Pride of America Review

4.5 / 5.0
2,363 reviews

Good idea, poor execution.

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

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Sail Date: Feb 2017
Cabin: Mid-Ship Oceanview Picture Window

We wanted a see the 4 major Hawaiian Islands without plane hopping every other day. Had done this cruise in 2005 aboard the Pride of Aloha and that ship was worse than this one but after 12 years we thought they might have improved things...not much. Embarkation was smooth and luggage was at our door when the rooms were released...at 3:40 P.M. This was our first tip off that things had not improved. Our cabin steward was sweet but not up to the daily task of servicing several cabins. Cabin was well laid out but a little smaller than average. My biggest complaint would have to be the food. Buffet was decent for breakfast but dreadful for lunch. On a positive note there was usually plenty of seating...especially towards the back of the buffet area where for some reason people never went. Evening meals in the main dining rooms were average...which seems to be the going trend...pushing you to eat in a pay restaurant to get a quality meal. If you are a lobster lover...you will have to pony up $25 each time you want it.... never is it a regular menu item. We bought the 4 night specialty package and was glad we did. Teppanyaki was the best meal we had all week...and very entertaining. Cagney's was good, but not quite the level one would expect. Moderno...the Brazilian steakhouse, was pretty good with several choices of meats.

With the mostly American crew, service was not what you usually receive from a more International crew, but it was much improved from the Aloha cruise. A lot of the crew we talked with had not been working with NCL very long which led me to believe they have a lot of employee turnover. The cruise director, who you can't miss because of his outlandish suits, was pretty much invisible most of the week. He would be better served on a ship with a younger average cruising age than this ship has which I would guess to be around 55 years old.

Entertainment was about average with a very funny comedian they kept hidden till the final nights of the cruise. Only went to 1 of the 4 theatre style shows... Lights, Camera, Music...and it was well done. The 2 piano bar singers were above average. Did not use NCL for any of our excursions....mostly rented cars in port and did our own thing. Shuttles were at every port but book ahead of time because in most ports they said they were only picking up people with advanced reservations. Highly recommend Trilogy for whale watching while on Maui if you there between November and February. If you are planning on driving yourself up to Haleakala for sunrise you must get an advanced parking permit from the park service...you can do it online for $1.50.

Cabin Review

Mid-Ship Oceanview Picture Window

Cabin OA

Cabin was well set up but cabin steward was very erratic. Some days no glasses...some days cabin not made up by noon. She was very sweet but might be better utilized in another area.

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