My DH and myself (in our 50's) traveled with our 22 yr son and twin 20 yr old daughters on the Pride of America on 5/26. Arrived on Waikiki Beach 5/23. Had arranged for ABC Limousine service to pick us up. Our flight was 1 ½ hrs late but ABC was waiting at the baggage claim for us. It was great. We were tired and traffic was bad. It took about 40 minutes to get to our hotel. It was nice to sit in limo and have a drink, relax, and watch the scenery. Kids loved it. We stayed at Marriott Waikiki. If arranged through NCL go directly to the NCL desk next to ABC shop - not the front desk. We had scheduled our shore excursions online ahead of time. Pre and Post excursions can't be booked until you arrive in town. We had no trouble booking our Pearl Harbor post cruise excursion upon arrival. Our room was suppose to be a deluxe ocean view but we were disappointed in the view - in P tower - and a good block away from the ocean. We called the front desk and were told NCL could not book a deluxe ocean view but for an extra $20 a night we could upgrade. We decided to do this and were moved to a room in K tower with a wonderful view. Worth the extra money and the room was much larger. Also upgraded our kids and they had a larger room and much better view. Lots of restaurants nearby. McDonalds, Burger King, LuLu's for breakfast, Cheeseburger Palace for lunch, Dukes, and Tiki Room for Dinner. Sunset is about 7 pm if you are making reservations for outside. If possible I would make reservations for dinner while at home. You can always cancel but long waits without a reservation. Lots to do around the hotel. Ocean is beautiful. We walked everywhere.

Took NCL bus to ship Saturday morning about 11:30. Had registered ahead of time at the NCL office so embarkation was easy. Rooms weren't ready until about 2:30 so we ate at the Aloha Buffet and than took the free shuttle to Aloha Marketplace - not to much there. In retrospect I think I would arrange my own transportation and stay longer on Waikiki Beach. You don't need to be on board by about 4:15 for the mandatory life drill. You can bring water and pop aboard ship. You cannot bring alcohol onboard . There really isn't anyplace to buy pop at the Aloha Marketplace so buy it in Waikiki if you want it. Ship was great and we found the staff very nice. We had a balcony room and our kids had an inside room around the corner. We were on the aft side and loved it. The views were great in port - especially in Kauai and the boat turns around and goes by the volcano and Napoli Coast so you can see both from your balcony no matter what side you are on. Be sure and turn the knob above your room number to have your room cleaned. Lots of drawers and storage. Open the mirror in bathroom for more storage. Turn the black knob on side of shower knob to make water hotter. (It took me a day to figure this out). My daughter had an upper bunk and slept poorly the first night and we requested an egg crate. She had it for the next night and worked great. We got up early in the morning and went to bed early at night. We loved watching the ship come into port every morning. Our kids seemed to have plenty to do on ship. The entertainment was ok and it gave the kids something to do at night. It was cool in the evening on the boat and I wish I had an extra sweater or long sleeves. I wore my jeans a lot at night.

The food was fine. We found plenty to eat. Very casual. You can wear shorts everywhere. We did not eat at any of the specialty restaurants. If we were going to spend extra I wanted to just eat on the islands. Skyline was OK. Slow sometimes. We rarely made reservations but ate early in the evening. Everyone seems to go at 7pm. If we didn't like the food, there were other places to eat. Our kids liked the Cadillac Diner and ate there frequently late at night. We ate at Little Italy twice. Good food but the same menu both nights. We had reservations our first time but second time we went at 5pm on the night of the luau. We got right in. Lobster night is a zoo starting at 5pm. Unless you really like lobster I would go to the buffet or elsewhere. We didn't rent a car but did the excursions. Read more