Pride of America Review

4.5 / 5.0
2,363 reviews

Better than Some NCL Ships!

Review for Hawaii Cruise on Pride of America
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GinaAllegraXO
10+ Cruises • Age 20s

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Additional details

Sail Date: Jan 2016
Cabin: Oceanview Picture Window
The ship docked in Kona - had to tender in!
New York Cheesecake at Cadillac Diner. Tasted even better than it looked!
In the Aloha Cafe. The mushroom quesadilla was tasty! As were the potatoes.
Sea turtles in Kona!

I just got back yesterday (January 16th) from my Hawaiian cruise. This was my 13th overall cruise, and my 4th with NCL. The cruise director was so-so. Definitely in the bottom 2 cruise directors I have seen on board a ship. The entertainment ranged from amazing to mediocre. My mother and I absolutely LOVED Oh, What A Night, the Frankie Valli tribute on board! *VERY* talented men, and the two members I met in person, Randall and Rick, were such sweet gentlemen! The magician was so-so - I was stunned to hear that he had performed at Caesar's Palace previously! The singers and dancers were standard cruise ship performers - good, but not great. The Polynesian dancers were so much fun and so funny! The comedian Michael Sommerville, who has been on Letterman, VH1, and the Apprentice made me laugh! He wasn't the best comedian I have ever seen, but his comedy was very down to Earth and relatable!

Now for the food, and I will give two separate opinions of this. My mother said "The food was just bad - I never liked cruise ship food to begin with, but this was just horrible." She disliked the limited desserts in the main dining rooms and the absence of nicer fare, such as bananas foster or baked Alaska. My personal opinion is that the buffet is pretty standard cruise ship fare - hit or miss, depending on what you get and who makes it. I DID enjoy the eggs Benedict and Florentine every day! I had not seen that on any other NCL ships, only on Princess, so that was a nice surprise! The Liberty and Skyline restaurants have beautiful decor and the staff there were so friendly and wonderful to us! The actual food was also hit or miss, though I found myself enjoying most of the entrees! The lemon pepper tilapia was superb, though I'm a tilapia junkie. Many people do not care for it. The Cadillac Diner (AKA Blue Lagoon on other Norwegian ships) has wonderful cheesecake and fish & chips!

We stayed in an oceanview stateroom. My mother commented that it seemed a slight bit smaller than other staterooms, though this could be due to the fact that, instead of two twin sized beds and two bunks, we had a queen sized bed and two bunks! Much nicer for my parents, I'm sure! The shore excursions were pretty nice overall, with only one lousy one. We received a $50 credit for that one. The gift shops were also an improvement. Instead of just being randomly placed on the side of a hallway, NCL makes walking through the shop area an *experience,* turning it into a cute little promenade with adorable awnings and signs. The atrium was stunning, with a United States of America/White House theme! The John Adams coffee bar was nice, and the server was friendly and easy to talk to. I also enjoyed the service at the Napa wine bar and the Gold Rush saloon, where I sang karaoke regularly! Embarkation took a while, though not terribly long. Disembarkation was a breeze, faster than I remember it being in the past!

Cabin Review

Oceanview Picture Window

Cabin OC

The cabin may or may not have been a little smaller than a typical stateroom, but the fact that there was a queen sized bed instead of 2 twin beds more than made up for it!

Port Reviews

Honolulu

Embarkation was pretty standard - perhaps slightly faster than usual, but not quick by any means.

Kona (Kailua Bay)

This was the only true lemon of the group. Although the guide was pleasant and informative and kept snacks and drinks for us as well as being supplied with a First Aid kit, the tour itself was lousy. We walked quite a ways to get to see the petroglyphs, and they weren't as spectacular as we were expecting.

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