First of all, allow me to start with some basic information. We were onboard the 8/22/04 sailing. There were four of us -- my wife, my 2 kids and I. We had a Category E Cabin, located on Deck 8 Forward.

Embarkation: Getting onboard was easy enough. There was a very long line when we first reached the pier, but once inside the terminal building things went smoothly enough, and there were people handing out cups of water. Soon enough we realized we were eligible for Lattitudes check-in, which was very nice considering we had only been on 1 NCL cruise prior to this! As you can imagine, this sped things up even more and we were soon on the ship without any problems to speak of.

Dining: Considering how many complaints there are about Pride of Aloha in this category, you might be surprised to find that I actually thought that it wasn't bad at all! The most difficult thing to deal with was the bottlenecking, as Pride of Aloha (Norwegian Sky) isn't particularly suited to Freestyle Dining. Normally after reaching the front of a long line you could make a reservation of sorts and enjoy activities elsewhere on the ship for a little while until you were ready to be seated. Once actually inside, things were a different story. Service was slightly slow at times, but it was always VERY friendly and adequate. The food is very good, though the menu doesn't change all that much from day to day, and surprisingly (considering she is American flagged) the ship does not offer "President's Night" in the main dining rooms like other NCL ships. Buffet areas were clean, and though lines were long on more than one occasion, I see no reason to blame the cruise line for so many people wanting to eat in one place at one time! Complaints of paper dishes and plastic utensils have no foundation whatsoever, and whoever claimed that they were used should be ashamed! It goes beyond whether your opinion of your cruise was positive or negative. Read more