Arrival and boarding the Pride of America at Pier 2 Honolulu was managed well. Baggage handling, security, and registration all were well organized. We boarded the ship shortly after noon and proceeded to our stateroom. The housekeeping staff had not yet completed their work and we were unable to access the room for approximately one hour. All was in order, except for a lack of soap in bathroom soap dispensers. We notified housekeeping who remedied the problem in good order. This example was mentioned to provide an example of how well the staff initially responded to a minor shortcoming in housekeeping. Overall, housekeeping was only satisfactory during the cruise. There seemed to be only minimal (enough to get-by) emphasis on daily cleaning. We rarely saw the housekeeper assigned to our cabin. Comparing to our previous cruise experiences on Royal Caribbean and Princess Cruise Lines, they seemed less attentive to providing a higher level of service and attentiveness.

Overall, my wife and I give NCL a grade "C" on this cruise. The various methods of daily activities aboard ship were, for the most part, handled O.K. The written daily schedule of events provided good information on ports of call, excursions, and ship activities. PA announcement however, were difficult to hear, especially inside our cabin. The ship TV was marginally adequate.

Our first experience with freestyle dining was disappointing. Additional cover charges for specialty restaurants and personalized service expected was only fair at best. Wait staff for the most part was geared toward typical American restaurant service, not the personalized service expected on cruises. Read more