait and the tour. There is a 1/2hr movie that you see (and bring your tissues) then you get on the boat which takes you out to the memorial this should take another 1/2hr.

The Aloha Center(ship) is closer to PH than the Marriot. We were dropped off there and just showed our documents to get on board. If you got up and got to Pearl at 8:30 or 9:00 you should be done by 12:00. If you get to the ship early as I said the Aloha center is very nice you could have a coffee and relax by the bay.

There may be smaller tour companys that use shuttle type buses to go there but I am not sure. All we saw where cars and large tour buses.

Hope this helps.

[tootsy]

Bellacarma, Thanks for the info, it is certainly a big help. And also your review gave lots of info to a first time cruiser like me. Thanks again and welcome home. Tootsy

[beachin']

If flying to Ohau do your own air. You will get the worst flight home if you book with NCL.

Not necessarily. It depends on many factors. We ended up with perfect flight times - couldn't ask for any better (also flew from/to the East Coast). Not to mention that they often run air promos that can save you hundreds; sometimes it works out well to use NCL's air, sometimes it doesn't.

[CruisinfromRI]

Not necessarily. It depends on many factors. We ended up with perfect flight times - couldn't ask for any better (also flew from/to the East Coast). Not to mention that they often run air promos that can save you hundreds; sometimes it works out well to use NCL's air' date=' sometimes it doesn't.[/quote']

 

If you dont mind me asking, what were your air times from the East Coast? I am booked on the PoAM for Sept 2 (flying from RI on NCL air) and was curious about what some estimated times might be!

[beachin']

If you dont mind me asking, what were your air times from the East Coast? I am booked on the PoAM for Sept 2 (flying from RI on NCL air) and was curious about what some estimated times might be!

When we traveled in August, we left JFK at 8AM and arrived HNL at 2:15PM; on the return we left HNL at 12:45PM (and still had plenty of time at the airport) and arrived JFK at 6:50AM, next morning; changing planes in SFO both ways. I suppose NCL uses whatever is most cost effective at the time, however we were very fortunate. I did ask them to put in a request for early afternoon return flights - not even sure if they did in fact do that, but it worked out well in the end.

[swimgirl1]

Thank youfor the good review! Why is it that you left Kauai so early, doesn't the schedual say that the ship woudn't leave till later the 2nd day? Wow! that is very disappointing considering that is the reason we choose this cruise for 2 full days in Maui and Kauai...What time did you leave Maui?

[CruisinMK]

Ours left Kauai when it was scheduled to, I think 2pm.

 

NCL schedules a small minority of cruises leave at 7am instead, probably because they can't get dock space in very tiny Kauai harbor. Tendering is forbidden there. Everyone who gets one of these sailings can see the 7am departure itinerary before they buy it.

 

If you want a second day then pick a sailing that has one, well what more can you say.

[bellacarmella]

The ship left at 2:00pm. You had to be on board by 12:30 or 1:00pm. I know it doesn't say that in the NCL information. Tricky. That was the only glitch in their itinerary.

[sboh]

Does the ship turn so that the starboard side sees the Na Pali coastline also (as apparently it does at Kilauea)? I was planning to book starboard on the Pride of Hawaii this weekend (for next June) and hadn't thought of this. Maybe I should book port. Also, the POH is scheduled to be in Kauai from 10am on Sat until 6pm on Sun so does anyone know when it will sail the Na Pali coast? Sat before 10 am???

[monobrow1]

How were the seas?

 

Any rough water?

[Deb in Cali]

Thank you for the good review. So does the ship spend two days at Maui. If it does, it appears from the intinery that it pulls out at night????, then returns in the morning. I am hoping to drive to Hana for the day, but wouldn't be back until 7 or 8 at night.

 

I am planning a cruise to Hawaii with my mom in Oct. 06, so at this point I am researching cruise lines, ship, intereries, costs, etc. They have an eleven day cruise in late Oct that goes to the Fanning Islands as part of the cruise for a good price.