Hawaii Cruise Reviews

Our only reason to cruise Norwegian was the itinerary (7 day round trip out of Honolulu).

The onboard (pool side) entertainment was very loud, as was the dining experience in the Skyline restaurant. As a result, we ate in the buffet all but once. The food was OK but not great...minimal salad bar.

It seemed that Norwegian is trying to appeal to a younger crowd. Overall, we'll not likely cruise with Norwegian again. We feel that there is better value with other cruise lines.

The Captain made this cruise.  He interacted with passengers on a daily basis.  He was present in the dining room on the Lido deck and attended some of the shows.  He was the most personable I have ever encountered.  Loved him.  I would take another cruise on a ship I knew he was in charge of. 

I have taken 11 cruises. It took 5 minutes on the Star Princess to know this was the prettiest ship I had been on. For me, typically in a one-week cruise will have 4 nights of quality shows. In a two-week cruise, 7-8 very good shows. In 15 nights on this cruise there were 13 great shows. AND most of the acts had a second show in the Vista Lounge later in the week. Because of that, many evenings we had 2 quality shows to see. The MUTS (movie under the stars) was a very nice feature, although it was chilly at night outside, but they supplied blankets. On sea-days they showed 3 movies over the course of the day. The cruise director, Andrew Kadalak was exceptional! Captain Tuvo was omnipresent. He was exceptionally social and has a very playful, fun personality. The food quality was as good as any, and the service all over the the ship was outstanding. This was my best cruise to date.

This is the perfect cruise.  You can choose to relax or participate in the daily events.  The lectures were informative.  The entertainment was great.  The classes in the Fitness Center were motivating.

Highlights of the cruise...  The crew and the food!

Captain Tuvo was the friendliest captain we have ever had on all of our cruises. He made a point of greeting each person every day more than once.  Also the captain from the Love Boat TV series Captain Stubbing was also there. 

Having taken over 20  cruises to many parts of the world, I am comfortable in calling thi.s Hawaii trip the best ever:  the captain, the crew, the sea days--all were perfect.  The island stops, howdver, felt rushed/ and too short

Absent the beautiful ship, the great ports and activities on and off the cruise ship. The members of the NCL family make being a passenger a wonderful experience. The entertainment and caliber of the team members are second to none!! My experience on other cruises were fun and filled with great memories however this specific bunch of folks who are at your ready on this ship are there to make sure you have a a fantastic time and an opportunity to make new friends!! I am going to do this cruise again and again because it was that kind of good.

Hawaii is beautiful and there is no better way to see it than with the NCL Pride of America!!! The shore exclusions were excellent with very knowledgeable tour guides. The cruise ship was nice, the food was great and the staff exceptional!

I would highly recommend this tour.It is a great way to see 4 islands.The food was good and the staff was friendly.

There were a couple of unexpected things that we saw on the cruise.Those were the volcano erupting and the Napoli coast.

Great time in Hawaii.  We were a younger couple, other couples on the boat were about the average 60+.  It was neat to be the "honeymooners", however not many activities for our age group.  There was also no music by the pool deck and not very many guys walking around to offer you the "drink of the day" like on other cruise lines.  Food was great,  however after 10p your options are limited for late night munchies if you are leaving the club.  24 hr pizza is definitely a great bonus on other cruise lines too.  All staff was very nice.  Balcony room on the 14/Lido deck had excellent view!!  Also, very nice to be on the same deck as pool and food!

This cruise is a good way to see the islands.  Very comfortable cabins, lots of onboard activities, and extremely attentive staff. The food could use some work. The prepaid restaurants have basically the same menu. The cafeteria offers more choices but after I walked in and saw a poor little roasted baby pig, I skipped it all together. 

I bought this cruise for the opportunity to see the various Hawaiian islands.  It was effective for that.  However, you're getting half of the value of the cruise (compared to a similar length caribbean cruise) for twice the price.  The cruise ship itself and entertainment aren't that great (probably because you're at port a lot, which is a great thing); but you're getting less value from NCL itself and they're jacking up the price just because you are in Hawaii.  If I were to do it again I would just get hotels and flights/ferries to see the various islands.  

Pride of America provided a first-class overview of Hawaii with beautiful vistas, luxurious spaces, gourmet food, excellent entertainment, and friendly staff. Although we missed a port due to weather, the captain made up for it by sight seeing. The staff was helpful and nice. Once in a while a brief flicker of American attitude nearly surfaced but was quickly hidden. Few would notice. The entertainment was incredible in the main theater. The bar and lounge areas were not quite as good as on the Epic but that would have been hard to match. We were a bit disappointed with the port location in Maui and the price of the tours in general. As the cruise was far more expensive than most, the tours seemed way too costly to add to the vacation so we had to limit how much we got to see of Hawaii, unfortunately. The cruisetour prior to the cruise was wonderful and well-worth the time and price. I have already highly recommended this cruise to my friends. Thanks to Norwegian for another fantastic cruise. We will return soon, probably Alaska next. 

I had an excellent time on this trip.  Being a professional Santa Claus and wearing different attire everyday made the trip great.  My picture was taken by a great many people from all over the world.  My wife passed away last November and this was a trip we were planning to take before she had a debilitating stroke.  After she passed I took the trip and I am glad I did.  The trip was a way for me to handle my grief and the people I met certainly made it a success. The crew also made my cruise enjoyable.  The captain and I had our pictures taken by a great many of our fellow travelers. I am looking forward to another cruise.   

Days at sea were relaxing and enjoyed the activities provided by the Princess. Evening entertainment was first class from Piano in the lounge to the fantastic shows in the evenings

would not recommend due to  excessive number of sea days with very few fun activities on ship during sea days.  this cruise would not interest many folks.  good one for those who only enjoy sleeping and reading.   No fun deck offerings except outside movie screen  with movies you could not see due to sun glare and no music or activities on deck throughout days.  Evening entertainment mostly for very senior guests and those who preferred to knit. 

The boat is in need of a face lift. Old run down. Tile in the steam rooms and Sauna cracked and filthy dirty. The woodwork was in need of varnish. The rooms was terrible carpet and furniture dated from 2003. Toilet had scratches on the bowl. The food was the worst. I met a couple that had been on 28 Princess cruises and that

ship was the worst.the staff in our restaurant was great. The captain was the best. 

We were on POA in 2012 - had a good time, ship was ok.  It needed a little bit of upgrading.   This time (2/18/2017) and the ship was SPECTACULAR!!!!!!  NCL completely re-vamped the entire ship!    Looks GREAT!!!!!   They added Deluxe Penthouses to deck 13, replacing what ever they had there that took up space!    This time, the Butler's were FANTASTIC!!!!  Ours was extremely pleasant and PROFESSIONAL!!!!!  We got married in Kauai and 'Peter' took care everything we asked of him!   He even arranged for us to have dinner with the Captain (w/ another couple) as well as setup up a Lava-Flow party that we had planned, and supply enough champagne for our entire group!   Everything was FANTASTIC, as this was my 28th cruise (2nd on POA) and I am telling you - they did a great job!   The ship was in her glory!    The only negative that we have to say about the whole POA experience this time around was- that they put a scale in the bathroom!!!  IN THE BATHROOM!!!!!!!!!!!!   Who wants to see what weight they gained while eating at all the 'Free' premium dining while on board (LOL)!!!!!!!!!!    Great time - POA has resurrected!!!!!!! Thanks NCL!!!!!!!!!!!

If you're looking for both a relaxing time with lots of sea days and active adventures on shore excursions Holland America's San Diego round trip to Hawaii is for you.

The crew and staff of the Westerdam were wonderful, helpful and friendly. Meals in the main dining room were very good and excellent in the specialty restaurants. Enjoyed the entertainment and America's Test Kitchen live and on TV.  Currently the Westerdam needs some maintenance work on decks and in public areas, but it is going into dry dock in April. Plus the service staff do a great job of keeping everything in great shape. Deliberately chose very active shore excursions so we enjoyed relaxing on the outbound and return sea days.

Joan and Chris K

overall, good, cabin attendants excellent.  Your time dining needs work, you had to take their times or wait up to 45 minutes.  So glad about the non-smoking on balconies