We just returned from our Hawaii cruise on NCL's Pride of America. This was our first trip with NCL and I was surprised in both positive and negative ways by NCL. Their tag line of course is, "You're free to whatever...". As we soon discovered however, you're free to whatever, but not whenever or wherever. As we read the information provided in each stateroom we had to laugh because they outline that you're free to whatever, and then proceed to go into detail about when and where "whatever" is acceptable. Mostly these things were minor, but they were annoying. We were also surprised to find that for 6 of the 11 restaurants you have to pay a premium to dine there. I am used to having one upscale option at a premium, but not more than half of the available options at a premium. From talking with crew members I realize that the State has made it difficult for NCL to make the margins they are accustomed to (no casino, high docking fees, etc.), but it seemed we were getting nickel and dimed to make up for that. All of that aside however, I will attempt to be as objective and informative as possible.

The Ship: The ship was big and clean and in reasonably good shape. We had lights out in our cabin but maintenance was quick to correct the problem. There was also a problem with the safe in our cabin, but that too was corrected. Overall however the ship was very clean. The layout of the public decks of the ship was somewhat odd however. The ships I have been on were basically laid out symmetrically from the port to the starboard side. This one was not. Many were the times we attempted move forward or aft on one side of the ship and were unable to because there was a dining facility or some other room that we could not pass through, so we would have to back track around to the other side of the ship. We were in a balcony stateroom and although it was nice, the room and the balcony seemed much smaller than the comparable room on other ships. I have not researched to see if this is indeed the case however. The cabin was well laid out and we had plenty of storage for all of our belongings.

The Crew: The crew is basically American and was for the most part very friendly and helpful. Our cabin steward Carmen was terrific. Again however there were exceptions. The wait staff in the Skyline and Liberty restaurants was for the most part good. There did however seem to be a sense of 'get you in and get you out' as quickly as possible overlooking details along the way... details about the order, clearing dishes when necessary and so forth. The Cadillac Diner seemed to be where the trainee wait staff starts. The service was poor and the food was average. The staff in the Aloha Cafe was great. They were hardworking, friendly and helpful. Read more