Hi all, We have booked our first ever cruise on the Pride Of America for August 2007. As we are new to cruising can anybody please tell us whether we have made a good choice and will we be happy with our holiday as we have seen alot of bad press about NCL? We are also taking our 3 children who's ages are 16,14 & 11 is there plenty for them to do?
Thanks in advance
Ian & Tracey

The POA will be a wonderful way to see the islands. The POA is reistered in America and has American crew. Unlike your typical cruise where the ships are registered in an International country and have International crew. There have been a lot of reviews on the NCL America ships. Some are very good and some are very negative. Probably the majority of the negative reviews are from those who have
cruised before and experienced the International attentative service. You should have a great cruise. A lot depends on your expectations.

There should be plenty for your childern to do. From what I have read on their web site about activities and comparing them to what e have experienced on Carnival, you'll probably never see your childern unless you catch them changing into swim wear or something.. Make sure you plan to meet up at certain times or bring walkied talkies to communicate.

As far as bad press, Cruise Fanatic's answer is probably some of it, the rest of the negative comments are coming from the group of die hard Norway fans who think NCL should stop pursuing profit (like EVERY OTHER corporation on the planet) ad sink money into a ship that is no longer profitable. (And now having said that, I will be attacked for my opinion, but so be it).

Go with an open mind and you will have a great time.

quote:

Originally posted by Ian & Tracey:
Hi all, We have booked our first ever cruise on the Pride Of America for August 2007. As we are new to cruising can anybody please tell us whether we have made a good choice and will we be happy with our holiday as we have seen alot of bad press about NCL? We are also taking our 3 children who's ages are 16,14 & 11 is there plenty for them to do?
Thanks in advance
Ian & Tracey

We have just returned (two weeks ago) from our first cruise ever aboard the Pride of America and in one sentence I would describe it as the holiday of a lifetime! It far exceeded our expectations. The Hawaiian islands are unbelievable beautiful and rich in natural splendour. Cruising is the perfect way to see them.

Can't speak of activities for the youngsters but if they're into adventurous excursions, I'm sure they will be more than adequately entertained - there's a helluva lot on offer.

We too were worried about some of the bad press we read, but we found that being polite with the staff always got us good service. I think British accents always go down well in the US.