anyone been on NCL's Pride of America?

[becalubob]

DH and I are planning on doing this cruise... from my reading, NCL is more of a "laid back" atmosphere and the formal night is optional. We would love to dress formal, but I don't want my hubby feeling out of place if he's the only one wearing a tux or nice suit. He said he would regardless Just wondering if anyone has been on this particular cruise and dressed up for the optional formal night, or can describe how many folks did.

Thanks

 

[minniecarousel]

We did the Hawaiian island hopping cruise. I'm pretty sure it was the Pride of America. We loved NCL's unstructured dining feature ("freestyle"). If you want to dine in any of their specialty dining rooms, you need to book them ASAP (there is a fee for those). We liked it because DH is not crazy about communal dining. We saw plenty of men in suits (not sure about tux's). I think women have a lot more leeway in what is considered "formal".

 

[deedeetoo]

There is a site called cruise critic which has lots of information about different cruise lines and ships. Sort of like the DIS except for cruising. You can find out lots of info there.

 

[Ilivetogo]

DH and I are planning on doing this cruise... from my reading, NCL is more of a "laid back" atmosphere and the formal night is optional. We would love to dress formal, but I don't want my hubby feeling out of place if he's the only one wearing a tux or nice suit. He said he would regardless Just wondering if anyone has been on this particular cruise and dressed up for the optional formal night, or can describe how many folks did.

Thanks

Like the PP said, go to cruisecritic.com. You'll find TONS of info there.

NCL is a bit more relaxed, but they do sometimes have a formal night - if you feel like getting THAT dressed up. I found it nice to just bring decent and pretty nice dresses and not having to pack super nice stuff. I like NCL ... great way to eat whenever you wish, not a specified time slot. Sometimes we were doing things at port, or something on the ship at "dinner" time.
It would have been lousy to have to stop some activity to go get ready for dinner while otherwise having a good time doing something else.

Have a blast!

This is the Disney category on Cruise Critic. You could also go to the "Ports of Call" section and choose Hawaii.

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/forumdisplay.php?f=167

 

[tvguy]

We did the Hawaiian island hopping cruise. I'm pretty sure it was the Pride of America. We loved NCL's unstructured dining feature ("freestyle"). If you want to dine in any of their specialty dining rooms, you need to book them ASAP (there is a fee for those). We liked it because DH is not crazy about communal dining. We saw plenty of men in suits (not sure about tux's). I think women have a lot more leeway in what is considered "formal".

We cruised on Pride of America. Our experience was 180 degrees out. Unstructured dining was a mess. 90 minute wait the first night. Then we learned the trick, if you want to eat in the main (read that as free) dining room, book your reservation for the next night as you leave dinner each night. For the main dining room, they won't take reservations more than 24 hours in advance. The extra cost dining rooms, you can make your reservations for the entire week the minute you walk on the ship. But reservations were never needed because the extra cost dining rooms were never full.
The staff was nice, and they were honest about the dining. NCL underestimated how many people would want to eat in the free dining room, so it is too small. They figured a lot more people would opt for either the extra cost dining rooms, or eat on shore since the ship overnights in a couple ports.
The ship experience is far different than any of my 9 other cruises. The ship really isn't a destination unto itself like other cruises, it a much more like a hotel that takes you to Hawaiian ports. I think our longest stretch at sea was Friday, when we left port at 1 pm, and were at sea until 6 am the next day. No sea days on this cruise.
As for the American staff, they tried hard, but the turnover was high.
It was a great way to see Hawaii, but not the best cruise experience.

 

[Kimberle]

Pete (board owner) just did a cruise in July. He recorded a podcast about it.
08/19/14 – Beyond Aulani:

http://www.disunplugged.com/2014/08/20/dis-unplugged-podcast-081914-orlando-show/

You can listen or watch from your computer if you don't have an ipod.

 

[disney4us2002]

My ds was an audio tech on the PoA and it is a very port-intensive cruise. Not many passengers stay onboard during the day and there are opportunities for evening excursions as well so probably less passengers pack dress-up clothes than your typical cruise, even on other NCL "freestyle" cruises. I agree with the recommendation for cruise critic. I do know that NCL has changed the whole pre-reserve dining and you can also choose the "free" main dining restaurants so there shouldn't be such an issue with waiting. We pick NCL almost exclusively (our choice, but also a discount helps!) and Hawaii and Alaska are on our short-list to pick soon. Have a great trip!

 

[PrincessShmoo]

...
It was a great way to see Hawaii, but not the best cruise experience.

We have friends who took a cruise on the POA (long time cruisers). This was pretty much their opinion, also.

 

[tvguy]

My ds was an audio tech on the PoA and it is a very port-intensive cruise. Not many passengers stay onboard during the day and there are opportunities for evening excursions as well so probably less passengers pack dress-up clothes than your typical cruise, even on other NCL "freestyle" cruises. I agree with the recommendation for cruise critic. I do know that NCL has changed the whole pre-reserve dining and you can also choose the "free" main dining restaurants so there shouldn't be such an issue with waiting. We pick NCL almost exclusively (our choice, but also a discount helps!) and Hawaii and Alaska are on our short-list to pick soon. Have a great trip!

3 of my 10 cruises have been on NCL, and my wife's first 2 were on NCL. But those two were in the 1980's when cruising still was more formal than it is now, and the entertainers on the Norway then were name entertainers you knew from their Tonight Show etc appearances. NCL America is 180 degrees from the old NCL, but like I said, the industry has changed.