My wife, 2 brothers and I sailed on the Pride of Aloha on August 27, 2005. I thought it was a great way to see the Hawaiian Islands. We were disappointed that the boat didn't do the evening sail to see lava on the Big Island. I heard from our cabin steward that it was because the boat was having engine problems. I thought that was pretty messed up considering how new the ship is. Our Hertz shuttle driver said that was just an excuse for NCL to save on fuel.

Anyway, it was a good cruise. The entertainment on the boat was okay but we tried to spend as much time off the boat as we could. I mean c'mon, it's Hawaii! My biggest complaint about the ship as many other past reviewers have mentioned: wait times for the restaurants. Honestly, it can be quite outrageous. Even for the main restaurants its worthwhile to make reservations just because the waits can be greater than an hour.

The specialty restaurants need to be reserved well in advance so don't leave it to the last minute. I'd recommend you rent cars and drive around the islands on your own. You can see so much more. On Maui we went to the Old Lahaina Luau which was great. We also did the Road to Hana but try to do some research before going on the drive.