fiftyguy

1 hour ago, kevink said:

A lot of people advocate renting cars and driving.   That's definitely cheaper than private tours, but you have the added hassle of rental and return, and driving on the islands is not a fun experience.  For me, the extra cost of private tours was worth it for reduced stress and ability to sit back and enjoy the views.

 

When we did POA last year, I researched a lot on Tripadvisor for small group or private tours. I ended up going with HoloHolo on Maui, Mary Lou's on the Big Island, and TreadLightly on Kauai, and they were all excellent.

 

Good luck!

 

-- Kevin

We used Mary Lou’s on both sides of the Big Island. She was great and the tours were very detailed. It’s also a small group so you get one on one attention.

The other islands we rented a car and toured on our own. We used discount Hawaii for our car rentals and all went smoothly.

enjoy!

17 hours ago, don't-use-real-name said:

My opinion - try and go mid-September to first part of October.

Cruised B2B Boston Quebec 2016 & 2018

 

First part of September:

Earlier crowds - weather/scenery not quite prime - air fares still up in the air

 

Mid-September - October scenery beginning to change weather moderating

 

October and on - fewer crowds weather at prime or has begun to turn *** weather ***

potential of fall weather setting in early with fog rain rough seas in the St. Lawrence

 

All three of these however are subject to tail-end hurricane season effects - later lessor so

 

NCL Ships DAWN and ESCAPE out of NYC - GEM out of Boston

 

NCL choice of NYC or Boston and Quebec City for cruises 7 day 10-11-12 day some B2B
Getting to and from Quebec City can be an experience - plan carefully.

 

Ports visited - varies by departure port - some of these are tender ports 

Newport

Portland

Bar Harbor * always a tender port

Halifax * double stop on B2B cruises

St. Johns

Sydney * maybe double stop on B2B cruises

Charlottetown PEI

La Baie/ Saguenay

Quebec City * B2B - end of cruise overnite port stop a bonus

 

Preference for embarking port - BOSTON - fewer problems with airports transfers

hotels close by (although may be more expensive) air fares competitively with NYC

Great info in your response to OP question. We looked into doing just one leg and decided to do B2B (9/20 out of Boston then back in Boston on 10/4). Yes more expensive but so much less stress. We like the longer cruises anyway. We’ve only done warm weather ports so we’re really looking forward to this trip. 

51 minutes ago, Imalismom said:

We booked a suite on the POA.  After cruising, I said to my husband, I wish we had booked the cheapest inside cabin.  You literally use the POA as a floating hotel room.  You get up in the morning, leave the ship, and come home just in time for dinner and we were so tired we feel asleep right away, to get up in the morning and do it all over again.  I highly recommend this Hawaii cruise, but again, I would not book a very expensive cabin - save the $$ for different tours.

Agree. A cruise that’s definitely worth the extra money. NCL is the only option for a strictly Hawaiian cruise. We’ve done it twice. You get to see four islands without packing/repacking to get flights. It’s your floating hotel. This is a port intensive cruise and you’ll be out most of each day to see all there is to see and do. We would do it again and we have to travel from the east coast. If you decide to book - enjoy.

On 7/24/2019 at 10:19 PM, shadowmeboy said:

 

We received our US Customs instructions for the next day in Bar Harbor, Maine.

 

 

 

Pilot boat coming out to meet us.

 

 

 

Susan's breakfast appetizers

 

 

Waffle and bacon

 

 

Steak, eggs, and bacon for me.

 

 

While we waited for priority disembarkation, we saw one of the production shows doing a rehearsal.

Loving the review. Thank you. We’re going this September.

the customs in Bar Harbor seems to indicate we’ll need passport, birth certificate, and state drivers license. Is this true? We don’t usually carry BC.

1 hour ago, bonvoyagie said:

I do remember seeing dock or tender on the e-docs.

As I mentioned, Halifax was great for two stops - I could also have handled two stops in Sydney as well - we rented a car and drove to the Bell Museum - having a car allowed us to not worry about spending lots of time there. There are also a couple of great scenic drives you can do on visit 2. PEI is divided into three sections - the center and south sections are the most scenic but each can take a day to explore - this was another place we rented a car.

 

Gaspe was the only port we did not get off at - not very tourist friendly - glad NCL does not go there anymore.

 

I also ordered several tourist guides for PEI, Nova Scotia, Maine and more all available from their tourist board websites.

 

In reviewing the current Gem itinerary I see where different cruise dates have different port calls.

 

IMHO go as late as you can - it seems that the leaf turning is happening later and later each year. 

I did check my docs and it lists two tenders over the 14 days. I also checked each port of call websites and it lists one or two other tenders that NCL does not list. No worries, we’ll go with the flow.

I will check my docs. A quick glance I didn’t see any notations but I might have missed them.

15 hours ago, don't-use-real-name said:

The GEM replaces the DAWN starting this year

 

The DAWNs former itinerary 2016 -

Boston

Portland

Halifax

PEI

Gaspe - tender here

Saguenay/La Baie

Quebec City

SEA day

Sydney

Halifax

St. Johns Bay

Bar Harbor - tender

Boston

 

XXXXX

 

Last year (2018) the itinerary was -

Boston

Bar Harbor - tender

Halifax

Sydney

PEI - port stop cancelled FOG

SEA day - tough stormy day at sea waves winds swells

Saguenay/La Baie - tender

Quebec City

SEA day

Sydney

Halifax

St. Johns Bay - cancelled weather

Bar Harbor - tender

Boston

 

As bonvoyagie has posted some of these ports only have pier space

for one ship and depending on schedule first one in claims the space.

Others then are forced to tender Big or small makes little difference -

Last year 2018 we were aced by a ship half out size at Saguenay/La Baie.

When scheduled port time is limited - sure screws up things and makes

for a tight operation for guests and tour SX operators

 

When doing a B2B seeing the same ports again is necessary otherwise

a 7 day cruise would become a 6 day cruise or another SEA day.

 

For another set of port options look at sailing out of New York on the

DAWN - B2B -

CRUISE PORTS Embark New York (New York); Newport (Rhode Island); Boston (Massachusetts); Portland (Maine); Bar Harbor (Maine); Saint John, Bay of Fundy (New Brunswick); Halifax (Nova Scotia); Sydney, Cape Breton Island (Nova Scotia); Charlottetown (Prince Edward Island); Saguenay (La Baie) (Québec); Disembark Québec City (Québec)

Return -

CRUISE PORTS Embark Québec City (Québec); Charlottetown (Prince Edward Island); Sydney, Cape Breton Island (Nova Scotia); Halifax (Nova Scotia); Bar Harbor (Maine); Portland (Maine); Newport (Rhode Island); Disembark New York (New York)

 

 This YEAR 2019 only

 

More than you need to know info - LOL !

One can never have enough info.

thank you for taking the time to respond.

we’re really looking forward to this trip. We usually do Caribbean or Bermuda.

15 hours ago, bonvoyagie said:

Hope you are doing a B2B as that is the best way to see all ports. The only other possible tender port is Charlottetown PEI there is only one dock and if there are more ships in town you might have to tender. Back in 16 when we were there a Celebrity ship was in port and had to tender as we had the dock. Heard lots of comments in town from the Celebrity cruisers about how the NCL ship got the dock and they didn't.

 

I also suggest that you go to your roll call - when we went there were lots of good ideas there on tours - also the Canada and New England section of the destinations section of these boards.

 

Thank you for your response. Yes we’re doing B2B and will have 3 ports that we stop at twice.

Hi

i’m on a NCL Gem cruise to Canada in September. I know Bar Harbor is a tender port. Would there be any others?

thanks for any info.

We low key first night, maybe dinner in the cabin. We like sail away and getting acclimated. Next night is always LeBistro.

We were in cabin 10502 last March. While I don’t have pictures or video you can google NCL POA 10002 and find a video. It’s the same cabin but everything is reversed. The LR and hot tub, on the deck, would be on the left and BR on the right. My wife and I loved the cabin. We’ve sailed on NCL in OS on the Dawn Gem and POA. We love the older, traditional look compared to the newer suites that have been added after build. We used the hot tub at the end of each day. The area was quiet and everything was close by.

whatever you decide enjoy your trip. Hawaii is awesome.

It's the Dawn with 5 sailings. We did the Majesty twice and next spring we'll be on the Gem for the second time.

Maybe someone can clarify. I’ve been told a tip on a charge slip goes to a pool for server tips and not to the server you want to reward for good service. I always leave a cash tip now so I’m rewarding the server. Is this info correct or am I misinformed?

We sailed the Gem a couple of years ago out of NY and really enjoyed the cruise. We were in an OS and used the Haven quite a bit. My DW and I will sail her again in March 2019 out of Boston. We’re really looking forward to welcoming a new ship in Boston. I think you’ll enjoy the ship and crew.

Yes- I know it is right over the Stardust lounge- which is likely why the aft suites on the 8th floor are still available. However, I was on this floor in an aft balcony (17 years ago) and there was very little noise. Right now, we are in a 10th floor aft balcony and I am more worried about the scraping of chairs from the outdoor buffet directly above it.

Get it! I figured it didn’t hurt to mention. My DW and I are hooked on the suite life. I’m sure whatever you decide it will be a great cruise. Happy Sailing!

Hi

Are you aware that a cabin on eight might be above a lounge or theatre? It may not matter for you but some might not like the possible noise at night. I thought I would mention it.

Maybe we've been lucky but we've seen our butler on most cruises more than our conceirage. All have performed their in-cabin duties but also assisted with conceirage duties like making dinner or show reservations. I'm sure they work in tandem with conceirage but our butlers have been attentive to ALL our needs. On our most recent cruise in Hawaii we enjoyed the services of Peter and he was amazing - handling anything we requested, in cabin or outside the cabin.

I, again, want to thank everyone for their input. We've decided to stay with OS. My wife is unsure about noise and privacy with the DOS.

We've only sailed the OS the last few cruises and we really enjoy the cabin. Wind has never been an issue for us on the front balcony so we'll take our chances.

We sailed the Gem, in this cabin, a couple of years ago and had no issue with walking up to the Haven area. We used the area a few times but enjoyed our own balconies just as much. Looking forward to March with no air travel since we're from Boston area.

Thank you to all who sent along a comment. I think my wife and I will have to think about this a little more. We have stayed in OS on both the Dawn and the Gem. I really like the extra space and extra balcony in the OS. I'm also not sure we can handle the ship pool being right below us in the DOS. I know we'd like the hot tub since we had one on the POA and used it most every day. Decisions decisions...

Thanks again for the feedback.

I'm considering one of listed cabins (15000 & 15500) for a trip, on the Gem, next March. For those that have cruised in either of these cabins, can you tell me if noise from the pool area is a problem,especially at night? I'd also like to know if one is better than the other for interior space or layout.

Thanks for any info.

We were on the POA this past March. The smoking area was limited to a bar aft on one of the upper decks - Waikiki Bar deck 13

Hi

I've sailed in both the OS with 2 balconies (deck 9 and 10) and the 2 BR family suite (deck 11) on the Dawn. When it is just the two of us I like the the OS. Last year we sailed with our 2 granddaughters and the 2 BR suite worked out great. We liked having the second BR so when they were sleeping we still had living space for ourselves. If we had been in the OS they would have slept in the pull out couch in the LR and we wouldn't have had any place to unwind by ourselves. We did miss the extra balcony space of the OS but that was a small give up. I would recommend the 2 BR, given you have a 9 year old, but in the end it's your choice.

Happy sailing whatever you decide.

All this info is great! I really appreciate you all taking the time to write thoughtful answers to my question. I have a lot to consider.

I really appreciate the feedback. We've only sailed NCL and might want to try another line. We have only sailed in suites over the last few years and are spoiled. I will say we like the smaller ships which makes our search a little more restrictive.

Again, thank you for the replies.

If I like the suites (and perks) on NCL, which other cruise line comes closest if one wanted to try another cruise line?

Thanks for any input.