My husband, son (14) and I sailed on NCLA's Pride of America on August 2, 2007. This was only a second cruise for us having previously done a 7-day Western Caribbean on the Disney Magic.

We arranged our own air since NCL's premium air department was unable to upgrade our original tour package airfares a month prior to leaving. We did do the pre-cruise package for 2 nights at the Marriott Waikiki Beachfront Hotel. The hotel was the typical big city Marriott, centrally located with all the services a guest might need easily at hand and the typical elevator rush hour waits. Be warned that the rooms set aside for the cruise packages are located in the less desirable rear building and are a longer walk to the beach with mediocre views even after paying for an upgrade.

The beauty of the Marriott was that we were able to check in for the cruise the night we arrived and needed only to clear security to board the ship. We rented a car and toured Oahu our first day, the boys took a Pearl Harbor tour on our second day before boarding the ship. The delivery of our bags went seamlessly, though they were collected from the hotel at 8:30am and not delivered to our stateroom until well after we sailed which was a little anxiety provoking. Read more