Lets start by saying that this was an amazing cruise! We have been on 4 previous cruises all in the Caribbean! The NCL Pride of America is a beautiful and well maintained ship! We were very impressed! And the staff was awesome! Everyone we met would greet us with an Aloha and /or Good morning. Always smiles and couldn't do enough for you! And they seemed to remember what you said you were doing that day and would ask you about it later!We flew into Honolulu on Friday, late afternoon and checked into the Courtyard Marriott and planned on walking around Waikiki and having a nice dinner! But it was raining and we were exhausted given the 6 hour time difference from the east coast! We had rented a car and we were going to drive around and see Waikiki but not that night! We awoke extremely early for Waikiki and waited for the IHOP across the street to open at 6:00 AM! We had a great breakfast and started our day! My husband wanted to get a dive in before the cruise and I wanted to hike Diamond Head! So off we went! I drove to Diamond Head for my hike and he was picked up for his dive! Diamond Head was amazing! I would love to do it again! After my 2 hour hike, I headed to Leonard's bakery for Malasadas! (My treat for conquering Diamond Head! Then back to the hotel to get ready to check out! We had a late checkout at 1:00 and then decided to walk around Waikiki for a short while before returning the car and heading to the ship! (We rented from Thrifty through the islands and signed up for their free Blue Chip program and they were great! Returning the car was more difficult since we had trouble finding where they were located! But once we found them it was simple and we got right onto their shuttle and they took us to the ship)!We arrived at the pier close to 3:30 and were on the ship in less than 15 minutes! NCL has this process down! It was very simple and no hassles at all! We went right to our room since they were all ready by then and dropped off our carry-ons! The room was an inside cabin and was nice very clean! Our only complaint would be the small shower, but fine for just one week! (*Tip: one of the bathroom mirrors opens for more small storage in the bathroom) We made our way to our muster station for the muster drill, this was so simple! You sat in a comfortable chair in an auditorium or lounge and listened to a short presentation and you were released! Anyone who missed it or didn't check in were required to do it the next evening! We then made our way to the Waikiki Bar to meet our cruise critic group! After a quick meet and greet we were off to find food! The Aloha Cafe buffet was very good! We ate most of our meals there! after we ate we went to our room and our luggage was there for us! We unpacked, and even though it was only 6:30 Hawaii time, it felt like after midnight to me and we went to bed! We were up early Sunday morning and had breakfast at the buffet before heading into Maui to get our Rental car! The Thrifty Shuttle was on the pier waiting when we arrived! The driver pointed out the 2 parking areas since we were keeping the car overnight at this port! Driving in Maui was simple, very easy driving! (Much different than Waikiki) We drove to Lahaina stopping a few times on the way for pictures! And we had sandwiches at a place called cool cats! My husband had scheduled a dive for this day and I shopped and walked around town for a few hours! I even sat on the beach for an hour or so and stuck my feet in the beautiful clear water! We headed back to the ship around 5:15 and arrived by 6:00! The closer parking lot was already full, so my husband dropped me near the main gate with our bags and he parked at the further lot and walked to meet be and we were on the ship in only minutes! Security was very thorough but very simple as well! We dropped our stull at our room and went to the buffet again for dinner! And again at this point we were exhausted, I went to bed and my husband went to see the Magician and he enjoyed the show! We were back up early and went to the buffet for breakfast before heading back into Maui! Today we had the molokini crater snorkel tour booked and we really enjoyed it! They also included a light breakfast of muffins and fruit and coffee and juices, then after our first snorkeling stop we had lunch of lunchmeats and salads and chips and drinks! MaiTai's and beer and juices! Then off to see the turtles and snorkel there as well! We had a great day and the crew on this tour was really great! (we booked all of our tours on our own, not through the ship) For today's trip we used Kai Kanani Molokini deluxe tour! I would highly recommend them! kaikanani.com Then back to Thrifty to return the car and their shuttle back to the ship! On Monday we were going to the Sushi and sake tasting at East meets West on board! We were sure to return in enough time to shower and change for this! We really enjoyed the tasting! There were 8 of us there! Chef explained what he was making and how and every time he finished we were served that roll! We also had 2 kinds of sake! It was very informative and very fun! ($20PP)Early to bed again for me! Tuesday was Hilo and we rented a car and drove to Akaka falls and then to Volcano National Park! This time after the Thrifty shuttle picked us up, she showed us exactly where to return our car! This made the return so much easier! We did Akaka falls first as the sun seemed to be shining in that direction! We had a nice time and the walk to the falls wasn't a bad one! We stopped an an Orchid garden/store on the way to Volcano Nat'l Park, very nice and got some souvenir shopping done there! Then to VNP just a few more miles down the road (6 miles). Volcano National Park was great! I wished we could have spent the whole day there! We did the 3 recommended must do's but we needed to get back to the ship! We stopped at Big Island Candies since it was only a couple minutes from the airport and rental car return! This was nice and we bought a few more gifts! The rental car return was the simplest yet! And we only had to wait a few minutes for the shuttle to the ship! They had a flower Lei class this day and I was trying to get there for it before they ran out and I made it in time! (I had missed the Nut Lei class the day before!Wednesday was Kona, the other side of the Big Island! We ate breakfast today at the Cadillac Diner and it was very good. I went into Kona for an hour to see where the Tsunami had hit the island! And to do more shopping! This port was a quick and easy tender ride in to the pier from the ship! Since DH was diving again this day, I was taking a day of rest and a much needed Spa day! It felt wonderful and was so worth it! We did ribbon Leis today and DH made one too! We had dinner at the Cadillac Diner and again it was very good! They also had a class on how to fold dollar bills into Hawaiian shirts and pants! This was very neat to learn and we had a lot of fun with it! Even made more when we went back to our room! Bring your $1 bills! And I had missed a class earlier in the week on how to make a bracelet out of 16 $1 bills so they said to come on Friday and they would be able to show me! Thursday and Friday were in Kauai! Since we were going to have a late night we stayed on the ship in the morning and slept in! We went to the Skyline dining room for breakfast, it was good, but I preferred the Cadillac Diner and the buffet! We took the shuttle into town to see where we needed to be the next morning! We walked around a little while and headed back to the ship to get ready for the Luau! We didn't book the one through the ship, we were going to the Smith's Family Luau and it was really great! We had them pick us up at the pier with a bunch of others and theu y would bring us back after the Luau! It was raining when we arrived and they had umbrellas for everyone to use on the way to the dining area and to see the grounds! The food and drinks were very good and the buffets ran very smoothly and quickly! The rain had stopped and we walked over to see the entertainment; The dancers were all very good! By 9:30 it was all over and we were on our way back to the ship, thankful that we didn't have to drive back! The NCL Luau had just gotten back as well, so there was a longer wait at security than there had been previously since there were so many people coming back at once! We went to bed right away since we had to be up and out early for our helicopter tour on Friday! We got up early and went to the buffet for a light breakfast and walked into town to the Blue Hawaii Helicopter tours office! It was raining and we were wet when we arrived! The sky was starting to clear, and we were able to take off and it was the best thing we did the whole cruise! We had a blast! I wish we would have done one on each island! We walked near the beach behind the Marriott and then caught a shuttle back to the ship! We had an small early lunch since we had had a light breakfast we were hungry! Then I went to make the 16 $1 bills bracelet while DH started packing our suitcases! We went to the Aloha buffet Aft for a Happy Hour Sangria special while we watched the Napali sail by! It was gorgeous, but it did get very windy! There was no sail by to see the lava flow earlier in the week, as there was no lava to see! We went to the buffet for a quick dinner, but by this point nothing looked appetizing anymore, I tried a few things and DH enjoyed his! We went back to our room and found out how to get the wine I had bought on the islands so we could finish packing! And I ordered a BLT from room service and it was very good! Then we went to bed! Our last day! We are both happy and sad to see this day come! We really hadn't gotten a chance to enjoy the ship and all it has to offer because we were so busy seeing Hawaii! But we were so exhausted from such a busy week that we were ready for it to end! I wish we would have booked a few days in waikiki for after the cruise to have a chance to relax and see Honolulu! We had a tour set up on the last day too! Roberts Hawaii picked us and our luggage up (and 14 others with theirs) and loaded the small bus and we were off by 9:00! Touring the island of Honolulu by bus and also a 3 hour stop at Pearl Harbor! We arrived at the airport about 3:30, and had to wait for 3 hours with our luggage to check in! Wish we would have known ahead of time that US Air will not be there to check you in until 3 hours before your flight! We could have stayed in Waikiki (with our luggage still) for a few more hours and taken a taxi to the airport later!**Another tip for anyone still reading...the doors on the ship are heavy, use the buttons they have to automatically open the doors! And bring a sweater or sweatshirt!Hope everyone enjoyed my review! I didn't want to wait to write it, so just did it off the top of my head!