First off, I am in my 40s and single. I cruise with my single gal friends. And we have cruised once before.. I have done 3 Cruises now.. Carnival Sensation 2002, Caribbean Princess 2005 and now NCL Pride of America October 2005... Wonderful to do 2 cruises in 1 year....lol...

We flew into Honolulu/Waikiki on the 27th of Sept. giving us 4 days before our cruise.. The best decision we could have made. Did the Pearl Harbor thing and other tours before the cruise.. Wonderful to not have to rush.. October 1st was embarkation day.. We went to the beach in the morning as we couldn't board until 1pm.. Embarkation was smooth... We tagged our luggage, dropped it off and away we went to check in.. Easy...

We were told initially our cabin wasn't ready and we went to double check but didn't eat our cheerios that morning apparently as we couldn't get the door open.. We just weren't trying hard enough.. We had lunch @ the Aloha Cafe... Very good... Excellent shrimp.. I must stop to stay the ship is beautiful... the decor awesome.. the pursers desk is simple but nice.. On our second try we got in our cabin.... It was wonderful.. We were on Deck 12 in a Penthouse suite (an upgrade about 4 weeks ahead of time) on the Starboard side... The suite was big... Large king size bed, couch that was a double size bed, living area w/desk, espresso machine, wine glasses, fridge, lot's of cupboard space, large walk in closet w/sitting area, large bathroom with tub.. It was luxurious... Glass doors not curtains and plenty of room to bathe.. the balcony was wonderful.. One could sleep on it if they wanted too... lol.. had 3 lounge chairs and a table with 4/chairs... I loved it.. The highlight was that I could wash my scuba gear in the tub then dry it on the balcony.. I think my roommates thought I'd lost my mind but hey, it worked....lol Read more