Saturday, September 5th

Today's Itinerary

Shore Excursion Continental Breakfast / Talk at Maui Divers Jewelry, 7:00 - 10:30 am

Buy some Christmas gifts at a particular shop

Transportation to Pier, 11:15 am

Board NCL's Pride of America

Depart Honolulu at 8 pm

Shore Excursion Talk & Continental Breakfast

Another benefit of booking the hotel through NCL - We packed up our checked suitcases

 and left them by our hotel room door so that they'd be picked up at 8 am and delivered to the ship.

If you go on this Hawaii cruise, and you book your pre-cruise stay at the Waikiki Beach Marriott Resort & Spa,

you should definitely attend the (free) Shore Excursion Breakfast. It's early, but well worth it.

I'm not sure why, but it was hosted off-site at a Maui Divers Jewelry building (I think it was the Design Center;

not one of their retail locations.) The shuttle was about 20 minutes late picking us up;

I'm pretty sure I saw him stop by the hotel earlier but I guess he didn't see us, and I didn't know what to look for.

The NCL rep who was waiting with us finally called them, and that's what probably brought him back.

The continental breakfast was more minimal than I've ever seen one.

We had the choice between two different kinds of muffins (blueberry and something else),

apple bananas (which are bananas that are smaller and sweeter than we're used to), and

pineapple-something fruit juice / coffee / tea. The muffins, bananas, and juice were all good,

but it was more of a breakfast appetizer (and not really the purpose of the visit).

There were seven of us from the hotel - three couples, two sisters, and a guy whose girlfriend slept in.

The speaker was Paul Diller, a "shore-side expert", with 39 years in the cruise industry. (He plans on retiring next year.)

His talk was humorous, very informative, and he gave us a lot of tips that we wouldn't have known otherwise.

(I felt like we got privileged information!) For example, even those who had pre-booked

their excursions online (all of them but us) could completely change that morning what they wanted to do.

Also, all of the shore excursions (except for the helicopter rides  and fishing excursions)

could be cancelled 48 hours before the excursion. All you had to do was write CANCEL

on the shore excursion tickets and return them to the shore excursion desk on the ship.

After Paul's recommendations (and he gave us several: four to seven suggestions for each day),

we had the opportunity to ask him further questions about particular excursions. (It was a pretty relaxed environment.)

Then we took our list of excursions to two NCL employees sitting at the back of the room,

and they emailed them to the ship. And our excursions were booked! - without having to wait in a long line on the ship

and with helpful advice (instead of trying to make decisions just based on NCL's internet details).

I think the other four groups changed at least one or more of their pre-booked excursions based on Paul's suggestions.

I guess we all liked Paul's suggestions because we ran into several of the groups on different excursions throughout the week!

After the talk, Maui Divers Jewelry employees offered us the opportunity to tour their facilities.

However, since we needed to finish packing our carry-ons,

had planned on purchasing a couple of Christmas gifts at a particular shop that we visited the night before,

and needed to be on the shuttle / bus headed to the pier at 11:30 am, we decided that we probably didn't have time.

The Pacific Ocean in the morning as seen from our Marriott balcony.

Look at that beautiful blue color of the water and sky!

Waikiki in the morning as seen from our Marriott balcony.

On the hotel room balcony

Back at the Hotel

After packing up our carry-ons, we put on our leis and headed down to the hotel lobby.

Since we hadn't made any charges at the hotel, NCL told us that we could just leave the keys in the room. However,

Jason wanted to return them just to be sure. Then we headed to the the store with our carry-ons in tow.

 I felt kinda cheesy wearing the lei in public, but I didn't want to waste it, we were on vacation,

and I'm sure the store employees were used to tourists. (NCL's cruise ship runs the same route every week.)

We finished shopping and arrived back at the hotel 15 or 20 minutes before we were scheduled to leave for the pier.

The earlier 11 am bus was still there, and I joked with the NCL rep who checked us in that we'd be happy to go early.

Amusingly enough (or "disturbingly" in Jason's opinion), her clipboard already showed us "on" the 11 am bus and so we boarded!

At the Pier

Another great benefit of having booked this particular hotel with NCL was that we got to walk right past other passengers

 already waiting in line to go into security. Once through security (which was similar to airport security), we

got our "Welcome Aboard" photo taken, and then we stood in another line to check-in with NCL / receive our key cards.

(Jason would like to point out that there was even a shorter version of this second line

 for Latitude Members - guests who have sailed with NCL before.)

Unfortunately, but probably not surprisingly, none of the NCL photos are included in your cruise.

Still, we thought this was a good souvenir.

They gave the ladies an orchid to put in their hair, but I couldn't get mine to stay. That's why you see it in my hand.  :)

After checking in with NCL, I guess we were so early that they weren't even allowing guests on the ship yet.

While we waited to board, we were entertained by a couple of Hawaiian dancers (not the same ones that are in the photo)

and musicians. I was surprised that the building we were in for all of this - the security, NCL check-in,

waiting to board the ship. etc - was just a big, mostly empty warehouse. But I soon discovered

that the pier buildings on the other islands were similar, and some were definitely less "finished" than this one was.

Our Cruise Itinerary

(Honolulu, Oahu --> Kahului, Maui --> Hilo, The Big Island --> Kona, The Big Island --> Nawiliwili, Kaua'i --> Honolulu, Oahu)

(We purchased this photo while onboard the ship)

Boarding the Ship

We were greeted on the ship with champagne and orange juice.

(I don't drink, and I should have accepted an orange juice, but I reached for a champagne glass instead.

Yuck. That was a waste.)

They also had a music trio serenading us from the grand staircase.

I wish I had taken more photos during those first several hours on board, but it was too chaotic.

Anyway, here are some photos that we took later in the week of the impressive Atrium.

When we boarded the ship, we entered through these doors on the 5th deck. We also used them to disembark at the end of the cruise.

At every other port we exited and entered the ship from the 3rd deck.

They also set up the backdrop for the professional photos in front of these doors.

The entrance doors (located mid-ship) opened up to the amazing Capital Atrium which was the hub of the ship.

Surrounding the Atrium were the grand staircase, great seal, Reception Desk, Shore Excursion Desk,

Specialty Restaurant Reservations Desk, Atrium Lounge, John Adams Coffee Bar, and East Meets West restaurant.

It was also used for a variety of purposes: welcome champagne/orange juice, displaying towel animals and Hawaiian plants

for purchase/shipping, professional photographs, freestyle cruise reward sale, and others.

Here's a screenshot of the Atrium area deck plan that I borrowed from NCL's website.

I added the red arrow to show where the entrance doors were.

NCL's Pride of America has a style just like its name - very patriotic, and I loved it.

This huge U.S. seal dominated the Atrium.

The entrance doors are to the right, the grand staircase is behind me, and the Reception Desk is in front.

You can just barely see the reflection of the Atrium lighting - a huge artistic representation of the stars and stripes.

Surrounding the seal in chronological were names of the states and the dates they became states.

Here are three of them.

Behind the U.S. seal was this grand staircase, glass elevators, and Washington Monument replica.

Above the staircase was this amazing ceiling.

In front of the U.S. seal and grand staircase was the Reception Desk with this beautiful mural behind it.

The Reception Desk was staffed 24/7.

Directly across the Atrium from the entrance doors was the Shore Excursion Dive-In Desk.

Because of our pre-boarding shore excursion breakfast, we only had to contact the Shore Excursion Desk

twice while on board to ask them if we needed to bring bathing suits on one of the excursions and whether we could rent a car

from them for the day we returned to Honolulu.

The East Meets West restaurant entrance is to the left; the Reception Desk is perpendicular to the right.

Before Our Room Was Ready...

We learned a couple of days before we had to disembark that all guests have to be off the ship by 10 am.

So, assuming it was maybe 12 or 12:30 pm when we were allowed to board, at that point the NCL crew had only had

a couple of hours to remove trash, bring on fresh supplies, clean the ship, and start preparing for our cruise.

Needless to say (and we didn't know this beforehand) our rooms weren't ready when we embarked.

So, what to do until they were ready?

Well, in addition to this unexpected situation providing some amount of stress,

we also had our carry-ons with us - two small wheeled bags and a camera bag. We really didn't want to lug them

around with us, and we found out that they were checking in bags at the Hollywood Theater. So we dropped them off.

We decided to attend the Guided Restaurant Tour at 1 pm, and it turned out to be very informative.

A couple of NCL crew members took 30-50 guests to most of the restaurants on the ship.

We sat down in or walked into the restaurants, our guides described a couple of specialty dishes at each one,

explained the atmosphere and provided a couple of scenarios as to why we might visit them.

They also told us about a couple of wine/specialty restaurants packages they were offering.

Immediately following the Guided Restaurant Tour was a tour of the Santa Fe Fitness Center and Spa.

That second tour definitely convinced us to book a couples massage at the Spa.

By that time, I was starving. All we had eaten was the light continental breakfast at the Shore Excursion Talk

much earlier that morning. So, we ate a late lunch at the Aloha Cafe buffet on the 11th deck.

On their website, NCL describes the Aloha Cafe as "accommodates 680 (332 in, 338 out). This indoor/outdoor buffet-style eatery

features food stations where you can order omelets, waffles, fruit, soups, ethnic specialties and pasta.

Set against a Hawaiian theme with outrigger canoes, Polynesian carvings and even a kid-sized buffet."

We actually ate most of our meals at the Aloha Cafe. Jason and I have different food preferences,

so the Cafe offered us lots of options, self-service, and it was quick. I had read reviews

about the Pride of America beforehand, so I had some idea of what to expect from the Aloha Cafe.

The dress code was relaxed, but not necessarily the environment. Due to its popularity and large capacity,

the buffet was quite busy - almost too busy - during certain times.

To make sure we had a table to bring our food back to, we normally found a table first

and then got up to get our food one-at-a-time. The main dining rooms - Liberty and Skyline -

had a more relaxed environment with wait staff, but the dress code was nicer - resort casual.

We only ate in the Skyline once - for breakfast. Afterward, I think we agreed that it wasn't

necessary for breakfast - it offered similar food as the Aloha Cafe but at a slower pace,

but I do wish we had eaten there another time or two and in the Liberty at least once.

After lunch, we explored the ship.

Since we boarded, we had heard several intercom announcements. However, we couldn't understand them

because we were either in an area where the intercoms weren't on - like the restaurants -

or there was too much ambient noise. So, we had to keep asking the crew what the announcement said /

whether our stateroom deck was one of those that was ready.

One improvement NCL could definitely make would be to stream the announcements

on the various restaurant status TVs located around the ship (or add separate TVs for announcements).

Our Stateroom

At 3:45 / 4:00 pm we found out that our stateroom deck was ready.

So we went to the Reception Desk to pick up our carry-ons and went to see our room.

(When we checked in our luggage earlier, the Hollywood Theater said they would move

any leftover luggage to the Reception Desk at 2:30 pm.)

The hallway was empty, unlike in this photo.

This was taken on our last morning onboard as they started cleaning up.

The stateroom was definitely SMALL.

But after unpacking all our belongings and storing the suitcases under the bed, it felt more cozy.

This was the first time I had ever unpacked everything and stored it in drawers, the closet s shelves, etc.

Usually I leave most my clothes in my suitcase whenever I've stayed out of town.

When we booked our cruise, the consultant asked if we wanted them to push the two twins together.

The room could sleep three (see the third twin on the wall), but it was pretty tight with just us and our belongings.

I slept on the right side and had to bend forward while walking to the head of the bed to avoid bumping into the twin on the wall.

I can't imagine trying to fit three people into that room or having to sleep on the bottom twin if someone was using the top.

I would definitely feel claustrophobic.

Surprisingly, there was a lot of storage available.

In addition to the under-the-bed storage, there were end tables on each side of the bed,

the closet contained a dresser on one side and several open shelves on the other,

there were two or three drawers next to the desk, and several open shelves on each of the two built-ins.

The bathroom was even smaller, but it was the shower that was almost unusable.

I've never showered in a smaller shower before. I had to stick my foot under the curtain outside the shower in order to shave my legs.

I stuck two photos together for the second image to show the small mirrored medicine cabinet on the right.

There was also an open shelf for more storage underneath the sink.

(Like the earlier hallway photo, these photos were taken at the end of our trip - which explains the hanging towels.)

This was our first little towel animal that greeted us when we walked into the room.

We put it on the desk shelf so that we could enjoy it all week long.

The Pride of America docked in Honolulu.

NCL took this photo; it came with the purchase of our "Welcome Aboard" photo.

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