Pride of America, report, May 2023

[georgiacat]

Our family of 3 adults cruised on the Pride of America in May, 2023.  We were in cabins 11544 and 11546, connecting cabins.  This was very convenient for us.  The cabin was the smallest of any balcony cabin that we have had (cruised on Carnival, Princess, and RCCL).  The shower was very tiny.  The balcony was okay, larger than Princess Regal's balcony which is tiny.  I like the size of this ship. 

 

I was concerned about the location (on pool deck, two cabins from pool area), but there was no noise in the cabin at all.  The only time we heard the pool noise was when we were on the balcony.  It was very convenient to go to the pool or walk to the buffet area.  The elevators were a few doors in the other direction to the theaters.  Dining was at the other end of the ship.  The ship was good.  Our steward was great (can't remember his name).

 

Dining was not impressive, a source of discontent.  Buffet was okay.  Breakfast was very good.  Be sure you have food before 10 am.  They close down and remove dishes in front of you precisely at that time.  I was caught unawares the first morning waiting on a slow omelet maker/person with nothing on my plate.  I got my omelet, grabbed some bacon because it was close and a roll.  That was all.  The serving pans disappeared with people standing in lines.

 

The first night we sat in Dave's section in the main dining room.  He was great.  (I did not realize how great until later).  He recommended the shrimp scampi, and it was very good.  Service was wonderful.

The second night we were in the steakhouse.  I asked about the prime rib from our waiter.  He said it was "prime" because that was the name.  It wasn't.  It was tough.  I don't remember much else about that food.  Service not up to Dave's standard.

Third night we had to wait about 20 minutes (always went about 6 pm).  I should have asked for Dave.  We were in the middle of the room.  By the way, the dining room was always half empty, even though people were lined up in the hall waiting for tables.  They don't have enough staff.  I don't know who our waiter was.  About 4 different people came by with different things.  We did get beverages and food, but it took a long time.  Food not memorable.

Third visit was the worst.  Wait time was 45 min (still about 6 pm).  Different waitress who wanted to socialize with table beside us rather than take our order (about 30 min later).  Terrible beverage service.  Food was cold and not the best tasting.  Don't order the "banana split" for dessert.  It was a split banana, 1/2 scoop of vanilla ice cream with a small drizzle of chocolate syrup on top.

After that we ate at the buffet.

 

I must mention that the Cadillac Cafe was very good.  We were there for a late lunch one day.  The food and milk shakes were delicious; service was very good.

 

We stayed at the Ilikai hotel for 4 nights before the cruise.  (I will write about that under the Hawaii topic later.)  We checked out about 10:30 am.  Hawaii23 took us from the hotel to the ship.  We were at the ship before 11 am.  Walked through check in easily, checked in with the safety drill station.  We were eating lunch at the buffet by noon.  After that we went to the library and read and napped until the rooms were ready about 3:30 pm.  Later they say that check in is very busy.

 

We enjoyed our trip to Hawaii and chose this ship for the itinerary.  We were very pleased with that. 

[depplep]

Thank you for this review. I've looked at this ship many times and was concerned about it's age and the size. We chose Alaska this time but I was still looking at this itinerary for next year. 

[georgiacat]

The ship itself is fine.  I prefer the smaller ships rather than the huge ones they are making now, too far to walk from one end to the other.  The AC in our room was great; we like it cold.  The only real complaint was with the service in the main dining room (training and hiring more staff could help that) and the quality of the food.  More practice for the chefs (who may be new) and training would also help there.

[zestyzorra]

Thank you for your review.  I am on the POA in March. If you don't mind a few questions... Did you do any ship excursions in port or tour on your own? Did your sailing include the Napali coast? 

[georgiacat]

The only ship "excursion" we did was the Pearl Harbor transfer to the airport.  We were very pleased with that and I will get a report on it out soon (maybe today).  We did independent excursions on the other islands, and Oahu prior to the cruise.  I will report on those and our transportation choices on the Hawaii thread, hopefully soon.

 

Yes, we did sail by the NaPali Coast.  It was beautiful.  We were on the port side, and viewed it from our balcony while my husband packed.  I am sorry that NCL has decided not to do this after June.  We could not hear any commentary (if they had some), but my husband filled me in on his helicopter tour commentary.  Loved it.