We booked this cruise on Pride of America more than one year before sailing. We used official NCL agent. We booked room with a balcony with a specification that we want 'no obstruction'. Our NCL agent assured us we will have room on the best floor (10th floor) and our balcony will have no obstruction. We paid the full price for this cruise. To our surprise when we got to our room on Pride of America on 10th floor our balcony had 'bulkheads' on each side which severely limited our view. Plus, we had 'overhang' on the ceiling which also hugely limited our view. Also, when we looked down we were looking at the life boats. We were extremely upset as we love to watch sunsets from our balcony and disembarkation of the ship from port. We were not able to do that.

Also, the ship was very dingy, old, worn. Room was very small, storage space tiny. We had to keep one of our suitcases behind the curtain. Dining room food was not very good. Buffet had a very limited selection and food was somewhat lower quality. Also, plates and glasses were all plastic, cutlery not clean. Staff, when handing you silverware touching the spoon and not the handle. The room stuart was excellent and actually remembered our first names. Staff in cafeteria very informal, talking between themselves in front of guests about personal stuff. Not very professional. When we were leaving,at the end of cruise, the staff was taking furniture out of the rooms which was strange because passengers were leaving with suitcases and it just added to chaos. When we inquiried, we were told that after our cruise this ship is going to a 'dry dock' to LA for 2 months for a 'major refurbishment '. We were never told by our agent when we were booking our cruise that this ship will be refurbished after our sail. It is not fair, in our opinion, to pay full price for a cruise ship which was so obviously run down and in such a bad condition. Disembarkation was very chaotic as all passengers were getting out from one exit.

Also, several,ports when we docked were just 'industrial' ports. There was nothing there. It was definitely not like Caribbean when you dock and you can just spend time in a town or book a tour of the island with a local tour agency at the port. Unless you booked something from the ship you were out of luck. We rented a car in Maui for $300US/day. Overall - not a good experience. Would not recommend.