Two weeks ago a friend and I traveled on the Pride of America around Hawaii. I had very low expectations of the cruise, but it was better than I expected, because of the specialty restaurants and the shore excursions. I thought the cruise was expensive for what you got, but it is the only cruise around Hawaii, so we had to book it.

The ship was very clean. Service was spotty on the ship. Cris, our cabin steward, couldn't have been any better. Ben Adams, bartender, Jeffrey and the entire staff in Cagney's were great. My friend had to wait ages to get her wine bottle at several of the restaurants. The saloon service was almost nonexistent when we ate breakfast and lunch there. We were desperate to avoid the crowds in the Aloha Cafe.

The biggest negative of the ship was that they charged for water and wouldn't let you bring any liquids on the ship. Water was $3.25 a bottle. A 12 pack of one liter bottles was $27.95. They don't want you to refill water bottles on the ship. I think charging for water and banning people from bringing water onboard is a ridiculous policy and that alone would keep me from booking another NCL cruise. I can think of no reason why anyone would charge for water. They also charge for soft drinks. The soda program was $7.50 a day, plus 18% gratuity and a service charge. I only drink Diet Coke and they didn't have it on the ship, so I waited until I went ashore to get one. Read more