Zimomiller

OK, next up for our family is Bermuda on the Norwegian Dawn.

Just booked. Got a great deal with $650 OBC on a cat SJ Family Suite.

Now the advanced planning begins. Never been to Bermuda, never been on the Dawn. So much to learn and only 167 days to go~!

If anyone has any experience or suggestions, droo me an email or leave a post here.

What an awesome review! I am sold! Since NCL is having that awesome sale, we are booking POA for March 2013. We want to stay in a suite. Any recommendations for a family of 3?

We chose the aft facing family suite on the POA for a couple reasons.

1) It would hold our family of 5

2) We love aft facing cabins (for many reasons)

3) The HUGE balcony

4) The suite benefits (although those were bestowed long after we booked)

The remainder of the suites on the POA are all on the higher decks forward. For a family of three I would be looking at the Penthosue suites with the lowest cost. There will not be a lot of differernce in my opinion based on location. I would probably suggest port side for the convenience of sitting on your balcony for the Napali coast sail by.

Good luck choosing and happy planning.

First: Thanks for the dailies- you can see in my signature that it helped push us over the top on booking POA!

 

Second: Do all bags go out the night before with NCL? If you do walk off can you keep them and take them off with you in the morning?

 

Thanks.

I am sure you will enjoy the Pride.

Yes, we could have walked our bags off ourselves as well.

It is nice to have options

I was absolutely thrilled this morning to see another installment!:D

 

As a first-time cruiser, the idea of leaving our bags out the night before, and then trying to find them amongst the hundreds (thousands?) of other bags on the pier, seems so strange. Can you fill me in a little bit on how that works in Honolulu? It sounds like all your bags were very easily retrieved.:)

 

We have a shuttle picking us up at 9:00, so what time would you suggest we arrive at, and then leave Lazy J's?

Your room steward will give you tags for your bags. The bags all get tags and they pass out many different colors. Suite passengers get vip tags. Then all the bags are sorted and organized on shore by color code or vip. Very similar to every cruise we have been on before.

If you are getting picked up at 9, I would arrive at Lazy Js no later than 745 so you are not rushed.

Debarkation, Waikiki and Duke’s 7/23/11

Sorry for the delay in the final installments of my review. Life keeps getting in the way of important cruise stuff.

All good things must come to an end, and unfortunately today was our last morning on the Pride and the start of a very long trip back home.

But we had some plans in place to make the day more palatable.

As always, I woke up early on the last morning as the motion of the ship diminished and the throb of the engines faded away. hat is always the moment that brutally drives home for me that yes, our cruise is over.

I snuck out on the balcony into the blazing sun and took a quick look around. Yup, we were back in Honolulu.

ow come cruise ships don’t get lost and go to the wrong port like the occasional airplane does and lands at the wrong airport.

Eventually I roused the family and after the quick morning showers and final check of the cabin, we bid adieu to our mammoth balcony, grabbed our carry-ons and headed to Lazy Js for that final suite breakfast.

As always we were greetedin Lazy Js like old lost friends by the restaurant staff and then we were served in a non-rushed atmosphere. Of course Thomas the concierge was there just like every other morning to say hi, discuss the day’s plans etc.

After we finished dining we said goodbye to our favorites, conducted a few money laden handshakes (you know, like Tom Selleck taught Chandler and Joey to do on Friends), dropped a well-earned tip envelope to Thomas and headed for the exit.

One thing NCL does well in our experience is that they make it very easy to get off their ship when you want to. We were in no super hurry this day since our flight home was not until 10:45 PM.

We had our cards scanned one last time and then exited via the gangway to the same warehouse structure that we had ventured through just a week before, but in a poorer, more melancholy mood.

The kids made quick work of finding our 8 bags and we headed out the door. Hey, NO CUSTOMS!

I had made arrangements in advance to meet a luggage storage service at the port that morning. I called and 5 minutes later we were met just outside the fence of the port in a parking lot where we turned over 7 of our bags to a man with a van. We paid $10 plus $5 a bag for this service. At the time I remember joking to my wife; you may get your wish and never have to do all that laundry if we never see the bags again.

It was really quite easy. Later in the evening when we arrived at the airport, I called and within 10 minutes we had our bags back.

Here is the link to the luggage storage firm we used.

http://www.alohaairportdeliveryandstorage.com

We kept the one bag that we had specially packed the night before to take with us as we were soon in a taxi on our way back to the Outrigger Waikiki on the Beach. I had made a separate reservation for one night. That bag had all our necessities, suits and changes of clothes.

Tip # 47 Travel days suck, especially going home. Try to find a way to make that last day special.

We arrived at the hotel to what was now an old familiar setting, checked in, but no room was ready at 930 am. No problem. We checked our bag and a few carry-ons and then headed for the beach chairs on the patio in front of Dukes for the day.

The girls of course did NOT follow my guidance to have their suits on when they left the ship and needed to change upon arrival, which was easily accomplished by heading to the bathroom on the second floor outside the Hula Grill.

After making sure everyone was comfortably situated and well toweled, I wandered into the shade and comfort of Duke’s barefoot bar where I spent most of the morning and afternoon relaxing over a few (ok, I lost count) adult beverages while enjoying the fixed and moving views. Oh yeah, and serving as the waiter bringing drinks and food as needed to my hungry minions.

Duke’s has a great selection of appetizers and sandwiches. The kids loved the pizzas and fries. We were eating light for the day as I had strategically made a 600PM dinner reservations at Duke’s.

Around 2 pm I checked with the front desk and we had a room. Some of our family retired there to take the carry-ons up and retrieve our other bags.

Around 4 PM we all retired to the room where everyone was able to shower and change into fresh clothes for the flight home.

At 6 o’clock we arrived at the host stand at Duke’s where we were whisked to a terrific table overlooking the beach. This was where we surprised Mom.

Mom’s birthday was Sunday July 24. Back home, the time was 6 hours ahead. Therefore, 6 pm in Honolulu was midnight at home. After we sat down, we spontaneously started singing happy birthday which of course surprised Mom who I am sure was convinced she was going to get stiffed on her birthday.

Tip #48 Little surprises make great memories. Especially when Dad can still surprise Mom.

The kids had made her cards and had packed some small gifts that they brought with them in their back packs.

I had snuck off on one of my cigar breaks and purchased a lovely diamond studded Palm Tree charm on a gold chain for her. She ripped through the cards and presents with youthful vigor and I think we made her day. I know she has worn that necklace and tree pretty much every day since.

Dinner was terrific. I had a wonderful piece of Ahi tuna and everyone else found something they wanted. The dessert for this dinner was the famous Hula Pie. We all shared it and unanimously agreed we were not that impressed with it. My reaction was that there were just too many nuts, and I like nuts. Oh well, there are many others that rave about it.

We retired to our room one last time to get ready to leave. I had requested a western facing balcony view at check in. I was rewarded with one and as a result we were able to watch from our balcony as the Pride slowly left port and made her way to sea for another week of fun.

Lucky bastards. Sigh.

At least we were not sitting at the Miami airport early in the day after debarking watching passengers deplane all bright and bushy tailed ready to grab a cab over to their/our cruise ship that was departing later in the day. I always hate them.

At 8 o’clock we were out front of the hotel and met Mark from Hawaii23 who was on time and quickly transported us to the airport. I called the baggage storage people, they brought the bags. We checked in with ease and the wandered what I swear was 2 miles to our gate. Most of the airport seems to be open air.

Our flight to San Francisco was on time and uneventful. We arrived in the early am, deplaned, had breakfast in the terminal and then boarded another flight for our last leg back to the Detroit airport. Again, an easy and uneventful flight. (Delta)

Fortunately, all our bags decided to arrive on the same plane as we did which made the final steps home much less stressful. After retrieving the minivan, we quickly drove the 25 minutes home to Ann Arbor.

We arrived much as we had left. 5 adults, 8 bags, 5 carry-ons, much less cash.

We opened the van doors and were quickly joined by the 3 labs who were sloppily overjoyed to see us.

Everyone jumped out of the van and headed into the house, except the dogs. It was clear they wanted something more, so I gave them a quick ride in the van up and down our private road. That made em happy. My wife spoils our dogs.

Did I mention that we had a house sitter while we were gone?

He was 18, the son of a college friend. Our cleaning lady had called my wife on Friday while we were still in port at Kauai. She was ready to quit after seeing the pigpen that our house had become. Beer cans and pizza boxes everywhere, all the beds had been slept in. A party had happened as well. Needless to say the dogs were not getting let out enough and there were many problems.

Luckily our cleaning lady had Saturday open and we engaged her to spend it cleaning carpets, washing floors and finishing what she could not from the prior day.

We arrived home and all was well, neat and tidy.

This is not the final installment of my review as I will finish writing my epilogue soon and I will post it soon.

Linky to final day photos => http://travel.webshots.com/album/580719879GuLNYa

Kauai – Our second sea day – 7/22/11

I know that there are many of you that have been reading my review that think we are nuts for spending day 2 on Maui on the ship. Well, guess what, we did the same thing on Kauai.

For our family it is quality of over quantity. We have learned the hard way on past cruise and land vacations that if you pack every day with activities, the overall experience is diminished by that rushed feeling and eventual exhaustion. This may not be the same for you, it works for us.

The Port area on Kauai is actually surrounded by wonderful scenery and views. In my opinion, it was the most picturesque of all our ports. As you will see in the link to our pics from day 2 on Kauai I took a lot more pics as we left port as well as a photo survey of most of the outside decks on the POA forward and aft.

Tip #42 Explore the ship early in the week. On the last day you are likely to find something you wished you knew about on day 1.

Knowing that we were treating the day as a sea day we set a rather late 9 am alarm for Mom and I and left the kids to sleep until we roused them after breakfast. As we enjoyed another quiet breakfast at Lazy Js we could not help but begin to think about the fact this was the last day of our cruise and the next to last breakfast we would be able to enjoy on board.

I know I sound like a broken record, but the suite life benefit of breakfast and lunch at Lazy Js is the best. We never missed all the amenities or butler service. We were just too busy and not around that much.

Once again the weather was bright and sunny but not too hot. Mom and I made a lot of noise as we changed into suits and packed up some towels and books etc. for the day in the sun aft by the pool by the Waikiki bar.

It was a quiet morning on deck but became gradually busier as the morning wore on. All aboard was 130 today so I suspect that there were a lot of like-minded people that slept in.

After a late morning adult beverage or 2 and a cigar or three, I picked up my camera and wandered around the ship taking photos of the outside decks and basically exploring areas that I had not visited during the week. The POA has a huge amount of outside deck space and a lot of the forward area goes unused.

Tip # 43 If you want quiet, go forward and on top on the POA

The rest of the early afternoon was spent enjoying the day the view and the weather. Oh yeah and the booze etc.

I became the bar tender for my wife and kids as they lazed the day away. They can suck down virgin Strawberry Daiquiris like pros. God help me when they are all 21.

Eventually I retreated to our balcony to document our sail away from Kauai but not before I slipped down to Lazy Js for one last Sesame Ahi burger and carrot cake for lunch.

Sail away was perfect I really enjoyed the views and shots I captured from deck 9 aft.

Excitement was palpable as the outside decks became alive in the mid afternoon as passengers began staking out that perfect place to watch the Napali coast as we sailed by. The port side of the ship was decorated with passengers.

From my throne at the Waikiki bar I monitored all the day’s activities including the pub crawl. There were about 35 hardy souls that were parading around the ship en masse gulping down drinks and being loud and obnoxious. They appeared to be having a grand time. Looked like too much work to me so I just ordered another drink.

Tip # 44 For a fun cheap way to see all the bars and a lot of the ship while getting toasted and meeting new, people sign up for a pub crawl.

Late afternoon was spent on deck and then on our balcony watching the wonder that is nature as we sailed by. It did not disappoint. There were rainy clouds in the mountains and rainbows galore. All my pictures and videos do not do it justice. It was fun trying to pick out Tunnels beach from a different point of view.

Our aft balcony was a marvelous un-crowded and quiet vantage point. And then when the POA reversed course, we had a front row seat to a magnificent view that we will never forget. Indescribable beauty.

Tip #45 Do not miss this sail by

Eventually it was approaching dinner time and actually getting a bit chilly outside so one by one we bid adieu to the view, hit the showers and prepared for our last dinner on board.

One of our family traditions on NCL has been to dine at the Le Bistro on the final night as it is without a doubt our favorite. The food and service have always been terrific and memorable. Oh yeah, there is the chocolate fondue at the end of dinner as well.

As usual I escaped our cabin to the quiet fortress of solitude aft that I had grown attached to this week. After the required pre dinner martinis and cigar I wandered down to the host stand area at Jefferson’s Bistro to wait for the family who promptly arrived at 7 pm.

This is where things got interesting.

The restaurant was obviously busier than we had seen it all week. No surprise as this was the last evening.

I approached the host who was looking rather busy. She eventually acknowledged my presence and I gave her my name and indicated we had a 7 pm reservation.

As we waited I chatted with my wife.

The host then turned to me and said “You do not have a reservation and I cannot seat you”. A very terse matter of fact statement to say the least.

I said excuse me but you must be mistaken as I had the concierge make all our reservations on our arrival last Saturday. She said” Thomas made the reservation? "And then she repeated “You do not have a reservation, we are very busy and I cannot seat you”.

She then turned back to her host stand looking very busy and clearly uninterested in the damage being caused by her lack of attention to customer service.

I was confused at first but now I was pissed. I re-engaged her in conversation and encouraged her to check again and to find a way to accommodate us or I was going to be very unhappy and raise a fuss.

Meanwhile, my wife and son turned around and started back to our cabin to retrieve our confirmation letter from the concierge that clearly stated each and every dining reservation we made by date, time and restaurant.

Guess who they ran into as they walked around the corner of the restaurant? Yup, Thomas our concierge.

The guy was everywhere all week long. I swear he had at least one twin or a couple clones. They quickly explained what was transpiring to him and he immediately led them back to Jefferson’s.

Thomas interrupted my conversation with the host and asked me to wait with my family as he handled things.

We watched as he worked his magic. It was clear that the host had taken a position that she was not about to budge from. After about 3-4 minutes of discussion and a phone call, an officer appeared who apparently was in charge of restaurant operations and the three of them continued to “chat”

Immediately after that we were quickly seated in what I considered to be the best table for 5 in the restaurant. (A U shaped booth for the 5 of us, actually the same one we had been in earlier in the week)

The dining room staff took a couple minutes to get around to us as it was quite busy, but eventually we were met with a smile and the service that we loved.

I indicated that my wife and I were both Platinum Latitudes members and that we intended to exercise those benefits for the meal. (i.e. 2 complimentary dinners each and a bottle of complimentary wine each) I watched out of the corner of my eye as the waitress for our table then relayed this information to the host, who was still in conversation with the officer and our concierge) I chuckled a bit as I watched the host’s reaction to the news as she clearly was not happy.

While we waited for our dinner orders to arrive, my wife had my son retrieve our dinner reservation confirmation letter from our cabin.

When Thomas, our concierge, came by our table before he left, she gave it to him. He indicated that she did not need to do that because he knew that the reservation had been made. But he did take it with him. My wife mentioned later that she saw him go back to the host and the officer to show it to them.

The rest of our dinner was casual, relaxed, delicious and flawless. As usual, the kids and Mom fought over the details of the chocolate fondues while I enjoyed my last Crème Brule of the cruise.

When it came time for the check, we were informed that everything had already been taken care of and have a great rest of the evening. Heh heh, I bet that pissed off the restaurant host to no end. She was clearly the wrong person to be in that position and I am betting several people were reminded of that based upon our experience.

Tip #45 On this cruise I learned the power of reconfirming reservations. Luckily I had a hired gun in the form of our concierge.

One of our family traditions is to take a stroll on the promenade deck one last time after the last dinner of the cruise. We sauntered along enjoying the evening, our victory over the snotty host and the successful demolition of 2 more chocolate fondues. But mainly we were avoiding the painful task of packing for the trip home that lay waiting for us in our cabin.

I am always amazed at how much crap five people can bring along on vacation, especially when they were told to pack lite.

Tip #46 Tell everyone to pack what they want. They will anyways. You are then the hero

It took us an hour and a half to pack all our stuff. This was more complicated than usual due to our plans for Saturday. We had to pack 1 bag with a change of clothes, swimsuits and necessities for the day for everyone as we were returning to the Outrigger Waikiki on the Beach for the day as our flight out was scheduled for 10:45 PM Saturday.

I am ashamed to admit it but by the time we were done packing I was exhausted and failed to return to the Waikiki bar for one last drink and cigar that evening. I will be haunted by this failure until our next cruise.

We all crashed early as we knew we had another fun day ahead on Waikiki beach.

But I know we were all a little sad that this was our last night on board the POA. God I hate that.

http://travel.webshots.com/album/580716874cexmoy Pics on board and the Napali coast

Stay tuned for debarkation and one last day on Waikiki beach and dinner at Duke's.

Sounds like an amazing day! My son will be all over that surf and turf! If he is having our butler deliver a shrimp cocktail for post-excursion enjoyment, my daughter and I may need to put in a request for the chocolate fondue! Yummy!:D

That would be an easy request to fulfill.

I will tell you that my family would typically two of these for dessert to split between the four of them.

They are decadent and delicious.

Kauai – Gilligan’s Island redux 7/21/11

Kauai was the one port that had me nervous.

In all my research and planning it was apparent that the weather was a lot more unpredictable and seemed to be the one factor that impacted peoples plans the most. Especially if you were planning to take a helicopter tour.

As it turned out for our 2 days on Kauai, the weather was not a factor. In fact the weather was magnificent and rain was non-existent.

Tip # 37 Don’t over plan and expect the worst, but be aware that you may need to make lemonade if presented with lemons

I knew from the start that a helicopter tour was out of the question.

A few years ago while vacationing in Vegas the whole family jumped on board a helicopter for an aerial tour of the Grand Canyon and the Hoover Dam. The ride was pretty calm and really not bumpy at all.

About ½ ways there the wife turned green and woozy.

We landed in the Canyon for a wine and picnic lunch and I ended up drinking all the wine (a common theme eh?) and I also finished a couple lunches. The kids were not their normal ravenous selves either.

The trip back was punctuated by the wife barfing in a bag a couple times and the kids turning green as well.

I think the main issue was it was a fresh air copter, no A/C.

Tip # 38 My advice to anyone considering doing a helicopter tour with anyone that tends to get motion sickness is to make em take Dramamine an hour before you go and plan to get a copter with A/C.

(Side note: Just sitting here eating macadamia nuts as I type, damn these are good...hardly need the beer to wash em down but they do work well togethewr.. ok back to the review)

I spent my planning time reading reviews and looking for a unique tour guide experience. I finally settled on Kauai Eden Tours.

http://www.kauaiedentours.com/EKomoMai_Welcome_to_Eden.php

The reviews were consistently good so I made a reservation for the 5 of us. This was a rather expensive tour compared to the ones we had taken on the other islands but I decided to take a chance. Glad I did.

We sailed into port bright and early and I was actually up in time to snap off some photos as we came in.

I made sure that I made lots of noise in the cabin and woke everyone up earlier than normal as I wanted to make sure that we were all at Lazy Js early so we could get stuffed as lunch was hours away.

Oops, I accidentally fell in bed with my wife and daughter on the way to the balcony. They yelled a lot. Mission accomplished.

Lazy Js was very busy when we arrived but they had a table for 5 waiting for us and we had our usual breakfast feast and 5 lbs of bacon.

After breakfast we went back to grab our bags and then we headed off the ship to catch the Thrifty shuttle to head over to the airport location to pick up a minivan for the day. I had reserved the van ahead of time including joining the Blue Chip program so the paperwork and keys would be ready to go on arrival.

A lot of people recommend using the link below for renting cars in Hawaii, but I found the same rates direct with Thrifty.

http://www.discounthawaiicarrental.com/

I called Karen from the tour company on the way over and she was on her way to meet us there.

The reason I had to rent a van was that Kauai Eden tours did not have vehicle that could accommodate more than 5 people total. I was not thrilled by this as it meant I was driving and that it also added about $100 to the tour cost.

We met Karen at Thrifty and then followed her to a parking lot at the airport where she parked, unloaded all her tour goodies and the loaded them into our minivan. And then we were off.

First stop was a lovely scenic beach where we wandered around a few minutes, grabbed some great photos and then we loaded up and split.

Next we stopped at a local outdoor fruit stand where Karen purchased several unique island fruits, sugar cane and a couple coconuts. She took our sandwich orders for lunch and called ahead so they would be ready for us to pick up on our way.

We eventually ended up on another gorgeous beach where we pretended to be castaways on Gilligan’s island. We donned some grass skirts etc and then bashed the hell out of our coconuts trying to get them open, which we eventually did. Drank the milk, ate some meat, took a lot of fun pictures etc.

It was pointed out that I looked most like the Skipper. Sigh, I always envisioned myself as Gilligan. Never have been able to get the wife to wear that Mary Ann oufit I got her years ago.

After carefully cleaning up, we headed out from there exploring the coast line, stopping to see scenic beauty and just generally enjoying the ride and view. We stopped and wandered down a long hill to spend a bit of time on an excellent beach followed by lunch overlooking an amazing coastline with crashing waves and jagged rocks. I wish now I had paid more attention to the beach names and parks that we visited so that I could pass on better info.

Tip # 39 Remember to snap off a picture of the Park and beach names as you get to a destination

We eventually reached the end of the road on the Northwest side of the island near the Napali coast and paid $5 to park at a vacant lot manned by some enterprising local boys.

From there we wandered down to Tunnels beach where we spent about three hours just relaxing and enjoying one of the most memorable and scenic beaches I have ever been to. Pictures and words really do not describe it.

Tip # 40 You need to visit this beach, trust me on this one.

http://www.google.com/search?q=tunnels+beach&hl=en&biw=1393&bih=695&prmd=ivnsm&tbm=isch&tbo=u&source=univ&sa=X&ei=5exeTvP1JcbjsQK_5oUG&sqi=2&ved=0CDcQsAQ

I had specifically asked Karen to tailor our tour day to take us to this beach and spend a few hours based upon my research. That was a good decision.

Tip # 41 With a private tour guide, if there is something important to you, make sure they know it and tailor the trip to your needs.( I know, this is a repaet for emphasis)

We played in the water, snorkeled, explored and just plain vegged. Watched a puppy play in the sand chasing crabs, saw some sea turtles frolicking in the surf.

I remembered to pack a cigar which I enjoyed in the shade out of range of any smoke ****s that I knew would be hiding behind palm trees looking for someone like me.

I had thought a head enough to consider bringing a 6 pack of beer, but oh yeah, I was driving so no chance of that.

The weather was remarkable all day and I think we will remember this beach and experience for as long time.

Karen really makes the extra effort to immerse her guests in the island experience. She brings CDs of local artists, food and snack and local fruits for everyone to try and experience. She also brought snorkels, flippers, walking sticks for hiking etc.

She always had a camera in hand and she spent a lot of time taking pictures of our family on the tour. She had trouble remebering to turn it off and we also got several random pics and videos of feet arms bags sand etc....

About a week after we returned home a CD arrived in the mail with all the pictures from our day along with some gorgeous shots that Karen had accumulated from prior tours. There were a lot of very unique and beautiful shots.

We eventually dragged our butts back off the beach and started back. I went ahead and met everyone with the van.

I must say that driving on the island was a breeze and it is very easy to get around, but it sure was helpful to have someone to tell me where to go (other than my wife..)

On the way back we stopped in Princeville which is a very expensive small city on the island and visited the St Regis resort hotel.

All I can say is WOW. If I ever come back to Kauai and have the moolah to spend on a magnificent resort experience, this will be the place I go. The resort is opulent and gorgeous. The views are indescribable. I did not want to leave.

But all good things come to an end and after a long drive back I eventually dropped the family at the port and I returned to the airport lot with Karen to return her goodies to her car and then the van to Thrifty. I signed the charge card receipt and then Karen dropped me off at the port.

In retrospect, the day was long, fun, unique, memorable and as perfect as you could hope for. I would recommend Kauai Eden tours to future cruisers.

By the time I returned to our cabin it was about 6pm and I quickly showered and dressed for dinner as I had to head up to the Waikiki bar for a few cocktails and a short cigar before dinner. Yeah, I was in a comfortable routine. ran into a few of my new cruise buddies as usual and we related stories of our days.

7pm I met the family in Cagney’s…err.. Lazy Js for dinner where we were once again treated like royalty in a very quiet restaurant. Surf and turf was the order of the night for my son and I and as always it was very good.

I joked as we were ordering dessert that we sure could use another chocolate fondue from Jefferson’s Bistro and our server was ready to run down and get one for us, but we declined the offer as we knew we were returning there tomorrow evening for our farewell dinner.

Little did I know the experience that was in store for us tomorrow evening at dinner.

Stay tuned for Day 2 in Kauai, our sea day #2 , sailing the Napali coast and the story of our concierge to the rescue.

http://travel.webshots.com/album/580713641yLjEKk?start=0 Pictures from Day 1 on Kauai and our tour

OK Zimomiller...... where is our review of Kauai that we were suppose to get yesterday?

Am I going to have to send a couple Anchor Steams with 2 of your labs and a couple of my DR;) RYJ's robustos with your 3rd lab to get this done

Yes.

I will send you my address

You indicated that Thomas Meier was the Concierge. Any idea how long he was going to be there? I know sometimes the Concierge is James Lines.

What about Hotel Director? was it John O'Hara?

and Captain Kjell Nesheim or Captain Buz Radican?

No idea on Thomas.

John Ohara was the hotel director, but I had no interaction with him.

No idea on the Captain as we did not attend any events

Great advice...thank you! Do you think that if we are off the ship through lunch, our butler could have one put in our fridge for later?:)

I like the way you think, but I would order 2.....

Hello Zimomiller, first of all, thank you for such a great review I am really enjoying it. My husband and I were thinking about taking this cruise next summer with our two boys 18 and 14. All four of us LOVE cruising we have been on 2 disney cruises and 5 carnival and have loved every single one. We have never been on norwegian so this is where I would like to ask a couple questions? Did you happen to notice if there were lots of kids between the ages of 14 and 15 years old? Are there kids clubs seperated by ages? What is there to do for my 18 year old where he can meet people his own age? They are very used to carnival and love going to the teen clubs and meeting lots of friends their ages. I would appreciate any information you can share with me regarding the Pride and all my questions if you took notice to it. Thank you very much :D:D:D

Unfortunately I have no info for you.

Our kids stopped going to the organized activities when they got to around 14. Just was not as enjoyable and they had grown more independent. When they were young they adored the kids clubs.

That's what I'm hoping (and expecting)! I've been telling my family how much you loved breakfast in Lazy J's. We can't wait for that! Somewhere I saw a Cagney's lunch menu that showed shrimp cocktail as an appetizer. Was that available at Lazy J's? My 13-year-old son is planning on having one or two of those every day!:)

Yes they were always available.

I always made sure my kids ordered one even if they were not eating it so my son and I could double up.

They need to put more cocktail sauce with em so remember to ask for more in advance.

Loving the reviews - great reading and picking up some tips for our trip in December. Already contacted Maui Tours to look at doing the Road to Hana tour with them. We were thinking of driving it ourselves, but think it will be a better experience for all if we let someone else do the driving :).

 

A PP mentioned the Sky was turned into the the Pride of Aloha and then the Pride of America - this isn't the case. The Pride of America was a "new"ship (hull was pre-existing) built specifically for the Hawaii route. When it was delivered in 2005 my wife's sister worked for NCL America and was actually on the crew the brought it across the Atlantic and through the Panama Canal.

What people forget is that the Pride of America actually was sunk by a freak storm in the dock in Germany while under construction. This necessitated moving the Sky to being converted to Hawaii cruising to accomodate the extra long repair and reconstruction on the Pride.

Take a look at this link for the story and an ugly picture

http://professionalmariner.com/ME2/dirmod.asp?sid=420C4D38DC9C4E3A903315CDDC65AD72&nm=Archives&type=Publishing&mod=Publications%3A%3AArticle&mid=8F3A7027421841978F18BE895F87F791&tier=4&id=F5C8B829EB614FB58E4CA7D3B50A88AD

Yay! Another installment!:D

 

Congratulations (?) on getting your kids off and settled!

 

What a downer to read your description of the lack of suite ammenities.:( We are taking our first ever cruise in an Owner's Suite on the POA in December, and are looking forward to every little detail. Were there any bath products at all, or should we take our own?

Do not read too much into my experience and lack of the amenities. The category SH being treated as a suite is an experiment by NCL.

My guess is that the suites that were already so designated probably had all these type items. We just have no frame of reference on the POA.

On the sea on the way to Kauai – Some thoughts on the suite life and general ramblings

Sorry about the interruption of the review of our Hawaiian land and sea adventure. We just completed the transition to being empty nesters (at least until April) as we sent our three kids off to college over the weekend. It was too hard to concentrate on my review with all the trauma and drama.

Beer and wine have come in handy the last few days to help cope. Except I have no one to bring it to me since the kids are gone and the wife ignores those requests. Intensive in service training begins tomorrow for our three labs. One of them must have the capability to deliver.

One of the goals for my review was to describe our cruise experience from the view of the suite life. I realize I have managed to describe a few of the suite life benefits but there are probably many of you that have questions about items that I have not mentioned.

I am cutting and pasting below a section from a thread on the CC NCL board that attempts to list all the suite life benefits for reference. I will make some comments in parentheses after each item. The section for Penthouses is the one I am most familiar with (Sky, Epic, and Jewel) and is the closest to what we experienced in our Category SH on the POA.

PENTHOUSES ~ SC, SD, SE, SF, SJ (SH for now on the POA)

Embarkation

Personal escort to stateroom - (We were escorted aboard for an education session with the concierge and then lunch at Lazy Js)

Metallic color key card (yes it was, not sure I noticed any special treatment anywhere because of it)

1 Full bottle of Sparkling Wine (House) w/compliments of NCL card (Actually, we had 3, and we left 2 behind. NCLs house sparkling wine leaves a lot to be desired. But I am not a fan of champagne)

1 Floral Arrangement (It was waiting in the suite, very nice. I told the wife I special ordered it for her. She bought it…lol)

Fruit Bowl * (Waiting in suite. We had a ton of fruit, never replenished but we never finished it either)

1 Bottle of Spring Water (Waiting in suite)

* Replenished upon consumption

Bath Amenities

Cotton ball & Q-Tip Caddie (no sign of it on the POA, but I have seen it on the Jewel and Epic)

Bath salts, presented in container, shell scoop (no sign of it on the POA but all we had was a tiny shower and a foot washer that doubled as a toilet)

Loofah, cello wrapped, no logo (None witnessed, not sure it would have fit in the shower with me)

Elemis brand products presented on tray: (Not present on the POA)

Pure Shine Shampoo 40ml (Not present on the POA)

Pro-Vitamin Conditioner 40ml (Nope)

Sharp Shower Gel 40ml (nada)

Vitamin Rich Body Lotion 40ml (nuh uh)

Pure Zest boxed Soap 80g (uh nope)

Pure Zest boxed Soap 50g (zilch on the zest)

Shower Cap, paper envelope (I used this to smother a towel animal one night)

Other

Butler and Concierge Service (saw the butler once I think, we really did not need him, The concierge was terrific. Note: There was some sort of snack or appetizer delivered to the cabin each day when we returned in the PM)

Access to Star Bar Day Lounge (no similar item on the POA)

Daily Breakfast and Lunch in Cagney's (buuuurp, every chance we got. This was great)

Pillow menu selection (tent card on night stand) (Never saw it and my pillows sucked, I laid down every night and cursed myself for forgetting to ask for better pillows earlier in the day)

DVD and CD Player (not present on the POA, had one on the Epic and Sky)

DVD & CD Library, with DVD movie library binder (no sign)

Deluxe Coffee/Espresso/Cappuccino Machine serving Lavazza coffee (none)

China cups/saucers, espresso cups, teaspoons (Had em removed)

Coffee/Tea pod dispenser accompanying Lavazza Coffee Machines (none)

Bathroom Scale (thank god no)

Clock (no tick tock)

Bath Robes (Plush Terry Robe-Waffle Design) (not offered on POA)

Slippers, Standard (not offered, unless the bananas in the fruit basket were intended for this role)

Feather Pillows, Queen/Euro (the ones we had were barely useable)

Feather Duvet Insert (Maybe, I do not remember)

Upgraded linen - 300TC with Embroidery (I did not count)

Towels including oversized bath towel (Nope, standard ones)

Long stem barware, 2 each or 1 per person, space available. (Nope)

Full Breakfast Menu (did not look for it)

24 Hour Room Service Menu (Suite Menu) (did not look for it)

Food turn down amenity delivered each night (I think the towel animals ate the food)

Priority restaurant reservations (yes, taken care of day one by the concierge)

Priority embarkation and disembarkation (yes, it was divine)

In Suite Dining (Did not try, we had no table worthy of doing so)

OK, now that we are done with the exhaustive checklist, there are other suite life amenities that frankly we were not interested in or that were not convenient for us to attend based upon our schedule. There were latitudes wine receptions, reception for suite guests with staff and captain etc. In my experience these can be OK but fraught with stuffy wannabes. I just go to get ploughed on the free booze myself.

The concierge staff and the staff in the Lazy Js that took care of the suite guests and their needs were superb. They were obviously a cut above all the other staff that we encountered on board. They went out of their way to not be intrusive but yet helpful and ever present. That is a skill hard to find. (There is nothing worse than being annoyed by the service staff and clumsy unpolished efforts.) On the last night the concierge delivered the coup de grace for our trip, but I will tell that story on the review of day two of Kauai – A sea day and the Napali coast. I still need to finish Day 1 in Kauai as well.

I should also take time to discuss the POA in general. I always take time to explore the ship at some point, usually on a sea day to explore all the public decks and find what I can.

The POA is well maintained and clean. I have no memories of anything that I considered to be in need of service and that is rare for a picky bastard like me.

The upper forward areas of the POA house a large conference center that seemed very underutilized and the decks up front were always vacant.

The POA itinerary is very different than most cruises so I was not surprised that life onboard was very different as well. It was always quiet, rarely busy. Not as much fun to people watch, but many more opportunities for quiet special moments. Sitting by the piano at the bar, listening to the tinkling and talented entertainers was something I did a few times for a half hour or so.

I never set foot in the buffet except for a craving for a soft serve cone one day so I really have no comments on the buffet or the main dining rooms. We ate in a specialty restaurant every night.

Our experience is that if you want to experience food and service like it used to be back in 1984 (our first cruise), you best avoid the main dining rooms and buffet. Many people will take exception to that comment, but in most cases they do not have the same frame of reference or experience. I do not believe we are snobs, we just know there was a difference based on our experiences.

OK, enough rambling, I will get busy on the next installment of our cruise review for tomorrow. Stay tuned for Kauai Day 1 – Gilligan’s Island redux

I certainly did not expect any and none was anticipated by Karen from what I can tell.

We had a great day and saw a lot with Karen.

She finds ways to add some surprises to the touur

The review of the last three days of our cruise vacation in Hawaii will be a little delayed as we move three kids into college over the next three days.

Thanks for the kind comments and interest in the review. I hope I am saving the best for last.

Kona 7/20/11

I mentioned in yesterdays review that Kona would be a different experience for our family, so let me explain.

On almost all our excursions ashore on previous cruises our family moved in a pack. We did everything together. When we went to a beach, we were all present but did as little as possible together. When we took a tour, we were all on the same vehicle.

I had been looking forward to Kona ever since I booked the cruise on the last day of March in 2010. Why? Because one of my best friends in the world (Joe) lives on Kona and we have talked about our family coming to visit for years.

He is a bachelor attorney with a fantastic place in the hills overlooking the port of Kona. For the last few months he has sent me pictures of the POA sitting in the harbor on Wednesdays conducting tender operations.

My only fear was that the weather could turn bad enough to prevent tender operations in Kona.

My plan all along was to spend the morning with Joe while the rest of the family went off on some tour together. It took me a long time to narrow down the choices for the family but I eventually floated the idea of the Captain Zodiac snorkel tour by the family. (This is a tour that NCL offers on their shore excursions list. It has some of the highest ratings and very consistent favorable feedback and comments in reviews.) The family liked the sound of it so I booked it for them.

I conveniently forgot to tell them that I was NOT going on the tour with them.

Tip # 31 From the male handbook, chapter 1, paragraph 2, “It is always better to ask for forgiveness than to ask for permission.”

Tuesday night during my sushi incident and intervention, I mentioned to the concierge that I had not received any priority tender tickets for Kona. He mentioned that he had personally delivered them to our mail slot on our door earlier in the evening but they have been having issues with people stealing mail. No big deal for shore excursion tickets as the people that never received them usually complain and they cancel the old ones and issue new ones. I told him I only needed one as the family was taking the Captain Zodiac tour.

At some point after I returned to the cabin in my boozy, sushi, cigar coma state later that evening I think I finally mustered up the courage to tell the wife that I was not going on the tour with them in the AM and in fact was going to go spend the day elsewhere with Joe and that we were going to pick them up and go to lunch after their excursion.

Tip # 31 worked well as after the initial objections (and a right cross and punch to the gut), all seemed workable once the timing and details were confirmed. Especially since the tour was long since sold out. I know damn well if I had this conversation when I booked the tour I would have been going on it as well.

We arose at 6 am and made a visit to breakfast heaven at Lazy Js around 7 ish because their tour required the family to meet on board at 730am for a group tender ashore. We had packed our bags the night before so the only impediment in the am was the rolling out of the ass-jack to get the kids out of bed.

Tip # 32 It really is important to get a good breakfast on port days because hunger and taking time out for lunch ashore can eat up a big part of your precious shore time

I bid the family goodbye and returned to the cabin to grab my going ashore goodies (cigars) and then I headed down to the tender boarding station.

It was surprisingly not busy and I did not need my priority tender ticket as I almost walked right on the tender following the one my family boarded.

After a quick tender to port, I was ashore, said goodbye to the family one more time as they gathered for their tour and then met my friend for breakfast at a local diner overlooking the port area.

Most of the damage from the Tsunami had been repaired but there were still obvious signs of damage that had not yet been dealt with.

Tip # 33 Two breakfasts never hurt anyone.

The remaining details of my morning are boring and mainly involved sitting around after breakfast on my friend’s lanai overlooking his pool and the Port catching up while we smoked cigars and told lies. As I sat there I could not help but wonder if the family was having fun. If not, I was gonna pay for it big time later.

Eventually we went to the Thrifty car rental at the airport to get a minivan for the remainder of the day for touring around the island. We met the family at the Port and then went to a favorite burger joint restaurant of Joe’s before we went off touring.

Kona is lovely and I would like to come back and spend more time there someday as there is lots to do and I was told many stories about the great snorkeling by my family as well as fellow cruisers at the Waikiki Bar that evening.

One story related over lunch about a very fun, fast paced and enjoyable tour. Apparently Mom was the last one off the Zodiac (inflatable tour boat with fast boat motor) into the water for snorkeling at the first stop on their tour route. I can just see her slowly inching her way into the water….much too cold for her liking….. Apparently the captain got fed up with her and pulled out a hose and encouraged her into the water at a much faster pace spraying her with water much to the delight of her kids.

Tip # 34 Sometimes you get a special memory for free. No tip required.

After lunch Joe took us to the City of refuge. This is a park on the island. Interesting story, historical significance and re-creations of how it used to be. Very entertaining to walk around for an hour. Daughter 2 was delighted as there were some green sea turtles frolicking a few feet from shore for her to watch. You can read about it here. I am tired of typing.

http://www.aloha-hawaii.com/big-island/city-of-refuge/

After traveling around and seeing the wonders that are in the Kona area we headed back to the farmers market in downtown Kona to do some shopping. It was there that I finally was able to purchase the elusive macadamia nut snacks that I had come looking for. I got 6 lbs of the dry roasted and salted nuts in sealed 1 lb bags. (As of this writing 3 still exist)

After saying a fond farewell to Joe, we spent our remaining time ashore doing some light shopping in port before grabbing a tender (aka lifeboat) back to the ship.

If you have never tendered ashore and then back to your ship, you have missed one of the truly special and memorable events of a cruise. It is remarkable to see something that appears relatively small in the distance turn into a mammoth ship as you approach.

Depending on weather conditions, your tender trip can be calm or an exciting adventure. On this day the seas were calm, but I know my family remembers a choppy and exciting tender ashore in Jamaica from the mighty Norway aboard her landing craft/tenders with waves crashing over the bow drenching those of us brave enough to sit forward on top. Not everyone had our glee and enthusiasm on that day.

Tip 35 Don’t let the tender operations prevent you from going ashore. They are well run.

Back on board everyone found a quiet spot in the cabin to veg. I took a quick shower and headed to the Waikiki bar to savor the remaining sun with a drink or 3 and a cigar while watching the tenders speed back and forth gathering up our remaining shipmates.

Dinner tonight was at Teppenyaki.

We have dined in the NCL Teppenyakis on the Jewel, Jade and Epic so we had a pretty good idea of what to expect. We were not disappointed. This is a fun dining experience with a lot of food for a family.

The entertainment of the cook and prep of the food makes the time fly by. Most people do not realize that you can request a sushi menu in Teppenyaki to order some appetizers. They are an added charge, but very inexpensive. I added a rainbow roll to my order. As I mentioned before, getting reservations for Teppenyaki can be difficult, unless of course you are living the suite life~!

By now, you probably can predict our after dinner routines. Mom would wander back to the room with one of us and spend the evening relaxing and reading, the kids would go find a show to be entertained by and I would go to home base, the Waikiki bar. This was the first cruise that I had been on where there was no casino to keep me occupied into the wee hours.

I missed the casino. But the lack of BINGO was a godsend. My yougest daughter loves to play bingo and every friggin cruise I dutifully spent hours with her doing so. NCL has taken a fun game and remade it into a money making ordeal. Way too slow and the prices are ridiculous with NCL holding onto between 69 and 72% of the take. (How do I know that? I saw one of their accounting reconciliations on a table once on the Epic. I was shocked)

Tomorrow is day one in Kauai. My research had indicated that weather frequently plays havoc with helicopters and tours so I went to bed a little nervous.

I quickly forgot about that as I had to fight my way through towel animals, pillows and a passed out 18 year old bed hog to find a space to recover from the days wear and tear.

Tip # 36 Well placed ice cubes at midnight are great motivators get people to move. Heh heh.

http://travel.webshots.com/album/580707410umAjiY Kona photos

Fantastic review! Love your style of writing and extra comments. Just wondering...what is your profession?

DH and I will be on the POA in September 2012. We have a balcony B6cabin. I am enjoying your comments on how you are spending your days pre cruise and cruise. I might have my days filled a little too much. I need to revisit my plans. I do plan to do Road to Hana with Valley Isle the first day and then the Best of Maui the second day.

We will be in Honolulu two days pre cruise. The only plan there is World War 1 from the beginning to the end.

I check for your review before I go to bed or when I get up each day as I am sooooo excited to read your review and enjoy your wonderful pictures. I will probably write a "mini" review next year, however, it will not have near the flavor of your"series". Nor do I know how to download pictures...actually I am technically challenged. Continue the outstanding job.

Thanks for the comments.

I am a CPA by profession and I specialize in tax work.

By the way, I think that you will find very little about WW 1 in Honolulu, WW II on the other hand........

Hello Hilo - 7/19/11

You will notice that in my review of our sea day yesterday I failed to give any tips as had been my custom in my earlier review segments.

As I typed and reminisced about that day, I drifted into a lazy hazy state that left me incapable of giving advice. I also started drinking beer and smoking cigars too which may have contributed to my failure. Sorry…….

Earlier in my review, I indicated that there were some arguments about who slept where in our cabin.

The category SH aft family suites are made up of 4 compartments. One is the bathroom; the other three are as follows:

1) Master bedroom, queen bed and TV (basically an inside cabin inside the suite..ie no window)

2) Single bedroom, single bed, sliding door and TV complete privacy and big window to the balcony wrap around)

3) Pull out double located in front of the sliding door to the balcony, TV across the way

My son and I took the master bedroom as it was rejected by my wife because it lacked a window.

We promptly glued the separate a/c control in that room to the bottom of the scale and dubbed the room “the meat locker” for the rest of the cruise. (Oh yeah and we got all the towel animals, pretty much a new one every day. We got in trouble with Mom later when she discovered the unusual things we had our towel animals doing)

Tip #27 – Inside cabins are great. You turn out the light and they are pitch black. Great for sleeping

My 20 yr old daughter played the “I am the oldest” trump card and took the single.

Mom and the youngest daughter took the pullout by the sliding door. The curtains were never closed on this cruise.

These arrangements for the most part kept us out of each other’s way, prevented Armageddon from breaking out over the temperature controls, and of course prevented Mom and I from bringing home any new cruise souvenir/children.

Tip # 28 - Bring your kids along for the cruise. They make you practice the safest sex, abstinence.

As promised the wake- up call arrived promptly at 630 am. Today we all got up and went to Lazy js for breakfast. Granted it took a long time to finally get everyone upright and properly motivated.

We had a tour guide to meet at 8:30 and today we were not going to be late. We had packed our bags the night before so we were more prepared today.

After a calm and tasty breakfast at a busier than yesterday Lazy Js we grabbed our bags and headed off the ship in search of our tour guide who was waiting as promised for us just outside the terminal.

As a result of my advance planning I made arrangements to take a private guided tour for the day from “Big Island Aina Tours”

http://www.ainatours.com/index.htm Gil and Tina Nelson

Tina was our guide for the day and she did a great job tailoring the tour to the items I had mentioned in advance when I contacted them.

Tip #29 – Private tours can be easily tailored to what you want to see.

My youngest daughter is a turtle lover and we made several stops at beaches and parks where they would typically be found, but alas, we did not find many.

The most memorable part of the tour was Volcano National Park. It is hard to describe the size and beauty so I won’t. Look at the pictures at the end. We walked through the Thurston lava tube. Our guide brought flashlights and umbrellas so we were well prepared. There is a section of the lava tube that we visited that is very dark, wet and unimproved. The kids had a blast wandering through this and its pitch darkness. I highly recommend a trip to VNP.

We drove all over the island taking in scenic beauty overlooking the ocean and water falls. We stopped for lunch at the Mauna Loa plantation. The visitor center is in the middle of a veritable sea of mac trees and has a snack center that served decent lunch fare.

My only complaint of the tour was with the Mauna Loa visitor center store. I LOVE macadamias. But I really only like the dry roasted and salted version. Guess which kind they did not have. You could have bought them dipped in just about everything else though.

The waterfalls that you see in my pictures and videos at the end of this section of the review were amazing. Very memorable and I recommend that you find a way to see the big ones. Wish I remembered the name but I suspect that any tour guide worth their salt will take you there. Yeah, there was an admission fee, but well worth it.

On the way to VNP we stopped at a big barn full of Orchids and flowers on display and that were for sale. I am not one for taking flower pics, but damn these were amazing.

We ended our touring by stopping for some shave ice and shopping before returning to the ship. This was a nice treat and carried us over until dinner. We ended our tour about 5 and said good bye to Tina. I would recommend this tour service to others.

Back on board we all gathered on the balcony to watch the sail away from Hilo, wondering if we would ever return.

Eventually there comes a time that everyone in the family decides they want something different to eat. Ever have those nights at home? No one wants to cook and no one wants what anyone else wants to eat and all everyone knows is that they are hungry? Welcome to 7 pm on the seas sailing away from Hilo.

Tonight we made no firm dinner plans in advance. This was a tradition I started on our last cruise on the Epic. (Yeah I know, how can doing it once be a tradition? It’s my review, I make up this stuff as I go) I wanted sushi and no one else in my family will eat it.

The twins went to the Cadillac diner which was their hangout for the cruise when they wanted to get away and nibble on something or have lunch independently. Mom and my oldest daughter decided to hit the buffet, leaving me free to attempt to set a new record for the number of sushi rolls and sashimi consumed at a sitting on a cruise ship.

I wandered down to East meets West where the sushi bar and Teppenyaki were also located. Bad timing on my part as all the second seating diners for Teppenyaki had arrived and were being sorted out and seated, I decided to come back.

I wandered up 1 deck to a large bar overlooking a grand piano with a pianist performing. Very relaxing and actually entertaining.

After a few dirty martinis I went back to East meets West and was greeted by the host all dressed up in a tux.

I told him I was there to eat some sushi.

He asked if I had a reservation.

I said no.

He said sorry, I cannot seat you.

I leaned to the right staring at the sushi bar WITH ABSOLUTELY NO ONE SITTING AT IT, and then I looked back at him and he said “Those seats will all be full soon”

Note: East meets West was not at all busy either. Teppenyaki was packed, but empty tables galore abounded in East meets West.

I left and as I rounded the corner I ran into our concierge who I was just about to go call. Thomas saw me, engaged me in conversation immediately and I told him I was just going to call you.

Two minutes later I was seated at the best seat at the sushi bar being apologized to by the same restaurant host who just a few minutes before had dismissed me. Ahh the suite life.

Tip #30 – You paid for the concierge, do not be afraid to use him.

By the way, the sushi bar never was totally full over the next two hours while I was there making rice and fish vanish.

The rest of the evening was a blur as the result of my sushi coma but I am pretty sure that I once again visited with the family, took in a comedy show and then staggered to the Waikiki Bar for an evening night cap and a cigar.

Tomorrow was going to be something completely different for our family. We all crashed early as we had to be up extra early.

http://travel.webshots.com/album/580704861hENMkA?start=0 Hilo tour and sail away pics

Maui Day 2 - A day at sea 7/18/11

Long before I finished our plans for our Hawaiian land vacation and cruise I made the decision to build down time into our vacation schedule. We learned the hard way over the years that port intensive cruises and taking on Walt Disney World like it was a D Day landing for 8 days and nights left us tired and irritable. Sometimes sick.

Our family has grown to love sea days on our cruises. Why? They mean you get to sleep in, do as little as possible, find time for you and to just get away from it all. We got spoiled on The Norway with her 2.5 days at sea to start her cruises to the Eastern Caribbean. By the first port we had energy and were ready for anything.

Fast forward to Hawaii.

The day after we flew in was a sea day on land. We hung at the hotel and beach all day and sunned and baked.

Now it was day 2 in Maui and it was “a day at sea” for our family. Some of us took sleeping in to a new level. (Think teenage kids that could sleep till 1pm on any summer vacation day and any Saturday and Sunday.)

I set an 845 am alarm for Mom and I because we wanted to take full advantage of our Lazy Js breakfast privilege before they closed at 10 am.

We arrived to a fairly quiet Lazy Js as most of the early risers had come and gone. We were warmly greeted by name by the restaurant host who always took time to chat with us whenever we dined. I wish I could remember his name. We ordered and then sauntered to the buffet tables to pick out some goodies to keep us occupied until the main course arrived. I got hooked on fresh Maui gold pineapple freshly sliced and waiting for us every morning, as well as some chocolate drizzled flaky rolls. Fresh juice galore was a nice touch as well. I know the wife enjoyed taking a couple boxes of breakfast cereal back for snacks as well.

We left to go kick our kids out of bed, but not before we gathered up some breakfast rolls, croissants, and fruit and to go glasses of milk and juice. Sometimes hunger works better than threats of violence.

The staff was more than happy to accommodate our carry out requests, especially since were informed that everything that remained on the buffet was to be thrown out at that time. They brought plates with those covers that you see in the main dining room when the waiters bring out a dozen dinners at a time and paper cups with lids for the drinks.

Back at the room I took time out to do a few chores. Every day I took a few minutes to download our photos from the digital camera cards. I brought my air card and computer with me and since we had Verizon and a great signal in most ports, I was able upload our pics daily as well. This was a nice feeling of security for someone who has lost memories to glitches and lost cards before.

After a few minutes it was obvious that our kids were still too sacked out to eat or rise.

Mom and I put on bathing suits, grabbed towels and went up to deck 13 to the pool area by the Waikiki bar to hog some chairs for the day.

I sent Mom ahead saying I forgot something and then I went back to find the room steward who I highly encouraged to go bang on our door numerous times until he roused our angelic urchins. Heh heh.

The deck chairs aft on deck 12 are arranged in a semi- circle around the small but well used pool aft. From my perch on deck 13 in the shade by the bar I was able to keep watch over my spouse, kids and their needs all day.

OK, I pretty much paid no attention to them as I sipped beer and smoked cigars all day until someone yelled or waved me down to get them a drink, but hey I was there for them.

About a half hour after we got comfortable our kids started magically appearing. They complained that someone from housekeeping kept banging on the door to clean the room. Heh heh.

At some point before lunch I decided I needed some exercise and wandered down to the promenade deck which I circled several times for an hour. It is a treasure to find a ship these days with a promenade that goes all the way around. The one on the POA is especially wide and well cared for.

Somewhere in the early afternoon before Lazy Js closed for lunch service, I wandered in by myself and ordered my favorite lunch menu item, the Sesame encrusted Ahi tuna sandwich, rare. These are very good and of course I had to have a piece of carrot cake to balance out the meal, especially since I had actually exercised! Again the restaurant was quiet and not very busy. After having spent the majority of our lunches onboard ships in the chaos and bustle of the buffet finding the items our picky eaters wanted, the peaceful quiet of a lunch in Lazy Js was a luxury.

The balance of the afternoon was spent engaged in conversations with shipmates by the bar, delivering drinks and snacks to the pool area and just general laziness.

Eventually we headed in and showered for dinner at 7. But not before we enjoyed the sail away at 6pm from Maui on our balcony. It has become a tradition that we all gather and enjoy the sail-away from our aft balcony while taking numerous pics and saying goodbye to a new favorite place.

Tonight was dinner at Little Italy. The food and service were terrific and although I do not remember what we all had, I know we all walked away satisfied. The kids wandered off to see a show, Mom and I decided to crash early and pack our to-go bags for tomorrow’s tour of Hilo.

Task complete, I used my new found energy to wander up to deck 13 and the Waikiki bar where I swapped stories and shared drinks and a cigar or 3 with my new shipmates. I crashed at a relatively early 11 pm since that 630am wakeup call and breakfast at Lazy Js was waiting.

http://travel.webshots.com/album/580696135pNjITR Maui Day 2 pics and videos

Pride of America – Port of Honolulu – 7/16/2011

"They were just finishing setting up a big table loaded with Leis just before the embarkation picture station. I asked if I could get some for my family so they wandered over to the VIP lounge with Leis and bestowed them upon all of us Leiless passengers."

 

Is this only for VIP passengers? What is the cost of the leis to purchase?

Thanks!

 

This was not just for suite passengers and there was no cost.

 

Apparently everyone received a Lei before the embarkation photo.

 

When we got our embarkation photo the Leis were not yet set up. That is why they walked around and found those passengfers that had arrived early to give them a Lei.

 

Funny story - We found our picture from embarkation later in the week in the photo gallery. Our son had worn a green T shirt at boarding. The photo was taken against a green screen witha superimposed background.

 

When we got the picture, my sons shirt was gone, all we saw were his exposed arms and head and lower torso. Very memorable picture. They offered to fix it but we said no way.

Day 1 – Maui – The Road to Hana 7/17/11

Long before I informed the family of our destination for the family cruise in Hawaii I had begun scouring the Cruise Critic boards for information to help plan for the tours and excursions that we would take.

My hobby for years, OK some would say my obsession, has been gathering information from the CC boards that might be relevant and useful to our family cruises.

I learned how important planning was years ago and it paid huge dividends for us when we sailed the Jade to the Med from Southampton in July 2009. We had a private tour company waiting at every port for us to debark the ship and take us on a full day of sightseeing. 7 person minivans and flexibility you cannot match with any offering that the cruise line may offer. Oh yeah, and a lot cheaper.

Tip # 18 – Cheap guys like me get to cruise more often. Doing your homework pays dividends

Fast forward to 2011 and our cruise on the POA. I knew that we had 2 days in Maui so I went looking for a tour company to take us on the Road to Hana on Sunday, the first day in port. I knew that I did not want to rent a van and then be the driver for the day. Especially when I knew that I had no idea what I was doing or where I was going. After reading many reviews I selected Valley Isle Excursions for our Road to Hana tour.

http://www.tourmaui.com

One of the other things I learned from my studies was that if you were on a tour bus for the Road to Hana, sit on the left side behind the driver. This seemed to be common advice, in fact one of the terrific hosts in Lazy Js made the same recommendation.

Before we went to bed on Saturday night I tried to impress upon my family that we had to get up and get moving immediately upon the wakeup call in the am as we were to meet our tour bus at 8:05am. I am sure you can see where this is going….

6:30 am – Wake up call. Mom and I spring into action, fast showers fast dress, pack the backpack and cameras and towels and suits and all the other crap we thought we would need. Then there were the 3 kids in a comatose stupor reacting to our yells and demands that they get moving as though they had been deaf since birth.

Tip # 19 – Remember to pack for the next day’s excursion BEFORE you go to bed.

7:15 am we staggered in to Lazy J’s for our first suite perk breakfast. They were of course ready for us. Bright, cheerful, organized, eager to please. Normally I hate people like that at 7:15 am. I resisted the urge to smack someone.

Lazy J’s had a buffet table laid out every am with numerous juices, breads, rolls, croissants, fruits, cereals, breakfast meats, etc. The staff was always quick to take your order as they knew that you were probably already late for whatever you were planning to do. Orders were always served hot and correct. After ordering you would go to the buffet to grab your pre entre items. I cannot impress upon you how wonderful this benefit was. For anyone that has cruised before and witnessed the chaos and carnage that can occur at the buffet, especially on the first port morning, the calm and peaceful elegance of Lazy Js is priceless.

Tip #20 - If you are in a suite or a VIP, do not pass up this benefit.

At 8 am we wandered out of Lazy Js and instead of going directly to the stairwell to head to the debark deck, suddenly we were heading back to our suite for last minute items that Mom and I had thoughtlessly forgotten to pack. Grrrrrrrrrrr

Tip #21- See tip 19

At 8:10 my cell rang as the driver of our tour bus was wondering where we were. We met him and the rest of our fellow Road to Hana bus mates at 8:20 after a hasty and spirited trot from the ship.

Guess where the last 5 seats available on the tour bus were. As it turned out, it really did not matter.

Tip # 22 - Sit back and enjoy the ride when you can.

The Valley Isle tour buses hold 12 people in relative comfort. The driver brought a cooler stocked with water and pop and ice. I later learned from a conversation that I had with another of our shipmates at the Waikiki bar later that day that the NCL arranged excursions took place in the same sized vans as ours, but they had 20 people!!

I am not sure how that was possible, but can only imagine the lap dances that ensued on the bumpy road to Hana………

I am glad that I made the decision not to drive the Road to Hana on my own. I know I could have done it, but it allowed me the chance to sit back and enjoy the ride. The driver provided an entertaining and informative narrative along the route and took us to sure fire sights that were well worth the stop.

One tidbit he shared with us that a break down on the road to Hana was a very expensive proposition. $650 fixed fee tow truck charge. Yikes! No idea how truthful that was, but I was relieved I was in no position to find out.

We made numerous stops at breathtakingly beautiful sights. Scenic shorelines and surf, waterfalls etc. I wonder how the uninformed driver making the trip for the first time would know where to go? I surely would not. One of our stops was at the church and graveyard where Charles Lindberg was buried. A very interesting story was related to us by the driver that made it so interesting. It was special to see this and the gravesites of his 6 pets as well.

Tip #23 – Sometimes you will be surprised by things you had no idea you wanted to see

A few members of my family struggled with motion sickness on this tour. I had planned ahead for this as reviews I read indicated that this could be an issue. I brought Dramamine and after an hour or so the drug worked well to prevent any volcanic breakfast eruptions.

Tip# 24 – If someone in your group is prone to motion sickness, take Dramamine or bonine in advance. Remember to look out the windows straight ahead vs out the side.

It is impossible to relate via words the beauty and experience that is the Road to Hana. I highly recommend that you try this tour.

Another tidbit that the driver shared had to do with an area that was more than ½ way through the 142 mile Road to Hana tour.

There is an area that is hard to keep paved because it is a natural volcanic route for water deposited in the mountains and hills in the form of rain to exit to the sea. He said that there have been tours he conducted where he made it through and the tours behind him did not. Think rushing water. As a result, those tours got back to the ship between 7-8 PM vs 5 PM because they had to turn around and go back the way they came.

Tip #25 Do the Road to Hana Tour on day1 in Maui. Who cares when you get back!

Probably the best memory of the tour for me was our stop at the Pools of Oheo.

http://www.gohawaii.com/maui/regions-neighborhoods/east-maui/pools-of-oheo

It was a terrific day weather wise and the pools were open for visitors. The family was glad they brought their towels and suits as it provided a unique and delightful swimming experience in a gorgeous setting. I was able to take a lot of pics.

We returned to the POA from our tour almost exactly at 5pm and we wandered back to the port where we encountered one of the strangest security experiences we have ever been confronted with at any port.

The family wandered through security and I put the beach bag and backpack through the scanner.

Then I watched a security person go through every nook and cranny of everything in the bags on a puritanical search for god knows what. She took every stone and even the snack ziplock bag of black sand out of the bags and kept them like they were some kind of natural treasure. She took every bathing suit and checked its pockets, every pair of shorts etc.

My son was particularly sad at this event as he has a passion for collecting unique stones and sand developed from our many prior cruise excursions to other lands.

Please note: If these items had been in my pockets, they never would have known as my son had a few other rocks in his possession when he went through security.

We did not encounter this bizarre behavior again in any other port. (If anyone goes to a Maui black sand beach on a future cruise and they have any extra sand left over to share, drop me an email)

The family retired to our suite and everyone took some time to relax. I showered and headed to the Waikiki Bar for a Martini or three and a couple cigars before dinner at Jefferson’s Bistro. This was only the second day of the cruise but I was quickly in a position to relate our day’s experiences with my new found bar mates from Saturday in a matter of minutes. After a few days, I felt like I was Norm at Cheers.

We arrived promptly at Jefferson’s Bistro at 7pm. It was NOT busy and we had amazing service and attention.

I could not make my mind up on the main course so our server brought me both! ( Heh heh, I has NO idea this would happen) We all enjoyed our dinner as Jefferson’s ( Le Bistro on other NCL ships) is our favorite.

We knew we were coming back Friday night ( the last night of the cruise) so we did not exercise the platinum benefits that my wife and I have. (ie 2 free dinners each and a complimentary bottle of wine each at Le Bistro)

One of my families favorite desserts is the Chocolate Fondue at Le Bistro…err Jeffersons Bistro. Me, I like the crème brulee. But it is fun to watch the rest of the family fighting over 2 Chocolate Fondues for 2 .

The wife ignored my suggestion that we get a fondue to go and send the kids to the show. I guess the honeymoon is over. (Note- Our first cruise was our honeymoon on the NCCL Southward in May 1984…they did NOT have a chocolate fondue)

After dinner the kids wanted to see a show, Mom wanted to crash and I wanted to go back to the Waikiki bar for some more relaxation.

Tip # 26 - Everyone needs to be free to do what they want. Don’t over plan, especially after a busy day.

Tomorrow is a sea day. Confused by that statement? I will explain tomorrow.

http://travel.webshots.com/album/580568101SpJwFr Pics from the Road to Hana

I agree with everyone else's comments about an excellent and entertaining review - but I was surprised that in a cabin at this level ($$$$) there was no Lavaza (sp?) coffee maker - just the usual inexpensive hotel kind. I hope they upgrade before next year (Oct - 2012!!!)

B, Cole

My understanding is that the treatment of the category SH cabins on the POA as a suite is an experiment. When I booked this cruise, this cabin was nothing more than a large mini suite, or in other words, a deluxe balcony cabin. The amount I paid for the 5 of us for the cruise was almost half of what the other SH cabins were selling for weeks before our cruise. I got a ridiculously good deal. And then they added full suite perks.

If NCL makes the suite status permanent, I would hope they would revisit the cabin and make some upgrades to insure that the quality of the furnishings is equivalent to those that are in other suites.

We are not coffee drinkers so the first thing we had the cabin attendant do was remove the coffee maker and supplies to free up more space for us to distribute our clutter to....

The only issue we had with our cabin the entire cruise was a lack of beach towels. We would leave the wet ones on the cabin floor but they were never replaced. No big deal as the supply closet was across the hall from our cabin and it was always unlocked.