We chose an 11-day Cruisetour of the Islands and NCL was the only Cruise Company that we knew of that offered the type of vacation we were looking for. We arrived at the Hilton Hawaiian Beach Resort Spa very late in the evening and basically fell into bed. The first three days of the NCL vacation were all land-based and they were FANTASTIC! The bus was super comfortable and our tour guide was amazing. We learned so much from him. The transition from hotel to Cruise Terminal was seamless and so relaxed - they deserve 5 stars for that. Unfortunately, there had to be a downside from there. Service was not a strong suit for NCL Pride of America staff. We got attitude, were actually dismissed by a member of the Photo Studio (yes, he turned his back on us.) when we had the gall to ask them a question 2 minutes before "opening". We were told to come back when they opened which took more effort than a simple yes or no which is all that was required. Needless to say, we avoided purchasing any product from there. Dining room staff was distant. Polite but stand-offish. Smiles from the crew anywhere on the ship were rare.

The food was average at best, but it was edible. On the plus side, we were not tempted to overeat! :-) LOL

Excursions were well run with no confusion at all. Excellent variety available as well. It would have been nice to have had better enrichment prior to each port, but the trade-off was having 2 days in each of the ports of Kahului (Maui) and Nawiliwili (Kauai). Read more