We had a great experience with our first time on NCL. We chose this cruise to maximize our time in Hawaii by seeing as many islands as possible. Before cruising, we spent 4 nights in Kauai (which I would highly recommend!) and after the cruise another 3 days on Oahu. For our first time in Hawaii, we feel we covered quite a bit in the two weeks we were there. The staff was amazing on this ship. The Hotel Director and his assistant were particularly very welcoming and made our stay extra special. Although the ship is smaller and older than the ships we have cruised lately, it was clean and updated as much as possible. The cabin was the same as others we've had and there were plenty of dining options. We did find the Liberty dining room to be a more quiet dining experience then the Skyline so we enjoyed it most evenings. We received excellent service everywhere on the ship. The Luau (in Kauai) excursion was amazing. Even though there were over 700 people (all from the ship), the plantation was well equip to handle that many for dinner/show. Enjoyed the food and the show very much. We would recommend renting a car in Maui. The ship docks overnight and gives you plenty of time to explore the island. The car rentals are a short walk from the port and there is a hotel at the port that will allow you to park the car overnight for $5. We would definitely take this cruise again if we ever get the chance. We had an amazing time! Read Less

The shop felt older and it was very small but we knew that going in and didn’t mind so much since there wasn’t any days at sea. Every person that worked on the ship was very nice. I’m a vegan and it was harder for me to find any decent on the ship. But they did try. Royal Caribbean does a much. Yet job at this. The entertainment was below normal cruise standards. Cabin was nice enough. We only used this cruise as a floating hotel basically. We wanted to island hop and found this the most economical way to do it. We probably won’t use this cruise line again unless it has a trip with no days at sea. We would probably rank this one second behind Royal Caribbean. Nothing exceptional. But nothing bad either. We did like that they had photo booth around the ship for free photos to email yourself or family members. Read Less

I have never done a cruise before. I don't know that I ever will again. I went on this cruise to accompany my 86 year old father and spend some times with friends from Australia. We had a mid-ship cabin with a full view balcony that had a bit of rust. There was plenty of closet space and ample room under the bed. I don't know if this is normal, but the shower was extremely small, making it impossible to wash your legs. The service on the ship was excellent, which surprised me given some reviews I had read. The buffet was edible, and the specialty restaurants have some pretty good food, but don't go on this cruise for the cuisine. The steak at Cagney's was very good, and the Teppanyaki was good and fun. The service in the bars, especially Pink's was excellent. The singers and dancers in the cabaret type shows were extremely good. We did not take any tours offered by the ship, opting for renting a car in Maui and Kauai and taking some smaller private tours in Kona and Hilo. Have a car in Maui was nice, but the logistics are pretty much a nightmare. It is a long walk through the terminal, and security at the port is very officious. Despite my begging and throwing out the Americans with Disabilities Act, they would not let me pick up my dad and other elderly people at the entrance to the terminal, making them walk about another 100 yards passed the security gate. Finally we had to spend 20 bucks to take a taxi the 100 yards to get them to the rental car. I had a Budget car, and the only overnight parking offered was to park at the airport, paying $15, taking the shuttle to Budget, and then taking another shuttle to the ship. Needless to say, we just sent the elderly back to the ship on another taxi. We did not take the road to Hana in the Suburban I rented. I download the Gypsy app, which cost about $10 bucks for Maui and another $8 for Kauai. The data is downloaded on your phone and narration is triggered by GPS location. We got a big kick out of the app, so it is worth using, although it was useful having a passenger using Google maps to get us going in the right direction. We explored the far western coast up to Kaanapali one day and the southern western coast down to Wailea the second day, stopping to snorkel on a nice beach at the southern end of Kihei. We stopped in Kihei at the Paia Fish Market, a place with walk up service and some of the best fresh fish I have ever had along with some local brew. Rental in Kauai was much better. The terminal is smaller and security lets you pull up your car pretty close. You can buy a parking pass at JJ's Broiler in Anchor Cove Shopping center to park your car, and the shopping center runs a continuous shuttle back and forth to the ship. We again used our Gypsy app and drove in the morning to Waimea Canyon, exploring the beaches at Poipu and the blow hole at Spouting Horn Park and the way. This was only about a three hour jaunt and very nice. We drop our friend back on the ship for a Luau her family had booked, and my dad and I drove through Kapaa and up the east coast to Kilauea lighthouse. It was closed when we got there, but the view was worth the trip. The next day we back to Kapaa and got some Hawaiian shave ice the gypsy app talked about every time we passed. OMG, this stuff is to die for. I had locally made soursop combined with an organic ginger syrup with mochi balls added. My friend got ginger, mochi balls and some coconut ice cream. We both made moaning noises. My dad didn't, but he ate the whole huge thing. We then went back to Poipu beach park, parked dad in a picnic area, and had some great snorkeling. This beach is very nice, but it is pretty much solid rock in the water, so bring some aqua shoes if you go there. We managed without them, but we were the only ones there without them. For tours on the big Island, we took a local company right off the ship. I'm not sure they were supposed to be soliciting there, but it was excellent. For Kona, we had booked MaryLou's, which was excellent. I would recommend them for the two days on the big island. In Hilo, terminal was not too big, and security was not officious, so it was pretty easy to get off the ship. For Kona, we had tenders, which are little boats that take you to the harbor. The process went pretty much as smoothly as it could, and I give commendations to the ship's crew for executing such a difficult task. I'm not sure it wouldn't be better to say in Hilo for two days and just drive or take tours to Kona. We did the standard tour stuff. We saw some beautiful Japanese gardens, farms, bees, etc., but I would have liked to have spent a few hours in the water at some of those beaches. Even though they were black rock, the water was blue, calm and inviting. Rainbow falls is a must see. It is worth going to Pu'uhonau O Nonaunau, which is a national park and sacred Hawaiian spot. If I were doing it over again, I would book a private tour with Marylou's and have them combine some sightseeing with a snorkel tour. We stayed on Waikiki after we got off the boat, but had been to the island a couple of times before. You have to get off the boat so early in the morning that there is no reason to stay there the night after unless you want to explore Oahu. I would recommend going there long enough before the ship embarks to make it worthwhile renting a car and skip the stay afterward. Anyway, I scoped out lots of places I would like to go back to. I am probably not a cruise person, and my wife definitely is not, so she stayed home, but I had a great time beside myself and can recommend this cruise even if you think it is not your sort of thing. Read Less

Hated this nightmare. This was a waste of money. NEVER again on Norwegian anywhere ever again. We wasted all this money for the trip of a lifetime... and, it was one problem or disappointment after the other. Everything was bad... The food NEVER met our expectations as we'd previously had with other Cruise Lines... One huge disappointment. The Shows? We walked out numerous times. What a waste of time! Great Shows on other Cruise Lines, but, not on this NCL... It felt as if they hired the least talented, cheapest... The excursions were very expensive and were a huge let down. What can you do on the ship? You can sit at the Library and play cards, or play pin-pong... The workers...... were not focused on making us comfortable. There was a huge element of superiority... Pretentious behavior............ We'd call to reserve a table and would be told that they did not have anything available. We'd show up and there would be plenty of tables available. WHY this pretentious game? No High Tea. Never found any Mini Golf. If there was, we never found it. They ruined the vacation by rummaging through my luggage and confiscating the wine and champagne. BUT, I had phoned NCL prior to packing to make sure that it was allowed. I was told yes, 1 bottle per person. NOW, they took it and wanted to charge us $15.00 per bottle............. We said NO, and got our wine at the end of the trip. In the rummaging process, they broke my hanger, broke my watch, messed up my clothes, threw powder on everything, and lost the wires to recharge the phone, camera and video camera. No shorts, clothes or bathing suit............. We just kept looking for my luggage. Whole day wasted. The next morning, we went ashore to buy a new phone charger. Could not use the video after day 1, and same thing happened with the camera after 5 days............ NO soap or paper to wash hands at any of the Excursions. You want germs............. You go ashore and it is a rusty, old, metal, warehouse looking place. Nothing seemed clean, or pretty......... No pride. The Buffet was good. Our room was way too tiny... TV was tiny in the left corner. They have a Mini Bar......... so, they lock it the last night of your trip, so, if you have ulcers and need milk........ NO fridge. We'd rather have a fridge than a Mini-Bar.......... We'd NEVER spend money on a Mini-Bar............... Room Service on other Cruises, is free. NCL... $7.95 per order, per person. Half a glass of wine at Dinner........... $11.11.......... They automatically add a tip $1.79. We spoke to others who had been on this Cruise....... NOW they finally admit that it had been awful, and that they hated it. WHY did they not warn us? "They did not want to ruin our trip." Well, it is a bad, overpriced trip. We hated almost all of it............... Little details... Puddles on the floors, slippery floors, taking dishes away too soon, closing the shades when we sit by the windows......... FILTHY windows almost everywhere. Some people complained that they did not have a working bathroom and had to go way outside of their room............. Our bathroom worked, so, I guess that is one plus on that side. The balcony was smaller than the other Cruise Lines. NO alarm clock.......... With them breaking my watch, and NO clock in the room........... that left me always asking the time............ Save your money. The Ship itself was not fancy. It was antiquated. The Excursions... were overpriced with not much of anything to see or do... We are extremely turned off by NCL......... We had sailed numerous times with other Cruise Lines, so we had extremely high expectations for a fabulous Voyage... and were let down by NCL, in all directions. They should give us back our money. We did complain to NCL...with a very LONG letter.......... They don't care. We're back home. We already have our next Cruise booked, with Carnival. Read Less

Cruising is a great way to visit 4 Hawaiian Islands and experience the culture and landscape. The overall experience was very good. Staff was great. Cabin staff was very polite, attentive to the stateroom and humoured us each day with fantastic folded towel creations. Dining staff was professional with great service and conversation. The ship was very good, but lacks some of the finishes and decor of other top-rated ships. The ship's name is the Pride of America. As such, the main reception area and Liberty Dining Room were a bit over the top on Americana. We accepted this as their theme, but felt the flag waving at the last night's thank you event was not necessary given that a large number of cruisers came from many other parts of the world. The last night was when we were introduced to the Captain (on stage) and other ship officers. I felt this should have been done at a welcoming event at the beginning of the cruise. The entertainment was top-notch and varied. A favourite spot was the Gold Rush Saloon- a themed bar that showed sporting events on many TVs. A pet peeve is that internet service is not provided for free like land-based hotels, but provided for a fee. I understand service at sea may be expensive, but I feel in this day of connectivity, cruise lines should consider providing free internet when docked at shore. On shore excursions included Road to Hana (Maui) and Volcanoes National Park (Big Island). Both informative and well done. Despite a few shortcomings, this was a very good sailing experience. Read Less

This was a beautiful cruise from the standpoint of getting off the ship and sightseeing on our own. We generally rented a car everyday and had a wonderful time sightseeing and adventuring out on our own. Oh, by the way, we had a lot more freedom and it was so much LESS expensive than booking an excursion through the cruise line! Generally, I was most unimpressed with NCL. I have sailed with a couple of other cruise lines and NCL is quite sub par compared to others. In fact, I will not cruise with NCL again! We missed a major portion of the beauty of Hawaii on the trip from Kauai to Honolulu (the Napali Coast) due to ship repairs while in Kauai. NCL gave everyone very little notice and a $100 shipboard credit, not nearly substantial enough to cover an excursion of the Napali Coast if you decided to do it yourself, and most tours were already booked. The dining room hours (NCL promotes their open dining policy as being unique) was poorly administered and confusing to everyone. The food and service, to say the least, was poor. It's like since they are the only cruise line that sails Hawaii, NCL only makes the minimal effort in regard to service and quality. Read Less

NCL offers the only cruise that stops at all of the major Hawaiian Islands year round. We have been on a Princess Cruise (to Alaska) and a Carnival Cruise (to the Eastern Carribeaan) and neither of these cruise lines even came close to matching the ease and efficiency NCL provided when it came to embarkation and disembarkation! The ship and cabin were clean and well maintained inside and out, and there were ample dining and entertainment choices throughout the cruise. We took full advantage of the shore excursions and booked them directly through NCL because NCL guarantees that the ship will wait for you if your excursion is delayed for any reason. On one occasion, the excursion was completely unable to deliver what was described and they fully refunded our payment. Two things that were a disappointment: 1. NCL had to do additional maintenance in Kaua'i and cancelled the scheduled cruise along the Na Pali Coast, one of the true wonders of the world. Each stateroom was compensated with a $100 credit, but we felt cheated! 2. The ONLY place you can smoke on this ship is on the top floor, way in the back of the ship at the Waikiki Bar. While I understand that non-smokers do not want to smell the smoke from my cigarette, I do think the cruiseline could be a bit more accommodating for it's smoking guests! Read Less

This was our 50th Anniversary and fifty years ago we Honeymooned in Honolulu. Always wanted to see the other islands. We stayed in O'ahu in Waikiki for two nights before the cruise. The embarkation and disembarkations went very smoothly. The staff was great. We have been on lots of cruises with many different cruise lines. The ship was nice, clean, and well maintained. Our balcony cabin was ok, small and nothing real special. The personal were great. We had our anniversary dinner at Cagneys Steak House. The wait staff was outstanding and very friendly and even sang us an anniversary song. The steaks and side dishes were excellent. I was very disappointed in the Béarnaise Sauce that came with my fillet. The sauce had absolutely no flavor. I've had Béarnaise all over the world and make a pretty good one myself and this sauce had no redeeming quality at all. The rest of the meal was great. The rest of our dining experiences at the speciality restaurants and the main dining room were excellent with the exception of the Hot Apple pie in the main dining room was awful. It was cold and the crust was pasty. TheTiramisu at the Italian speciality restaurant was absolutely wonderful. Best ever! The breakfasts at the Aloha grill were very hectic and not a lot of quality. We did shore excursions almost every day. They were all very well done with the exception of the "Road to Hana" on Maui. I would definitely choose another excursion. The excursion we enjoyed the most was the "Best of Kauai" Read Less

We heard good stories about the cleanliness & service on this ship and they were true for our Cruise in Hawaii in Oct 2018. The positives 1 The staff were all friendly and a very clean ship. 2. Speciality dining areas (the 3 we visited Steak house, French & Brazilian) were first class, but very little attendances maybe because of their speciality prices. 3. Liberty & Skyline dining (no extra charges) were much more supported and the décor was both pleasant and nice & quite so you can talk to friends/passengers. 4. The loading and unloading of passengers at Honolulu was good after our 12 other cruises. 5. The night time floor shows were (I feel) above average but their volume was very loud 6. No real need to book/pay of on-shore excursions as lots of good private tour operators near or on the docks. 7. The biggest volume of passengers were 50+ age 8. Wifi is better to find on-shore if you search for them but on board ship too costly. The negatives or Thumbs Down A. You were not allowed to take on board one (1) bottle of wine per person like other cruises, so this gets the thumbs down for me. B. The price of drinks were all too high and being Australians we are not used to tipping, especially 20% as standard plus they ask for more. C. The prices offered to on-shore excursions were "way too expensive" and I put this down to GREET by this Shipping Company Pride of America. D. The sail away we were really looking forward to, but the music volume was just so high that it drove us and many other seniors away to other locations away from the noise. E. This ships Internet packages were way too expensive so we avoided them F. The buffet dining area was (I feel just average) with most food just warm Read Less

My wife and I wanted to take a first time trip to Hawaii and we wanted to cruise. Norwegian's 7 day inter Island cruise was a perfect fit for us. Our included hotel was the Hilton Hawaiian Village - very busy but very nice. We had an excellent tour guide for our included 4 days in Oahu. I think the Pride of America is a beautiful ship with attractive details and finishes everywhere you went. We treated ourselves to a Penthouse SE suite "with large balcony". The cabin exceeded expectations and came with many perks and amenities including a Butler. My wish was his command! I need to practice piano daily and within a day of our arrival he arranged for two baby grands for me to practice on as much as I needed. We liked the food in the Aloha Cafe and Skyline restaurant. There was always a variety of appealing food to choose from. Our package came with 3 dinners each person at the specialty restaurants. We ate at Cagney's and the Brazilian Steakhouse and they were both excellent. We also had the perk of eating complimentary at Cagney's for breakfast and lunch. Wonderful. There were more than enough entertainment and activities to keep us busy. We rented a car and did our own exploring. However, there seemed to be a nice variety of excursions to choose from. The ship visited four of the islands. (If you want to go ashore at Kona, you'll have to get on the tender boat.) Overall, an excellent choice for a first visit to Hawaii. Highly Recommended. Read Less