Pride of America Cruise Reviews - Reviews

The cruise was the only way to really see the islands. Fly in, have the ship take you to the 4 largest islands and then fly home. I am not sure if it was because of the holidays but most of the crew members in the dining halls and reservation desk could of had better attitudes. We heard several comments from the staff in open areas that should of been kept to themselves or behind closed doors. The inclusive food was terrible, no flavor, no selection. The Ultimate dining had some nicer plates but to pay and additional $30 per person just to eat there per meal becomes price prohibitive for the average JOE. We did the steakhouse which was really good and then the teppanyaki place was very good as well.

The housekeeping staff and entertainment staff were outstanding, live music pool side in the afternoons and the shows were really good as well.

when i booked,it said there will be a bonus of 750.-onboard, but cruise people told me this not shown in their system.

shore excursions are more expensive than booking directly onboard. But I do like the tour to crater in Maui with Tempetation Tour.

Wonderful cruise to the islands of Hawaii.  Just enough time in each island to enjoy the beauty.

Cruise personnel were always very helpful and polite.

Our first time taking a cruise. We weren't sure what to expect, and we were pleasantly surprised at the quality of the food and the service, and the activities and entertainment. We will definitely do another cruise in the future!

This is my 6th NCL cruise, and I enjoyed the week, that visited 4 main islands in Hawaii.  The balcony stateroom was fine - and we had (there were 2 of us) had plenty of room.  I generally don't spend a lot of time in my cabin, as I am up and out either on the back of the ship, or on a shore excursion.  I enjoy the food on the NCL ships, and the buffets work well for me, in particular due to a busy schedule.  I booked my shore excursions for us through NCL directly.  I enjoyed all of them, but wanted to say one thing about the luau that occurs on Thursday nights, during the cruise, on land.  We were 2 people, so I didn't book a table at the event, because the tickets said only when groups were 10+ should you do that.  But what happened was that we were seated at an "over flow" table, way in the back, and with several kids, who were hyped up on sugar.  I didn't feel the view was very good, and the children were distracting.  The food was average Chinese buffet, frankly.  What I should have done was to book a table ahead of time, regardless of the size of my party, or attended a Luau in Honolulu before the cruise.  So, if you go on this cruise, and book the luau, on land with NCL, be sure to book a table as soon as you are on board at the beginning of the cruise.  Otherwise the excursions were all good, and we saw a tremendous amount of the islands in a week.  Also, due to the American registry, 75% of the employees have to be US residents/citizens.  So you are supporting Americans in booking this cruise.  NCL has recently merged with Oceania, so let's hope the cost of the island cruise doesn't go up tremendously.  We had a great time, felt the ship was fine (although it gets some renovation in Feb. of 2016 in SF), and would recommend this highly.  Just book your luau table asap once you are on board.  Mahalo & Aloha!

My husband and I embarked on the Pride of America with high expectations to celebrate our 45th wedding anniversary. We boarded without incident and had lunch before our room was ready. It was in the Aloha dining area which served buffet style. We were very impressed with the variety of food offered from fresh fruit, salads, meats, sides and desserts. When we got to our assigned stateroom, we were pleasantly surprised. We were assigned a handicapped room which was much larger than what we expected. It was nicely decorated with a very comfortable bed. It was great. So was Mattie our room steward. He was helpful and kept our room clean and neat.

I can't say enough about the crew. Each and everyone of them went above and beyond our expectations. The bartenders, servers and assistant servers were always pleasant and eager to please. 

In addition, the evening entertainment was wonderful. We saw a tribute to the Beatles, Oh What a Night performing Frankie Valli and the 4 Seasons songs, some Motown and Michael Jackson songs. We also saw the "Not So Newlywed Game," which was tons of fun. There was a talented magician, a variety show and other kinds of entertainment.

On the downside, there weren't enough activities to get to mingle with others. There weren't fun games to get everyone involved. In addition, the food was rather bland. We ate plenty of fresh fruit,salads, sides and desserts because the rest of the food offered was very bland. My husband had a filet served with unseasoned gravy. Who does that?  It was overcooked and tough. I had red snapper one evening and had to send it back to the kitchen--it was overcooked and tough to cut with a butter knife. Instead I ordered salmon which was also overcooked. We encountered many occasions when our meals were overcooked and very, very bland which included eggs, burgers, pork, fish, etc. 

Moveover, NCL consistently charges almost 50% more for the same shore excursions as Roberts Hawaii a company that has been around for quite a few years and has a high rating based on customer reviews. 

Bottom Line

#1 NCL needs to hire a new chef that knows how to flavor food and cutdown on overcooked food.  

#2 NCL should have some games and fun activities for adults in the evening in order to get to meet other people.

#3 NCL should stop overcharging their guests for show excursions. 

We enjoyed our cruise. It's a great way to travel to four of the islands with only unpacking once. The balcony room adds another option for your cruise. The rooms were small, however with your own balcony, your space feels larger. We could watch the sun rise and set, enjoy all the activity as we set sail or pulled into a new port and all while wearing our p j's. The staff was there to help and serve us. Our cabin was kept clean and well stocked with towels daily. The food choices were over the top 24/7.

A great way to see all the beauty of Hawaii in its many forms, just don't expect the luxury, entertainment, cuisine or service you may have experienced on other cruises. While Hawaii is always wonderful, if you're looking for anything out of the cruise experience, you will probably be disappointed.

Our trip on POA was fantastic.  Our 2-bedroom suite with large balcony had plenty of room for 3 adults.  The description of "large balcony" online does not really do it justice.  It was huge, with 2 chaise lounges, a dining table with 4 chairs and plenty more room to spread out on your own personal deck off the back of the ship!  I would book this cruise again for that balcony alone.  Beautiful views as you left each island. The itinerary was also great, giving you a taste of all the islands.  But it was also more hectic than your typical cruise to the Caribbean, Bahamas or Mexico.  No days at sea here so we were always getting up early and off the boat to explore. The on board entertainment options are not on par with newer and bigger ships, but again, this itinerary leads to much more time off the boat than on it.  Great way to see Hawaii (especially for a first-timer) and figure out which island you like best.

The Pride of America is a beautiful ship displaying themes of American history throughout, with  emphasis on Hawaii and the culture. The ship is thoughtfully cared for and clean.  Staff are plentiful and helpful.  Food in the complementary dining areas is beautifully presented.   I especially like the seven port stops and all sea travel is at night, so no lost days at sea. This was my second time to do this cruise.

Thanks, MaryB., Littleton, CO

The NCL trip to Hawaii was amazing,  Crew was so nice and so good to us.  Different type of cruise we have ever taken.  Only on ship at night for dinner and shows, there was no days at sea, and we really like it.

The food was wonderful, "The dinning rooms were great, and the buffet was great.

The show on board was so good, loved them all.

The food was outstanding. Service at dinner was top-notch. 

Thanks Lawrence and David for you service in dining. 

There is some wear and tear on the boat and in our cabin that could use attention. 

I would love to do it again. 

Beautiful ship, too big and too many people, but my wife and I were able to do our own thing. Enjoyed great scuba diving in Molokini crater and Kona, the best Luau in Kauai, and very nice excursions in Volcanoes National Park in Hilo. Did Lahaina and Haleakala in Maui. 

The best show was "Oh What a Night performing the music of Frankie Vally and The Four Seasons. What a great group of guys. 

We should not have to pay for any food in any restaurant. In this ship you pay a cover charge in specialty restaurants, and some extra money for some lobster dishes. 

We are frequent cruisers of NCL, however, this was the first American based cruise we have been on. While there were a handful of people that we encountered that provided excellent service, sadly the majority was not. We were at a shared table of 6 for breakfast and not a one of us got what we asked for. The waiters seemed cordial at least and "going through the motions" at most. The food although some tasted good was not served in the right temperature. Overall, the service and food were lacking and the entertainment was good.

We didn't get everything promised by , and we paid a lot more than other people. I would not use for a cruise again.  The stateroom and bathroom not real clean.

Sad to say that other cruise lines outshine by far Norwegian. Rooms tiny. Food boring and unimaginative. Servers blaze, uncaring and forgetful. Buffet unorganized and foods that are to be warm cold. I do have to admit that the professional shows were excellent. The ship was clean. The steward that tended our room had to b tracked down. The ships motto "I can I can is not true. The first thing asked for ( a.99 cent extension cord for my hubbys breathing machine)we had to go to the service desk and sign a paper that we would return it or we would be charged 25 dollars. Ha! The ports we arrived at in all the islands were shipping ports with nothing around so that u had to either take an excursion or hire a taxi to get away from all the cargo containers. The excursions were very expensive for the value. Guess NCL has the corner on market there. In other words I believe we'll spend our time and hard earned money on the cut above cruise lines. Royal carribean, Princess, Disney , Holland American........etc. 

we had a great time but we're not able to see everything do to the poor weather. We went during rainy season and had to cancel a tour since it was raining so hard we would not have seen anything.

Specialty restaurants were poor. The main restaurant had better service than they did. We have been on NCL before and did not experience the poor service in the restaurants and cabin cleaning. 

This trip is worth taking, especially the 3 days tours before the cruise. Good your own airfare as you will be off the ship by 9:30. We had to wait until 5pm to get a flight home through snowy Chicago. We would have booked the connecting flight through Houston and not been payed over 3 1/2 hours more in Chicago. Being handicapped they wheeled me onto the ship and off the ship the last day. All in all we had a great time despite the negatives.

Have taken many NCL cruises in the past.  The food on the Pride of America, at least in the specialty dining rooms, was not as excellent as other larger ships.  Staff was very friendly.  Bathrooms were very small, especially showers.  Ship could use some painting outside.  All in all, very nice trip.

I traveled with a family of 21 to celebrate a birthday. Of the many cruises I have enjoyed, this was, by far, the least. The policy for bringing wine on board is antiquated and nebulous. Navigating the vessel was a logistical problem caused by small elevators and dead ends. Many dining room servers were inexperienced, resulting in order errors and delayed meals. The food was not hot when served. The cabins are exceptionally small (my husband and I had a midship balcony stateroom), making it difficult for the two of us to move around. Three other elder, adult family members were housed in the same size cabin.

I have been on many cruises and the Pride of America Hawaii cruise was a good idea in theory but ended up being quite disappointing.  

The boat did not offer anything special, the food was fine (exactly the same menu as our Alaska sailing), it was a very small boat also which made it very turbulent on the water.

I also booked a 2 room suite. And even after talking with multiple agents and NCL directly all assured me it was 2 bedrooms.

This was a stressing point to me because I was traveling with an infant and we needed a separate room.

But come to find out it is a large room divided into 2 by a privacy curtain. Hardly the same thing and definitely not what I was assured.

Also there are no liquor packages sold on this cruise. We were told due to it still be in the US territory they were not allowed to offer those packages.

So overall, if you want to see Hawaii I would recommend seeing it the old fashion way: little island hops and resort stays. You will be more comfortable.