olesiabr

Thanks! That is a pretty good size for an inside.

The 11th deck plan on Preziosa shows a row of inside cabins forward that are more square in shape. Is this type of cabin any larger, or better, than the standard, rectangular inside?

Thanks!

Considering booking MSC for the first time..

I am casting another vote for the POA.

We originally booked two inside cabins for our family of five, and when prices dropped one month before the cruise paid a few hundred more to "upgrade" one of the rooms to a balcony.

Quite honestly, we didn't use the balcony much on this cruise since most of the port areas were not very scenic, and we were either in port or cruising in the dark. The roosters in Kauai woke me up before dawn! I did see the sun rising over Diamondhead as we were pulling back into Honolulu and I was finishing up the packing...

We rented a car at every island and hit the high points. I tried to plan one beach/snorkel day and one sightseeing day at each island. We had two days in Oahu at the start.

My favorite moments:

Oahu

North shore waves

Shrimp trucks

Chief's Luau

Maui

Sunset at Haleakala

Snorkeling south shore

Whales!

Hilo

VNP

Akaka falls

Kona

Snorkeling

Kona Brewing Company

My tahitian pearl earrings (!)

Kauai

Snorkeling

Sunset at Hanalei

Na Pali coast and more whales

We took the ship tour of Pearl Harbor at debarcation because it included transfer to the airport, and allowed us to kill time before our late afternoon flight.

My family has wonderful memories of our spring break in Hawaii, and I can see how some consider a back to back on this ship to have even more time on each island, especially since airfare is expensive.

The ship is clean, smells great due to the fact that there is no casino, and the staff was uniformly charming despite the occasional bad reviews.

Thanks to all...think we'll try to obtain some before our travels!

I have read on these boards that one of the best places to obtain local currency is on the ship itself, but we will be in Papeete for a few days pre cruise. Are USD accepted by taxis, roullettes and the market stalls where a cc cannot be used?

Thanks for any input

Thanks for all the input...It's so much fun to plan these itineraries!

Thanks, the catamaran trip on Moorea sounds much nicer.

I have heard good things about the private excursion Pure Snorkeling on Bora Bora as well...

...and in Moorea, does anyone have any input on the difference between "Catamaran sail and snorkel" vs "Lagoon discovery with snorkel'? There is quite a difference in price between the two.

Thanks again

Yay! It's finally time to pick excursions!

In Bora Bora, which ship sponsored snorkeling tour is better: "Rays and snorkeling by jetboat" or "stingray ballet and snorkel safari"?

We have plenty of OBC but I wouldn't be opposed to a private tour if anyone has any suggestions.

Thanks so much!

This video is beautiful! I made my husband watch it to get excited about our upcoming cruise. He doesn't enjoy the planning process as much as I do....

Wonderful review! Makes me really look forward to our twentieth anniversary trip in October.

One question: was the dive in Tahiti worth it once you compared the dives on the other islands?

Hmmm...maybe those roulottes are a good plan after all!

Really enjoying your review so far.

Keep it coming!

Of course I meant read!

Thanks for the details! Tracey sounds great. I guess we just need to decide if we want to do a "circle the island" tour vs a tour of the interior.

Can't wait to great about the rest of your trip.

I am very excited to read your review! My husband and I will be on the 7 day Society Islands cruise in October. We also plan to arrive in LAX the Wednesday before, and have reservations at the Crowne Plaza that night. I am glad to hear that the flight on Thursday afternoon is not full, but we also are more apt to stay awake and watch movies instead of sleep. We will be at the Tiare Tahiti (don't ask, my husband wanted a more "authentic" experience, and closer to the roulettes).

We are looking for a water/snorkle based excursion for Friday but cannot seem to find anything. I'm interested in the land tour you took as well...

We will be leaving the ship on Friday evening and catching the red eye back to LAX a day early due to work on Monday...wondering how crowded THAT flight will be!

Looking forward to the rest of your review...

Okiebaugh, thanks for the tips! Glad to hear the ship's excursion in Bora Bora is good.

We are also leaving the kids at home when we sail in October...

I'm glad to hear the week on the PG was great, despite the less than stellar pre cruise stay. How many nights were you in Tahiti, and did you do any excursions pre-cruise?

Also, do you recommend any of the snorkeling tours, particularly those offered through PG? We are sailing in October and will have some on board credit we would like to use!

Any input would be appreciated, thanks.

Thanks, that's a relief!

Flight Medic,

So not liking what I'm hearing about the third deck! We are booked for stateroom 324 in October. Was the entire deck three ac malfunctioning?

Thanks to all for the quick and very knowledgeable responses. I have found additional reviews on this site, but wonder how useful information is from experiences that are over 2-3 years old.

You're all great!

Many thanks!

Just a quick follow up: do you know anything about the ship-offered excursion in Huahine "Lagoon cruise and snorkel?" Do you think it would involve more time in the water than Marc's motu picnic?

Is Marc's excursion the only one that involves sharks, or is there a shark opportunity in Bora Bora as well?

Your photos are great...which island/excursion had the "aquarium" fish?

So excited!

We are booked for the 7 day Society Islands cruise on October 10. We love the water, hubby is a certified diver and we both enjoy snorkeling, so our plan is to stay in the water as much as possible. I have been devouring the information on these boards and am in awe of the wonderful reviews so far!

Even though booking shore excursions through the ship is not available yet, it looks like there are four certified dives available:

Scuba Toopua (Bora Bora)

Scuba Tapu (BB)

Scuba Shark Gallery (Moorea)

Scuba The Canyons (M)

Does anyone have any feedback on these dives?

Specifically:

Are they offered multiple times during the day or only once a day?

Is it possible to do both in one day?

Regarding snorkeling:

How is the lagoon cruise and snorkel in Huahine?

Is it worth doing the Coral Garden Drift Snorkel in Tahaa, or is the snorkeling adequate off the private motu?

What is the best snorkeling tour in BB? Moorea? Is there any good snorkeling off the BB motu?

Finally, any decent snorkeling/day cruises in Tahiti/Papeete?

Whew! Maybe I should have broken this down into multiple posts, but you folks here seem super nice and uber-organized, so I thought I'd give it a go.

Thanks for any input

Alex

My husband(46) and I(45), DS(12), DD(9) and father(72) had a wonderful Hawaiian experience on the POA during spring break!

Pre cruise we spent two nights at the Pacific Beach Hotel ($130, Hotwire). The first afternoon we enjoyed Waikiki Beach, followed by dinner at Lulu's.

Friday morning we rented a car and drive to the Dole Pineapple Factory, North Shore, Waimea Bay, Giovanni's Shrimp Truck, and Kailua Beach. We ended the day at Chiefs Luau.

Saturday we hiked Diamond Head, arrived at the pier at 11:15, and boarded the ship shortly after noon.

We had a balcony and inside cabin on deck eleven which was convenient to the buffet, grill, pool and all important soft serve ice cream! The ship was clean, perfect size, and smelled great due to the absence of a casino. Smoking was limited to private balconies and the waikiki bar aft. The crew was great, the officers approachable, and I thought the food at the MDRs and buffet were better than that on the Jewel this past January. My only complaint was that the buffet area was long and narrow, somewhat cramped due to the fee restaurants on the port side. A ship with this type of port intensive itinerary needs a better buffet venue. We didn't try any of the specialty restaurants, nor did we see any evening shows on this cruise, mostly because we were asleep by ten pm every night!

Sunday(Maui)

Maluaka Beach-no turtles, but kids loved the surf

Ulua Beach-great snorkling, whales!

Haleakala at sunset-there are no words....watch out for ne-ne and grazing cattle

Monday(Maui)

Kapalua Beach

Latitudes party

Tuesday(Hilo)

VNP-Kilauea crater, Chain of Craters road

Akaka Falls

Richardson Beach Park

Wednesday(Kona)

Kahaluu Beach-excellent snorkeling

Manini'owali Beach (Kua Bay)-gorgeous black rock, white sand, aquamarine water

Kona Brewing Co

Hilo Hatties/Maui Divers-mom needs her Tahitian pearl earring souvenirs!

Thursday(Kauai)

Waimea Canyon-not quite as impressive as Haleakala or VNP

Poipu Beach

Wailua Falls

Hanalei Beach-nice sunset

Friday(Kauai)

Mom and kids stayed on ship, I packed, kids swam and OD'ed on ice cream. Dad and FIL bonded at Dukes on the beach in front of the Marriott.

BTW, roosters everywhere, crowing will wake you if you have a balcony.

Silver and higher latitudes event at sailaway at bow of ship. Wear a hat and sunglasses!

Na Pali coast sail-by: gorgeous with whales playing by the ship! Initially on port side, but then ship turns around and I enjoyed it again from my starboard balcony.

Incidentally, we didn't use our balcony as much as usual, and most of the ports/piers were downright ugly (and that is your view for two days sometime!) It is useful for drying bathing suits and getting fresh air. When prices dropped we upgraded our inside to a balcony guarantee for an extra $300 or so.

The last morning as we rounded Diamond Head and the sun was rising made the balcony totally worth it! If you are up anyway it's worth a trip to an open starboard deck to see this sight.

Saturday(Honolulu)

Early Bird Pearl Harbor-our only ship sponsored excursion. Great because we got off the ship quickly and were safely delivered to the airport by noon with all our luggage. Pearl Harbor appealed to all in our party....My nine year old has been taking books out of the library to learn more!

We flew Hawaiian Air back to Las Vegas to drop off Dad, slept over at his house and caught the non stop Southwest flight to Little Rock in the morning (did the equivalent the way up on Wednesday and Thursday) This cut down on jet lag and added to our enjoyment.

I would like to thank everyone who posted their experiences in the past two years (and more!) because

our trip was largely successful due to the great information available on cruise critic. We rented cars in every port and were amazed how easy it was! The ship is great and I was prepared for the worst based on some reviews, but as always, the truth lies somewhere in the middle.

If you have the opportunity, go, and enjoy a fabulous vacation!

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Oops, just noticed you were talking about Seattle. Sorry!

BTW, I once made a ten am flight out of Puerto Rico after a cruise....well NEVER do that again! Noon is best

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When we arrived in NOLA the morning of the 26th of January, the first pax were leaving the ship at eight as we were going to breakfast. He can carry his own luggage off (self assist) and easily grab one of the cabs that will be lined up waiting for fares outside the terminal. If I were him I would take at least one piece of luggage because it might look fishy to the customs agent otherwise....

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