NCL, Norwegian Cruise Lines
Pride of America Cruise Review
Hawaii

Margaret Merrill
Age: 67
Occupation: retired
Number of Cruises: 15
Sailing Date: January 21st, 2006

Just got back from this cruise. The ship was beautiful, and the itinerary was great. We spent a lot of time off the ship and on the islands. Now for the bad part. The food and the service were awful. We were very lucky. We had a cabin attendant who was a Filipino American. He worked very hard to keep our room clean, and did little extras for us too. (he was ready to quit, by the way) I heard that other people had poor cabin service.

The food in the Skyline dining room was not good. The first night I had prime rib. It was half raw, and had little flavor. People around me tried the steak and said it was dry and tough. I tried the crème Brule--not smooth and creamy like I have had before. In fact, I couldn't even finish it. The next night was lobster night. 2 tiny tails that tasted old and strong. Even melted butter couldn't cover it up. The last night I had an ordinary chicken breast, which was ok. For dessert it was Baked Alaska, which I have always liked. This time is was a round pancake, with a scoop of ice-cream topped with whipped cream. I don't know how they could have even called it baked Alaska. Service in the skyline was ok if you were there when it opened up. Other wise, you had to wait. Our waitress got called away for about 45 min. Someone else was supposed to be covering. We waited and waited. They needed more help. We knew better than ask for dessert or coffee, or we would have been there even longer. I wonder if they push those fee restaurants to get more money, and purposely make the dining room food bad. I didn't have one decent meal in the dining room. We did have some good hamburgers in the Cadillac grill. Well, I didn't gain any weight on this cruise, so I guess that is a plus.

We could never get into any of the specialty restaurants, as we hoped the dining room would get better, and then it was too late. If you go, and just use the ship as a hotel, then maybe you will be OK. Seeing Hawaii is great, and I just wish another line could come up with something similar. I still managed to have a good time, and our room was bright and cheerful. The coffee pot in the room was also great. You could drink coffee in your robe on the balcony.

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