Jane’s Pride of America Hawaii Cruise
Last week Jane shared with us her family’s experience at Disney’s Aulani resort. Another part of the trip we planned was a 7 night cruise on Norwegian’s Pride of America. Here are Jane’s thoughts on that cruise:
Norwegian Cruise lines got us on the boat quickly and smoothly. We didn’t feel like we had to wait long for our room to be ready. We purposely selected the Pride of America cruise in order to see a variety of islands within the course of one week. The opportunity to see a variety of Hawaiian Islands was outstanding! The Pride of America (ship and staff) were good – we really enjoyed our experience; however it was hard to NOT compare this experience with Disney Cruises. We prefer the size and layout of Disney rooms (bigger and two bathrooms w/ commode in separate room) and overall experience with dining and entertainment. Not making the friendships/contacts with the dining staff was missed. In addition, aside from liquor and shopping, there is little exchange of money on a Disney cruise. It felt as though we were getting nickel and dimed throughout the trip on the Pride. With that being said, please understand that we were NOT disappointed in the cruise and had we not previously cruised with Disney we wouldn’t have known any different. We did opt to upgrade four of our meals and experienced the Italian, the Hibachi-style, Brazilian, and Steakhouse restaurants. All had good quality, but were not exceptional. They were definitely a more relaxing dining experience compared to the buffet.
Excursions on Norwegian were excellent. On Maui we did the Maui Gold Pineapple tour and it was one of the highlights as we ate fresh pineapple, cut with a machete, in the middle of the field – delicious!! In Hilo we used the Hoppa On/Hoppa Off bus just off the dock and saw the Black Sand Beach, Rainbow Falls and other key highlights. It was a great way to see the area at our own pace. We ate lunch at Pineapples in downtown Hilo and recommend it. On the way to Kona we passed by the volcanic activity, which proved to be a nice surprise because we had not gotten a message stating that the original itinerary was restored. Kilhuea was awe-inspiring and a once in a lifetime experience! In Kona we split up: my husband took the Kona Coffee/Chocolate tour (informative and enjoyable), while my daughter and I did the Zodiac Boat/Snorkeling and Dolphin Adventure near Captain Cook’s memorial. It was a FUN ride out and back and one of the best snorkeling experiences I’ve ever experienced (even better than Hanauma Bay 25+ years ago). On Kauai we did a day-long tour of the island (The Best of Kauai). It was informative and well-done. We saw Waimea Canyon and the Fern Grotto. Not sure we would do such a long tour again, but it was not due to the quality of the tour.
Kudos to Norwegian for disembarkation plans. We really liked being able to take care of our luggage ourselves. It was smooth and seamless.