Pride of America 4/5/08 Magnolia Blossom About us: 55/60 year old semi/retired professionals. 33rd cruise,, 9th on NCL 1st on NCLA. Travelled with 2 other couples. None of us too fussy. Flew in 2 days early and stayed at the Holiday Inn Waikiki. Somewhat older hotel but comfortable, safe and had a very friendly staff. Had Priority Points but the room rate was about $130. Parking was $10/day. We rented a mini-van (Plymouth/Dodge products) with Thrifty and were very satisfied. Be sure to reserve early and register as a Blue Chip member. It will save you time (you get to go to the special line and save lots of time). There is no cost and additional drivers is free if you want one. You rent at the off-site airport location. Shuttle bus comes every 15 minutes or so. You must return to the same site and they will shuttle you to the pier. The pier shuttle does not run as often but we only waited about 10 minutes. The drive was maybe another 10 minutes. Check in went quite smoothly, especially the Latitutdes line since most of the cruisers were not members. We were onboard by 12:20 p.m. Rooms were not ready until 2:00 but we settled in at the buffet and had a relaxing meal. The ship: Cabins: We were in a BE forward cabin, #8530. These cabins have huge balconies. Room for 2 loungers, 2 side chairs and a table. The room had a refrigerator stocked to the brim as a minibar, (standard liquors $7) a vanity area with 1 electrical outlet (only one in the cabin), ample storage area, hair dryer, TV. The bathroom is pretty standard although the shower is configured with a shower curtain that does not blow around. Shampoo and bath gel are in dispensers. Common Areas: The ship is done in various American motifs. There is a central staircase in the atrium but not of the "wow" variety on some ships. The stairwells are filled with huge photos of American landmarks and the overall look of the ship is clean. Note: ladies make your guy take you into the mens' bathrooms. There are some very funny cartoon tiles above each of the urinals. The shop area is quite large but I didn't spend much time there. The gift shop manager was delightful and could not have been more helpful. The library is a very nice place to while away the hours. The internet cafe is small and often times quite crowded, but I usually use an onshore place to do my email checks because it is more economical The bars are all nice, our favorite was the Lanai and Napa Valley Wine Bar. The only smoking bar is the Waikiki at the rear of the ship. The theatre was one place we never visited except for the Latitudes party. We crashed on our balcony after dinner each night. There is no casino. The pool area has one sizeable pool with 2 spas. There is also a small pool for adults only at the Waikiki Bar. Restaurants: There are 2 main dining rooms, one is for more traditional attire, and the Skyline allows decent jeans but no ballcaps, tshirts, etc. The decor is avant garde, New Yorkish motif. My only complaint on the cruise was service in the dining room. It seemed no one was in charge. We seldom saw the same person twice (within a meal) although a lot of people were rushing about our table. The food was good and I had no complaints, although the dessert menu seemed a bit skimpy some nights. Food is a very subjective topic but I found it to be fine., not fabulous but certainly okay. Buffet was set up in a fairly easy to navigate way but there are no trays so you will need to make multiple trips. Seating seemed a bit skimpier on this ship than most but it was not as bad as the Pearl. Breakfast was essentially the same each day with minor changes. There is an outdoor buffet that was closed the same hours as the buffet so from 3:30 to 5:00 p.m. nothing but the Cadillac diner was open, and it was always packed. So if you're coming back aboard hungry you'd better grab a snack ashore. Little Italy is a no surcharge specialty restaurant. Service was better than the dining room but it did not begin to compare to Las Ramblas on the Sun. Food was good but not great. No specialty Italian wines. We did not eat in any of the other restaurants, but one couple with us ate at the steak house and loved it. Ports: We missed our Hilo port because we had mechanical problems and left Honolul late. The Coast Guard would not then allow us to dock in Hilo. The captain took us through a whale sanctuary area and we saw lots of whales. A great day. As it turned out the VNP was closed due to volcano activity so not as many people were disappointed as there might have been. We received $25 per person rebate for the missed port. We rented a car in each port and did tours on our own. Wonderful days, beautiful sights on our own schedule. We did a helicopter tour with Blue Hawaiian in Kauai and it was fabulous. It was our last day and a great way to spend it. This and That: Cruise Rewards: a good program if you plan on cruising NCL within the next 2 1/2 years. On this ship they gave you a bottle of wine when you signed up in addition to the OBC. Latitude party: well done, nice give aways but no time for dancing afterwards. Quality drinks. Captains party: extremely well done. Great appetizers, white glove service, champagne served and open bar. Only 20-30 people there so it was quite nice and lots of dept. heads circulating, asking for input and answering questions. Although our 4 travelling companions did not qualify the invitation openly said to bring others in your party. Nice touch. Spa: run by Mandera. Too expensive by my standards and the spa staff was snooty as they are on all ships. They did have a nice drawing, at which they served champagne, and gave away a lot of gifts, although most of them were the body composition analysis, which disappointed everyone who got that (myself included). The gym was well equipped with plenty of equipment. The shower area has large showers in case you find the one in your cabin too confining. Especially the handicapped shower is huge. There is a steam room and sauna. Entertainment: I really can't comment too much because we spent our evenings on the balcony. The days we were in Maui a local band was onboard to provide pool side entertainment and they were terrific. The PoAm show band was also very good the one night we went dancing and when they played at the parties. Tendering: we only tendered in Kona and it was quick and efficient. You report to the lounge to receive a tender ticket. If you wait a bit you do not need a ticket. Early excursions went out first. Security: screening when getting back on the ship was done by a contract security company in the terminal rather than onboard by security personnel. These folks were pretty no nonsense and in some ports you had to take your shoes off and be wanded. They even confiscated sea shells people had picked up on the beach. Don't bother trying to get food onboard. But for those who want to know - here's the secret for bootlegging. Buy a large thermo-mug thing (get 'em at the ABC store where you'll be buying your hooch) then pour your contraband in that. We slipped it into a side pocket of our collapsible cooler and then never looked at it. Got a pint of scotch in at every port. EasyFly: great program where for about $20 per person/bag you have your bags checked straight through to your final destination and receive your boarding passes. This is only available for certain airlines. I don't remember the whole list but I know American and Continental were on it. We had no problems.

Disembarking: the usual color method or FreeStyle disembarking (carry all your luggage off yourself). EasyFly guests are like FreeStyle so we were off by 8:00 a.m. We took a cab to Pearl Harbor and spent the morning there. Then another cab back to the airport to await our flight home. Crew: It is almost entirely US. And to address the much criticized Americans I can say that it was not bad, although it was different. They were friendly and efficient (except in the dining room) we found the crew to be helpful, friendly and sincere in their desire to provide a quality product. Volcano viewing: the lava was flowing abundantly so we had a great view. The flow was first visible on the starboard side then the captain turned the ship and we scampered up to our balcony for a private viewing. It was fabulous. The ships deck lights were extinguished for a better view of the red river of lava. In closing I will say that I went on this cruise expecting awful food and service and was pleasantly surprised. I would gladly do it again.