mooline

Very, very helpful @princeton123211. Much appreciated!

My family members may choose to visit on their own (which will end up cheaper and more flexible time wise), so this will be a win, I think. How easy will it be to get a Lyft or Uber from MOC back to the ship on Sunday afternoon?

@Ellis1138, thank you. I’m assuming NCL has to give a guarantee to the shorex operator, and there are too few signed up. Even though this is an overnight in Maui and I’d be ok with an off ship excursion in that situation, I booked it through the ship for the convenience of a Grampy with a 6 year old in tow. The less he had to think about the better as he chases this bundle of energy!

I tried to book for the kids and the NCL site wouldn’t let me. It only brought up the option for the adults in the cabin. That’s absurd since the adults already have the Hawaii beverage package. Guess I'll have to call unless anyone has other suggestions.

Thanks, @kitkat343, you're right, that’s where I should have posted in the first place!

Just received this message from NCL regarding the Pride of America's Maui Ocean Center excursion for our June cruise: We are reaching out to advise that your shore excursion, OGG_02 / MAUI OCEAN CENTER & 3D WHALE EXPERIENCE has been canceled due to operational needs. A full monetary refund of the fare paid is in process and will be automatically refunded to the original form of payment used at time of reservation; no further action is required. We do apologize for any inconvenience this may cause. It looks like both times (8:30 and 11:30 departures) for this ship-sponsored excursion have been cancelled. Any of the Maui residents on this board know what might be up? I went on MOC's website and don't see any closures, so perhaps it's just an NCL thing. Since this is an overnight port for us, our family members can do the trip on their own. Is the MOC well served by Uber or Lyft? Thanks to all for your help - as always!

On POA next month and wondering if I should I purchase this package for our kiddos? (The adults in our group have the Hawaii beverage package, and if it matters, we're all in suites.) Without this package are the kids actually charged for sodas or juices in all of the restaurants (even the buffet?)

Just received this message from NCL regarding the Pride of America's Maui Ocean Center excursion for our June cruise: We are reaching out to advise that your shore excursion, OGG_02 / MAUI OCEAN CENTER & 3D WHALE EXPERIENCE has been canceled due to operational needs. A full monetary refund of the fare paid is in process and will be automatically refunded to the original form of payment used at time of reservation; no further action is required. We do apologize for any inconvenience this may cause. Any of the Maui residents on this board know what might be up? I went on MOC's website and don't see any closures. Since this is an overnight port for us, our family members can do the trip on their own. Is the MOC served by Uber or Lyft? Thanks to all for your help - as always!

Thanks to all, appreciate the thoughts! zzdoug, your thoughts are similar to mine, and in my experience (as dated as it is), NCL has had great offerings in the MDR and buffet. Bird, I stand corrected, it's Jefferson's Bistro on POA, yet similar French concept. The different name is just a nod to our forefather TJ, who loved the French and was our country’s first ambassador to France.) I believe LaCucina has more than spaghetti, lasagna or chicken parm. The menu looks quite authentic Italian, so if it’s done well it should be quite enjoyable. But then, Cagney’s is always a fabulous bet, Moderna looks great (especially as an experience for our kiddos), Bistro is appealing to my adult daughter and me. And there's Teppanyaki…So many good options for the 2 specialty dinners we have to use. We're doing the Experience Nutridge luau in Oahu pre cruise, so plan to skip the ship sponsored one. In fact we're thinking that should be a good night to choose a usually popular onboard restaurant since many will be off the ship.

Understanding that the quality and experience of a specific specialty restaurant depends more on the specific ship than it does the restaurant name, I ask you to help us choose our specialty experiences on Pride of America, now that all of its restaurants are again open. We currently have prepaid 2 specialty dining experiences for each of us, and have booked Cagney's and La Cucina. We have carnivores I. The group, and have enjoyed Cagney's on other NCL ships. However, Moderna Churrascaria in particular is appealing and for some of us, LeBistro is too. We do want to try some of the freebie restaurants, especially the Liberty MDR, and also one night of in- cabin dining since we're in a suite. We only have 7 days to play with, wish we had more. (no, we unfortunately can’t do a back to back!) Should we spring for 2 more specialty packages to enjoy Moderna and LeBistro as well as the other two? Or, should we swap out one of our existing reservations for a different restaurant? Interested in your thoughts even if you, haven’t been on POA. Thanks!

Hmmm... looking at some of the (great) suggestions made me think - we have one of those cooling towels - wet it and use it cool off. We have a couple of hikes planned - yes or no on the towel?

Ah yes, thanks! I’ve always brought those on my trips, but hadn’t thought about that for this adventure. Updating the packing list!

I'd love to respond to every post, since all of these suggestions are fantastic! Kindness is a motto in our family - we know everyone is fighting a battle, and those who care for us (when we travel or otherwise) are to be treated with utmost respect. Working on a cruise ship (especially) is anything but easy. Hoping to do carry-ons only, but we know we want to buy a few things (we're not big shoppers, though) so we might check a bag to be able to have room for acquired stuff. Yes, I'm a Type A so I already have a packing list, and am updating it regularly - ziplock bags are on the list. Device chargers, extra glasses, hairbrush, toiletries, toothpaste, some first aid supplies are always in my travel bag. Saline nasal spray will be added! Melatonin is a definite, even for the kiddos, though that said, when I've traveled to Europe, the westbound trip wasn't a tough adjustment, but the eastbound was. I'm expecting a more difficult adjustment on the way home versus the way to Hawaii, but we'll see... Love the extension cord - yes, that goes on the packing list tonight. As does BioFreeze, since we're doing a few hikes and some kayaking..kayaking with a 6 year old... :0 (Someone is going to get wet for sure...) Thanks for the tip on clothing, pretty much what I expected, but will the guys need long pants and collared shirts for the Liberty MDR? I heard a yes on that from a travel video but not sure it's true? Sunscreen...is it crazy expensive in the ABC stores? I'd rather buy than lug, as we'll have almost 2 full days in HNL before boarding the ship. Anything to add, given that we have 2 kiddos coming along, ages 6 and 11, who are first time cruisers?

In just over a month, we're headed out to Hawaii to cruise on POA... Haven't cruised in the last 6 years! So, what's the one thing I'm going to forget to bring? 😄

@NikiPinkston, our adult daughter is having a grand time perusing all of the dailies you posted!! We noticed there is no mention of a laundry bag special - is that offered on PoA?

This Floridian is wondering how cool the water will be in mid June for snorkeling at Molikini Crater and Turtle Arches. We’re used to water temps in the mid 80s, and I’m thinking we’ll see much cooler than that for our snorkeling adventure. I know there are a few Maui residents on this board, and maybe some folks who have done this shore excursion? NCL uses PAC Whale Foundation, and I have checked with them on availability of wetsuits. Just curious what we might expect. Thanks!

Yay!!! So happy to hear that he made it!!! He’s earned that double! Thanks so much, @Ricks for returning to update us. I hope your son, and all of your family has a wonderful cruise!

I am just now looking at the FANTASTIC review, thank you so, so much @NikiPinkston!! We're a multigenerational family of 6 sailing POA in June. Now 2 months out, we're starting to get very excited! The kiddos in our group (6 and 11) have never cruised before, so it's extra special for them! I've downloaded every one of your Dailies, every page and will love going through those! You're a gem. 🙂 Two questions: 1: I didn't see any snorkeling excursions in your review, but did you hear anything about water temperatures, especially for the NCL Molokini Crater tour? I believe it's pretty cold (by our Floridian standards) and wondering if everyone will find it enjoyable, even with wetsuit tops provided by the tour operator. (I'll also post this question in the Hawaii forum). 2: Interesting review of the MDR...we've always had good luck in the MDR on other cruises but a tough steak is going to disappoint at least 2 of our gang. We have purchased specialty reservations for 2 nights but now thinking about bumping that up to 4 nights (especially since Moderna is open). Thoughts? It's not inexpensive, but good food can make a big difference! Thanks again for helping us plan for a wonderful trip 🙂

PS: Please let us know how this works out for him and all of you

I lived in Miami for 10 years: Other options are to fly into Fort Lauderdale (FLL) or even West Palm Beach (PBI), then grab an Uber to the Port of Miami. This will be pricey but as @9tee2Sea has said, he can work out the details later. FLL was closed earlier this week due to flooding but I think it's reopened. FLL is closer than PBI. He should tell the airline he will take any flight on any airline into any southEAST FL airport that will arrive before 2 pm at the latest. (Tampa or Naples will be too far, so don't use those). Then HUSTLE...and yes, call, or even better, tweet NCL and get whatever help he can. Saying a prayer for him!

HA!!! Absolutely true!! We humans are never satisfied, are we? 🙂

Ha! Guaranteed I’m waaaay, waaaay older than any of your kids! I have no problem with real people, but efficiency and convenience are important. Truth is I had to talk to TWO real people after twice going through NCL's "press 1, press 2" prompts. The first real person abruptly transferred me with zero advance explanation, and the second real person stepped off the line for 5 minutes to "complete my transaction". This simple transaction took far longer than needed … even though for this call, unlike my last one, I was lucky enough not to encounter the dreaded "extended wait times"… No worries about an insult, but thank you DenverSail. It’s actually pretty humorous given my age. Some old fogies like me actually do know how to turn on a computer! 😜

Certainly this is a great counter argument and makes sense, yet I think, with the right technology and policies they could safeguard for this. Thanks for the perspective, though as it definitely is a good one.

That’s good to hear; I tried to use chat to change the shore excursion and they told me I had to call. I even tried to email the Concierge desk about this and they, too told me I had to call. As a result, I didn’t even try chat for the gift cancellation , but probably should have.

Just venting my frustration with NCL's woefully dated technology... and wondering, "is it me, am I being unreasonable"? I've just gotten off a much longer than it needed to be phone call to NCL, with a very simple transaction - I needed to cancel one gift I bought for my cabin. While I was able to purchase the gift online, it can only be cancelled by phone. The same was true with a shore excursion that I needed to change, about a month ago. Simple transactions such as this should be able to be completed online. Requiring the transaction to be completed over the phone is inconvenient, especially when limited to doing so within "business hours". I live in the same time zone as NCL HQ, but may customers don't, thus the inconvenience is magnified. If there's a reason they want to direct transactions like this to a human if there was an attempt to upsell or retain charges already incurred, but that hasn't been the case with either of these transactions. What's more, if NCL can't enable these kinds of transactions online, the company should have, like the airlines, technology that recognizes a phone number tied to an account, and allows direct access to changes for an existing reservation. It's disappointing to have this experience - I've always thought highly of NCL as compared to other mainstream cruise lines, and technology is such a backbone these days for any business, especially a customer-facing one. Please offer your thoughts - I'm open to hearing all opinions. Thanks!