My husband and I (both in our early 30's), cruised on Pride of America on May 12th, 2007. This was our first time cruising NCL, our other two cruises were with Celebrity and Holland America, and so I too was worried by the reviews that I read. But, as NCLA is the only game in town for a 7 day Hawaiian cruise, there we were.

As we are from Phoenix, and have been to Hawaii on more than one occasion, we felt comfortable booking our own flights and even flying in the day of departure. We arrived in Honolulu at about 1pm and took a Taxi to the pier. The cost of the taxi ride was $25 with tip. Keep in mind though, that some drivers will charge extra for 'heavy,' meaning "all" luggage. This happened to us on the way back to the airport, and the same ride cost us nearly $10 more.

Embarkation was a snap, everyone was friendly, helpful and it went very smoothly. The only odd thing for us was that once you walk onto the ship, and they swipe your card, someone just points you in the direction of the elevators and tells you what floor you are on. On Celebrity and Holland America a crew member took you to your stateroom. The lack of personal attention made us feel a little unsure about what to expect next. I would say that the day of the departure was the only time that I had an 'adjustment period,' coming to terms with the NCLA experience. The boat is new and sparkly in the way that Disneyland is. The dEcor is definitely over the top American and don't look for elegance anywhere. The ship wasn't necessarily clean. My husband had to convince me, upon reaching our cabin, that it was not conducive to a good vacation if I started cleaning the cabin myself. We kept saying to each other, "floating hotel, floating hotel," and I guess that it took, because for the most part we just ignored what I will call the less glamorous parts of the ship and our experience and had a great vacation. Read more