Pride of America anyone been???

[Hello-Kitty]

I hear so many mixed thoughts on NCL, how is the food on this particular ship, anyone been recently?

 

TIA

[garycarla]

Lot of people have gone. Many have written reviews that are posted in the review section. Others have posted mini reviews when they returned and may no longer be active here.

[nycruiser80]

I sailed Pride of America in July. It was my 5th NCL cruise and my 28th cruise overall. I loved it! Seeing Hawaii by ship was a perfect fit for me. I didn't want to jump from island to island by plane and this cruise provided a perfect opportunity to see the islands without flying in between. You have about 100 hours in port and I rented cars in almost all the ports. Its great - you get off the ship and go exploring on your own. Of course, if you wish you could also take tours.

 

A few things:

-This is a port intensive itinerary. I felt like I was barely on the ship. I could have used a sea day!

-The ship is fairly new and is kept in good condition. She is a themed ship and her decor is mostly tasteful. The public rooms pay homage to various places in the U.S. including Hawaii.

-I though the crew tried VERY hard to please guests. They were always helpful but I will say I found the service to be a little "rough" around the edges. By this I mean it was a little less refined than some of the other cruises I went on but the service was still good...don't get me wrong - actually the worst service I had was on the QM2 years ago...go figure! But still I must say the that the crew was always pleasant and very curtious. I liked having an all American crew met lots of nice people my age!

-Don't go with high expectations. This is not the Ritz Carlton at sea nor is any NCL or Carnival or RCI ship is! This is a 3 star plus cruising experience.

-I would go again in a heartbeat but I live in the NYC area and there is one LONG 10 hour flight to get to Honolulu. This was the only negative Hawaii was too far! But in years to come I will do this cruise again there really was so much to see and do in each port that wasn't even beach related! I love the beach but my partner doesn't so he was thrilled. HAwaii really surprised me I guess I never realized that Hawaii had so much to offer I always thought it was mainly the beach.

 

Take the cruise I had a great time. I have a review posted in the review section. If you have any questions let me know!

[Hello-Kitty]

nycruiser great reply!! thanks so much

 

garycarla thanks for the link i will check it out

[MagnoliaBlossom]

We did this sailing 3 years ago and it was so awful that we've rebooked for this September!

 

I had very low expectations due to some of the bad reviews and was pleasantly surprised. The food was not an issue. The American crew makes a bit of a difference - not bad, just different.

 

I did write a full review, please check it out. Don't remember if it is under MagnoliaBlossom or Georgia.

 

Unless you go expecting it to be awful and intent on having a bad time, you should find this beautiful cruise to your liking.

 

MB

[brettsmom2004]

We cruised POA in October 2008 and had a wonderful time. Food was no issue for us either, it was good, the service was good and the staff was excellent to us. The ship was clean, our room was always made up, our cabin steward was excellent. We are repeating the cruise in January 2012.

gg

[spacepotatoes]

I was on this cruise in July '09 and had a great time. The food was good, we enjoyed the buffet and tried each MDR once. The Cadillac Diner had great comfort food. The best experience, though, in terms of both food and service was in Jefferson's Bistro.

 

Like others have said, Hawaii is the focus of this cruise not the ship. Don't go in expecting a traditional cruise and you'll be fine. Do make sure to check out the reviews and do a search in this forum for others, you'll find lots of good feedback. Also check out the Ports of Call - Hawaii boards. There seems to be a lot more POA discussion there than the NCL boards.

[JessLCH]

We did this cruise in 09. Great cruise! The only negative for us was the food in the main dining room. Definitely was the worst of any cruise we've ever been on. Specialty restaurants were fine to good.

[CruisFran]

I would go again in a heartbeat but I live in the NYC area and there is one LONG 10 hour flight to get to Honolulu. This was the only negative Hawaii was too far!

 

Break that long flight up! We flew to San Fran first for a couple of days, then on to Honolulu! Upon return we flew from Honolulu (helpful hint..stay in Honolulu at least 2 nights, on one end of the trip or the other) to Las Vegas for a couple more....ooowie!! What a trip....pooped, but oh so happy!! :D

 

We did this sailing 3 years ago and it was so awful that we've rebooked for this September!

 

LOL...AGREE!! It was so awful, I wish we were going back soon!! Happy planning...remember, it is half the fun!! :)

 

The thought of packing and repacking, and moving from island to island by air....OMG! The Pride of America fit the bill perfectly! Was the food wonderful?...probably not, but we did just fine and the smiles are still on our faces!!

 

Enjoy!!!

[PSUPorsche]

this was my favorite cruise ever, it may have been that I was just young and wild at the time...but never the less it was my favorite cruise..

[lambs2]

One of our very favorite sailings too! Just keep in mind that this sailing is so port intensive that you will use the ship mainly as your floating hotel. For us there was little time to enjoy the ship, and our very first balcony cabin EVER, because of the incredible islands and all there was to see and do! Would love to do this sailing again!!

[sunshine nana]

It was a great cruise, good service, good entertainment and of course Hawaii! But do not cruise NCL for the main dining room food. If food is really important to you, get a suite (not mini) so you can eat in Cagneys for breakfast and lunch and consider the specialty restaurants for dinner.The main reason we did NCL for Hawaii was not having to cross the Pacific. DH does not get much time off and does not like sea days!

[Sunny AZ Girl]

We are going on this cruise in May. It will be our first NCL cruise as we are primarily RCI & Princess cruisers, but we are not going with the expectations of a traditional cruise experience, either. As others have said we are expecting this to be our floating hotel. There are many reviews (including a couple of excellent blogs) over on the Hawaii forum. Most of the posts there are POA related. I am very excited! Once the holiday busyness is over I expect the time to fly before we leave. BTW, the suggestion to go over/stay late is a good one. We are flying over 3 days before the cruise and will stay at Turtle Bay Resort on the North Shore and will stay one night post cruise in Waikiki. There is so much to see and do in Oahu. We will have some time to just relax that way, too.:cool: