We chose Pride of America as we wanted to spend time on the islands, not getting to the islands. The excursions were great: whale watching and volcano national park were highlights. We did the VIP experience (Manor House) for the Luau and that was awesome. No lines, table service and champagne. We also got front row seats and were ushered in just before the main show started.

The food in the Liberty dining room was medium at best. Dishes were often cold because the staff was so busy, the food sat for long periods of time. Little details like sauces and refills on beverages were often overlooked. One dinner, the tilapia was so fishy, I could not eat it. By the time my server got back to check on the meal, everyone else was done, so I decided not to reorder. The buffet was okay, but again, the food was often cold. It was also pretty much the same food served over and over again with little variation in it. The fruit was not that good and we are in Hawaii, it should have been excellent! The best food was at Jefferson Bistro, the French restaurant. The sole and lamb were outstanding, so I concur that the best food is at the specialty restaurants. At the same time, you are paying a fortune for this cruise, so why should you have to pay more and go to all the specialty restaurants to get good food? We also like the diner, the food was basic, but it came out fast and it was always hot.

When we embarked on the ship, we arrived around 1 p.m. We had lunch and then walked around for a while. They started calling rooms around 3 p.m. and started with decks 13 and 12. We were on 11, so we figured we would be next. We were wrong. They called every other deck before 11. We didn't get in the room until after 5 p.m. Our deck has a pool on it and dining, so there are fewer cabins on our floor, we should have been done first. This was foreshadowing of the service to come. Read more