My wife and I were on Pride of America departing Honolulu on August 12, 2006. We have been on over 25 cruises, mostly Celebrity and Royal Caribbean, but this itinerary was unique to this line. We read all the bad reviews as well and went with the attitude of whatever happens, happens. We were surprised to find most of the negatives to be untrue, and we are pretty critical cruisers. The ship was well maintained and in its own glitzy way, very attractive and refreshing with the Americana decor. Embarking was the best ever. We were upgraded to a Penthouse Suite, don't know how, but we were impressed. We had a butler, huge balcony, and GREAT service. We are not in favor of Free style cruising at all, but for this itinerary, where there are no days at sea, it was OK. The food in the main dining was sub-par and seemed rushed. We ate there for several lunches and Lobster night, which was truly a fiasco. No one knew what they were doing, and some people we heard waited over 90 minutes for a table. Our butler suggested he make a reservation for us so we let him, and we only waited 5 minutes. I'm not sure you can normally do that for a party of two. We ate at Lazy J's, Just OK, steak was not great. But the Jefferson Bistro was fabulous. I forgot what hot food tasted like until we ate there. We booked the restaurant for the next two nights in a row, it was well worth the $20 extra. We also at in the Little Italy, nothing special, but not added price either. Cadillac diner was very convenient. We found all employees to be most helpful and cheerful. I don't know what the heck all the complaining is about. As I said the only downfall was the Main dining rooms. The entertainment was very good, the singers and dancers were above average and most talented. Overall this was very enjoyable and I would do it again. We watched the volcano from our balcony 10pm on Hilo Night, unbelievable. We also love sailing around Kauai on the last day, our balcony was on the port side, so we saw the Mountainouse coast all the way. Quite Spectacular. Finally our room again was excellent complete with butler, concierge, espresso machine, tub, dressing area with walk in closet and a 10 by 25 balcony. It was living the high life. We had booked a regular balcony, but maybe because of our cruise experience, they were trying to impress us, but whatever the reason, it was the nicest room we had ever had on a cruise. Hope this helps, I believe you can't go wrong on the Pride of America.