When I discovered this forum some months back, I promised I would report on the experience - good or bad. So here goes.

This was my first cruise ever and we chose a 7-day jaunt round the Hawaiian islands. I can't imagine there could be a more perfect way to see these beautiful islands than this! It was like having a floating resort at your disposal. We arrived at each destination early in the morning and that day was filled with shore excursions that allowed us to see the natural splendours of this most extraordinary group of islands. This kind of island hopping without the hassle of luggage was perfect.

The Big Island (Hawaii) has to be seen to be beileved. Exploring Kilauea is a must although the hike that we did is NCL's most strenuous excursion and it does require some fitness and ease with walking on rough terrain. It was mind-blowing! Awesome in the proper sense of the word! For the less adventurous, a helicopter flight is available. We did not get to see the molten lava up close as the flow has recently changed direction and it would have taken six hours to hike to where we could get close to it. But we saw where one branch of it enters the sea and the plume of steam and acid cloud that it generates. We left Hawaii at sunset sailing round the south coast and at roughly 10:00pm we got to see orange lava flowing down the black velvet slopes of the island from our cabin. What an incredible sight!

Next morning we docked in Maui, the most beautiful of the islands in our opinion. We took the day-time tour to Haleakala (not the one that gets you up there to see the sunrise) and had the best tour guide we could have had. He was entertaining, informative and extremely proud of his cultural heritage which he willingly shared with his passengers. He even taught us a bit about the Hawaiian language.

We decided to make our own way to the Old Lahaina Luau and I can now confirm that it is possible to get there on your own for just $2 by bus. This is one area in which I feel that NCL is a bit naughty. From the time we got on board, their luau was being pushed, but we felt that turning up to a mass produced event with hundreds of other passengers from the ship was not ever going to be authentic. Although I never heard any report on the quality of NCL's luau, I would certainly recommend the Old Lahaina Luau. For a start, it is in Lahaina which has got to be one of the prettiest, little, picture-postcard towns I have ever seen and just strolling on Front Street as the sun began to set was magical. The audience was only a fraction of that which we saw coming back from NCL's luau so we were sure that we had made the right choice for us. Drinks were also full strength and kept coming all evening by the end of which I was very tipsy with three untouched cocktails in front of me!

Even if you don't go to the luau, make sure to see Lahaina. The Lahaina on your own excursion leaves the ship at 10:30, 12:30 and 2:30 and takes about 45 minutes to get there. NCL's last bus back to the ship leaves Lahaina at 7:30pm. Public buses also stop running at 7:30pm so to get back from the Old Lahaina Luau, we shared a taxi with another couple from the ship. This worked out at just about $20 for each of us. I also heard that NCL does an itinerary that docks off the coast of Lahaina and if I had to do it all again, I would choose that option.

We overnighted in port and the next day we took in to Best of West Maui tour with the same tour guide from the day before. That was great once again.

Our next port was Kona and we decided to have a day relaxing on a nearby beach. The one we chose was too far to walk to but we only discovered that when we were already quite far from the port. We found a quiet spot but the shore was too rocky for swimming. I felt we needed to look into the options offered in Kona more closely.

In Kauai we had the only excursion that I would describe as disappointing. It was meant to be a visit to the Waimea Canyon, Wailua River and Fern Grotto but the Fern Grotto was closed due to rock slides so we got a visit to a farm instead. It was OK but the only bit of the trip that I found worthwhile was the Waimea Canyon and that was the first stop and quite short. A lot of time was spent driving from point to point and our tour guide was not in the class of our guy from Maui. We also had a couple with a small baby on board (younger than 1 year) and this was a 7.5 hour tour! Need I say more? The poor little fellow got tired and restless and after an hour on the bus, was not enjoying himself. I don't get the point of bringing such a small baby on a cruise and even worse on such an excursion. The screaming spoilt it for the parents and all of us.

The next day I had my first helicopter flight ever! I was excited and a little worried about what it would be like but it was wonderful! The actual flying was much smoother than I thought it would be (I have had much bumpier rides in planes) and the scenery was breathtaking but, of course, that sort of goes without saying! For some reason the pilot only showed us a small bit of the spectacular Na Pali coast but we did get right into one of the valleys and to the top of Mt. Wai’ale’ale which was just a bit scary as there was quite heavy cloud cover. I'm glad we did this flight in Kauai, but I would have liked to see the Big Island from the sky as well. That just gives us a reason to go again!

Our final day back in Honolulu was spent doing a Highlights of Oahu tour which filled the time we had to kill before our flight that evening. Unfortunately, this did not include getting to the top of Diamond Head but we saw many of the landmark sites mentioned in guide books. I should say that we took in Pearl Harbour and a city tour before the cruise and that is a must! It was one of the most moving experiences I have ever had at such a memorial site.

So what about the Pride of America itself? Well, we loved it! We ignored some of the negative comments we had read on this forum and decided to take the experience as it came. Thankfully, the corridor outside our cabin did not smell of sewage! We found that the restaurant staff were generally pleasant and friendly. We encountered only one bar-man who was a bit rude and inattentive and when there was no room at one of the restaurants, the hostess was a bit dismissive. The maitre d' of the Jefferson Restaurant was exceptionally attentive and welcoming. Several of our waiters were equally nice and always made time to chat to us even if they were not attending to us that night. Our cabin attendant took excellent care of us despite being busy from dawn to well after dusk! The cabin was always clean when we returned from an excursion. I should say that we always started off by being polite to the staff and they responded accordingly.

So, were there any down sides? Well, I'd have to say yes - but small ones. I was disappointed that there wasn't a member of NCL staff on hand to greet passengers when they arrived at the pier for boarding. We made our own way there so when we got out of the taxi, we thought we'd just join the back of the queue for boarding. No one said we had to take our luggage to a different pier which was right in front of where we got out of the taxi. Given that passengers are bound to be arriving with baggage, I felt that there should be someone there to point us in the right direction and take some of the stress away from cruise virgins like us. I am also not pleased with this business of a $70 "gratuity" added to each passenger's on board bill. A gratuity is optional in my book and this was certainly not optional. Calling it a service charge would be more honest and I felt it should be mentioned up front in the original billing, not buried in the Welcome Aboard leaflet around the section dealing with passengers travelling with children. I missed it and I'd bet that lots of other passengers did as well.

All in all, I would most certainly recommend cruising with NCL to my friends. As for Captain Merky and his first mate, we have our eyes on an East Mediterranean cruise in 2008 and we can't wait! If I can be of any assistance answering questions anyone might have, please don't hesitate to ask.

Captain Merky,

thanks for your impressions!

The majority of major cruise lines are handling gratuities this way with automatically putting them on your onboard account. However; you can have them removed. Or you can have them adjusted with an increase or decrease as you feel the service warrants.

Hi Captain Merky,
This is Kim, Ispoke with you about my trip to Hawaii before you left. I thought about you and your wife, hoping you would have a great time just as we did and I am glad you did. I was also hoping that you caught my last response of catching the busline to the old Lahaina luau. It sounds like you fund it. If so would you please let me know how it worked for you? I am going back in May, so I was glad to hear of the places you went to. When you said you went to Kilauea was that the excursion to the Volcanoes national park? We will be doing all rental cars this time and I am glad to hear that this may be a good choice of transport on pour own as we will go to the Wiamea canyon and do some hiking on our own time. The hleicopter, I was scared to do but they canceled because of bad weather. Is it reaaly worth doing this with the fear that i have of flying? Kaui was my favorite island, along with Maui. The Napali coastline that we did was on of my favorite excursions. If you can give me any other tips I may want to do that I didn't do the first time please advise me. Wasn't the Old Lahaina luau the best?
They really should tell you about the tip situation, sorry I forgot to mention that when I did my research. Hope to hear from you and have a great time on the Mediterrean cruise.
Cheers!
Kim

Hi Captain Merky,
Never mind about the bus I found it on your other response to the old lahaina luau, thanks!

Kim

Hi Kim,

I certainly remembered you and the tips you gave us before our cruise. We had a wonderful time and the only problem now is that we can't seem to come back to earth! Both of us spend time each day remembering the wonderful experiences we had in Hawaii and on the ship.

The bus ride to Lahaina was the star tip of our excursions. As I mentioned, we hooked up with another couple from the ship so I felt responsible (and slightly under pressure) to get us there. Actually, meeting them was a kinda cute thing. We were having quite a late dinner our first night on board and there were just a few people in the restaurant. By no means were we eavesdropping, but we overheard this couple asking a waiter for directions to Lahaina as they were going to the Old Lahaina Luau. Because I had looked into this extensively, I knew that his answer was totally wrong and would not get them there. When he left, I went over to them and offered the benefit of my research and said I would give them a copy of the bus schedule. They asked if they could just tag along with us and we were friends from that moment! Although the luau was the only excursion that we did together, we spent many hours relaxing on board with them and are now in e-mail contact.

The bus leaves from the somewhat vast Queen Kaahumanu Mall - I believe it was on the West side on the building. Getting there was also a longer walk from the dock that we thought and it was really hot that day! There is a shuttle bus that will take you from the dock to this mall but it is expensive for what it is and we thought we could walk there in a few minutes. We made it just in time for the 2:30 bus which gave us about an hour and a half in Lahaina. This place is a must! I later found out that NCL offers itineraries that dock off the coast at Lahaina. My tip would be to go for that one. I would have like to explore the rest of the West coast up to the resorts but of course, there wasn't time for that. Next time!

I think you may have misunderstood my message about car hire and doing excursions on your own. Certainly a trip to the Volcanoes National Park on the Big Island should be escorted - for one thing the guide will tell you what to look out for and remember, this place is actively volcanic and dangerous in places. A hike round the Waimea Canyon in Kauai would be excellent but again, unless you are a very experienced hiker, it could be dangerous. The helicopter flight was not at all scary and an excellent thing to do. I would recommend booking directly with one of the helicopter companies which would probably give you more time in the air. I felt that we had too much of a schedule to stick to on our flight booked through NCL.

I went into a bit more detail here than you may have needed, but I like to give fuller descriptions of things for others who may be interested in doing one of these trips.

Take care,

Captain Merky.

Hi Captain Merky,
Thanks for the advise on the hiking. I purchased Kauai revealed about the hikes and researced them in depth. Thank you for your concern of the safety with hiking. The one I will take does require caution as all of them do! I will take your suggestion and look into a guided hike on the volcanoes national park. I am also doing a great hike on Maui. I definatley will be mindful of mother nuture as all the things I like to do are a a bit on the risky side. Thank you for the tips on the bus. Where in Great Britian are you from. I lived in Putney Hill and went to scholl in Knightsbridge from 1975 to 1977. I had a blast there. I loved London! We went back there and it brought back alot of good memories.
I know what you mean about coming back down to earth once you get back from Hawaii, that is why we are going back in May. ALready booked the same cruise with NCL. I was never on the ship much anyway. Thanks again for your wonderful info and I am so glad you both had agreat time in Hawaii and on the ship!
Cheers!
Kim

Could you tell me if the seas are rough on the Hawaii cruises in the fall and also is there a large selection of tours to book from the ship, i.e. Pearl Harbor.

Hi Betty,

The seas were very calm during our cruise in September apart from one night when it was a bit windy and choppy. However, modern cruise ships have massive stabilisers which minimise the effect of rough seas on the vessel. Also, if you take a cabin in mid-ship as we were advised to do, the rocking is even further minimised.

The selection of tours to book from the ship is almost endless. There is something for everyone. A visit to Pearl Harbour is one of the excursions on offer and I would very highly recommend it.

Hi,
So glad to read your detailed hawaiian cruise. We're sailing on 1/27 on POA and your info is so valuable for planning our trip! We're thinking of doing it on our own in maui. Can you tell me more about this bus transportation? How far is the walk from port? How much is the shuttle to the mall? The exact bus location at the 'big mall'. Is it a pleasant ride into lahaina? Thanks for your help.

Hey Cruisefun,

Can we come along with you in your suitcase? I'm sure you will have a wonderful time.

Information on the bus to Lahaina can be found at http://www.mauicounty.gov/bus/busschedule.pdf You need to take the pink line (Lahaina Islander) which takes less than an hour to get to the Wharf Cinema Center - Downtown Lahaina. From there you can walk, take a taxi or another bus (Ka'anapali Islander) to the Cannery Mall if you're intending to go to the luau.

You get the bus from the Queen Ka'ahumanu Center which is about 30 minutes slow walk from the port. When we were there in September it was very hot and we had a friend who had a bad leg so we had to take it slower than we would normally go. There is a shuttle-bus that will take you there, but we figured it would be quicker to walk as the shuttle goes round several malls and we weren't sure if our mall was the first or last stop. It was also very expensive consdering the distance you actually travelled. I think it is $7.50 each way and when you consider that you can get to the other side of the island for $1 you will see what I mean by expensive!

The ride itself to Lahaina is nothing special. It's the town at the end of the journey that is the gem. Finding the bus stop was a bit of a challenge and it is probably best to get to the mall and ask. We stumbled upon it almost by accident and as the mall has more than one entrance, it would be impossible to give you exact directions. We were in such a hurry, I never noticed any stores to mention as landmarks. Have a look at this map http://maps.citysearch.com/map/view/3196813 It "felt" like the bus stop was on the eastern side of the mall.

Hope this is helpful. Drop me another line if you need any more tips and I will do my best to help. Have a great holiday!

Dear Captain Merky,
Hope you have a wonderful holiday season. Thanks so very much for your prompt reply. It's just so sweet of you to answer all my questions in such detail and even give me great links to so much info. The map and bus schedule are just what we need!!! It will be so much fun if you can cruise with us and be our guide!

We have decided to at least use the public transit for the first day to Lahaina/Kaanapali etc. Just wish the bus stop is not such a long walk from port!! And they do charge too much for the shuttle. Do you know/hear anything about snorkel at Molokini(one of us is indifferent)? Some people say it's not as good anymore. And the sea maybe choppy in winter(one is prone to seasick). But the experience seems to be so unique in Maui.

We would like to do an easy day at the beach in Kona too. Remember the name of the beach you went?
Will take a taxi since you say it's kind of far to walk.

Do you remember the drive to Weimea Canyon? Is it OK to do it yourself. How long does it take to drive from the port? We're thinking of renting a car in kauai since there is absolutely no public transportation.

Looking forward to hearing from you,
Cruisefun

Hello again Cruisefun!

Delighted that you found my tips helpful! I'm sure you'll love Lahaina - it is definitely worth the trek.

We are not snorkelers so I can't give you any first hand experience of that, but I got into conversation with some other passengers about Molokini and a gentleman sitting nearby said that it was not all that good. His recommedation was somewhere off the Kona coast near Captain Cook. I've had a look in my guide book and it could be Napo'opo'o but, of course, I couldn't swear to that. I was very taken by the idea of being in the crater of a submerged extinct volcano but we never got round to it. Maybe next time.

The beach we were heading for in Kona was Honokohau, but we never made it. It is just too far to walk! I would definitely recommend taking a taxi and booking them to come back for you. By the time we realised how far it was, we were too far from the jetty so we just got on to the nearest bit of sand we could find. This beach was nice and secluded but the sea was rocky so swimming was not all that safe.

The drive to Waimea Canyon was not very long and very possible to do on one's own. I guess it was about an hour from the port but we were on a guided bus tour and we did stop en route.

Have a look at NCL's organised snorkeling excursions in Kona. I'm sure one of them will be just what you're after. If you're doing the same itinerary as we did (leaving on Saturday night), it may not be possible to snorkel and have time on the beach at Honokohau as you're only there for one day. The ship anchors off the coast and you're taken ashore by tender (life boats). Gosh, this is sure taking me back!

Write again if you have any more questions and do let me know how you enjoyed it.

Dear Captain Merky,
Great to hear from you so soon. We'll try to review NCL's tours and maybe will find something we like. Thanks for the info on Molokini and Waimea Canyon. Definitely it will be great to be able to do the Kona coast snorkelling(will look into that suggestion). I'll try to look up the beach at Kona and decide on whether we should rent a car if too far. You're right, the time at ports are too short to do too much!
Will let you know how the cruise is when we're back. It's so wonderful of you to offer me so much insights and tips.

Captain- will there be a traditional lei greeting at the Honolulu Airport or at the ship? I noticed that some lei's can be purchased ahead of time if someone wanted that greeting.

Hello,

A traditional lei greeting at the airport is something you have to pay for I believe. As we arrived independently (our flights were not booked with NCL) I couldn't say if they throw that in at the airport.

However, once you have completed the check-in formalitiest at the port, you do get leis in preparation for a photo opportunity just before boarding. The ladies get orchid ones and the gents get ones made of shells which I think are even nicer as they are a great memento of the Hawaiian visit. I still wear mine when we have friends over for dinner!

For a more up to date review of the Pride of America (13Jan07) check out - http://cruise-chat.com/eve/forums?a=tpc&s=712603081&f=7...861072682#7861072682
You may well want to consider a different ship for any future cruises after reading my posts.
No axe to grind, just the truth. Read and decide on your own.

Thanks Travel Agent for your review. Interestingly, I am also a Travel Agent and well used to the kind of complaints that the industry tends to attract. I stand by my review, however, as that was my experience. You can't please all of the people all of the time and the Internet is a wondeful medium for venting this type of criticism. Just today, I read in the news that there was an outbreak of a vomiting virus on the QE2. Does that mean that it is always dangerous to travel on that ship? I think not.

It's my inlaws 50th Wedding Anniversary next month and we are seriously considering (on the verge of booking really) a cruise with them in the summer. We are looking at a western Mediterranean sailing and NCL is certainly at the top of our list. We shall see.

quote:

Originally posted by cruisefun:
Dear Captain Merky,
Great to hear from you so soon. We'll try to review NCL's tours and maybe will find something we like. Thanks for the info on Molokini and Waimea Canyon. Definitely it will be great to be able to do the Kona coast snorkelling(will look into that suggestion). I'll try to look up the beach at Kona and decide on whether we should rent a car if too far. You're right, the time at ports are too short to do too much!
Will let you know how the cruise is when we're back. It's so wonderful of you to offer me so much insights and tips.

Hi Captain Merky,
You'll never guess what an incredible 7-day Hawaiian cruise we have had!!! With your suggestions and more research we finally mapped out tours and sights we would like among all those wonderful choices offered by the cruiseline/independently.

Pre-cruise Honolulu was a fun city where we visited the SS Arizona Memorial, watched and froliced at Waikiki Beach and toured the Pacific Cultural Center. I was all prepared for some great snorkeling opportunities so had rented gears for a week at Snorkel Bob(they allow return at any island!).

Our first port of call was Hilo where we had a day of fun and sun. The volcano national park tour was interesting. We even took a city tour on the county bus for $1. How we looked forward to more amazing ports and great weather.

For Maui, we had decided to rent a car to visit Haleakala crater and then drive to the west coast(Lahaina and Kaanapali). And we booked a whalewatch excursion from Pacific Whale foundation for the next day. To our dismay we woke up to such windy condition that we found the ship circling the island unable to dock!!! The captain announced that the wind had approached close to hurricane strength(but sunny sky!!!) and would not be able to dock until late that nite if wind calmed down. We scrambled to cancel car rental/tours etc. The weather had changed and we were facing a bad wind storm for a few days!!! Luckily we were able to dock that evening. But it was too late to do anything ashore. The next day we took the $1 county bus to Lahaina(great!). Just as you said we walked about 20min to Ka'ahumanu Center(there is shuttle to the center but we had an early start and didn't wait for the shuttle) to catch the bus. And the Kaanapali beach was just too rough to snorkel.

Very strong wind persisted for another 2 days and we skipped Kona. Once again we had to cancel the tour to Hounaunau Bay for snorkel. I was supposed to return snorkel gear that day. Finally we were able to land at Nawiliwili on the sixth day but torrential rain greeted us! We decided not to drive up Waimea Canyon but drove around the coast to visit Poipu Beach and Princeville instead. When I found the Snorkel Bob's office at Poipu they were very understanding and would not charge me for the unused gear. What a wonderful operation. Of course the last day at shore turned out to be beautiful and at least we could swim/splash at a beach! It was a very disappointing cruise.

Thanks again for all your help.