We embarked on the Pride of America June 18, 2011. The check in process was fairly quick as we were in a line for guests who have previously sailed with NCL. I will tell you that my wife and I have previously been on 7 cruises with different cruise lines and once previously with NCL. We went to our stateroom and were immediately taken back by the small size of the room. It is the smallest stateroom of any other ship we have been on. Looking our the sliding glass door, we immediately noticed the rust and upon going out on the balcony, the railing was devoid of varnish. The maintenance on this ship is horrible.

The highlight of any ship should be the food. The quality of the food on this ship is not even second rate. It might be third rate at the very best. They can't cook a piece of fish to save their lives. It tasted like a frozen filet that was put in a microwave and barely cooked. They serve baked beans for breakfast ! The pizza is horrible. Most everything on the buffet was such poor quality, we were disgusted. Many guests and many children who are first time cruisers thought the food was okay, but they don't know any better. One day we ordered a drink by the pool. the afternoon host who was also singing was telling the crown to try a Lynchburg lemonade and how refreshing it was. A waitress came by and I asked for one. She said" what is that and what is in it?" I told her they have been talking about it all day. She came back with it and it was horrible. The drink should have one shot of JD and lemonade with crushed ice. There was barely any taste and obviously very little liquor for the charge of 7.50. My wife ordered a different drink with the same result. We told the waitress and she sent over the bar manager who then got her another drink. This time it was a bit tastier only because the manager had it made for her. Moving on. Since this cruise does not leave the United States, most of the crew is American. This is the first mostly American staff we have ever encountered as we mostly travel outside the USA. They had no enthusiasm and it appeared they were just there for the paycheck. No one went out of their way to do anything special. In one instance We left our cabin on the 8th floor and when we got to the 4th floor, I remembered I forgot to take the do not disturb sign off so they would make up our cabin. I stopped a cabin crew member on 4 and asked if she could have someone change my sign so the room would be made up. She told me "no, I only work on the fourth floor" I said can you call housekeeping or radio to them and tell them to do it? She said "no" Another staff member heard me and said he would call. This was frustrating. Most nights we ate at the buffet but one one particular night we ate in the dining room. It was tenderloin with a piece of fish or half lobster tail with fish. I ordered both entrees. I could not have been more disappointed. the lobster tail was very small and dry and the fish was as poor and the night before. Tasted frozen and then microwaved. I spoke with other guests who tried the up charge restaurants they stated the food was poor there as well.

The Hawaiian islands and the ship tours were fantastic. We went hiking in Maui and went to the Haleakala Volcano for sunrise. It was extremely cold but we had layers of clothes. In Kauai we did the zip line treetop tour. This is fantastic and highly recommended. As for the Pride of America, NCL should be ashamed to call this ship anything but. There is no pride in anything on this ship from the staff who could not care worth a damn or the quality of the food or even the upkeep of the ship. I say " STAY AWAY" If you are a frequent cruiser, this ship will be a bigger disappointment.