The Pride of America was the second half of our honeymoon, and our 15th cruise together. If you use the ship as a hotel for a 7 day trip to see the highlights of the Hawaiian Islands, you’ll likely be very happy. We stayed in Honolulu for four nights before getting on the ship, as this was out first time to Hawaii. We had no problems getting around Oahu, and had a great time. For first timers, spend a few days there, either before or after the cruise. It’s not cheap ($15 for a mai tai that was served in a small glass), but worth it for the beautiful views and great people. We stayed at the Hyatt Regency Waikiki Beach, and I would very strongly recommend that resort. Beautiful grounds, fantastic view of Waikiki Beach, great service, and close to the port.

We booked cabin 9704, an aft facing balcony. I don’t think there is a better cabin category on the ship. The huge balcony has lots of room, even if you invite guests over. And it also provides great views for the Napali Coast sail by, which happens on the last night of the cruise.

As on our previous NCL cruise (Norwegian Escape in 2016), the dining on PoA was overall very good. A pleasant surprise was the ship’s buffet, the Aloha Café. The food was quite good, and the staff kept empty tables very clean. In addition on a couple of days the crew offered poolside BBQ, which added a nice alternative. We also ate in East Meets West, the ship’s Asian restaurant. We had lunch on our second day, and did the hibachi specialty dining, Teppanyaki, on our final night. The lunch was decent, but I’ve had better Asian food shore side. Teppanyaki was just OK. The chef was great, as he did a wonderful job entertaining everyone. The food was decent, but the service otherwise seemed unorganized. For example, the maitre’d approached us in the lobby and said our table was ready (10 minutes late from our reservation time). As we stood to follow him, he told us to wait here and sit back down… I still have no idea what that was about. We waited another 5 minutes before we were taken back for dinner. The Teppanyaki experience on the Escape was better. We also ate in the Key West Bar and Grill. This is a great spot for a lunch of burgers and hot dogs, if you want to avoid the buffet for these regulars. Read more