Pride of America Review
Hawaii is the star, but for the price POA should be better
Rating by category
Additional details
The stuff you need to know:
Embarkation is easily one of the WORST I have ever seen having done many Alaska, Mexico, Med and Carib cruises on all lines. Bottleneck at security and at the NCL check-in counter, where they ask you all the same questions you already handled in the pre-board questionnaire, then require a separate credit card for each room even though we had already linked a single credit card for multiple rooms, then each agent has to walk over to a bin to locate your card. Ridiculous. ADVICE: Show up at 3pm and avoid the absolute incompetence.
Ship: any nice touch you have seen in any TV commercial for a cruise ship... the POA doesn't have it. I'm not asking for a rollercoaster, but the "mini golf" is literally a 10sq ft carpet with some metal bowls for holes stolen from the kitchen. Imagine that kind of low-cost crowd pleasing effort that NCL has avoided... and you have the POA. Another example is that- despite the recent drydock renovation- they seem to have avoided replacing the windows along the main walking decks, like 5 & 6. It looks like someone tried buffing the windows and ended up scraping them so badly that you can barely see out... 100s of windows. Complete headscratcher... its a cruise, of Hawaii... people might want to look out the window.
Cabin Review
Aft-Facing Large Balcony
Average cruise cabin. Nice balcony with good lounge chairs. Never saw our steward EVER.
Port Reviews
Kauai
Walking to the nearby Kalapaki beach and Anchor Cove mall was the best use of the 1/2 day. One of the nicest beaches of the trip, snorkeling and sand, sun or shade, nearby food, and a nice view. NaPali coast later in the day was iffy, but waves calmed down and sun came out at last minute. Be prepared in the ideal non-windy spot with camera and unobstructed background for the pictures.
Kona (Kailua Bay)
This is a lava rocky island, not much else to do except go to a beach and hope for good snorkeling. Went to 2 highly recommend spots (Kahaluu and Honaunau Bay) and were very disappointed. Very little sand, facilities are not great (parking is chaos, restrooms are iffy and water was not the easiest in/out. Blew most of our day and snorkeling was very below the advertised standard. Wish we had gone to Mauna Kea Beach to the north which is guaranteed sand and easy... though the snorkeling may not be any better.
Hilo
Greener than I thought it would be, but nearby snorkeling was a bust. Lava fields were not very active, so we drove to Waipio Valley lookout, which is ... a lookout of a valley. Its pretty... but is that how you really want to waste 1 of your previous days in Hawaii? I wish we hadn't.
Maui
Make sure you have your itinerary booked, because this island is where the best To-Do items are. Iao Valley is not worth the time. Haleakala sunrise if you get advanced morning reservation and the clouds cooperate- memorable. Road to Hana (banana bread on the way, red and black sand beaches) - worth it. Whale watching from Lahaina? fantastic. Beach options are plentiful... Kapalua beach may be the best if you have the time leftover to drive that far northwest. Just not enough time!