Not for us - it was a good experience but unless we are going with a group, we will skip cruising.
Embarkation
5 out of 5
Easy, quick and took no time at all.
Ship experiences
Food and Dining
3 out of 5
The buffet is a free-for-all. While the selection is decent, you have to sharpen your elbows to get to anything. The main dining room was a terrible option for breakfast. Specialty restaurants are hard to book after the first day. The Cadillac Diner was a big disappointment. In the main dining room for dinner the food was hot or miss - stay away from the pasta - its bland. Some of the nightly specials were well worth trying.
Onboard Activities
3 out of 5
What you would typically expect - small pools, hot tubs and games.
Entertainment
4 out of 5
The comedian was great but we skipped most of the entertainment.
Service and Staff
4 out of 5
Generally good, we had one waiter in the main dining room who was excellent. the bar staff was generally overwhelmed at night.
Ship Quality
4 out of 5
Ship was clean and in good condition. The dirty dishes in the hallways were not fun to look at.
Cabin / Stateroom
5 out of 5
Exactly as a we expected and lots of small storage spaces that handled our clothing. Having the balcony was really nice.
Ship tip
Set your expectations to match what you see in commercials and hear from others. The shore excursions booked through the ship are expensive and may have you stuck in a van most of the day.
most ports were in industrial areas and not easily accessible to downtown areas. Also almost all of the cabs are CASH ONLY - be prepared and ask first!
Good - one of the ports with shopping and restaurants at the spot where the tender boat drops you off. Factor in about 30-45 minutes to get tendered to/from the ship.
Prettiest island but very wet - they get lots of rain so have a poncho or rain jacket on hand. Again, the port is in an industrial area so you will not be close to anything.
If you are basing your take on cruising on this cruise, you've missed the boat. First, when cruising, do your homework. Then, you'll know what to expect and what things you need to do to get the most out of your experience. Hawaii is beautiful and fun, but different from cruising other destinations, such as the Caribbean or Alaska. We did our own thing in Hawai rather than the high-priced cruise line excursions. We rented a car at each port and were free to go where we wanted. Those type things we picked up from reading comments here from people who shared their insights. POA is not NCL's crown jewel, but is adequate for enjoyment of this cruise. Hawaii was not my favorite of the cruises we've been on (that would be Alaska), but we did enjoy it. Try one of the other places I mentioned before you cross cruising off your list. I heard someone say "your worst day on the golf course is better than your best day at work". Same with cruising!
We had a great time on our Pride of America cruise. I agree the road to Hana is lots of time in a van. That was on us. We selected a tour that didn't work for us
*Cruiseline.com is not a booking agent or travel agency,
and does not charge any service fees to users of our site. Our partners
(travel agencies and cruise lines) provide prices, which we list for our
users' convenience. Cruiseline.com does not guarantee any specific rates or
prices. While prices are updated daily, please check with the booking site
for the exact amount. Cruiseline.com is not responsible for content on
external web sites.
Contact us
Submitting...
Need help from a personal vacation planner?
Loading...
Find the perfect cruise with weekly tips and cruise deals for as little as $30/night!
Sign up for weekly cruise deals
Join other subscribers and get the best
cruise deals of the week in your inbox every Thursday.
