Pride of America is an anomaly in the NCL fleet - it does not vary from its four-island Hawaii itinerary - no sea days - never leaving American waters - no casino (as per law). I was relieved to discover that its design was not all colonial / monument style - that is limited to the main lobby and a few restaurants. The other public areas are themed around the rest of America: Napa CA (wine bar), ...
I chose this cruise because it was a good value for the money I paid for it. It was my 2nd time on Princess. I would cruise with this line again but it is not my favorite. The shore excursion to the Waimea Canyon in Kaua'i was awesome, as was the one to the Hawaii Volcanoes National Park in Hilo which included a stop at the Mauna Loa Macadamia Nut Factory. There were too many nights in which I ...
The crew have been handpicked for the ultimate world cruise and it shows. They are bending over backwards to bring unique experiences, cultural shows, destination briefings, etc. The company has created some frustrations through inconsistent policies towards people doing same types of sailings (ex, offering discounts to those paying in advanced but not applying this equally to clients), and on ...
This was my 5th+ time cruising with NCL and this trip was for my honeymoon. In general, I enjoyed the trip, the ports & excursions were excellent. The onboard activities were just alright, the cruise director seemed nice but would make odd/ cringey comments, during the game shows it was often awkward for the guests on stage. I was also upset to see that most if not all of the exercise classes ...
Everything went well from check in to cruising and ports except there was a day in one of the restaurants where the service was very slow. Entertainment was fun for the ones we attended (comedy show and singer). The ship was nice and clean and the bar service was very good. Staff was friendly and service overall was very good. Getting on/off the ship was easy in ports and everything was very ...
After 5 days at sea to reach Hawaii we were disappointed to hear that bad weather forced a cancellation of our visit to Maui. The remaining shore excursions were good but our Maui excursion was the one we'd looked forward too the most.
Then of course there's the additional 5 days at sea for our return journey. We love shipboard life but this was too much in one stretch. The majority of the time ...
Spending Christmas and New Year's at sea in Hawaii is a dream come true. It's a long trip from San Diego to Hawaii but it's worth it. The seas are rough for the first few days and the last couple days heading back but in between is fabulous.
No whales were sighted but we saw dolphins near Ensenada. There were many awesome sunrises and sunsets as we expected and were not disappointed. We had ...
So I thought I would share b/c I was quite stresses prior to the cruise based on older pre-pandemic reviews and feedback. Ultimately, we chose this b/c our family was visiting Hawaii for the first time and had no knowledge of what to do and where to go. It was a great choice as we were able to see the major stops and decide where we want to return to. We booked an extra day before and after to ...
Laundry: Yep, I am not paying 1.99 for 1 piece of underwear. On day 2 in Maui go to Kahului Laundromat. They only take cash so be prepared (1 roll of quarters did a large load of laundry and 30 minutes of drying time). It was an hour out of the trip and the right call for us. If you flew in early, then that should be enough to get you through the rest of the cruise.
Taxis: You are better off ...
Travelled with Princess in earlier times and had not a good experience overall. The Hawaii destination did inspire us to use the company again and taste their latest trading style. Although we found lots of improvements on board, we still find the basic missing with much frustration in this matter. Having worked all my life in the catering industry in London's 4 & 5 star Hotels, found the service, ...