mooline

PS: The kids and my daughter had a lot of fun at the ribbon lei making class yesterday, so put that activity on your list - and it’s free!

Apologies for the typos in my first post. I don’t see the edit option on the post, guessing that’s because I’m using my iPad vs. computer. We're on the way to Kauai, have been sine last evening. We're steaming along at a good clip, some rocking but nothing at all extreme. My poor 11 year old granddaughter has been queasy most of the trip and Dramamine isn’t cutting it for her. Scopolamine for her next cruise for sure! Everyone else is fine (and my scopolamine patch takes care of my problems) Update on La Cucina: The food was very, very good. Once again, though, the service seemed disorganized. My husband's lasagna entree was brought out with the appetizers (and only 3 of us had apps). My granddaughter asked for no mushrooms on her fettuccini, but there they were. It wasn’t a big deal to her, so she ate around them. The waiter refilled my wine even though I said I was good with what I had. We're pretty chill people by nature so none of this rose to the level of complaint for us, but it might irritate others. Tonight is Skyline, the sister restaurant to Liberty, so we'll see how we fare. And, today is the Hidden Falls kayak trip… with an exuberant 6 year old… wish us luck! 🤪

Aloha! 🥰 We are on the Port side, our kids have a forward facing cabin. The ship sails at night (except for the last day) so there isn’t much to see land wise, but PLENTY of stars! Plus, it’s ails in a circular route, so my guess is at one point or another, every balcony has an island view.

Here we are on Day 5 of what’s been a great cruise so far! I'll give a Cliff Notes version of our experience to date. There are 6 of us, in two suites. My husband and I are in the "Deluxe Owner's Suite with Large Balcony"; it's also called the Grand Suite. Our daughter and her family (husband and 2 girls, ages 6 and 11) are in a Deluxe 2 bedroom Family Suite. The Deluxe Owner's Suite is huge for just 2 of us, but it's fantastic space to gather our whole family from time to time. It has a beautiful grand piano, which has a piano disc self play system. The system is pretty loud even with the volume at minimum, so we haven’t used it often. My favorite thing about this suite is the huge balcony which is the perfect spot for my morning readings. Our daughter's suite is great in that it has a totally separate sleeping area for the kids, about the size of an inside cabin. It's separated from the parents' sleeping area by a good sized hallway and a door. And, it has us own bathroom with shower! Tip: If you have European power adapters, bring them, In both suites, outlets are not plentiful. The kids' room in the 2 bedroom suite has one standard USB outlet in each bedside light, but none of the other selling areas do. We arrived in Honolulu on the Thursday prior to embarkation day. That afforded a nice time for a brief visit to the city. On Saturday, we arrived to board the ship at our appointed time, 11:30. The embarkation area was jam packed! I’ve planned every detail of this trip with laser precision, but… I forgot to print my E-docs, which are needed to pass through Port security! Luckily, I was able to pull the docs up on NCL's app. Whew! Once into the boarding lounge and answering some "are you sick" type of questions, we were escorted to the ship with about 16-20 others. The suites are beautiful and our butlers are phenomenal! My son in law loves basic American coffee, and his butler, Zoie, happily changed out the Nespresso machine for a drip coffeemaker. Our butler, Maria, learned that we have 2 young girls in Our group, and she is keeping us supplied with cookies, gummy bears and cut up fruit. So far, we've enjoyed breakfast at Cagney's just once, as most of our shore excursions have been very early. Otherwise, we've ordered Room Service, which Maria has delivered promptly at the requested time. About the food: Cagney's for lunch on embarkation day, and for breakfast has not disappointed! I'll offer a dinner review in a few days, as we're scheduled there on the last night of the cruise. The big surprise has been the buffet - the Aloha Cafe. We've had no trouble getting a table for 6, and have never encountered long lines. The food at the buffet has been extremely good! We ate one night in the MDR - the Liberty Restaurant. I hesitate to be negative, as every crew member we've met has been pleasant and hard working, but this spectacular setting was mediocre at best in the quality of food. Roast beef and steaks were tough, pasta dishes were meh, the sides are nothing special, but the desserts (Chocolate Lava Cake and Tiramisu Cake) were great. Unfortunately, the service overall was chaotic. Our server did her best, but all of our entrees came out at different times, enough so that a few were finished before others were served, and one appetizer never made it to the table. Tonight it's La Cucina, and we have high hopes. 😊 Thermal Spa.. man, what a treat!! For $100, you have full access all week to the steam, sauna and meditation room with heated stone loungers. My daughter and I each bought a package and we've used it every single day! Shore excursions: Except for one, our excursions are through NCL. The only one that was not was a custom horseback trail ride at Triple L Ranch in the west Maui mountains. We arranged car through Aloha Maui limo, and our driver waited while we rode (for 3 hours!). This was an incredible experience overall! We all did Molokini Crater and Turtle Town snorkeling, which was great, despite not seeing any sea turtles. Two of our group did the Zipline in Hilo, two others did the Waterfalls and Farm tour, and two of us did the Crater Hike. Everyone had a terrific time… and word to the wise, the Crater Hike is intense. We're in very good shape, used to walking at least 4 miles a day, yet this hike was a challenge. Many parts of the trail to and from the crater are very steep and most of t is extremely uneven. Nonetheless we would do it again in a heartbeat to see the spectacular sight of a volcano emitting steam from its crater. Today, in Kona, we all did the Gold Coast and Cloud Forest, which also included a hike, but far easier than the Crater hike. It, too, was a great tour! At this point, I'll stop so any of you can ask questions, and I'll continue to post as our week continues.

Very helpful, thanks, @BermudaBound2014

Wondering if anyone has up to date information on the situation regarding Kilauea? Specifically, would like to know the impact on local communities, and how everyone in the area is faring during this time.

@nitecapt, with absolute respect: It seems from reading your posts, that you have a long and growing list of reasons not to go on the cruise. Dislike of hobnobbing, eating minimally, seeing a ship as transportation vs pleasure, a new and lucrative job, family illness, preferring not to socialize or partake in activities, and more. You sound very introverted, which is absolutely fine, but if that's correct, it's very understandable why the notion of a cruise isn't your ideal vacation. My daughter and one of my granddaughters are extreme introverts, so we gravitate to quieter and smaller gatherings for them. For example, for our Hawaii cruise next month, we'll skip the extravaganza luau in favor of a small, intimate one we found on Oahu. We won't go to shows on board the ship - never do - and will likely have at least one family dinner in our suite. You do say that you'd enjoy time with the grandkids, yet believe that they will be so busy you won't see them. Again, please know I'm doing my best to be very respectful, but there seem to be many assumptions in your posts. Is this one? Even if your family is busy, there will be some times you'll be able to connect. Is there a grandchild who also loves solitude and quiet? Could you connect with him or her on your balcony and simply watch the sea in peace, or share simple, peaceful conversation? Ultimately, it's entirely your choice of course. By all means bring your laptop and take advantage of the time to work if that will make you happy. Eat only what you want, as little as you wish. Sit quietly and watch the world go by. A grandfather is a gift to his or her grandkids, a bridge to their past and a valuable guide for their future. You don't need to hobnob, overeat, dance with a lampshade on your head or swim with sharks... I'll bet your presence is the best present you could give them. Wishing you the best, whatever you decide.

Hi @nitecapt, welcome to CC and to the world of crusing! I understand how you feel. We're plain ol' regular folks too. By the looks of us, one would think we need a few bucks for dinner. I've had the same LL Bean handbag for 25 years, and my husband still wears clothes he's had for more than 10. We don't go to fancy restaurants (actually, we rarely eat out) and Publix's BOGO wines are my favorites. That said, my one guilty pleasure in life is high-end travel. We've always booked suites on cruises, upgraded rooms or suites in hotels, and usually fly first class. Why? I'm not sure, maybe because it's something so out of the ordinary for us it makes our trips all the more special. You will enjoy the peace and better location of your suite, plus you'll be near your family - and that's what life's all about! The butler won't make you feel uncomfortable - he or she will do as much or as little for you as YOU wish. In fact, our experience is that the butler can be nearly invisible if that's your preference. Our butlers have stocked the suite with our favorite things while we've been on excursions, have put coffee in the suite before we've woken up, etc. - if that's what we've indicated we prefer. They are superb listeners and observers, and seem to have a 6th sense about what you will most enjoy. Plus, don't hesitate to tell them - they've seen every kind of passenger imaginable, so your situation won't be new to them. They will be very grateful that you are the kind of passenger who isn't demanding, arrogant, or full of himself We've enjoyed talking with our butler, concierge and cabin stewards, simply to get to know them as people, hear their stories, and understand their worlds. Will you cringe when being led by other passengers waiting patiently in line? Maybe, and I get that. I never, ever flaunt my travel status (I mention it here only because I'm not personally known). You're not the kind of person to look down on people, it seems, so don't let it worry you - the special treatment won't change who you are. As for internet - we had the option to purchase an upgraded, unlimited package that, on balance wasn't awfully expensive. There's a substantial discount when it's an upgrade from a provided internet package. Relax, enjoy, be yourself and view this experience as an adventure. You'll have a great time!

Yes to what @mjkacmom said, and on our reservation summary the shore excursion credit is listed as a benefit for a specifically named passenger (who happens to be the first person named on the reservation). The good part of this benefit is that it applies to all shore excursions for that person, not just one. So, this can be a meaningful benefit if many shore excursions are booked. Hope this helps!

This worked for me, too. Initially after the first try on one of the kids' photos (not the one posted above), the upload option was greyed out for both kids. I reopened NCL on a different browser and voila - it worked!

Feeling your pain! This wasn't easy for the 6 of us, but it's done! Feels good to be checked in, even if we still have 3 weeks to go. I learned early on that the photos have to be a minimum of 640 x 480 pixels, then learned that they can't be "blurry" (even if they don't look blurry - try the "sharpen" feature), anything other than perfectly straight into the camera is a "bad pose" (even a slight head tilt), but eventually we got 'em all! The system didn't even like my adult daughter's professional head shot, but took a very ugly screenshot of me. Oh well, no accounting for taste, I guess. For some reason the system also didn't like this stunning photo of one of the kids...

Many thanks to both of you!

@BermudaBound2014, thanks so very much! I'll share this with Grampy and see how adventurous he feels with his 6 year old charge in tow. Of course, she is more than capable of operating the app for him, and likely could navigate as well. Heck, she can probably drive the bus!! Seriously, though, thanks again. This looks like a great option, along with Kevin's number in his pocket, just in case something goes amiss. How far is the Ocean Center from the Ma'alaea Harbor stop, and are the bus stop locations east to find?

Thank you, @Silver Sweethearts. Greatly appreciate your guidance. We’re all looking forward to seeing your beautiful island. 🥰

Anyone know if the area around Christ The King church in Kahului near the port would be safe for walking from/to the ship for a 6 pm Mass? The service should be done by 7 pm, so I think we're bumping up against sunset. By safety, I mean not only personal safety but also walkability (traffic, sidewalks, etc) We'd like to attend Sunday Mass in person, but with our reserved activity times, this seems to be the only option. Looks like about a 30 minute walk.

That sounds so lovely, and so Hawaiian! Thank you for responding, I really appreciated it. Hope you had a great cruise! We’d probably really enjoy that, but are traveling with first time cruiser kiddos who are VERY eager to get on the ship. So, we'll be going to church on Sunday in Maui, or maybe just doing it online.

@FLAHAM, understood - I was seeking to book the Unlimited Soda package only for the kids in our group, as all of the adults have the Hawaiian Beverage Package, which includes soda. I did mention that in my earlier post, but should have reiterated it in the more recent one just to be clear. I promise I'm tech savvy and can navigate NCL's site 😊 - it simply didn't come up as an option for the kids - only for the adults in the cabin. And it wouldn't apply to the adults, as we already have a beverage package that includes soda. But it's all good, and by calling we actually got a financially better option for the kids. Everything for a reason!

Thanks, @scottca075 - very good to know.

@blackfly - Wondering if you did attend that 6:00 pm Mass on the Sunday of your cruise. We're thinking of doing the same when we cruise on POA next month, looks like the church is about a 30 minute +/- walk from the terminal. Wondering if it's a walking-friendly area, traffic and safety wise.

Here's some news! I called NCL to add the package for the kids, as I was unable to do it online. The agent let me know that a half-price option is available, called the "Kids Soda Package", only difference is it does not include nonalcoholic mixed drinks such as virgin Pina Coladas. For the amount saved, we can buy one or two of those as a treat and still save quite a bit of money! Not sure if this is unique to POA, or available on all NCL ships. I was also told that bottled water is included with all beverage packages on POA - but only on POA.

Thank you so much, @Silver Sweethearts for the excellent safety net plan! I love all of you on this forum!

Thanks, good advice. This is an overnight in Maui, so there isn't the usual time pressure to get back. However, since this is an excursion for Grampy with a 6 year old, we'll want to be sure he has a solid escape plan!

Greatly appreciated once again!

@georgiacat Thanks so much! So, it sounds like it’s easy enough to find a cab or Uber/Lyft back to the ship?

Is t that the truth, @CaribbeanBound? Whose operation? What needs? The NCL forum posts indicate that this phrase is being used often in communication from NCL. Makes me want to take a look at the company’s financials.