Pride of America Review

Honey, Take Me Back To Hawaii!

Review for Hawaii Cruise on Pride of America
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hawaiinana
First Time Cruiser • Age 70s

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Sail Date: May 2009
Cabin: Mid-Ship Balcony

We just returned from a wonderful cruise on the Pride of America. We left home (Chatt. Tn.) and flew to Atlanta, then to Honolulu. We flew Delta, using our Frequent Flier Miles-that saved a lot on our trip J.  It was a very long flight, with a 2 hour delay leaving Atlanta, so we were very happy when we finally got there. I had reservations with VIP shuttle service and that worked out great. The guy met us at the baggage claim, holding a card with our name on it. He then helped us with our bags, and there were about a dozen others on the van with us. He told us about Honolulu as we drove over to Waikiki. (I highly recommend the VIP shuttle over Robert's or other shuttles that don't take reservations-thus you have to hunt them down at the airport, lugging all your bags with you.)

We spent our first night at the Waikiki Marriott Beach Resort. We had Marriott Reward points that we used for a free night- J.  It was very nice. We enjoyed eating on the terrace by the pool and watching the surfers. We were still on Eastern time, so went to bed at 8:00. That worked out well, because we were up for breakfast at 5:30 and took Robert's Pearl Harbor and Honolulu city tour at 6:30 that morning. That was great timing, because when we got to Pearl Harbor, we only had to wait 30 minutes to start the program. (Often people have a 1-2 hour wait.) They show you a very informative video on the history of the attack at Pearl Harbor. Then we took the boat ride over to the USS Arizona. That was very moving. We were finished with our tour and back at the bus by 10:00. Then the driver took us on a tour around Honolulu, and we drove through the National Cemetery in Punch Bowl Crater (an inactive volcano). This was our first bus tour on our trip, and we realized how nice it was not to have to worry about finding our way away in all that traffic, and  the driver was very entertaining and informative. So I strongly recommend at least a few bus tours when you want to learn about Hawaii.

When I booked with the Marriott, I was told that there was a NCL office there in the hotel, and we could pre-check into the cruise through them and they would take care of our luggage, etc. But I found out you have to book the room through the cruise line to get the special NCL perks. Since I booked Marriott, using our rewards points, I was not able to use the NCL services there. L(fyi- in case you want to have that option)

Cabin Review

Mid-Ship Balcony

Cabin BA

nice balcony, comfy bed, lots of storage space,  wonderful airconditioning- stayed nice and cool, shower temperature was hard to regulate, loved having a safe for valuables, loved having a refrigerator and coffee maker, very clean

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