Pride of America Review
Rating by category
Additional details
We chose this cruise because we wanted a cruise that stopped at several HWaiian islands in a week instead of island hopping and spending days in airports. It was very relaxing to be able to have one room for the whole week to unpack in and then have all your meals and a variety of entertainment choices available all day as well.
The stafff truly pampers you. The ship is spacious and clean. There are plenty of free activities and food available to keep you busy and well fed. Embarkation and debarkation are organized and well executed.
We rented cars at several ports and only had a bad experience in Kauai with Thrifty never sending a shuttle to the pier to pick up several passengers waiting to pick up their reserved vehicles. After an hour of standing in the hot sun and watching several other rental companies stop by 2-3 times most of us rebooked with Budget online and were picked up and transported there quickly. We wasted an hour of our day standing at the port waiting in vain for Thrifty. None of the port workers had phones or walkie talkies to contact these companies to see what the problem was. So I would discourage using Thrifty in Kauai port.
Cabin Review
Balcony
Nice size room for two with unobstructed balcony views. The room was clean and freshened up several times a day by the room steward. The room steward greeted us everyday and alerted us to happenings and news on the ship each morning. He was very personable and willing to please. Our room was mostly quiet except for the Hawaiian music constantly playing on the decks above or below our balcony. It was difficult to just find quiet time to enjoy out on our balcony. Otherwise balcony was pleasant to have. Plenty of space in the bathroom and great water pressure in the shower. Sometimes the bathroom had a Latrine type odor coming through the pipes though. Bed was very comfy. You could set your own temperature in your cabin. As it was hot everyday we were glad to lower the a/c every afternoon after returning from our days on shore. TV is limited with a few news channels, movie channel, and many stations devoted to promoting activities provided by the ship. Don't expect prime time shows to be on. You have to pay for Internet connection.
This room was located near the back of the ship and when sailing we could feel the ship move much more walking in the middle of the ship and when in the theatres than in our room. It was close to all the complimentary dining areas. We were happy with the location of our room. Being at the end there wasn't a lot of traffic and except for hearing the music from other decks when we had the balcony door open, it was a quiet location.
There were several small drawers near the closet and several larger drawers by the balcony door. The closet has several shelves and plenty of hangars. We were able to unpack our suitcases and put things in drawers or the closets before sliding our suitcases under the bed and out of the way yet still have easy access to them. There is no self serve laundry onboard.
Port Reviews
Honolulu
We arrived a week before taking the cruise and stayed at Aqua Palms Waikiki Hotel. We took the Blue Hawaiian Sunset Photo Tour. The take you on a 5 hour tour of the southeast area of the island and shows you special locations. The tour led ear also helps you learn how to take better pictures with your cameras or phone cameras. Great thing to do at the beginning of your visit so you can take nice photos the rest of your trip.
We went to the Polynesian Cultural Center. They give lots of info about different Polynesiun islands, their cultures, dances, etc. very entertaining and educational.
We drove to the North Shore and saw sea turtles on the beach.