Norwegian Cruise Line announced plans to revitalize their ship that’s currently dedicated to a continuous 7-day Hawaii itinerary. The Pride of America will enter dry dock for 14 days starting March 23, 2013.
The $30million investment will include improvements like:
– Addition of 24 ultra-luxurious suites (Ultra-luxurious, you say? Oh my, do tell me more!)
– Addition of 4 studio staterooms (Great news for solo travelers.)
– New Brazilian-style steakhouse restaurant
– Ship-wide wireless internet connectivity (Yes!)
– New carpeting throughout the ship
– Flat screen televisions in all staterooms (But, who’s going to be watching TV when you’re cruising the islands of Hawaii?)
– Updated décor in the Aloha Café, the ship’s buffet restaurant
– Upgrades to the fitness center
Per the press release, “Pride of America will return to her seven-day Hawaii itinerary departing from Honolulu every Saturday when she returns to service in early April 2013. Ports of call include an overnight in Kahului, Maui; Hilo, Hawai`i; Kona, Hawai`i; an overnight in Nãwiliwili, Kaua`i; and an afternoon cruise past the breathtaking Nãpali Coast.”
Though I’ve been to Hawaii many times for land-based vacations, I’ve really wanted to take a cruise of Hawaii so that I can report the experience back to you. A cruise of Hawaii seems like a great way to see the four major islands in just a week. Maybe it’s time for me to check with my travel agent.
Have you cruised Hawaii? Which line did you use? How was your experience?
Sheila Beal
4 comments
Looks like a great trip to report on! 😉
I’d love to see if a ship that size gets as close to the Napali Coast as that photo depicts. That would be something!
I need to check that out… My brother and sister love going on cruises. This might be the perfect thing to get the family together.
About the picture: I’m not sure if that’s a trick being inadvertently played with the telephoto lens or not… It’s hard to tell. Strange things sometimes happen with the depth perception when using a telephoto lens.
For example: The last time I was at Mt. Rushmore I took some cool pictures using this phenomenon.
The monument will look really small in the background if you take a picture standing a few feet away from the person you’re photographing.
However… If you stand back about 40 feet and zoom in on the person… The monument in the background will look much larger.
It’s a cool trick but it’s counter-intuitive. It’s hard to remember to stand so far back from the person you’re photographing.
I’ve always wanted to go on these Hawaii cruises, it sounds like with these upgrades it will be an even better cruise now.
I cruised the NCL 10 day trip in 2008. It is a great floating hotel. No need to unpack your bags from island to island. We rented a car each day on our own and took our GPS. It was so great and cheap. $30 – 35 a day to rent a car for the four of us. I am going again this May 18 for the 7 day trip. Why they changed to a 7 day I don’t know. It is the same ship etc. I had read not to expect the great service you get on other cruise lines. It was very nice. We ate a large breakfast on ship then got off and toured in our rental car all day. Maybe stopped and got some fresh fruit and took water. We were back on for a late dinner. The ship expects their guest to stay on the islands for dinner. I was surprised how many people did this after paying for food on the ship. We came back for dinner. Shows on the ship were not good. Plus they charged for some shows. The crew has some Americans and they are not used to being so nice as other cruise lines. Don’t know why. If you go expecting an average hotel with food floating from island to island you won’t be disappointed. It eas very convenient to rental cars. Explore on your own. Like the trip to Hanna for the day was something like $180.00 and we did it for $30. rental and some gas for 4 people. Driving is safe and easy to get around in Hawaii with a GPS. Not like in the Carribean or Mexico. Do it, it is great.