moethecat

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Day 3

Day 3 was a day at sea. As we did every morning we hadbreakfast at the Windjammer. One nice new thing was the hand sinks located atboth entrances to the Windjammer. An attendant was always nearby telling peopleto “washy washy”. Probably around 9:00 we headed up to the pool desk and found threelounge chairs, a deck chair and a hammock near the stern of the ship. Thelocation was rather nice as we could still hear music but also could feel anice breeze. The ship had three hot tubs and were not as crowded as I hadexpected them to be. The pool deck filled up rather quickly and until about1:00 we relaxed reading books, soaking up the sun and listening to music. Afterour pool deck time we had lunch at the Windjammer and took a quick nap in ourcabins. On a side note we never ate at the specialty restaurant Chops. Chopslooked very nice but we just never fit it in.

Dinner for the evening was at 5:45 in the main dinning room.By this time our waitstaff had become familiar with us and us with them. It wasenjoyable having the same waitstaff each night. After dinner we caught the showfor the night. It was a rock impersonator who did the show singing songs andimpersonating artists such as Jim Morrison, Johnny Cash, Rod Stewart andothers. The show was so good we attended both shows for the evening with thesecond show being better then the first. After the second show we headed backto our cabins.

Day 4 Cozumel coming soon…

Looking forward to the rest of your review.

We were thinking of taking the Conch Train on our next visit to Key West but i will have to rethink that after reading about your experience.

 

Did you eat four entrees the first night or were you just telling what everybody at your table ordered. I have been known to order two entrees myself which is why I ask.

Good morning. I would recommend the Old Town Trolley instead of the Conch Train. They are owned by the same company. Trolley looked to be a "smoother" ride and had more stops. I have to admit we were riding looking backwards on the Conch Train. Kind of made the bumps more unexpected. Riding looking forward would have been better.

Ooops. My food listing was just what I had each night. Day 1 NY Strip, Day 2 Pork Tenderloin, etc My daughter had similar but had a few chicken dishes which she enjoyed. My fiancée had mostly fish/lobster and vegetarian offerings. All of which she enjoyed.

Thank you for reading and thank you for your comments.

Hello,

Just got back from a five-night cruise (Mia, Key West, Cozumel, Mia) with my daughter, her boyfriendand my fiancée on Empress of the Seas. It was my six cruise. (3 RCCL, 2 Carnival,1 NCL) Decided to write a review about the experience. Bottom line the cruisewas well worth the money and all of us had a fantastic time.

Day 1:

Flew into FLL from BWI arriving around 9:50. We had pre-purchasedthe cruise ground transportation to the port of Miami from FLL. Due to a bushaving to take a group of 45 ahead of us to the cruise port we did not boardthe bus to the port until 11:45. Trip to the port was fine and we were checkedin and in the Windjammer before 1:00. My first impression of the ship was thatit was very clean. Everything looked in good shape and cared for. Metal wasshiny and carpet looked new. As we started to have some food it was announcedthat all cabin rooms were ready. This was very nice as we were all tired fromthe trip down to Miami.

The selection of food in the Windjammer seemed to be betterthen on previous cruises and the quality also seemed to be better. Nothingappeared to be old, dried out or sitting on a warming tray for a long time.After we ate we headed to our cabins (4612 and 4112) to grab a quick nap beforethe muster drill. My fiancée and my cabin (4612) had a large ocean view window.The cabin was very clean and looked “new”. It actually felt larger then Ithought it would and had plenty of storage. We brought a plastic shoe rack andhung it from the bathroom door to store some things. The bathroom and shower wererather small and I could see a “larger” person having some issues using theshower as it was a bit tight. Cabins 4*12 were both centrally located on theship which was nice but on a ship this size it was only a partial benefit asgoing from stern to bow did not take long on the ship. Throughout the cruise werarely, if at all, heard any hallway noise. The rooms by the Centrium, I canimagine, may experience some noise as a lot of events occurred in this area.

After a quick nap, we went to the muster drill at 3:30.Rather hot out but everyone on the ship was in good spirits and we talked witha few people who also had traveled from MD. After the drill we returned to ourrooms to unpack. All luggage except my daughter’s had already arrived. Later,we found out her luggage had been confiscated for having a power strip in itand she had to retrieve the luggage from deck 2.

We had chosen the “my time dining” option and headed to the dinningroom around 6:00. As a tip make sure to book a seating for my time dinning as wemany times saw people turned away when they showed up and just expected to beseated. The theme nights for dinner were Italian, Cuban, Classic American, Frenchand “Lobster”. I went with 2 NY strips, 1 prime rib, 1 pork tenderloin, 1 beeftenderloin. All were better then I expected and tastier then your average restaurant.Portion sizes were right and service was excellent. Our 6:00 dinner ended justin time for the 7:15 show.

The night’s show was the comedian Landry. Show was funny.Had a feeling he was holding back a lot of material for the Thursday Adult’sonly show. Still a very funny show. As with all nights when the show lets out peopleare funneled through the atrium where there is something going on. Trivia,dance, game show, etc. Instead of watching the trivia we walked across to theSchooner bar and listed to the piano player. The Schooner bar is rather large,plenty of windows and kind of serves as a sports bar with a lot of sportingevents on the TV’s. Around 9:30 we headed back to the cabin for the night.

Day 2

Day 2 was a stop in Key West. The weather was beautiful, andwe docked at the Navy pier. Being at the Navy pier we needed to be shuttled tothe center of town. Second time in Key West and the place was bustling with afew cruise ships docked. We had planned to walk around, visit the Hemingwayhouse and anything else interesting we came upon. Instead of walking we decidedto try the Conch Tour Train. It certainly was not what I expected. 45 minutes drivingaround on bumpy roads in the hot sun before reaching the first stop. About 40minutes into the trip the train had to stop because a woman had become ill. Wasrather unsettling to see her get off the train, take a few steps and collapse.The driver and bystanders attended to her until the paramedics could arrive. Wedecided to walk the rest of the way to the Hemingway House. The Hemingway Housewas enjoyable. Second time there. We did the guided tour, bought a few thingsfrom the gift shop and petted the cats. Overall a fun experience even thesecond time around. After the “House” we made our way back to Mallory Squareand Duval Street. Enjoyed some ice cream, looked around in the shops and peoplewatched. Probably around 1:45 headed back to the ship. Would have liked to havegone to Sloppy Joes or Truman’s Little White House but was just to tired. Maybenext time.

Once back on the ship we grabbed a quick lunch and took aquick nap before dinner. Dinner was at 5:45, which I believe is the earliest mytime dining. We were given a window table which we had for the remainder of thecruise. Service was excellent and the food tasty. After dinner, my fiancée andI, went to the show and my daughter and her boyfriend went off to do otherthings. The show for the evening was a song and dance show. Entertaining, notspectacular but enjoyable. After the show we went to a game show, “Who wants tofeel like a millionaire”. Very fun show as were most of the game shows and triviacontests we attended. The show was held in a large nightclub Boleros. The shiphad 4 “bars” (pool, Schooner, Viking Lounge and Boleros. We did not spend anytime in Viking but Schooner and Boleros were never overcrowded and never undercrowded.To close out the night we went and listened to some piano music in SchoonersBar. Probably headed to bed around 10:30. At the end of Day 2 I was fullyadjusted to being on the ship and having my travel fatigue behind me. I do geta little motion sick but overall this was the least I have ever gotten on acruise. There were a few spots where one could feel the ship move but for themajority of time very very smooth sailing.

Day 3 and 4 coming soon…

Enjoyed your review and thank you. We will be on the Pride August next year.

Thank you! Enjoy your cruise and the planning of the cruise. (Which I always enjoy.)

Please feel free to ask any questions regarding the cruise as your cruise date nears.

I thought of a couple of other things recently regarding the cruise:

1) On the Road to Hana our first stop was a small park. A couple was selling fresh coconut which they chopped and stuck a straw in so we could drink the coconut water. It was very tasty. $5. Second stop was a small refreshment stand area. They are famous for their banana bread. We had the ice cream which was very tasty.

2) In our cabin we hung a "shoe" holder (not sure not to describe it) on the bathroom door and stuck our bathroom "stuff" it in. Freed up space in the bathroom. Also the Hawaii decorations we picked up at the Dollar Store and put up in the cabin made the cruise feel super Hawaiian.

3) Also there are a couple of cabanas overlooking the pool. We never used them but they provide some shade and have a great view of the pool deck.

 

moethecat,

Thanks for the response. When we did this cruise in 2012 we used Roberts, but had much more time. (7:30pm flight) They picked us up and we loaded luggage on the bus, did the 6 or 7 hour tour and dropped us at the Airport about 3:30 - 4pm. Our flight, like yours, is at 2:40pm, this time. Roberts doesn't do an early Pearl Harbor (wish they did) tour that is shorter than their regular one so will have to use NCL this time. I called shore excursions yesterday and they said this tour is for flights after 2pm but told us we need to take our luggage off the ship. Not a problem though as we will all have 1 carryon and a backpack. There will be 11 of us going. It is a "retirement cruise" from us to the kids and grandkids. Like I told them, we are just spending their inheritance and will enjoy it with them. :)

 

:) Enjoy the cruise! I am sure you are going to have a wonderful time! I hope you post some pictures or a summary when you return.

 

I am sure the cruise will generate memories that will last for generations! In reflection the cruise certainly exceeded my expectations. Just a fantastic experience.

I apologize to anyone who tried to watch the videos I posted on youtube and linked to.

I have no idea as to why they terminated the youtube account I used for the videos.

Oh well... :)

OP, I know you said you slept through the lava flow, but I'm wondering, when I worked the ships back in 2008 when the lava last flowed to the sea, we would stop the ship and spin it so everyone got a view. Do you know whether this was done or not? Helpful for others choosing cabins.

This was not done. We passed on the starboard side. I missed the moment we passed but it still was very rewarding to see the lava flow in the distance as we moved away.

For the Smith's Family Luau what was the cost per person and how far was it from the ship ? You had mentioned that Roberts Hawaii took you there and was wondering what the return transp cost was to the luau ?

Hello,

The Luau was $78 and included the cost of transportation to and from. The show certainly made the luau worth it. I am unsure of the distance in miles but maybe a 15 minute bus ride?

 

Great review. Got a question for you. We will be on the POA in December and will be doing the Early Pearl Harbor Excursion via NCL. I noticed in your review that you put your luggage out on Friday night to be taken off the ship by the staff. Do they specially tag the bags so they will go on the shuttle bus or do they just take them to the airport or ???. I wasn't sure how to handle our luggage, but figured we would just lug the stuff off to the excursion bus and load it there and unload it at the airport.

 

Hello,

We picked our luggage up after we departed the ship and loaded it on the bus going to Pearl Harbor. We had special luggage tags. After Pearl Harbor we were taken to the airport and when the bus dropped us off are luggage came with us.

Thanks again to everyone for the feedback and taking the time to read my post.

A couple of videos: Ejay Day and Carrie Stone, Sailing away from the Na Pali coast

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Cruise Day 8 - Saturday:

Saturday our departure time from the ship was 745 for our early bird Pearl Harbor and airport drop off excursion through NCL. My fiancée surprised us by purchasing the ten picture package the night before and the pictures and USB with the digitals were waiting for us when we departed the cabin. One last picture of the cabin and we headed to the Hollywood theater for our departure. Departing the ship was very smooth with literally no wait.

A couple of other notes about the cruise. We never received our tickets for the NCL excursion but luckily we realized it and obtained them from the shore excursion desk before Saturday. Also the former American Idol that I mentioned earlier, that performed at Pink’s, was Ejay Day.

On the bus to Pearl Harbor I sat next to a very nice fellow cruiser from Chicago. I got to hear a bit about her cruise and her life back in Chicago. It was nice. The Pearl Harbor tour was self-guided and lasted a few hours. Probably a bit more time then what was needed. The excursion was very interesting and I certainly recommend it. We viewed a few walk through areas detailing the events leading to and after the attack on Pearl Harbor. Also we took a boat out to the USS Arizona memorial. Kind of an emotional tour, standing on the Arizona and thinking 75 years ago Japanese planes were coming across the harbor where I was looking to attack the harbor. Our ride to the airport after the excursion only took a few minutes. Checking in and going through security was very easy. We grabbed a bite to eat as we waited for our flight home via LAX on Virgin America. This was my first flight on Virgin America and it certainly did not live up to expectations. I will avoid them in the future. We had a brief layover of literally minutes at Los Angeles before we boarded our flight back to Washington DC.

Day 9 - Sunday:

Arrived back at IAD airport, Washington DC, around 800. My fiancée’s dad picked us up and we headed home. At home there was two dogs and four cats happily waiting to see us! Great end to a fantastic vacation!

Later in the week I’ll try and post a few more pictures. Thanks to everyone who took time to read this recap and I hope it was beneficial. Certainly a fantastic cruise and vacation. Few more weeks and it will be time to start thinking about the next cruise. :):)

Cruise Day 7 - Friday:

Friday was our last full day of the cruise. Ever though it was the last full day we never felt rushed by NCL about preparing to depart the ship. Breakfast on Friday was… the Aloha café. It was a beautiful morning. My daughter decided to skip the excursion today and sleep in. Today’s excursion was Waimea Canyon.

The excursion was early and we boarded a small shuttle around 700. Only eight of us on the excursion and the driver took each of our names as we boarded. She was probably one of my favorite drivers of the week. Our first stop was a visit to a lava tube that was submerged in the ocean. It was called “spouting horn” as every few minutes it would spew water into the air like a geyser. While the stop was rather short it was an interesting stop. Next we made an unscheduled stop in a small town called Hannapepe where they filmed parts of the mini-series Thornbirds. At this stop we also walked out on the “swinging bridge” which was a wooden bridge that crossed a river. After the bridge stop we traveled a few miles and made a quick stop to view the memorial to Captain Cook. Cook was a British ship Captain who “found” Hawaii. All the bus drivers seemed to talk about him quite a bit. Next was yet another unscheduled stop at a valley where they filmed the opening scene of Jurassic Park. It was rather amazing and as a fan of the movie was really neat to see.

Onward we traveled on the bus up to the Waimea canyon viewing point. Once at the viewing point we purchased some very tasty mango juice from the food vendor and watched the wild chickens run around. We walked a bit up a path to the viewing point and the view there was incredible! The canyon was huge, lush and very beautiful. We spent about forty minutes’ total at this stop before boarding the bus and heading back to the ship. On the way back to the ship we made one last unscheduled stop at a coffee farm/museum. Decent stop with coffee tasting and a place to buy sandwiches and drinks. After arriving back at the ship I ran over to the nearby ABC store to grab a few things.

No nap upon arriving back on the ship as we headed to the Latitude members “set sail” party at the bow of the ship. Various crew members spoke and there were plenty of free drinks. Also had the chance to talk to a bunch of crew members about where they were from and such. We left the gathering a bit early as the Na Pali coast viewing was coming up soon. We tuned the tv in our cabin to channel 23 and angled the TV towards the balcony. The narration of the coast was not that interesting but the coast was very beautiful. A rainbow had formed and the ship traveled rather close to the coast which was nice. After we had traveled the coast, the ship turned and headed out to sea a bit. We sat on the balcony listening to music, watching sailboats sail by and the sun starting to set. Great way to start the last night of the cruise.

We had reservations at Cagney’s for dinner. For dinner we had filet mignon, lobster, ribeye, shrimp cocktail, oysters Rockefeller, salad, desert and more! Very good meal and probably the best of the three specialty restaurants that we dined at. After dinner my fiancée headed over to Pinks Champagne bar to listen to some music. My daughter and myself headed back to the cabin to pack as our bags needed to be outside the cabin by midnight. We took down the Hawaiian decorations we had in our cabin and on our cabin door and packed them away. Bags were outside of the cabin by 1100 and it was off to sleep.

More to come…

Interesting tip:

When retrieving our luggage at the Honolulu airport I found out one of my bags had been severely damaged. Instead of leaving the airport and filing a claim later on I went to the Alaska Air/American Air baggage desk. The lady at the desk saw how damaged the bag was and swapped the damaged one out for a new bag. Helped get the trip off to a good start.

Cruise Day 6 - Thursday:

On Thursday we cruised over and arrived in Kauai. I was excited to see Kauai as it was the least populated of the main islands and had the most wild chickens. 2000 of them. Breakfast at the Aloha café and then we headed to our excursion with Roberts. Today was Wailulu River and the Fern Garden. Most people on this day seemed to be doing the Waimea Canyon tour. Our bus driver was nice however the trip was rather short to the river. The Kauai port seemed a bit hectic compared to the other ports and it took us a bit of time to board the bus.

The excursion was by the Smith family of the Smith family’s Tropical Paradise. We toured down the river in a boat with maybe 60 other people for 2-3 miles. The driver of the boat narrated as we went down the river and there were paddle boarders and kayakers alongside of us in the river. The ride down the river was pleasant and relaxing. Eventually we arrived at a State Park area where the fern garden is located. A short walk and we were there. Due to a recent rock slide (maybe a year ago) visitors to the garden are no longer allowed up close to the garden. A bit of a disappointment. So we stood on a very large deck somewhat close to the garden as members of the Smith family sang the Hawaiian wedding song to us. It was nice but hot out and not a lot of shade on the deck. After the song we traveled back to the boat to travel back to the start of the boat ride. During the trip back the members of the Smith family did a great job singing songs and telling stories. Once we arrived back at the dock we boarded the bus and headed back to the ship. Overall it was a worthy excursion although this day might have been a good day to do a beach day.

Thursday evening, we had the Smith Family Luau scheduled. We booked directly through the Smith website because it was a bit cheaper then Roberts. Around 4:30 we boarded a Robert’s bus along with the people who had booked through Robert’s and traveled back to the Smith Family Tropical Paradise. The NCL Luau excursion did not use the Smith family Luau. Once we arrived and entered the “family paradise” we boarded a tram that took us around the paradise. The paradise was beautiful! Birds, and chickens and plants. Peacocks showing off their feathers! After the 20 or so minute tram ride we walked around the paradise exploring. Around 600ish the Smith’s held a pig blessing ceremony where they dug up the pig that was cooking underground. Neat ceremony and the kids in attendance really liked the ceremony. At 630 the food for the luau was ready. Rather slowly each table was allowed to go up and pick the food they wanted from the buffet. This was a rather slow process and I was hungry. Finally, our table was called. The food… well the food was mediocre at best. They say you don’t go to a Luau for the food but for the show and the show was next! We hustled down to the outside theater and obtained second row seats. The show was… well fantastic!!! Really amazing show. The entertainers were clearly enjoying putting on the show and the crowd loved it! Certainly a highlight of the trip. The show ended around 900 and we boarded a Robert’s bus to head back to the ship. Upon returning to the ship we went straight to the cabin and turned in for the night.

A day that did not look that promising certainly ended on a high note! More to come soon…

Thanks for taking the time to provide us with a detailed review and great pics.

We will be on the POA next Feb and were thinking of using Roberts for the Pearl Harbour and city tour of Honolulu and maybe at other ports.

Do they use the big highway coaches or smaller vans for their tours ?

We are used to the personal touch provided with smaller groups and not to fond of the larger buses for tours.

Per "If this was your first NCL cruise, how did you get into the Latitudes cocktail party"

We were able to get into the Latitude party because my fiancee is a Silver member. (This was her fourth cruise on NCL)

For the Pearl Harbor tour we used NCL. (Only excursion that we used them for). With Robert's smaller vans for the Road to Hana (Had to be small for that road!) and small van for Waimea Canyon. Everything else was a big highway coach. I agree. The smaller vans are alot better. But with the coaches we tried to arrive early and sit close to the driver. Make things a bit more personal and getting on and off at stops was easier.

All caught up on pictures :)

Next days recap coming soon...

This is very informational... noticed you used Roberts instead of NCL.. I went to their website and seem their excursion were longer then NCL.. prices really not much diff maybe a few $ less.

I have to correct what I said early. We did 6 excursions through Roberts. Not 5. We did the 5 excursion package and added on the Road to Hana.

The Roberts excursions were less crowded which was nice.

Booking the 5 excursion package plus the road to hana via Roberts was $285

If we had booked individually through Roberts it would have been $377

If we had booked through NCL it would have been $644.

Yes I believe the Roberts tours were longer then NCL. In addition most ran at least 30 minutes longer then scheduled. Probably one ended early and one ended on time.