NCL Pride of America Cruise Review

Hawaii Cruise on the NCL Pride of America

We found the NCL experience to be most pleasing. From the greetings at the airport, the transportation to the ship, arrival, staff, etc...all created a very positive start. We read up on the tips ahead of time from others who posted concerns, so we had some realistic expectations. Our stateroom was okay - all of them are small on a ship anyway. Our steward did a nice job working regular hours and keeping our towels changed and sheets. She talked with us in the hallway, remembering our names and was very friendly.

The food was above expectations for the buffet. Most buffets, the food gets dried out and stale. NCL crews kept replenishing the food, freshening things they could - like adding cream to mashed potatoes to keep them fresh - and constantly cleaning the service areas.

Specialty restaurants did get booked up quickly, but we discovered many people cancelled at the last minute, so getting a table for two wasn't hard. Being polite about it helps - rather than being demanding like some people we heard onboard. Critiques have been quick to attack the "American" staff mentality, but quite honestly the "American" spoiled brat passenger mentality is more of an issue as far as I'm concerned. I found the staff to be warm, friendly and very helpful. The only time I heard a staff person bark, was when she was barked at first by a most unreasonable person demanding idiotic things from her. I almost told the passenger which deck she could jump from!

POA isn't perfect, but I sensed most of the officers were working hard to resolve issues, correct staff and assure passengers they would have the problems resolved.

I heard passengers complain about their steaks not being rare enough, but didn't have the brains to understand that the cruise line has strict health regulations about serving food too rare. You'd think once explained, some folks with half brains would catch on, but again, the "americans" didn't seem to get it. Oh, I'm a full blooded one myself, in case you wonder. Guess they'd also be the first to complain about an e coli epedemic too.

The excursions were great. We did four, and three of the four were well worth the money. Especially the ride on mountain bikes from the top of the crater on Maui. We're in our 50's and wondered if we were nuts to have booked it, but what a great ride and experience!! We'd do it again and again. The guides were very safety conscious and took good care of us.

We rented mopeds on Kauai, and enjoyed the day riding all over the island. My wife did dump her bike and broke a couple of ribs, but hey, that's our fault and why they call them "accidents". In spite of the pain the last day, she said the whole trip was worth it, and I think that tells you how much we enjoyed the trip.

I'd take another, and hopefully we will with NCL. Perhaps we'll try the new Pride of Hawaii after they get it broken in a bit.