Pride of America Cruise Reviews - Reviews

We loved this cruise. Advice:

1.  Best room location is Starboard side, mid to aft ship.  Everything except the 2 theaters are mid and aft ship.  All the good viewing is on the Starboard side.  Deck does not matter.

2.  Before you go watch the TV documentary "Conquered" a history of the islands.

3.  If you can drive and follow a tour book (we like the "Revealed" series for the islands), it is better to rent from Enterprise (either a short walk or will pick you up at every port) and drive yourself.  Smart phone GPS works great.  You can use the itinerary from the bus tours to set your agenda and then add or subtract as you want.  Renting is much cheaper and you will spend much more time site seeing.  You can easily find places to get lunch. Plus you can go to places (such as Hosmer Grove on Maui; one of our favorite places) that the tours cannot go to because of no bus access.  You can also stay as long as you want at the places you like and leave the ones you do not rather than 20 to 30 minutes at each place. You will miss the bus drivers commentary but that can be good or not.

4.  If you are going to do bus tours use NCL.  They have it all set-up and you will have the same service staff that you met on board.  And, if any problems the tour director is on board to take care of you.  The only unhappy people we met were ones who had used other tours!

5.  On the first day make dinner reservations for every night.  The popular restaurants and times fill up fast; so plan ahead before you get on board.

6.  Read the daily activity sheet CAREFULLY every day.  There are drink specials and new things each day that are sometimes only listed on the bottom of the daily sheet.  We missed one or two because we did not read the whole thing carefully.

7. If you want to see Oahu stay AFTER the cruise not before because it is much easier to rent a car and drop it off at the airport than at the port.  So have Enterprise pick you up from the ship on the last day and stay where you want which could be outside of Honolulu and then drive the island for a few days and drop the car at the airport when you leave. It is worth it to spend a day at the Polynesian Cultural Center and see their show.

this is an awesome way to see the Islands of Hawaii. Ship was clean and well decorated. NCL is not my 1st choice of cruise lines but did this itenarary well. 

Being able to visit the main islands via the cruise without packing and unpacking is the biggest advantage to taking this cruise. The staff is friendly and helpful and the rooms are clean and well maintained.

We sailed POA two years in a row.  The food is average in the Aloha Café but the main dining room provides a much better dining experience. The crowds in the Aloha Café are overwhelming and buffet dining is a free for all. 

Generally a good cruise if you don't plan to spend much time on the ship. 

Norwegian is the only cruise line offering trips around Hawaiian islands. Considering this fact it was not bad. We liked the itinerary. Shore excursions offered by Norwegian carry quite steep price. So. we just rented a car or used HOP-ON-HOP-OFF local tour services. As for food. Breakfast & lunch menu was always the same. Dinner had some variety. But, whatever was cooked was very tasty & good quality. There were no fresh berries on offer during the entire cruise safe for a special treat from our waiter on the last dinner, strawberries. We had never seen smocked salmon either.

Entertainment: some of it was supper, some just tolerable. Also, we were to tired after the day of exploring the islands to fully appreciate it.

Music in bars was rather boring, putting to slip. And we were too tired by that time anyway. If that music were more conducive to dancing we would probably stay longer & ordered some drinks as well to go with it.

Very petty liquids attitude - would not allow a small sealed bottle of water on ship before cruise started. Drinks package higher cost than other cruise lines plus 'watered down' drinks at the bars.

Food adequate for the money but nothing to rave about.

The shows were the worst we have ever experienced.

The cabin staff and bar staff were very good.

Many of the waiting staff were disinterested in their jobs.

Most ports of call were at commercial docks so if you did not go on a trip there was nothing much to see or do.

I understand the other cruise ships visiting these islands actually tender near to a point of good activity.

I love Hawaii...the ship was the best way to see as many of the sights/ports in 7 nights as possible.

The ship was very small and bounced around quite a bit.  NCL adds more "additional costs" and gouges for upgraded meals, cocktails ($13), gelato, excursions, and tips.

We so enjoyed the freestyle dining option that gave us plenty of choices, especially since we took advantage of shore excursions on our own. We frequented Cagney's Steakhouse...sometimes for lunch or dinner, but every day for breakfast...great menus. Every day our stateroom bed had a creative towel animal on it...we loved that! The crew and all staff we encountered were friendly & helpful making the cruise a real delightful experience.

The cruise was a great way to visit the different islands. There were a good variety of excursions available to choose from. I was slightly disappointed with the ship itself. For the price, I was expecting a more upscale experience, but everything from the cabins to the meals were just okay. On formal night, the dining options were the same as the other nights. The quality of the portraits were average and that of the pictures I took with my cellphone camera. Also, they didn't offer pictures until the 3rd day of the cruise. Overall, I enjoyed the cruise, but will not book the cruise again.

We choose this cruise to celebrate our 30th wedding anniversary. The crew, the entertainment and food was fabulous!

We would absolutely recommend this cruise line as the best way to see Hawaii!

Favorites on the Cruise was the Entertainment and Activities available, Complimentary Restaurants would suffice. Ate at Cagneys (Specialty Dining),for a birthday celebration. Our steaks were over-seasoned and

were very salty. Waitstaff not so sensitive, and kind of brushed off the the issue.,  improvements could be made on cleaning the exterior port windows prior leaving Honolulu, for better viewing. Spent alot of time in the pools. where the water temps were cold. Hot tubs were great. Would definitely recommend this cruise to others. Ship staff were proffesional, kind,courteous and always willing to assist.

I chose the NCL Pride of America cruise because I wanted to visit the major Hawaiian Islands and did not want to spend 10 days at sea.  Overall, it was a very good experience.  The embarkation and disembarkation was very easy.  The cruise ship was recently refurbished it is clean but it is not elegant.  The passengers spend most of the days touring the ports so daytime onboard activities are sufficient but not extraordinary.  I really enjoyed the evening entertainment.  Especially the production shows.  The comedian, Michael Somerville was hilarious.  Beware, the Hollywood Theater is kept freezing cold for some reason or another.  People wore coats, jackets and some brought the blankets from the beds.  Unbelievable!!!

Had the best vacation ever 3rd week of October 2016.  Beautiful weather, great excursions, great food, friendly staff.  Norwegian really makes you feel like family after the cruise.  GO TO THE SHOWS at night.  The Vegas show was awesome.

My favorite excursion was the first day catamaran ride to Molokini crater and turtle snorkel.  Saw an eel, lots of different fish, dolphins, whales and massive turtle. Also had the best time around Kauai.  Highly recommend the 2 hour helicopter tour with Blue Hawaiian Helicopters.  Kauai is so beautiful and magical the best way to see it is by air.  There are so many waterfalls.  I recommend this cruise to all.

We really enjoyed being able to visit many of the Hawaiian Islands on our first visit to Hawaii.  It was nice to unpack your suitcase for the week, travel at night and be in a different location the next morning! The ship was cold, so a wrap or sweater is suggested for shows and dinner.  The food was good - breakfast at the Aloha Cafe was our favorite meal! The dining rooms are nice. If you have never been to Hawaii, the cruise was a great way to explore and find the place you want to come back to! We booked shore excursions through the ship and through outside excursions and had a fantastic time!

When I cruise, I like as much complimentary services as possible, however NCL has too many restaurants with a fee as well as a charge for room service unlike other cruises I've been on before. Showers were small as well.

We had not been to Hawaii before, and felt this was the best way to see most of the islands.  We enjoyed our trip very much! NCL went out of their way to make sure we saw all of the most interesting sites including Mt Kilauea at night!!!

Ship was clean and crew was courteous and helpful. Variety of dining options was enjoyable. Balcony stateroom quarters were smaller than staterooms on other cruises but that was no big deal. Optional excursions varied from awesome (Maui - Snorkel Cruise, Maui - Haleakala Sunset, Kauai - Smith's Family Luau, Kauai - Journey to Waimea Canyon) to average (Hilo - Volcanoes Natl Park, Rainbow Falls).  Cruising by the active volcano flow at night (Hilo) was fabulous; seeing the red lava glow and plumes of steam was breathtaking. We saw so many interesting and exciting things that it is hard to pinpoint any particular experience as a favorite but the island of Kawaii probably tops of our list of favorite ports ... lush, tropical, and beautiful ... even the ship port was enjoyable (we could see beaches and golf courses across the bay). All in all, a wonderful trip and a great way to experience Hawaii.

You get a lot of time on the islands. Staff is friendly. Good size rooms but...food is limited between 3-6pm when you get back from excursions, generally waaaay too salty, and room service options for breakfast are subpar compared to other lines. Room service comes with a few too unlike a lot of other companies. Decor is nice. Entertainment is ok...probably would be fun if you are drunk but sober the entertainment is just ok. Decor is very nice. Love the hand held shower. 

My wife and I enjoyed the cruise. Good and plentiful food, excellent excursions, and a great balcony view.

My one complaint is a serious one that might cause me not to sail with NCL again - the outrageous cost of Wi-fi. Wi-fi access is no longer a luxury, it's a necessity. The cost of ship-provided wi-fi was absurdly high. Almost $300 for unlimited wi-fi for the trip, plus a $3.95 activation fee to add insult to injury? Really? I don't see why there should be a charge at all, but if there is one, make it reasonable.

First 3 nights had terrible dinner food service. Server messed up wine order package, had new on board food servers (first cruise), waited 40 plus minutes for salad to arrive. Not a fan of what NCL has done with dining program, I.e. want a nice steak or lobster, pay a 19.95 to 24.95 additional charge in main dining room. However, after complaining, was assigned to table with experienced waitress that made the next four dinners very enjoyable. Food not up to par with Celebrity Aqua class.

The last island we visited was fantastic, Kauia.  The Waimea Canyon (Grand canyon of the Pacific) and the Na Palia coast was spectacular.  Seeing an active Volcano at Hilo was a sight to be remembered.  The Islands were varied in dense vegetation or covered in volcanic rocks.  The topography was so different and interesting.  The  people were all very easy and accommodating.  It was a wonderful trip and all the planning went well, no surprises.

                                   Best regards:  J  &  J

Would have liked to learn more about the Polynesians.