review of POA Feb 20, 2010

Just got back from an awesome time in Hawaii and on the POA. My DH and I went for our 10th anniversary, we have never been to Hawaii and this was our first NCL cruise. Just for an FYI, this was our 9th cruise overall, we have sailed on Disney, Carnival, Royal Carribbean, and Princess. I would rank NCL high overall comparably, maybe second only to Disney. We are in our 30's and tend to like somewhat adventurous activities. The crowd on the ship was definitely older that us overall, and not many kids since school was in.

Flew in the day before and stayed at the Outrigger Reef. I was scouting for room rates for a while and found a rate on Orbitz for $130 a night, I think it was for a city view category. When we arrived they told me they were giving us a slightly nicer room that what we had booked. It ended up being some type pf suite, with a dining area, living room, separate bedroom, and two separate balconies. I though it was fantastic, and for that price I wish we were able to come in a few days earlier and enjoy it. The view was great, and I loved the open air set up of the hotel. It was right on the beach and a great location. We walked about 10 mintues to eat at Duke's, we sat on the back patio area and it drizzled on and off a bit on us, but it did not spoil our time. Location was great, food good, and the hula pie there IS all it is craked up to be. I want some more. Bed early as we travelled from Florida and the five hour time difference was a killer.

Embarkation day we got up at the crack of dawn, relaxed a bit and walked to eggs n things for breakfast. There was about a 30 mintue wait to eat, but it was totally worth it. Mac nut pancakes were soo good, the menu had lots of options and all was great. Walked around for a bit then checked out and went to the ship. Embarkation was easy, it went quickly despite the long line, and they had musicians and some people there to entertain us and pass the time. Room was not ready until about 2:30 or so, we went back off the ship to get some soda to bring on board. That night we ate at Jefferson's bistro, we did not have a reservation, we went early at 6 because we were starving and there was no wait. There were not many people there at all on that first night, the service and food were both very good. Saw part of the variety show but left early because we could not keep our eyes open. Party animals we are.

Day one in Maui, had room service bring some cereal and we were off the ship to pick up car at Thrifty. We did a wild card car and ended up with a Jepp Compass. We did road to Hana, we went all the way to the end and then worked our way backwards to aviod some of the crowds at the stops. The road was fun, it was not scary at all, though by the end it was a little tiring for DH. We had stopped in Paia before the drive and picked up a picnic lunch at Cafe Mambe, sandwiches, sodas, chips, and cookies in a box lunch. We drove all the way to the state park just before you get to Hana, then had our picnic with a totally amazing view. We stayed a few hours in that park, visiting the black sand beach, some caves, trails and such. It was really pretty. Then we worked our way back stopping at some of the scenic points. One of the stops was at Twin falls, which involved a fun semi-adventurous hike to a small but quiet waterfall area. This trip was great overall. We got back early enough to get a parking spot at the pier which was free. Had dinner in the Skyline, no waiting and food and service we both found to be good. I ate off the anytime menu and it was much better than other cruise lines we have sailed. We saw the show tonight, I think it was the Aloha show with all the dancers from the different regions. It was very good and since we did not do a luau this was the only show we really saw. By the way, we had one of the famed balcony rooms on deck 7. The balcony was definitely bigger, the room quite small, and we DID hear music from the Mardi Gras lounge under us. It did not go on too late, but you could hear it clearly. I am a light sleeper and wore ear plugs and was fine, DH can sleep through pretty much anything and was also ok. A sound machine would not have blocked this out enough for me, just FYI.

Day 2 Maui. Breakfast in the skyline which was pretty good and fast service. We are not much for buffets overall. We drove to Lahaina and went whale watching with Scotch Mist sailing charter. There was only 18 people on the boat, so it was a much more intimate experience than the bigger boats we saw around. Lahaina is a cute twon but there was another ship in port there and it was very crowded, and hard to find a parking spot. The sailboat was great and we saw lots of whales, calves, and breeching. Fun. We ate in town at Aloha Mixed Plate, the views were great on the patio where we ate and food was really good. Brought the car back and called it a day. Tonight we ate at Lazy J's, it was soo good. We made a reservation that morning with no problems. I went for the crab legs which was an extra charge, but OMG they gave me so many I could not finish. Service and food were the best here for us. Tonight we say the improv comedy troupe, they were really good. Second City from Chicago or somehting like that.

Day 3 Hilo. I think we caved and went for the buffet for breakfast today, it was ok, just not our thing. We picked up car with Thrifty again (a PT cruiser) and went to VNP. Sign posted that air quality was very poor, but DH has asthma and he did not experience any problems here. There were some sulfer smells in certain areas, but overall no issues. We went backwards again to go against the crowd, we went all the way down the chain of craters road, got out and hiked for quite a while, then backtraked and stopped at most of the points of interest. Did the lava tube and devastation trail, Jaggar museum, etc. Overall experience was great and we thought this was not to be missed, we spent over 4 hours here. I had planned out a local luch spot but we took so much time we stopped at McD's for a quick bite and then went the opposite way to Akaka falls. This was soo beautiful, it involves some steps and a short walk,, but the views are amazing. Did not have enough time to hit Rainbow falls also as we had to get the car back. FYI- we brought our own GPS with us for the trip, it was useful but it really is easy to get around on each island, and with the maps the give you along with the clear road signs it was not really necessary. It was helpful as I had planned out some food stops ahead of time so we could put the address in and find it easily. Ate at the Cadillac Dinertonight, it was good casual food and the brownie sunday was yummy. Saw the show, I think it was the comedian who was very funny. We did not go to the club at all this cruise.

Day 4 Kona. this was our only ship excursion, we did the captain zodiac. It was not much cheaper to book with them independently and it gave us the advantage of getting off the tender early. We did the early one so the water was very clear, we saw lots of whales on the way but not any dolphins. the snorkeling was ok, clear water, some fish, no turtles as I was hoping. not the best snorkeling I have done but it was a good excursion overall. BTW, i do have neck problems and the zodiac boat did not bother me at all, though I did sit towards the back as it was less bumpy. We them met up with a friend who lives in Kona, she suggested a restaurant called Splashers, it was so good. It was typical american fare but the prices were not too bad and the food was all really good, I would recommend it. It was right on the main street close to the pier, with nice ocean views. We shopped around a bit after that and went back on ship. Dinner was at Skyline tonight for lobster, again no wait for a table and food and service were good.

Day 5 Kauai. We picked up car from thrifty, this time we ended up with a jeep suv of some type. We did helicoptor tour with Blue Hawaiian, which was great and I highly recommend. We then at at JJ's Broiler which was near the office for Blue Hawaiian, it was a nice location but just ok food, kinda pricey. We sat on the back patio where wild chickens were roaming all over, they are everywhere on this island. We drove around a bit and then went to our next stop, the Kauai Backcountry ziplining tour. I cannot say enough about this tour and the guides we had. I think it was the best cruise excursion we have ever done, and we have done a lot. The guides were personable, entertaining, and reassured everyone the whole way. If you are thinking about a zipline, do this one, you will not regret it. They gear you up and it is all very safe and secure, they drive you to the top of the mountain and then you start out on a small "bunny" zip to see how you do and if you are ok with it. that first one gets the butterflies going when you take that first jump and fly, and OMG what a feeling. No one was stopping after that. There were only 6 on our tour. The next one is a big one and we were all ready for it. There was no real climbing at all, you zip back and forth downhill across the canyon and end up at a picnic spot where they give you your lunch and you can walk down to a stream area, but it was too cold to swim. There were 7 zips overall, and there was some mild walking in between some of them, moast ended up right at the platform for the next zip. I was concerned as I have some knee problems, but there really is nothing to climb. There are some very short ladders to get up to a few of the platforms, and thats it. One of the guides sends you off, and the other one catches you at the end. Nothing to it. Did I saw this was awesome?? Just do it. After this we headed in and I think we ate at Cadillac again tonight, we took a nap when we got back and did not wake up until almost 10, ate dinner, went back to bed.

Day 6 Kauai. We did not get off the ship today, just relaxed at the pool and hot tub and chilled. We ate at Skyline tonight, good again, no wait.

Day 7 back in Honolulu. We were supposed to get a car and tour the island today and go to the north shore, but there was that pesky tsunami warning and we were not able to dock. We floated aimlessly around while the non-tsumame caused much commotion but was nothing more that a little hight tide, thankfully. It took ages for us to dock, it was not until around 3:30 or so. the crew was very good about the change of plans and we just relaxed and ate and ate some more. There was more drama about power outages at the terminal, and getting the luggage off the ship, and we were very concerned about making it off for our flight at 7pm. Many people missed flights and I overheard it was days before some of them could re-book since verything was full. We made it with about 20 minutes to spare and I was thankful for that.

Overall, I would cruise again with NCL, loved the freestyle dining options, likes the casual service that was provided by the mainly american crew, and had an amazing time. Will go back again for sure to spend more time in spots that we really liked, and get to see that pipeline and the surfers.

Any q's feel free.

D

forgive the many typos, I am still sleepy and did not spell check.

Thanks for the good posting!

Chuck

What a great review. Thanks for a wonderful summary. It was very helpful to me. I am planning on going on the POA either this May or next. Still waiting to find out if DD will have time to go this year.

I just want to be sure I have this right--On both your drive to Hana and your day in Volcano National Park, you drove the entire distance (beyond Hana and down Chain of Craters Road) without stopping and then stopped for lunch and hiking and THEN on your drive back you made all your pit stops, etc, for photo ops and just general enjoyment. Is that accurate?

Were your stops based on your views and sudden decisions or based on notations from books or some other source?

Also-- you made no mention of your view of the NaPali coast or your viewing of the Volcano from the ship. Did you not do these things or were they not worth mentioning or did you figure they'd been mentioned so often it was unnecessary?

Thanks--great review!!

dcass...I so wish we could have been there with you guys!! Sounds like you had an amazing time...and trust me...I was thinking about you guys the entire time!! Next year...that is what I keep telling myself. Thanks for the wonderful post...and I'm very glad to hear that you guys didn't miss your flight home! Hope you had a wonderful anniversary!

After hearing you talk about the Scotch Mist...I think we'll definitely be doing it next year. Maybe I'll consider the Helicopter tour too...wasn't going to this time around, but after so many wonderful reviews I can't help but think that we'd be missing out if we didn't.

Glad you guys had a great time...hope it doesn't take you too long to get back to normal work mode!

Terrific review! You've sold me on the ziplining; now I just have to convince DH, who is afraid of heights, to join me. :p (I hold out little hope.)

I'm so glad you enjoyed the cruise. I'm looking forward to experiencing the American crew, too.

Great review Dcass! We are also going (in May) to celebrate our 10th Anniversary; first time to Hawaii and on NCL too! I really appreciated your review!

dcass, First let me say that I love the picture of your dog! What a sweet little face it has.:) Next, thanks for the really great reviews. Who cares about the typos, I've been looking for a recent review of the POA as we sail on her 4/3 for the DS's spring break. It was very informative and we will try to hit "Splashers" in Kona and have a brownie sundae in the Cadillac diner. Did you by any chance try their mozzarella sticks? The DS loves them, and I read somewhere on these boards that they serve them there.

Thanks for mentioning that you got off the boat to get some sodas and then got back on. I wasn't aware that you could do that on embarkation day. Was there a place to buy stuff close by?

The Outrigger Reef is a fun hotel. When our DS was much younger we stayed at one of the sister Outrigger hotels down the street, but we were able to use their facilities. We really enjoyed it! Did you eat at the Shore Bird Restaurant in the back where you grill your own meat, fish, chicken, etc.? We did that once and it was so much fun!

Thanks again for a really informative review, I always appreciate when someone goes out of their way to share their newly acquired info with the rest of the CCers!:D

sprout76, so sad you missed the trip this year but I hope you had a great anniversary as well!

mousey, There was a shopping area across the street from the pier where we got soda, it looked like a business buidling but when you walked through there were actually some shops and restaurants. Cant remember the name of the one we got the soda at. We did not try the Shorebird, honestly I did not think we would want to cook our own food after that much travel time and since we were there only the one night, I wnated to try Duke's. If we had more that one night I probably would have done it. I really wish now we had come in a day or two earlier, but work would not allow. Oh and DH did have the Mozzarella sticks in the Cadillac, they were good he said.

smrtypnts, For the road to Hana we did not pass Hana, we drove straight to mile marker 32 at that state park, had our lunch, toured around the park, then drove back and made all our stops. I used suggestions mainly from this board and also a guidebook, to decide where to stop. We also stopped at a stand for banana bread that was close to the end of the drive but I can't remember the name of it. For VNP, I did not really look into the points of interest ahead of time, but the info they give you when you arrive was sufficient to decide what to do. Since it worked well for us for Hana, we saw lots of crowds at the initial stops so we went straight to the end fo the chain of craters road, did some hiking, then backtracked for photo ops, then did the crater rim drive and the points of interest there. We did not run into many crowds and this worked well. It worked particulary well for the road to Hana, since parking is limited and on our way down most of the good stops were full up with cars already. The lava sail by was pretty cool, especially after seeing VNP earlier. I wish I was able to get decent pics but it was too far. For the Napali sail by, since we did a heli tour earlier this was nice, but the view from the heli of the coastline was definitely cooler. It was nice to sit on the balcony for this though. It was kinda cloudy at that time so the views were not as picturesque as the heli tour.

smrtypnts, For the road to Hana we did not pass Hana, we drove straight to mile marker 32 at that state park, had our lunch, toured around the park, then drove back and made all our stops. I used suggestions mainly from this board and also a guidebook, to decide where to stop. We also stopped at a stand for banana bread that was close to the end of the drive but I can't remember the name of it. For VNP, I did not really look into the points of interest ahead of time, but the info they give you when you arrive was sufficient to decide what to do. Since it worked well for us for Hana, we saw lots of crowds at the initial stops so we went straight to the end fo the chain of craters road, did some hiking, then backtracked for photo ops, then did the crater rim drive and the points of interest there. We did not run into many crowds and this worked well. It worked particulary well for the road to Hana, since parking is limited and on our way down most of the good stops were full up with cars already. The lava sail by was pretty cool, especially after seeing VNP earlier. I wish I was able to get decent pics but it was too far. For the Napali sail by, since we did a heli tour earlier this was nice, but the view from the heli of the coastline was definitely cooler. It was nice to sit on the balcony for this though. It was kinda cloudy at that time so the views were not as picturesque as the heli tour.

Thank you very much, this is great information!:)

Loved your review. I would love to try the ziplines but do not think DH would do it. What did you think of the service on the ship? Did you do a luau? Did you hear any feedback from people who did the one from the ship?

we did not do a Luau, we are not really into buffet food, big crowds, and did not think it would be for us. I did not hear any feedback from anyone about Luaus.

I thought the service was very casual and laid back, which may not be to everyone's liking, but we liked it. There were no pushy drink people on top of you all the time, they were not as proper and solictous as on other ships but this suited us just fine. All a matter of personal preference.

dcass, Thank you so much for your response. I know what you mean about Hawaii. We have been there about about 5 times, all land-based trips, and never seem to get tired of going there. We haven't been there since the DS was around 6 or 7, can't remember, and he's 14 now. The DH and I are really looking forward to going back, plus neither the DH nor I have ever been to the big island, and the DS has never been to any island but Ohau, so we are all psyched!:D Thanks for answering my questions!:D

we did not do a Luau, we are not really into buffet food, big crowds, and did not think it would be for us. I did not hear any feedback from anyone about Luaus.

 

I thought the service was very casual and laid back, which may not be to everyone's liking, but we liked it. There were no pushy drink people on top of you all the time, they were not as proper and solictous as on other ships but this suited us just fine. All a matter of personal preference.

dclass, is the crew professional, since you said they are not proper and solictous.

I thought the crew was professional, I dont mean to sound like they were not. Maybe I felt it was just not as stuffy as others I have experienced. They were always joking around with us, and just having a good time. We enjoyed them, but I will say that with the anytime dining options you did not get to know any particualr staff. Plus with the time spent off the ship, we really did not have all that much interaction in general with them.

I thought the crew was professional, I dont mean to sound like they were not. Maybe I felt it was just not as stuffy as others I have experienced. They were always joking around with us, and just having a good time. We enjoyed them, but I will say that with the anytime dining options you did not get to know any particualr staff. Plus with the time spent off the ship, we really did not have all that much interaction in general with them.

dcass, thank you so much for your review and don't worry about the typos...We all make them..:D

I have a couple of ?'s...

Did you happen to notice how people dressed? In dining room for dinner?

Did people wear shorts and jeans in the dining rooms?

Also do you have any contact info for Scotch Mist Sailing?

And at Aloha Mixed Plate what was the cost and can you tell me some foods they offer?

Thank you

J&RLOVESTOCRUISE, there was a range of casual to dressy in the dining room. It looked like more of those who were dressed up headed to the Liberty one deck above. There were people dressed like us in nice shorts and jeans, but the majority I would say wore pants with Hawaiian shirts, and women with capris or casual dresses. We did not feel out of place in jeans.

Here is the link to Aloha Mixed plate, it was very casual with a fun vibe, and a great view. Apparently they provide the food for the Old Lahaina Luau. DH had a mini plate of Breaded Teriyaki Beef, and for 4.95 it was a decent amount of food. I had the Kahlua pig grilled cheese, it was oh so fattening with a side of gravy and really good. $7.95 with fries. You can see the menu on the link, prices were reasonable. MMM.

http://www.alohamixedplate.com/

website for Scotch mist is http://www.scotchmistsailingcharters.com/

Thank you so much and I'm sure as our time gets closer I will have more questions..

We booked our first balcony cabin for this cruise we booked cabin BE 8206 in the back of the ship....I don't think the cabin is any bigger than any other balcony cabin only the the balcony...Can you tell me about howbig the room was that you had?

We are used to inside cabins and they have always been about 139 sq. ft..

Thank you so much and I'm sure as our time gets closer I will have more questions..

 

We booked our first balcony cabin for this cruise we booked cabin BE 8206 in the back of the ship....I don't think the cabin is any bigger than any other balcony cabin only the the balcony...Can you tell me about howbig the room was that you had?

 

We are used to inside cabins and they have always been about 139 sq. ft..

We booked our first balcony cabin for this cruise too!:) And we too chose to book the stern. We are in cabins 9698 and 9700. When are you sailing? I'm sure it's before me.:rolleyes::cool:

WE are booked on 01/15/2011.

When are you booked?

WE are booked on 01/15/2011.

 

When are you booked?

July 23, 2011. I feel like it's never going to get here. I booked in Feb 2009.....1 year has passed. Now it's "only" another year and a half.:(

We just booked on Monday night, we've been looking for the past year and the flight cost was sort of pushing us away.

I was shocked to see the prices:eek:..Tuesday I could get a flight for 545.00 and today its 700-900... So I will keep looking.

Any suggestions how to find cheaper flights...LOL

We just booked on Monday night, we've been looking for the past year and the flight cost was sort of pushing us away.

 

I was shocked to see the prices:eek:..Tuesday I could get a flight for 545.00 and today its 700-900... So I will keep looking.

 

Any suggestions how to find cheaper flights...LOL

I don't have any suggestions, sorry. Where do you live/where are you looking to fly out of? $545 seems really good, unless you're flying from CA. I live in NY, somewhat near JFK...I will likely go from there or Newark.