Cost: Inaugural-year fares for weeklong cruises (Saturday night to the following Saturday morning; each daytime in port) aboard the Patriot start at $709 plus $33.39 tax and $90 port charges ($832.29) per person for a shared cabin without a window. The cost covers all meals in the dining room or cafe, daily cabin service and many activities aboard ship. These include Hawaiian cultural programs, craft classes, nightly entertainment, live music in lounges, fitness and sports activities, movies, lectures, trivia games and one late-evening dessert buffet. Soft drinks, alcoholic beverages, Internet access and spa services cost extra.
United States Lines offers round-trip air fare to Honolulu from Dallas for $649 plus tax and a $20 airline surcharge. Baggage handling and transfer to the ship are included.
Tipping is customary. Recommended gratuities are about $135 per couple for the week.
Cabins: There are no smoke-free staterooms. Staterooms on a ship's higher decks are considered the most exclusive and desirable, but cabins on lower decks, especially those nearest the vessel's center, have the least motion when the ship is at sea.
When selecting a cabin on the Patriot, consider that occupants of staterooms on B deck, where the gangway is placed at several ports, must deal with the traffic of fellow passengers going ashore or returning.
In port, the ship may rub against a pier's bumper of recycled tires, creating annoying noise in outside cabins on the starboard side of C deck.
No staterooms on the 18-year-old ship have verandas. Classic wooden deck chairs are available on the wrap-around Promenade deck. Plastic chairs and loungers are offered on other decks.
Cabins are well-designed but do not include a hair dryer.
Health matters: The ship has a doctor aboard and an intensive-care unit for emergency cases. Visits to the doctor are charged to your shipboard account.
Motion-sickness remedies are available from the doctor or purser's office.
Dining: Although many cruise lines are adopting "freestyle" cruising, passengers aboard the Patriot are assigned tables and hours in the main dining room.
Further facts: For a brochure or to book a cruise, contact your travel agent or United States Lines (1-877-330-6871; www.unitedstateslines.com.