The best Hawaiian island excursions on NCL Pride of America and other Hawaii cruises

Table Of Content

• Don’t forget to PIN this post so you can refer back to it later!
• Search and you shall (hopefully) find!
• Pride of America Entertainment and Activities
• How To Best Enjoy Hawaii On A 7-Night Pride Of America Cruise
• Do you plan Hawaii vacation activities before your trip or just book them when you get there?
• What to see on Hawaii’s Big Island in One Day – Part One from the Kona Side

Do some research before you go and try to sign up way in advance for the best slots. Our travel package included three specialty dining options. We’re glad that we had those options as the better food is definitely in the specialty restaurants. Jefferson’s Bistro, the French restaurant, was our favorite and the best meal we had on the ship. Cagney’s Steakhouse was good, and the only restaurant that we found that had lobster, but the service was very slow and our server got our order mixed up.

Don’t forget to PIN this post so you can refer back to it later!

That, however, is precisely the magic of Pride of America. The ship serves as a comfortable home base from which to explore Hawaii; a floating resort that just happens to move to a different location every other day. To that end, I've found service from the ship's predominantly-American crew (with a healthy dose of international team members thrown in the mix) to be friendly and amiable. Some crewmembers are old hands at this and perform duties with ease; others are still learning but are disarmingly polite and unfailingly gracious. At one point, about three staff members were all hunting down cutlery for us when our breakfast in the Cadillac Diner came but the silverware did not. The missing utensils were finally tracked down and delivered with many apologies.

Search and you shall (hopefully) find!

Cruise line excursions are expensive and sometimes feel crowded and rushed. However, many cruise passengers are nervous about booking tours or exploring ports on their own for fear of missing the ship and becoming an unwilling youtube star as they desperately flail around on land, “wait, wait! All are grateful to be here, to have passengers onboard once again - and so are most passengers I spoke with onboard.

Cruise lines skip Maui port calls - TravelMole

Cruise lines skip Maui port calls.

Posted: Mon, 14 Aug 2023 07:00:00 GMT [source]

Pride of America Entertainment and Activities

Norwegian Cruise Line has been slowly restarting its fleet stateside since Norwegian Encore became the company's first U.S.-homeported vessel to resume service last August. The eye-popping colors of the shopping arcade on Deck 5 are still in full swing, and Norwegian's mid-2000 habit of painting clouds and blue sky on ceiling tiles in the buffet lives on. This is a ship that, much like Hawaii itself, is fun, colorful, and steeped in tradition. During my evening walkabouts around the ship, I've also noticed new LED-lighting fixtures in elevator banks and lobbies and new wall treatments. Say goodbye to those oversized prints of Hawaii and past Hawaiian ships (remember Pride of Aloha, anyone?), and hello to a décor that is decidedly upscale throughout.

How To Best Enjoy Hawaii On A 7-Night Pride Of America Cruise

There’s so much going on — Hawaiian cultural lessons, culinary demonstrations, cornhole tournaments, trivia, live music, pool games, dance classes, karaoke and much more. If you are traveling with children or teens, the ship offers youth programs for them. If the ship could change anything structurally, which is extremely unlikely, we would suggest more elevators.

Unfortunately, our full days of exploring the islands plus our jet lag got the best of us most evenings. So we didn’t get to catch one of the evening shows in the Hollywood Theater. We especially wanted to see the Aloha Polynesia show, which sounds like the type of show you’d find at a luau. The Pride of America offers quite a bit of entertainment and activities. The “Freestyle Daily” lists the complete schedule of what’s happening each day.

Do you plan Hawaii vacation activities before your trip or just book them when you get there?

Pride of America offers a genuine Hawaiian culinary experience by serving local Hawaiian cuisine such as Pineapple Beurre Blanc with fresh seafood, papaya with Asian short ribs and a variety of tropical juices. Pre-purchased excursions for the cancelled ports of call are also being fully refunded, Norwegian Cruise Line added. The current sailing of Norwegian Cruise Line’s Pride of America is seeing significant changes due to what the cruise line called a technical issue. Relax with a hot-stone massage, one of over 50 speciality treatments offered.

The best Hawaiian island excursions on NCL Pride of America and other Hawaii cruises

The spacious vibe is also helped by the fact that most of the ship empties when in port, and the ship is in port every day. As of early June, only Cagney's Steakhouse and Jefferson Bistro are open, along with complimentary dining venues Skyline Main Dining Room, Aloha Café, and Cadillac Diner. This would give you the freedom to explore at your own pace. Years ago, we wrote this article — I only have one day on Kauai. It’s still good advice as you’d get to see the Kalalau Valley Lookout, Waimea Canyon, Spouting Horn and two of Kauai’s most iconic waterfalls — Opaeka’a and Wailua Falls . If you are on the NCL Pride of America cruise, you should have plenty of time to see all of this on the first day of your stop at Kauai, which includes an overnight stay.

Pride of America crew members are paid more, enjoy labor protections foreign workers do not, and turnover is higher, leading to increased cruise fares. Our total 7-night fare on the Pride of America was nearly double what we paid for a 15-night sailing on the Grand Princess round-trip to Hawaii from San Fransisco. In fact, it was our most expensive vacation ever (factoring in the expense of getting to and from Honolulu by air). On our weeklong itinerary, Pride of America departs Honolulu and spends two days in Kahului, Maui before continuing on to Hilo for a one-day call.

This is important on nights at sea when the shows are more widely attended and prime seats fill up fast. When staying overnight at a port, shows and restaurants will be less crowded as many passengers will choose to eat and recreate off the ship. With so many overnight calls, there is no pressure to be back at a set time.

I particularly love the chocolate chip bread pudding (covered in caramel sauce and vanilla soft serve) and the honey rice pudding. You can take a look at the bar menus here to get an idea of the drink prices so you can weigh the package versus an à la carte approach. We did elect to receive the Hawaii Beverage Package as one of our “free” perks and believe we got our money’s worth. But not everyone will with so little time spent on the ship. While you might see people wearing beautiful leis at the airport in Honolulu and be tempted to purchase one, hold your horses (or your luggage in this case). You will receive a free fresh flower lei for women (pictured above) or a shell lei for men as you enter the cruise terminal.

It actually pays to do this every few days (you can view it on the TV in your cabin) or even daily as lines and waits for guest services can be longer toward the end of the cruise. Book a higher deck if you can or far forward or aft (double check deck plans before you book). You also won’t have as much time to enjoy your stateroom, drink and dining packages, the spa, and other ship activities.

We made it to four performances and thoroughly enjoyed them all. We spent mornings outside sipping on coffee and evenings gazing at the stars cheers-ing with our BYO champagne and rosé. Once you’ve booked, you’ll be emailed a detailed confirmation and the tour operators’ contact information. Always re-confirm your tour arrangements with the company a few days beforehand. And I consider the bread and rice puddings available in the buffet on the Pride of America some of the very best at sea.

Travelers with a hankering to explore the Hawaiian islands but without the vacation time or money to spend on multiple trips are smart to consider taking a seven-day cruise aboard Norwegian Cruise Line's Pride of America. This means time is maximized in Honolulu, Maui, the Island of Hawaii (Big Island) and Kauai. As an extra bonus, there aren't any days at sea, opening up even more time to explore and participate in shore excursions.

It was also one of the most sparsely populated areas of the ship. In addition to the fitness center, water aerobics was offered at the pool. Norwegian Cruise Line is known for their “freestyle” dining. You can dine when you like, where you like and with who you like. You are not limited to a set dining time or assigned to a group table. We chose a balcony room with a non-obstructed view for our cruise.