I usually don't write reviews after a cruise, but after reading so a few negative comments about Pride of America, I truly feel I should share our experience. I believe everyone will have different views of their cruise, but I can tell you, we had a blast... From the minute we arrived, to the minute we left, we were nonstop! The staff at this ship was great! I've been on numerous NCL cruises, and this by far was the nicest, friendliest, best cruise I've been on. I did do my research, and this is what worked for our family.

Maui: We rented a car, first day we had a convertible, not the best option to have, so the second day we switched to a jeep. We downloaded an app called Shaka Guide Maui. On the first day we did the Road to Hana tour. TO download the tour, its was $4.99, and it works with your phone GPS, tells you when to stop, beaches to go to, waterfalls, we did the black sand beach, red sand beach, etc. You start at about 9am, we didn't get back to town till about 7. Had dinner at Mama's Fish House, nice place, but a bit pricey. By the time we arrived back at the ship, we were exhausted. The next day we did the Haleakala National Park tour which is also on the app. It was amazing. We stopped on the way down to have lunch at a place called Hali'imaile General Store. Food was amazing. I definitely recommend renting a car. It gives you time to do things on your own pace instead of chasing a bus, which is what happened to us on our next stop.....

Hilo: We did the Volcano & Rainforest tour with NCL. Not a fan of the big bus tours since they only give you a few minutes at each top and they're constantly hurrying you up. The tour wasn't bad. Had a few stops: Rainbow falls, Mauna Loa Nut factory and then up to Kilauea Volcano. It was a great tour, just limited amount of time at each stop. Read more