Pride of America Cruise Reviews - Reviews

We loved our first trip to Hawaii and would do this again in a heartbeat. The Pride of America is a classy ship and more than met our expectations. A great bargain for the price.

It's very rare for me to give an NCL ship a 4 star review but this certainly is a ship like no other on NCL's fleet. Let's start with the most obvious feature of this ship - the nationality of the crew. For well known reasons most of the crew is American and this was a bit of a shock to the system when I first boarded the ship, however, I did not expect the staff to be so helpful and kind. They always put the passengers first and were very attentive. Of course the main feature of this cruise is the destinations. With Hawai'i being possibly the most beautiful place on earth you cannot complain about the ports which this cruise visits. It really is the way to island hop in style. Now to the bad points. As the ship was not built by NCL the structure and layout of the ship itself is not like most of the other ships on the fleet. But the cruise line has tried its best to adapt it into the fleet, to make this point unnoticeable. By doing this, however, the POA seems very compact and squashed in places (especially the Aloha Cafe). The age of the ship also does not help as there seemed to be constant maintenance onboard. Point being, no matter how hard Norwegian try to this new cruise era, it cannot be done. Another two features in which the POA falls short is the food and the onboard entertainment. Food in the buffets are often repetitive and a bit bland (especially breakfast) compared to other ships. The onboard entertainment also disappointed us. Firstly the bands that played poolside were frequently poor in quality and the onboard activities also fell short in the amount of availability. Overall, if you are in love with the idea of seeing the Hawaiian islands DO NOT let this review put you off. This is the best way imaginable to see these marvellous islands. If you are going on this cruise for purely the cruise side of the trip then this isn't for you.

Fantastic time! Great way to enjoy the islands of Hawaii. Most of the crew members are very friendly and fun (Vincent the cruise director is a riot!) but others have no personality and poor customer service skills. Ask for Katie if you want a great facial in the spa! Food is great in most of the restaurants but terrible in others. Cadillac Is terrible. Skyline is really good for a sit down breakfast. the aloha cafe buffet is really good, but has strange hours. Pool and hot tubs are small but decent. Not many children on this trip which is perfect for us. White Hot night is much fun!! All white dance party. Definitely check it out! Oh What A Night Four Seasons tribute is the best show on the trip! Only downside to this trip are the poor manners of the fellow passengers. People are rude, pushy and very disrespectful, esp in the buffet.

Over all ok. But if you didn't have shore excursions you might find yourself looking for things to do. Maybe include a movie theatre? It's more older people than kids.

Before booking and even after we booked our cruise I read many reviews. A lot were not good ones. I was a bit nervous but decided it was our trip to either love it or hate it. If you are the type that need to be wined and dined, to be entertained with New York/Las Vegas type shows, and a 5 star hotel accomedations, then this ship is not for you. We felt that the room w/ a balcony was small but yet spacious. We kept out room picked up and our guy, Gede did his. He knew us before we knew  him. He recognized us from a family picture i had in our room. He was nice and friendly. He cleaned our room, we had plenty of towels and always found a towel creature waiting for our return. The food was plentiful and many choices.. We went to many of the restaurants and also treated ourselve to a specialty restaurant. The food was good , we weren't a fan of the desserts, but the ice cream was there for whenever you wanted. We did not attend all the shows, but the ones we did were ok. The real reason for booking our cruise was to see Hawaii. And that we did. We did not waste time on the ship. We were off the ship early and running. We saw and did so much. We rented cars, had a gps, researched points of interests  and did our own thing. Hawaii is beautiful! Go if you want to unpack once and see so much ❤

The cruise overall was amazing cruise due to the fact that it is a Hawaiian cruise and we had the opportunity to discover all big Hawaiian Islands and enjoy our excursions.

We sailed on the POA June 17-June 24 and we had an absolute blast. We purchased 4 night's of specialty dining and were really very happy with that decision. The buffet was fine for breakfast, and we were never on the ship for lunch. East Meets West was a great non-buffet but included dinner option. We booked all our excursions through Roberts, a local Hawaii tour company. We did something every day. The Road to Hana tour was fantastic on Maui; the Island's Best Luau at the Smith Family compound was outstanding. The Tidal Pool and Reef Exploration 'excursion' is just a 4 mile cab ride to a beach where you have to rent your own gear and buy food separately. That was the only excursion we were disappointed in. Skip it and take a cab and save yourselves $100. Prepare yourself for a large contingent of younger staff, some of which lack a strong work ethic and sense of urgency. For the most part though, we always had what we needed. We purchased a wattle package ahead of time (12 of the larger bottles) and it worked out perfectly. Remember though that you cannot bring it back on board if you don't finish it. The Vegas show was worth it; the entertainment staff is so very talented and so full of energy. We chose to cruise for our first visit to the Islands so we could get an idea of our favorite. Kauai was our favorite and we will return!

A really enjoyable cruise on POA. We were on the June 10, 2017 sailing. Crew could not have nicer and more accommodating. We ate most of our meals in the speciality restaurants: Jefferson's bistro, Moderno, Cagneys and Teppanyaki. All were very good and Jefferson's and Cagneys were outstanding. The rooms (balcony on 9 and ocean view on 4), were comfy, clean and well maintained. The Islands were amazing and the tours enjoyable. All in all if you are looking to see Hawaii via a floating hotel - highly recommend. Happy to answer any questions. Jeff

This was our first cruise and for the most part was very enjoyable. Our room was always amazing and our person always setup and took down our pack n play for our daughter which was very nice of him. The food was "ok". Nothing knocked our socks off and we didn't do all the restaurants but the best was probably east meets west and the Cadillac diner (very slow service, but better food than the buffet IMO). The views were amazing and the islands are wonderful. So now for the "not so good" from us...there are only 2-3 changing tables on board which we feel is not very convenient. It took the 4th person we asked to actually know where they were and none are near the play area for little kids which we thought was just bad planning. The main shallow pool has a ring of sharp rusty area around it. It's not a big deal for most I'm sure but our 2 year old scrapped her toe on it. Nothing major but just seemed strange that it hadn't been addressed. Other than that we had a wonderful time. The crew was very professional and helpful and it truly was an experience of a lifetime.

Cruising is the best way to see all the islands, the ship need lots of attention and many of the staff need serious customer service training pronto

Favorite:

Excellent, friendly,  cheerful, helpful staff.

Clean stateroom. Everything works well. 

Need work:

Food is just OK. 

Taxi line is seriously barbaric with people cutting on others to get a taxi (Honolulu) with no one to control.

Security people on the docks never smile or friendly -- we are on vacation; we are not in a concentration camp or terrorist!!!! Treat us like customers & not like terrorists.

Why nickle & dime us for just drinking water in the stateroom? Hotels give free bottle water. Why not? 

Recommendation:

I would recommend this highly if the above is improved. You can do better. 

I felt this was a great way to see the different Hawaiian islands. The staff were great. My son loved the kid's club and it was helpful for us so we could go the wonderful evening entertainment.

Never Have I paid more for a Cruise and received so much Less

   The People on the cruise  just RUDE .   Charged for Room Service   Dinner was less than enjoyable , service was  slacking .

I loved the ports we stopped at and Hawaii was wonderful.  The food was okay.  The selections of food could have been better.  The service should have been better.

The dining experience was the worse.  From one waiter spilling my water in my glass because he was in a hurry and then laughed and walked away.  Not to mention another server who was in a different room during an art auction, he was sleeping in the chair by the bar in the back.  There was a table with glasses and water in a large beverage dispenser.  I poured myself a glass of water, looked around where to put my glass, no table to put it on, so I put it off to the side of that table.  I walk about 15 steps and I hear, "Hey lady, you need to put your glass over here."  I thought I heard that but was confused.  I turned around and saw him standing there, staring at me.  I turned around and just kept walking.  I couldn't belileve it!  Our steward for our room, never introduced himself.  We didn't know who we were to deal with.  

I heard that this ship is employed with US employees.  What a disappointment that was.  My husband and I have decided not to sail on Norwegian anymore.  This cruise was quite costly and it wasn't enjoyable to be treated the way we were in those instances.  Now with all things, there were some good waiters.  We complained about the two guys, and we had the same two new girls the last three nights.  They were wonderful!  Bottom line is we shouldn't have had to experience that kind of treatment.  We have been on approximately 18-20 cruises.  We're not new at this.  Take this comment for what you will.

I do love Hawaii though!

Embarkation was smooth and timely. Studio room met all my needs. Restaurant variety was excellent along with the food. Had a fabulous waiter in the liberty restaurant who recommended selections of entrees and desserts. The specialty dining areas filled up quickly so I would recommend making reservations prior to cruising or on day 1. The food in the complimentary dining restaurants was excellent. Poolside grill was excellent - hamburger/hot dogs etc. 

Wide variety of excursions to meet everyone's taste in my opinion. I did the Road to Hana - spectacular views - it goes into a rain forest so expect some rain; Beach day on Maui - was ok - water was clear, nothing exceptional; volcanoes national park on Hilo was awesome - did not see any active lava flowing however I've never seen a volcanoe and steam vents so for me I thoroughly enjoyed it along with the Thurston Lava tube; on Kona I did the Capt Zodiac raft and snorkel tour - amazing- water clear as drinking water, saw spinner dolphins and tons of fish and the crew was very informative - l loved Kona; on Kaui I chose to do the Heaven and Earth helicopter tour - the land portion was ok, scenery was excellent - unfortunately the helicopter portion was cancelled due to dense clouds and rain in the mountains, disappointing but it's the weather - I would recommend doing this tour, or the helicopter portion during in the morning hours - weather was nice during the morning. 

Shows were great. Shopping was great on all the islands. It's best on Kona in my opinion. 

Disembarkation was organized and smooth. 

Prior to my cruise, I read a lot of negative reviews of this ship and cruise on this website and was hesitant. I'm so glad I didn't cancel. The point of this cruise is not about all the bells and whistles of the newer ships; the point is to get off the ship and see the islands of Hawaii- you will not be disappointed. 

Can't say enough good about the Pride Of America. We've done this same itinerary twice so far and is still one of our favorite cruises. We loved everything including the ship, service, food, entertainment, staff, etc. If you want to see the Hawaiian islands in style this is a must do itinerary.

Liked the clean ship, professional staff, the variety of things to do while on the ship. Only bit of a downer was the food. Too many carbs and lack of fresh fruits and veggies, and seafood.

The tours for the 3 days prior to the cruise were very good.  We enjoyed some of the entertainment on board.  There wasn't enough for kids to do without paying extra.  The first day was a rainy day and kids couldn't swim so inquired about the kid's program and they considered it babysitting so you have to pay extra for that. We had a 10 year old with us. Didn't want babysitting, just fun entertainment since he couldn't swim!  Port stops were mostly in industrial sections. Had to rent cars or taxi if you didn't get an excursion or wanted to explore a little on your own.  Very disappointing.  So unless you took excursions at every port, most stops had little to do without spending a lot of money.  The food was a little disappointing. We ate at the restaurant most evenings and it was just okay.  Nothing great.  The buffet was okay for breakfast with good variety.  The evening entertainment was good. We didn't get to see all of them, but what we saw was nice. Magician and comedian were both good and NCL singers/actors did a fine job.  

if you want a good view of Hawaii, definitely need to take excursions on every stop which can add up to a lot of extra money.  

We were on the April 29 sailing, and based on the mixed reviews I had read, we were pleasantly surprised.  Both our cabin and the public areas of the ship were well-maintained.  Our cabin was the size and arrangement we would expect, based on other cabins on other cruise lines.  The dining rooms were nicely decorated.  We ate only in the two complimentary dining rooms and the food was generally good.  The variety was a little limited, for instance most of the desserts were the same every night with two or three different desserts added.  Not the most exciting food, but always something that satisfied.  The service in both dining rooms was generally very good, with a few exceptions being either a little too informal or very proper, more the service we have seen on other ships.  With freestyle dining we did not end up with the same wait staff most times, so we missed the attention you get from someone learning your preferences.  Surprisingly to me, the service was a bit better in the more casual dining room.  We ate the buffet only twice, once in the morning when we needed to get off the ship fast for a tour.  That was a nightmare, so crowded and people rushing and grabbing food, and no place to sit.  If i had to do it again, I'd just have the continental-type breakfast that can be delivered by room service.  Except for the last day of the cruise, I don't think lunch was served in the dining room.  We were not there for lunch several days so it didn't matter too much, and the two times we were, it was not as chaotic as breakfast.  Breakfast in the dining room was great, excellent service and good food in a relaxed atmosphere.  One hint, the day of embarkation, we stumbled onto the small buffet served at a bar (can't remember the name) on the pool deck.  Not many people were there and it was a good place to relax, eat a burger or hot dog, and catch our breath.  I'm sure the buffet would have been very busy.  Our room steward did an excellent job, our balcony was great with the Hawaiian scenery, and the cabin had good storage.  Two of the three shore excursions we booked were cancelled due to bad weather, I'm supposed to get a check in the mail for reimbursement.  The one shore excursion we did was a catamaran snorkel and sail at Kona.  It was okay.  Nice crew,  snorkeling was just okay, but at least it was not one of those huge boats with lots of people.  We had about 20.  The shore excursion staff was helpful about explaining about taxis, etc. in the various ports.  We did an independent tour at Hilo which I would recommend looking into, we were in an 8-passenger van instead of a large bus.  And on Kauai we rented a car and the rental shuttle driver was extremely informative about where to go and how to get there, so don't hesitate to consider that option.  All in all, this was a pretty nice cruise, and really the best way to see Hawaii. 

One last note, we took NCL's "free" night in Waikiki before the cruise, stayed at an Aston in Waikiki Beach, and it was a great choice, right in the middle of the area, very close to the water, nice restaurant on property for a sunset dinner.

The cruise starts in Oahu, visits four ports on three other islands, and returns seven days later to Honolulu. We saw a lot of Hawaii, which was our goal. My wife was born on Oahu and spent several years there, but never visited other islands.

The excursions were good to excellent. We like snorkeling, so did that a lot. We did kayaking and found that we are bad at it. We wanted to go horseback riding, but found that there is a weight limit of 225 pounds and neither of our grandsons could participate, so we went snorkeling again.