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Where Stress Ends
and Fun Begins!
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blog post
February 27th 2008
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ALOHA! I took my first cruise on the Pride of America. Experiencing over 100 hours of shore time was an added benefit. Seeing the islands by cruise ship and only packing and unpacking once is the only way to go. It is definitely the best way to get a taste of all the islands; Maui (overnight), Kauai (overnight), Hilo and Kona on the Big Island.
We have had clients on this ship that had a good experience, but I had read negative reviews about the ship. I got on the cruise with an open mind, but still a little leery. I was pleasantly surprised that the ship and crew exceeded my expectations.
My biggest problem coming from the east coast was getting my body adjusted to the time change. For the majority of the nights after dinner I was ready for bed and did not adjust until the last couple of days of our cruise. I would highly recommend arriving a couple of days early to let your body start adjusting and seeing the island of Oahu.
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We arrived at the ship at 1pm and were able to board immediately with no waiting. Since we never left the US we never had to go through customs. This made getting on and off the ship a breeze. Disembarkation was just as easy as embarkation. We had late flights so we checked our luggage through for a minimal charge of $20. If you want you can take your luggage off the ship with you and leave the ship by 7:30am. There is a room in the cruise terminal for anyone that wants to store their luggage. We took a Roberts of Hawaii partial island tour and were dropped off at the airport after our tour.
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This was my first experience with Freestyle dining. There are nine restaurants on the ship including two main dining rooms, the casual cafeteria and two no-charge alternative dining spots. The other four require a surcharge; reservations are mandatory. I had one breakfast in the Skyline Restaurant that was cold and had the rest of my breakfast in the Cadillac Diner. You would it all the comfort food served at its finest and no service charge. We never experience a wait. The Diner has wireless internet connection. Menu items run the gamut from Mom's meatloaf to gigantic burgers and Mac & cheese. The only charge is for a float or milkshake ($3.50 each) or other soft drinks.
We had reservations for 6 at the Jefferson Bistro which was a little slice of Monticello. We ended up waiting for the people before us to leave their table. They were sitting around having coffee and conversation without regard to letting someone else sit at the table. With that said I had a wonderful dinner once we got seated. The service charge was $10 unless you had the Surf and Turf for a $20 service fee.
Lazy J's Steak House had the cowboy theme. Our group enjoyed the filet mignon and lobster tail. The service charge was $10 unless you got the lobster tail for the $20 surcharge. Our group enjoyed it and had wonderful food and service, but apparently it was not consistent as I heard another group not being happy with their meal. East Meets West is a gathering place for several types of Asian-inspired cuisine, including Asian Fusion, sushi, and teppanyaki. Teppanyaki is charged. This is a very popular restaurant and I would recommend making reservations. Our Chef was very entertaining and got the table involved. The table next to ours was not as fortunate. The Aloha Café on the Lido Deck has self-serve stations. Check out the various food stations hot foods, cold cuts, pizza, hot dogs, hamburgers, salad bar and desserts. It is typical of any lido deck restaurant. Reservations are highly recommended for the specialty dining spots as soon as you board the ship. You can make reservations from your room. All the Norwegian ships now are equipped with a LCD-TV screen in the public areas and let you know which restaurants have openings. If you want a specific restaurant make your reservation early. |
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We had a standard ocean view cabin and did find the rooms to be small but we managed to find room to store everything. A balcony would have been nice while cruising the Na Pali Coast in Kaui or watching the lava entering the ocean outside of Hilo, Hawaii. |
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My husband is a golfer and this is a perfect itinerary for any golfer with some of the best golf courses available. You can bring your own clubs or rent onboard, but you cannot take your clubs with you to your stateroom. There is a $40 charge for storage, but this also includes cleaning/conditioning and transport directly to and from the courses you choose to play. |
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The Islands are easy to navigate and renting a car is a great way to see the islands. There is a car rental pick up at all ports of call. I would suggest maybe booking an excursion in Hilo and Kona. Roberts of Hawaii use to have the NCL excursions and lost them for some reason. Now they are cutting the price in half over what is offered on the ship. |
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Please call me with any questions or to get a rate quote. I would love to help you with your next trip to Paradise! Mahalo!
Diana |
Categories:
Cruise Reviews - NCL
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