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NCL expects to add crew members and open additional restaurants and bars in the coming month but doesn't anticipate being at full capacity with all venues open until late November or December. For the best value, book when NCL is offering a Free at Sea promo that includes a complimentary beverage package, Wi-Fi, and specialty dining as well as discounts on shore excursions since this can save you a bundle. With any cruise in Hawaii, you’re only going to get to see a few highlights of each island and that’s it. There’s far more to see and do on every island than what can be toured in just one or even two days! We’ve created some excellent week-long vacation itineraries for each Hawaiian Island.
BEST DEAL ON HAWAII CRUISES
For a ship that’s dedicated to sailing within the Hawaiian Islands every day of the year for many years, it sure could use more Hawaiian or tropical decor. If you’ve never been to Hawaii or tend to just go to one of the islands, this itinerary is a very good one. The Pride of America itinerary is especially good if you’re short on time and you want to get a taste of each of the four major islands. It’s a very efficient itinerary in that you travel from island to island while you’re having dinner, enjoying evening entertainment and sleeping. Only Norwegian lets you visit four islands in seven days, which means you're on an island each and every day! Since we are the only cruise line that homeports in Hawaii, offering convenient year-round Saturday departures, you can vacation on your schedule.
Touring the road to Hana with Valley Isle Excursions
We have a very special relationship with the people and islands of Hawaii, as we sail to the beautiful state year-round. While this itinerary visits four islands, first-timers should plan for at least two nights on Oahu—home to Waikiki Beach and Diamond Head. Fly in early, book a hotel in Waikiki and try your hand at surfing or outrigger canoe paddling. If you feel energetic, reserve a time (early morning is best) to hike to the summit of Diamond Head for panoramic views. Or visit Iolani Palace and the Bishop Museum to experience the royal Hawaii of old.
Hawaii Cruises Remove Maui From Itineraries For Now - Beat of Hawaii
Hawaii Cruises Remove Maui From Itineraries For Now.
Posted: Fri, 11 Aug 2023 07:00:00 GMT [source]
When is the worst time to visit Hawaii on vacation?
Our balcony room sleeps two people comfortably and a third with the pull out sofa bed. It’s difficult for us to imagine trying to fit a third person in the room. It would definitely be tight particularly if the third person is a teen or adult.
HAWAIIANAIR + CRUISE + HOTEL PACKAGE
Norwegian Cruise Line is returning to Maui - Travel Weekly
Norwegian Cruise Line is returning to Maui.
Posted: Fri, 01 Sep 2023 07:00:00 GMT [source]
While it’s considered a non-obstructed room, we felt that the view of the lifeboat wasn’t exactly unobstructed. Hawaii cruises that include French Polynesia are one way, longer than a week, and often include Papeete, Bora Bora, and Moorea. The big, blue Pacific and stunning Koolau mountains serve as a dramatic setting for Hawaii's largest city. Catch a glimpse of history by visiting Pearl Harbor and the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific. Entertainment onboard is more low-key than on other NCL ships, which are known for their Broadway musicals and high-gloss production shows. Aboard Pride of America, performances are limited to vocalists, comedians, movie screenings, and game-show-like contests.
The “Freestyle Daily” lists the complete schedule of what’s happening each day. 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. We chose a balcony room with a non-obstructed view for our cruise.
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. The ship, which carries 2,186 passengers at full occupancy but is sailing at 50 percent capacity through at least November 2022, is 17 years old and unique to the NCL fleet. It features a distinctly Americana theme—the main reception area resembles something straight out of Jeffersonian Washington, D.C.—with décor that's kitschy and colorful rather than contemporary and neutral. We did some price comparison between what the ship offered and what we could find independently. We noticed that the closer that we got to our sailing date, the prices of the excursions increased.
Excursions from the NCL Pride of America
For more insight into the cruise experience, check out our Pride of America Hawaii cruise video. The staff delivers a “Freestyle Daily” to your cabin every night with information for the following day. It was usually four pages in length and full of great information on activities and entertainment.
The ship provides soap and shampoo in dispenser containers. It’s nice that you don’t have to worry about individual plastic containers and that’s a win for the environment. It would have been better to have had a name brand soap and shampoo or something with a tropical scent to fit the Hawaiian Islands, instead of of what appears as a mass-produced, inexpensive product. The bathroom is quite small with limited storage space. The following photo actually makes it appear larger than it really is.
There are bubblegum hues in Pink's Champagne Bar, for instance, and a riot of vivid bead-inspired colors in the Mardi Gras Cabaret Lounge & Nightclub. There are two pools, multiple hot tubs and lots of appealing outside deck space—including the Aloha Lanai Bar aft on deck 11—ideal for sail-away cocktails at sunset. New – we’ve compiled a detailed list of what to see and do on a cruise at each Hawaiian port. So, those were all kind of first-world problems, but still, when you’re paying for a good experience and not getting it, it’s disappointing.
Discover the recently refurbished Norwegian Spirit as you witness the South Pacific’s untouched islands on a Hawaii and French Polynesia cruise. Experience the lush forests, crystal-clear turquoise waters and colorful undersea life that will have you feeling like you are in paradise. If you'd rather dive into a snorkel adventure, two top catamaran excursions are the six-hour Molokini Crater & Turtle Snorkel ($249 per person) or the 8.5-hour Lanai Sail & Snorkel ($229). I did Molokini—an offshore crescent-shaped crater that's home to more than 250 species of tropical fish—on my first visit to Hawaii and enjoyed it. Some fellow passengers I spoke with on the recent cruise did Lanai and encountered lots of sea turtles and spinner dolphins. Further west, stop in historic Lahaina, which is home to a massive 149-year-old banyan tree along with galleries, shops, and restaurants.
It starts in Honolulu on Oahu on Saturday, sails to Maui by Monday morning and stays overnight in Maui. Next, the cruise moves to Hawaii, the Big Island with a day in Hilo followed by a day in Kona. From there, the cruise goes to Kauai with an overnight stay there. The cruise finishes with a scenic cruise of Kauai’s Na Pali Coast, then goes back to Honolulu, Oahu to disembark. This Saturday to Saturday itinerary is repeated week after week. There are three basic types of Hawaiian cruise itineraries.
The package we booked included a free perk of the “Hawaii Beverage Package” which included bottled water, sodas, beer, wine and mixed-drinks up to $15. A 20% service charge was applied to our package prior to the cruise. Decor-wise, we liked the restaurants and lounges that had a “Hawaiian-feel” to them, but there weren’t many places onboard like that. The Aloha Cafe, the main buffet restaurant of the ship, had some Hawaiian touches. We normally grabbed breakfast from here and took it out to the adjacent Aloha Lana’i Bar seating, which is alfresco. Pinks Champagne Lounge seemed to be an ode to the Royal Hawaiian hotel.
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. At the Teppanyaki restaurant, our chef put on a great show, but the food was just okay. We are deeply saddened to hear about the wildfires currently impacting the town of Lahaina in Maui.
Our cruise fare with a balcony room, the beverage package, speciality dining package and some nominal credits totaled $4,768 for the two of us. The food and stateroom experience felt budget-level, but the cruise cost was far from being a budget price. Our travel package included three specialty dining options.
For adventures, there’s hiking, zip lining, kayaking and snorkeling. For the sightseer, there are many tours filled with amazing island scenery that hit some of each island’s highlights. Skim through this link for some examples of the excursions offered through NCL. We’ll share all the details, but if this is TLDR, the skinny is that the cruise itinerary is excellent, the destinations are amazing, the cabins are adequate, the food experience was sub par.
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