Pride of America Review

4.5 / 5.0
2,365 reviews

The Whales made the Cruise!

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

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Sail Date: Feb 2009
Cabin: Aft-Facing Large Balcony

MY CRUISING BACKGROUND This was my tenth cruise with six different lines. NCL is tops with its FreeStyle Dining. Costa seems to have the most beautiful ships. Carnival has a college "Spring Break" atmosphere. Princess, Royal; also nice. I like Holland America's "no tipping" policy, but it's been since 2001 that I cruised with them - it may be different now. NCL adds tipping right onto your bill - you have no choice; but you can give more to individuals who give you exceptional service. CABIN/BALCONY The cabin was smaller than I've had on other ships, but the balcony was much bigger! Perhaps because it was an aft balcony, but it was even bigger than the other aft balcony I had aboard NCL Star. SHORE EXCURSIONS The Whale Watch shore excursion was the highlight of the whole cruise. Granted, it is prime whale season, but Captain Joe and the naturalist narrator (also named Joe if I remember correctly) made the trip even more special. I wish I could remember the name of the boat...Odyssey? We stopped within 100' of the whales as required by law, but the whales disregarded that law & came right up to the boat (heart-pounding close! So, so cool!) Best Shore excursion Ever! DINING I was a little disappointed in the specialty restaurant. We ate at Little Italy on our 2nd night. I didn't think the food was better than that of the main dining room (Skyline), and the service was definitely not better. Because of that, we didn't try any other "extra fee" restaurants. In fact, with the exception of a few dinners at Skyline, we ate our meals at the Aloha Cafe. Aloha had the same quality of food, the same desserts as in the dining room, and a much wider variety of food to choose from. ENTERTAINMENT A little bit of a disappointment - I wanted to see more Hawaiian/Polynesian shows. There was one variety show in the theatre the first night that included Hawaiian and Samoan dancing but after that, it was a comedian (though he was funny) and a magician (though he was good) I wanted more of the Polynesian culture. Hawaiian ambassadors China and Malu hosted daily craft classes (hula lessons, lei making, sarong tying, etc) that were the best! They delivered informative talks (Napali coastline, humpback whales, etc) as well. They hosted a "Thank You" show the last night in which they danced hula and sang a Hawaiian chant. This is what I wanted, only much more of it! I would like to see them be given their own staff and a much-expanded agenda. EMBARK/DEBARK Embarkation was a pain but it was my own fault. When they say embarkation begins at 12:00, believe it! Don't show up early, you'll have to wait. And there is nothing to do at the pier area but sit & wait! When noon arrived, embarkation was very smooth. If you are a Latitudes member, be sure to bring your membership card, or have your Invoice with your Latitudes level indicated on it. You'll be put in the short line to embark! Debarkation was the best I've ever experienced. I love the idea of "choose your own time." You pick your own colored luggage tags that correspond to the time you want to depart - in ½ hour increments. We chose 8:30 am, and waited in the debarkation area (main atrium) to see how it went. There were no crowds, and when infrequent, short lines developed, they moved very quickly.

Overall, a very nice cruise. In fact, we put a down-payment on our next cruise due in part to a sign-now-during-this-cruise special. But more so because from what I've heard about the ship being built now - the Epic - I want to be on that ship!

Cabin Review

Aft-Facing Large Balcony

Cabin B1

Smallish room, but a nice, BIG balcony!

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