Writer Andrea Miller based this independent review on her 7-night Hawaii cruise departing from Honolulu, Hawaii.

The bright flower lei adorning the hull is the first giveaway that a full Hawaiian adventure awaits onboard Pride of Aloha. In a former life, she sailed the waters of Alaska and the Southern Caribbean as Norwegian Sky, but NCL America (sister company to Norwegian Cruise Line) gave her a complete makeover in spring 2004 and shipped her off to the tropical waters of Hawaii. She now spends her days hosting Hawaiian hula and cultural classes and delivering 2,000+ passengers to the islands of Oahu, Maui, Kauai, and Hawaii (the Big Island) every week.

Why Pride of Aloha?

• Hawaii at your fingertips: The Hawaiian Islands are a draw for people of any age, from any place. Explore Honolulu before (or after) your cruise, then sail to Kauai, the Big Island, and finally Maui before heading back to Honolulu.
• Casual and “Freestyle”: Aloha-wear shirts, dresses, and flip-flops are the norm on this ship. The informal attire works well with the casual attitude of “Freestyle Dining,” which allows passengers to dine whenever and wherever, and dress however, they please (with at least a minimal sense of decency; e.g., no swimsuits).
• Length and time at sea: Pride of Aloha is currently the only ship that can sail to four Hawaiian islands in seven nights, providing a great overview of what the different islands have to offer.

Who should go
First timers to Hawaii, or those wanting a refresher course, will appreciate being able to see four unique islands and enjoy the immersion into Hawaiian life. Those ready and able to embark on a tour or trek every day will get the most out of their time, though all ages are represented on these cruises. A large portion of passengers are couples and groups in their late 40s and up, but younger honeymooners are abundant as well.

Who shouldn’t go
Seasoned cruisers who expect the crew to know what they want before they even want it will find this cruise below their standards -- the all-American crew is attentive, friendly, and efficient, but not omnipresent. Many people enjoy this laid-back relationship while others prefer a more formal boundary between passenger and crew. The full itinerary (only a half-day at sea) may be disappointing to those looking to spend lots of time lounging by the pool.

Heard on the deck: “My wife can’t wait to go home so she can get some rest.”

Hits and misses

• Don’t miss: The South Seas Island Spectacular in Kauai dramatizes the history of Hawaii and the South Pacific through traditional dance and song. The ferocious Warriors of the Fiji dance and the graceful beauties of the Hawaiian Islands hula -- sights as beautiful as anything else on land.
• Best part of the ship: The Deck 11 pool area features plenty of sunny and shady spots within easy access of three pools, three bars, and the buffet.
• Best experience: Seeing flowing lava when traveling around the Big Island from Hilo to Kona is a sight to behold. Get to a starboard side deck or public area by 10 PM to see this natural phenomenon.
• Best shipboard activities: The Hawaiian cultural activities are entertaining and educational. Try the daily “Talk Story” events detailing each island, the Hula dancing classes, and one of several lei-making classes. You can show off your hula hips at the end of the cruise in a show featuring you and your classmates.
• Needs improvement: Time at the Mandara Spa and Salon should be a welcome chance for pampering, but the sullen staff and hurried treatments make it anything but relaxing.
• Activities to skip: The almost-daily art show is not for everyone. The free champagne is a draw, but unless you really like Thomas Kinkade and Peter Max, or have a few grand to drop on a Rockwell lithograph, you don’t need to go daily.

How to meet the captain
Watch your “Freestyle Daily” newsletter for the “picture with the captain” event, usually on the optional formal night. With freestyle dining, the captain doesn’t keep the traditional “captain’s table,” so this may be one of the only times to get a word in with him.

Tip: Fresh popcorn is served in the Longboard Bar all day. Grab a bag and head back for the pool.

NCL America’s “Freestyle Dining” policy allows passengers to eat anywhere, any time. That may sound like you can walk in to any restaurant and get a table, but reservations are needed for the three “specialty” restaurants (dinner only, all with cover charges). Of the two main dining rooms (both free), Crossings is open for dinner only, while Palace is open for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. The Hukilau Café serves three buffet meals a day and the Longboard Bar offers pub-grub plates from late afternoon into the wee hours of the morning. There is no “midnight buffet” on this ship, but room service is always available free of charge.

Palace and Crossings Restaurants (main dining rooms)
The fee-free Palace and Crossings see the most action at dinner. Freestyle dining means no assigned seating times or tables; passengers can sit with whomever they want in either main dining room. If you are willing to share a table you will be seated immediately almost any time you go. Palace is decorated with a Hawaiian plantation theme, complete with pastel murals of manor houses; while its counterpart, Crossings, is filled with rich wood fixtures and visually arresting black-and-white photography of sailboats on the high seas. Chefs prepare meals that please, even with a menu that does not change much day to day. Only three of the eight main entrées rotate daily (same with desserts). There is one “chef specialty” every evening, often an entrée with Hawaiian flair, such as a meat dish with a plum papaya dipping sauce. The ethnic and vegetarian options, including Thai coconut chicken curry and soft fried eggplant, respectively, offer the most flavor and spiciness. More traditional items of steak, seafood, chicken, and potatoes are always available and plentiful, if sometimes lacking a little in flavor.

Pacific Heights
Pacific Heights is a world away from the bright sun and sounds of the pool area it sits beside. The intimate dining area features warm walnut furniture and accents, with small tables and booths lining the windows. The Hawaiian-influenced menu is creative and offers welcome imagination in its five courses. A standard Caesar salad gets a twist with citrus wedges and pineapple wafers (and is prepared tableside). The macadamia nut-encrusted snapper is deliciously delicate and contrasts nicely with the zesty chili coconut sauce served on top. At $12.50 per person, Pacific Heights has the lowest cover charge of the three specialty restaurants and is well worth the money.

Kahili
Finding Kahili is like finding that special neighborhood Italian restaurant nobody knows about. The narrow, softly lit dining area has tables for two next to large picture windows surrounded by semi-circular plush booths, where throw pillows awaiting loungers and lingerers. The Mediterranean seafood cocktail arrives in a martini glass and the lamb shank in red wine with root vegetables looks too good to be true. Unfortunately, it sometimes is, with the flavor missing from the meat selections. Opt instead for the trio of pastas in red and white sauces or the shrimp scampi in 40 cloves of garlic. Kahili charges a dining fee of $15 per person.

The Royal Palm Bistro
Situated high on Deck 12, the French-inspired Royal Palm Bistro is meant to be the grand dame of the specialty restaurants, offering the best views and the richest menu of any restaurant onboard. With a mixture of tables for two and four and three large booths, the palm tree lined dining area is large and inviting, yet not so open that you hear every conversation in the room. With appetizers of escargot in garlic butter, spinach with goat cheese croutons, and cream of forest mushroom soup, it’s no wonder people like to linger for a few hours. After you finish with a main course of filet mignon, chicken filled with prawn mousse, or salmon with cream sauce, it’s tough to make room for the house specialty of chocolate fondue with fresh fruit. But you’ll want to make sure you do. A $15 per person dining fee is charged.

Other dining options

• Hukilau Café: This breakfast, lunch, and dinner buffet offers what one would expect, which is simply plentiful and tasty eats. Breakfast includes (but is not limited to) fresh fruit, cereals, eggs, meats, and waffles. Lunch is pasta, pizza, salads, sandwiches, and ice cream. Dinner mixes it up with a new menu every night, from Asian to Mexican to seafood and more.
• Longboard Bar: Don’t let the title “lite fare menu” fool you. At this sports bar, lite fare simply means “not fancy” and consists of chili dogs, cheeseburgers, French fries, and the like. After a long day in the sun (or late-night dancing), baseball, beer, and burgers are exactly what’s called for.
• Room service: Whether you want coffee and pastries for breakfast or sandwiches when the late night munchies hit, 24-hour room service offers a bit of everything, and it’s always delivered promptly.

Best dining

• Dish: The Thai coconut chicken curry in the main dining rooms is available every night, and it should be. An enormous portion of chicken with coconut and curry blended with other Thai spices has just enough flavor to satisfy that curry lover, but not enough to scare anyone away.
• Dessert: The thick, rich, and creamy chocolate frosting on the Hukilau buffet brownies is the same as that on the double chocolate cake in the Royal Palm Bistro -- but with no cover charge at Hukilau you can have them every day.
• Restaurant: If you only go to one specialty restaurant, go to Pacific Heights. The Hawaiian-influenced menu offers the most variety and flavor you will find on the ship.

How to…

• Get a table for 2 (or 12): Just ask. With freestyle dining, you can sit with just your sweetie or with everyone you met on that day’s tour. In the main dining room reservations can be made for groups of 6 or more. At the specialty restaurants you can make a reservation for as few, or as many, as you want.
• Celebrate a birthday or anniversary: Again, just ask. The maître d’ at any restaurant can arrange for a small cake to be delivered to your table, accompanied by a song from the wait staff. You can even take the leftovers back to your cabin for a late-night snack.
• Change seating: With freestyle dining, you can always sit wherever you like.
• Dress for formal night: The idea of Aloha wear never leaves this ship; even formal night is optional, with only about a third of the passengers participating. For the men it’s often a shirt and tie with slacks, and for those two or three gentlemen really into it, a tuxedo. For the women, it’s pantsuits, black dresses of both the long and short variety, and, in some cases, a nice Hawaiian muumuu.
• Dress otherwise: If it has a flower on it and it’s comfortable, bring it. Aloha wear is the norm and not only encouraged, but by the end of the cruise, expected. Even the stodgiest curmudgeon is wearing a print shirt and flip-flops at the end of seven nights. Note: The main dining rooms do not allow shorts, T-shirts, or jeans at dinner (but they are perfectly acceptable in the Longboard Bar and Hukilau Café).

Tips:

• Main dining room service is friendly but can sometimes be a little slow. If you plan to see the early show, leave enough time and inform your waiter immediately. If you really want to beat the rush, head down at 5:15 PM and get seated right away.
• The Hukilau Café is only on the starboard side of the ship so there isn’t much space for food stations. Be sure to walk around the whole section and outside by the pool as soups, specialty salads, vegetarian dishes, and omelet stations are often tucked into corners not seen at first glance.

Inside, oceanview, and balcony cabins range from a tiny 121 to a decent 202 square feet. In the smaller cabins, bags store easily under the beds and get out of the way nicely. The closet has plenty of room for two people’s items and the bedside tables and small chair are great for dropping beach bags. The bathroom has enough nooks and crannies for your toiletry needs. Suites are a much roomier 561 to 865 square feet (including private balcony), and have dining areas and butler service.

If you need something in your cabin, you might have to ask or call a few times before you receive it -- cabin stewards on the ship are frantically busy. They are trying hard and seem to want to please, but need more help to make it perfect. The rooms are cleaned daily but are not always done by the same time each day. Nightly chocolates and turn-down service are nice to come home to, but are not as creative as you might find on other ships.

Cabins for guests with disabilities
Pride of Aloha has 61 cabins to accommodate guests with disabilities. Sixteen superior inside cabins have extra wide doors that measure 35 inches in width and have modified bathroom facilities. Forty-five cabins in varying inside and oceanview categories are modified with light panels facing the bed, where different colored lights alert passengers to ringing doorbells, in-coming phone calls, and emergency announcements. There are also vibrating alarm clocks and a fire alarm light.

Tips:

• NCL America takes the Hawaiian theme a little too far as the beds in cabins are as hard as surfboards. Check it out immediately and if you think you are going to be creaking in the mornings, ask for a soft “egg crate” topper. They are few and far between but can be a back-saver.
• In the smaller cabins there are only four drawers to place your foldable clothes. Ask for a few extra hangers for T-shirts and keep the drawers open for your delicates.

Bars, lounges, and casino
Gamblers beware: There is no casino onboard (and no bingo!) as gambling is outlawed in the state of Hawaii, which includes Hawaiian waters. But the 10 bars and lounges offer plenty of distractions to keep people entertained. The Longboard Bar gives sports junkies something to watch and a daily trivia game to test their knowledge. The Outrigger Lounge has nightly live music that gets many couples dancing to Big Band tunes and Beatles covers. The Blue Hawaii Lounge gives night owls a place to groove to pop music from the ‘70s, ‘80s, and beyond. Traditional dance and music shows are hosted almost nightly in the Stardust Lounge, and the casual “Not So Newlywed Game” and “Friendly Feud” participation games offer insights into your fellow passengers and crew (and sometimes more than you want to know).

Swimming pools
Most passengers spend so little time onboard during the day that pools go virtually unused. The exception is the half-day at sea when leaving Kauai when passengers should snag a lounge chair before 11 AM to secure a spot for the poolside BBQ and trip to the Big Island. While the pools aren’t crowded, the four hot tubs sure are, with sightseers soaking aching muscles after a long day on shore.

Shows
The South Sea Island Spectacular is performed by local Hawaiian group Tihati Productions and the three main shows in the Stardust Theater are performed by the singers and dancers of the Jean-Ann Ryan Company. The shows run the gamut, from traditional Broadway reviews like “Hey Mr. Producer” to the other-worldly creation of “Sea Legs Cirque.” (Ever seen a dancing centipede?) When there isn’t a song and dance show, catch a comedy/magic act or inspect the talents of fellow passengers and crew. The early shows are packed so get there at least 15 minutes early to get a good seat.

Shore excursions
Hold off on the drinks and the spa treatments and save your money for shore excursions. NCL America offers every kind of excursion from the very active to the “no work required” scenic tours. Active cruisers enjoy ATV treks, zip-line adventures, and hiking in volcanoes, and true adrenaline junkies can try biking down a volcano (for the clearest view, take the sunrise tour, and wear the rain gear). If you’re looking for fewer thrills, try floating through a canyon in an inner tube or taking a bus tour to a volcano, coffee field, and remote village. Golf lovers will find at least one challenging course on each island. The shore excursions aren’t cheap, but are generally worth the money. When you buy an excursion from NCL America, transportation is included and the ship won’t leave port until that excursion has returned. If you decide to do tours on your own, plan ahead -- they may be less expensive but require some logistical work.

Weddings and vow renewals
Pride of Aloha’s dedicated chapel is a pleasant, if slightly nondescript (tan carpeting and cream-colored chairs), venue to wed or renew your vows. Ceremonies are performed any time during the cruise and can be held in the chapel or on shore. (Waterfall wedding anyone?) Packages must be purchased before boarding. The room holds 16.

Looking for…

• Quietest spot: The dark, uncrowded Plantation Club has plush seats, nightly guitar music, and an open view to the island you are leaving.
• Liveliest spot: Whether hosting an art auction, a passenger game show, or the late-night disco, the Blue Hawaii Lounge is packed from late afternoon to the early morning hours.
• Most popular activity: Hundreds and hundreds of passengers head into Maui for the Pacific Paradise Luau shore excursion.
  Note: If raining, the show does go on, albeit inside.
• Best view: The Outrigger Lounge offers the best viewing of where you are headed. On the night the lava flows, head to the starboard side early to get a good seat.
• Best show: The high energy “Hey Mr. Producer” features scenes from Les Misérables, Miss Saigon, Gypsy, and Oklahoma!, and an especially moving dance sequence from Carousel.
• Best drink: The Lava Flow, a combination of piña colada and daiquiri, is a colorful and frosty complement to the glowing red lava on land.

Tips:
If you’re looking for a quiet area to bask in the sun, try the “children’s pool” on Deck 12. On this non-holiday, non-school break trip there was not one child seen at this hidden oasis. It has its own separate hot tub and a small cascading waterfall -- refreshing on a sunny, 90-degree day.
The best seats in the Stardust Lounge are at the end of the aisles on the couches. If you sit in the balcony, head for the very last row or else you’ll be watching through the brushed steel railing.
If you want to rent a car one day, rent one in Kauai or Maui. With an overnight stay in both ports you can rent a car the first day and keep it late into the evening and not worry about missing the ship.

Heard on the deck: “We did two free tours yesterday in Kauai: One free shuttle to Hilo Hattie’s and another free one to Wal-Mart.”

Spa and salon
The full service spa and salon offers everything one would find at a land-based venue, at slightly higher prices. Manicures, pedicures, haircuts, and blow drys are all available. Hawaiian elements are incorporated into traditional spa treatments (lava rocks in massages, macadamia nuts in scrubs). Unfortunately, Pride of Aloha has some work to do in their Mandara Spa and Salon before it can reach the level of friendliness and service the rest of the ship enjoys. The spa staff seemed sullen and cranky and the treatments were hurried and slightly unskilled. If you really want a spa treatment, stop by and meet a few of the attendants before you decide to spend the money.

Fitness areas
With all the treks and tours on land, the fully equipped Mandara Fitness Center never sees much of a workout. While it’s open 24 hours a day, it sees the most use just before dawn and just after sunset. Seven treadmills, six stationary bikes, four stair steppers, two elliptical trainers, free weights, and weight machines line the room. The free aerobics classes and $10 special fitness classes (yoga, cycling, Pilates) are well taught but seldom crowded. If you plan to take several for-fee classes, purchase the “Stay-N-Shape” package for unlimited classes, plus a T-shirt, metabolism check, and, for a little more money, a Pilates mat or FitBall to take home with you.

Tips:

• If you do decide to visit the spa, the busiest day is the half day at sea when leaving Kauai -- make an appointment as soon as you board. Appointments for other days are wide open.
• If you are dying to get your metabolism checked but don’t want to pay $30 to do so, wait until the last day of the cruise and check for the half–price special (inquire directly at the fitness center as it’s not widely advertised).

Heard on the deck (from a teenage boy to his mother): “People come onboard ship shape and get off shaped like a ship.”

You will find the standard cruise ship shopping of “gold by the inch” and special $10 items, but overall this ship specializes in more expensive items. The Galleria Shops sell reasonably priced Pride of Aloha T-shirts and coffee mugs in a small section of the biggest store, but the majority of items are mid- to high-end jewelry and Tommy Bahama “Aloha wear.” With no price lower than $60 for clothing, none of these items were leaving the racks quickly. The Black Pearl jewelry shop carries exquisite black pearls, but prices for the smallest pearl-and-diamond necklaces ran upwards of $1,000.

Tip: With so much shopping to be had on land, it would be wise to take a look at prices onboard early then comparison shop on shore for the best prices.

The built-in adventures of four Hawaiian Islands are a dream come true for kids. Biking down a mountain, tubing down a river, and hiking in a volcano are so exciting that it’s no wonder Pride of Aloha doesn’t have too many scheduled daytime activities for kids (or adults for that matter). Children ages 2-17 have their own groups (ages 2-5, 6-12, and 13-17) with different activities planned for afternoons and evenings. If the kids aren’t headed out with the family to explore an island, parents can purchase Port Play events (crafts, pool games, movies, dinners) for their 2 to 12 year olds daily until 10 PM. Teenagers‘ events don’t start until evening. Soda cards, Internet access, and extended babysitting are all available for extra fees (babysitting until 1 AM).
Note: Holiday cruises often have 700-800 children on them while non-holiday cruises usually have fewer than 100.

Pride of Aloha sails seven-night Hawaiian itineraries year-round, all out of Honolulu.

• Cruise line - Norwegian Cruise Line
• Year entered service - 1999
• Passenger capacity - 2002
• Ship name - Pride of Aloha
• Year refurbished - 2004
• Decks - 12
• Private balcony cabins - 257
• Total crew - 950
• Officers nationality - Scandinavian/Internat.
• Registry - Bahamas
• Former name - Norwegian Sky