Table Of Content
With so much to do, we’ll always have you coming back for more. This incredible landscape is home to two massive volcanoes – Kīlauea being one of the world’s most active – and stretches from sea level to the summit of Mauna Loa, one of the world’s largest. Sprawling across 333,259 acres on the island's southeastern side, the park is one of the most dynamic and diverse in the US. Think of it as your travel companion, helping you experience an unforgettable cruise holiday every step of the way. – As we mentioned above, for some fun, we love the Mountain Tubing Adventure.
Save On Shore Excursions!
Pride of America and her guests celebrate American culture and history, from the kitsch of the Cadillac Diner to the sober statue of Abraham Lincoln in the Liberty Dining Room. If you have limited funds for port activities and are not comfortable renting a car, prioritize booking excursions and tours in Maui and Hilo as there is nothing to do near the cruise terminals at those ports. Go here for my top recommendations for shore excursions in Maui and here for my top recommendations for shore excursions in Hilo. Cruise line excursions are expensive and sometimes feel crowded and rushed.
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Our gift shops onboard carry everything you'll need for fun in the sun. Treat yourself at our duty-free shops full of fantastic savings on fine jewellery, accessories, perfume, liquor and tobacco. Here’s a list of general items you’ll need or want for your excursions. – Another one of our favorite tours is the Kauai Secret/Sacred Falls Kayak and Waterfall Hike. We were impressed with our Oceanview Balcony stateroom complete with floor-to-ceiling glass doors that open to a private balcony. It’s perfect for two, had a huge bed and bigger-than-expected bathroom.
CRUISE SHIP HIGHLIGHTS
You will receive a free fresh flower lei for women (pictured above) or a shell lei for men as you enter the cruise terminal. You’ll also have the opportunity to make additional leis later in the cruise (I’ll get to that shortly). We did some price comparison between what the ship offered and what we could find independently. We noticed that the closer that we got to our sailing date, the prices of the excursions increased. For a “floating hotel” of that size, it never really felt crowded, except for the arrival at Kona, when there were long, crowded waits for the tender boats to shuttle us from the ship to shore.
Don’t Look For The Casino
There are pianos in both main dining rooms, and occasionally a musician provides background music for dinner. So what makes the Pride of America so weird, I mean, “unique? ” As the only American flagged ocean cruise ship, you’ll notice three major differences between the Pride of America and other ships that sail to/from Hawaii. First, the Passenger Vessel Services Act does not apply to American registered ships, so the Pride of America isn’t required to stop at a foreign port.
It sails shorter itineraries.
Have in mind that not all specialty restaurants are open on embarkation day. The two MDRs, Skyline and Liberty, are one above the other, both located at the aft. These carry through Americana themes, with Liberty paying homage to American patriotism and Skyline serving as a Deco-version of NYC.
Feelin’ the Aloha Vibes
If specialty dining is your thing, confirm your reservations the second you board -- and don't be afraid to ask if there are any last-minute cancellations. Even if you’ve already eaten multiple desserts from the restaurant, there’s always room for a made-to-order crepe. Hit the buffet during dinner hours each night so you can try all the delicious combinations. Or just order the Nutella and fresh cream for seven consecutive days like I did. The Aloha Cafe (buffet) on the Pride of America was very crowded during breakfast hours as everyone was trying to grab a quick bite before heading out to port.
To that end, I've found service from the ship's predominantly-American crew (with a healthy dose of international team members thrown in the mix) to be friendly and amiable. Some crewmembers are old hands at this and perform duties with ease; others are still learning but are disarmingly polite and unfailingly gracious. At one point, about three staff members were all hunting down cutlery for us when our breakfast in the Cadillac Diner came but the silverware did not. The missing utensils were finally tracked down and delivered with many apologies. Norwegian Cruise Line has been slowly restarting its fleet stateside since Norwegian Encore became the company's first U.S.-homeported vessel to resume service last August. The eye-popping colors of the shopping arcade on Deck 5 are still in full swing, and Norwegian's mid-2000 habit of painting clouds and blue sky on ceiling tiles in the buffet lives on.
Most of the excursions we took were quite long and included lunch. The Pride of America has many stateroom options, from a studio that’s designed for the solo traveler, balcony rooms and for the posh experience, suites. While a limited number of staterooms can accommodate up to eight people, most comfortably accommodate two people. We’ll share all the details, but if this is TLDR, the skinny is that the cruise itinerary is excellent, the destinations are amazing, the cabins are adequate, the food experience was sub par. Check out our video overview from our Pride of America cruise of Hawaii. Hawaii is a large draw for families, which brings down the average age of Pride of America passengers a bit (the median age on a Norwegian Cruise Line ship is around 50).
Old cruise standards like the Love and Marriage Show are still held onboard, as are production shows and immersive Hawaiian cultural events like lei making and Hula dancing. While many are still learning the ropes (and some are on their first-ever voyage), we found the predominantly American crew aboard Pride of America to be friendly and hardworking. American crewmembers are supplemented by a smattering of international crew, who set the tone for professionalism and dedication to service. And what they may lack in polish (right now), they make up for in enthusiasm. It's hard to fault a crew who are trying their level best to ensure guests have a great vacation. Make no mistake about it, this is not the Pride of America of 2005.
A fair amount of Google searching netted us the appropriate answers, but we'd like to see the Shore Excursion team have a bit more knowledge of port facilities and availability of things like taxi's, Uber's and rental cars. Built in 2005, Pride of America is the only large-scale cruise ship in the world that can legally sail Hawaii cruises roundtrip from Honolulu, thanks to some creative wrangling. When the pandemic hit, it was widely assumed this special status would help Pride of America restart operations first. If you do decide to dine at a specialty restaurant, be sure to book your preferred time early as the popular times fill up fast. You can book the popular Luau Kalamaku through the ship, but I suggest you to shop around to get a better price.
Norwegian (NCL) Pride of America Itineraries: 2024 & 2025 Schedule (with Prices) on Cruise Critic - Cruise Critic
Norwegian (NCL) Pride of America Itineraries: 2024 & 2025 Schedule (with Prices) on Cruise Critic.
Posted: Mon, 23 Oct 2023 15:16:17 GMT [source]
If you are on the NCL Pride of America cruise, you should have plenty of time to see all of this on the first day of your stop at Kauai, which includes an overnight stay. The reason we chose the road to Hana for day one of our two-day stop at Maui is that this tour takes all day. If, for some reason, your tour gets delayed, you won’t miss the boat if you have an overnight stay in port.
Because of that, it is able to offer Hawaii cruises that sail roundtrip from Honolulu -- a sharp contrast from other cruise lines that must sail Hawaiian cruises from the U.S. mainland in order to satisfy American cabotage laws. Although other cruise lines -- including Princess, Holland America and Royal Caribbean -- visit the Aloha State, Norwegian is the only one with a ship based there. Pride of America sails only in Hawaii, year-round, from Honolulu. The waitstaff seemed to want to provide a good experience, but they also seemed very stretched trying to take care of so many other guests at the same time. With dining being such a big part of most people’s expectations of cruise, we felt that Norwegian fell short.
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