Pride of America Review
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This was a wonderful way to get to see 4 of the Hawaiian Islands. This was our first trip to Hawaii. We did an 8 night cruise, the first night was at the Waikiki Marriott. We had a penthouse suite on board, which gave us plenty of room. The deck was wonderful.
We had breakfast daily in Cagney's which was very good, not crowded at all. A dining package came with our suite so we had 3 dinners in the specialty restaurants: 2 at the Bistro, 1 at the Brazilian Steakhouse. The rest of our dinners were in the upstairs section of the main dining room. The food in the main dining room was okay, nothing special. Service there was spotty at best. I think they had the staff spread too thin. We noted that the servers were also seating the guests, and standing in line a lot, which I think kept them from their tables... The Bistro was wonderful. We had the same server both evenings and he was very attentive. The food was really good, and the presentation was excellent. The Brazilian Steakhouse was very different. They had a system for you to ask for another meat, which they totally ignored. We put the red cards out, and they came around anyway, pressuring us to try whatever they had. Also, we ordered a bottle of wine which the menu said was from the Alexander Valley. When it came, there was nothing on the bottle to indicate it was from the Alexander Valley. When my husband questioned this, our server consulted the bartender, who gave her an explanation that didn't make any sense to us. It was obvious at that point that they had no real wine expert on the staff and at the prices they charge they should!
Our concierge was really helpful. He spoke to us at breakfast each day and was very helpful to us. We didn't quite get the butler concept. We saw him most days, made a simple (we thought) time sensitive request (twice) at the beginning of the cruise that was never fulfilled and never referred to by him. He did bring us fruit & canapés, and made our dinner reservations. Our room attendant was mostly very efficient, we rarely saw him.
Cabin Review
Deluxe Penthouse with Large Balcony
If you can afford it, a suite is the way to go. It entirely changes your perceptions. After embarking, we never encountered crowds and lines, except when going ashore or coming back to the ship. There was plenty of room for 2 of us, would work out well for a family of 4 as well.