My wife and I had never been to Hawaii before, so she had always wanted to go. We decided on this cruise because it allowed us to visit all of the major Hawaiian islands (and because we could fly 1st class to Honolulu for fewer AAdvantage miles than flying coach to Europe).

We spend 5 nights at Turtle Bay Resort before our cruise. If I did it again, I would reverse the order and cruise first and then rest at Turtle Bay. This is an ACTIVE cruise, especially if you have not been to Hawaii before. I noticed somewhat lukewarm reviews (mostly relating to services) and was not sure what to expect, but the Pride of America exceeded our expectations.

The service in the main dining room (we did not try any specialty restaurants) ranged from good to outstanding. We never had to wait long for a table. On occasion, we had to wait a while to place our orders, but it really wasn't bad (and we were not in a hurry). On our anniversary, we were seated at a table by a window and our waitress serenaded us (solo) and brought us an anniversary cake. It was very sweet. The food was very good (equivalent to the food on Princess) and the menu was interesting. Read more