Pride of America Hawaii Review 5/29/2010- LENGTHY!

Hello fellow cruisers!

My mother, sister, nephew, nephew's friend, and I (5 of us) just returned from the 7 day Pride of America Hawaii cruise and I am happy to provide an in depth review of our wonderful vacation. I hope that you find some of the information helpful for your future PoA cruise- I spent countless hours reading fellow cruise critic postings and used many of their suggestions. I am a cruising veteran, however this was the first cruise for the rest of my family- it was interesting to get their impressions from a "first timer" point of view!

Cruise Date: 5/29/10- 6/5/10

Stateroom: 9500 (Family Penthouse Suite)

HONOLULU ARRIVAL/ EMBARKATION:

We flew on Delta from Los Angeles arriving in Honolulu at approximately 12PM on Saturday (cruise day). The drive time from the airport to the cruise ship terminal is quite short- approximately 15-20 minutes. We had 5 people and 11 bags, so we decided to get a taxi (which was no problem- airport personnel at curbside called for an SUV type taxi)- it was definitely the way to go, as it was only a $25.00 fare! You could take the Roberts Hawaii bus, but it would have cost more for 5 people than a private taxi would have! We were dropped off at the port and were immediately greeted by a porter that assisted us with our bags- we were so happy to be freed from those bags- never saw them again until they were brought to our room!

We passed through port security once and then entered the NCL check-in area. We were in a suite, so there was a suite/ VIP section set up for check in. There was even a very cheezy "VIP lounge" area set up next to the check in with a few chairs and tables- the family got a good laugh out of that! We had our pictures taken for the key cards and set up the on board account. The representative (who looked about 21 and acted like it was his first day on the job) then pointed where we were to go proceed to get onto the ship. On previous cruises, the butler escorted us to our room- this time, we were on our own-- no biggie, just an observation. We finally arrived on the ship and were immediately greeted by one of the bar staff- very friendly and a great first impression.

STATEROOM:

We were in room 9500 (9th deck), which is a family penthouse suite. We were very happy with the room overall. The entry is very private and is in the very front (forward) of the ship- 9000 and 9500 are the only staterooms in the area. You walk into the room and there is a "powder room" immediately to your right- which was such a wonderful area for the ladies, as it was ideal for makeup, hair, and all the other things ladies do to get ready! Immediately to the left is plenty of storage area- shelves, drawers, the mini-fridge (stocked with beers, liquor, soda- which you must pay for of course), and the infamous coffee maker (Lavazza coffee)- this machine was different than the one we had on the Star- the water reservoir had to be filled multiple times each morning, which was annoying.

You then walk into the small sitting area, which is also the main bedroom. This stateroom is considered 2 bedroom, however the main "bedroom" really doubles as the living room area as well- the best you can do for privacy is pull a curtain. There is a nice LCD television in the "living room" a chair, 2 seater "loveseat", and a glass table. The chair/ loveseat need to be upgraded- they were not very comfortable and are looking a bit worn and dirty. The bed was extremely comfortable and large (looks like a king sized bed). There is also a small desk with drawers in the living room area, which was great for storing guidebooks, freestyle dailies, room service menus, etc.

Around the corner is the main bathroom- toilet, sink, and tub-style shower. This bathroom is larger than the regular bathrooms on ship, however nothing to brag about. I was a bit disappointed with the bathtub, as I am 6'4" tall and I could not stand up straight in the shower because my head would hit the ceiling. The bathroom was stocked with Elemis bath products, which was a nice touch. I also did not like the hanging devices they had to hang your clothes/ towel in the bathroom- they were so small that everything would fall off the "nubs" each time something was put on them.

There was a nice hallway with "stained glass" windows on the wall leading to the "kids" bathroom and bedroom. This hallway was nice because you could store some of your bags along the wall and still be able to keep the walkway open. You first approach the bathroom- this is the basic cruise ship bathroom with stand up shower stall. You then enter the second room- two very comfortable twin beds and one upper bunk bed on the back wall. This room had a small "old school tube style" television (I think a 13") and tons of cabinets and storage space. It also had a nice sized desk with multiple drawers for storage.

The balcony was smaller than I had imagined, however the view and vantage point were priceless. When you turn the television on to watch the live cam from the ship, the view is basically the one you see from the balcony of 9500!! We absolutely loved this. Again, it was a bit small- 2 lounge chairs and 3 regular chairs fit tightly onto the balcony. The lounge chairs have to be turned at an angle, as their is not enough room to have them straight to face forward. But again, the view is spectacular!

Overall, we were very happy with the accomodations- plenty of room for 5 people and absolutely perfect for families with children.

CLEANLINESS/ BUTLER/ CONCIERGE/ ROOM STEWARD:

I always treat hotel and restaurant personnel well and tip well, however when I am on vacation and pay for a room that is quite expensive, I expect the service and ammenities to be up to par. I was dissappointed with a few things in this category. Our butler, Sean, dropped the ball quite a few times during our cruise. When we first arrived in our room, we were like kids in a candy store exploring our stateroom-- opening all drawers and cabinets, admiring all of the storage space. Well, we opened one drawer that was FULL of junk and items from the previous occupants of the room- potato chip bags, old freestyle dailies, a man's belt and black trousers, wrappers, etc. Gross!! Oh well, we let the butler Sean know when he came to introduce himself. He said that "he would have it taken care of"- well it was still there 2 days later and had to ask him again. We asked for an iron and ironing board from Sean- had to ask 2 more times to get that...eventually got it on cruise day #3. He always felt rushed and bothered when we had requests, which the requests were few and far between. When he went over the services he provides on the first day, he said to go through him when booking restaurant reservations. So we went through him one day and he said he couldn't confirm the reservation until after 5:30- so I called the restaurant directly and immediately got a reservation. It was more difficult going through him, so we pretty much stopped requesting anything through him by cruise day #4.

Our concierge James was very professional and a great resource. We were greeted by him each morning at the complimentary Lazy J's breakfast exclusive for suite guests. He had great insight into what to do on each of the islands and appropriately answered any questions we had. He confirmed all specialty restaurant reservations we requested and overall we were pleased with him.

We met our room steward once (Elvira) and were not terribly impressed. We ran out of bath products twice and were not refilled on 2 occasions. As mentioned earlier, junk was left from the previous cruise in drawers. We would have the seating moved around in the arrangement we desired and every day it was put back to the ship standard arrangement- you would think she would catch on that we did that because we liked it that way! This is a very small detail, however we enjoy the small things that really make a difference, such as the towel animals. We only had 1 towel animal for our entire cruise- the kids love it, however every day we came back from port, we were animal-free!! We talked to fellow cruise members and we were hearing of small zoo's in their stateroom from all of the towel animals they received! Again, not that big of a deal.

RESTAURANTS:

We dined in specialty restaurants 5 times- 2 days Teppanyaki ($25.00), 1 day East Meets West ($15.00), 1 day Sushi ($15.00), and 1 day Little Italy ($10.00). We also dined/ room service at the Cadillac Diner and Aloha Cafe.

- Teppanyaki--> LOVE IT! Great entertainment and wonderful "surf and turf" type food. Advice- when the waitress takes your order, order multiple items off the menu if you wish--- all of the specialty restaurants are all you can eat, however once the teppanyaki chef cooks the food, you can't really go back and order more (it is a show- not really time to go back and cook more). For example, I ordered the Filet Mignon and shrimp- I also order scallops and extra shrimp... the food is fantastic and a fun atmosphere!! It was my nephew's birthday and they had a cake made with his name on it and sang happy birthday-- great touch!! Carmen A. was a blast- she provided good service and fun to our teppanyaki experience!

- East Meets West--> good value for $15.00.... I relate this to PF Changs type of food...we loved it and ordered "family style" and shared everything.

- Sushi--> Sushi, teppanyaki, and East Meets West are all in the same area or large room. If you like sushi, you MUST eat here. It is by far the best food value on the planet. I had a sashimi plate for a starter that had 5 different types of fish and would have been easily $25.00 out in town. I then had 4 additional rolls after that-- I stopped at that point! Great value and the fish was very fresh.

- Little Italy--> This was good, but not great. I was really craving lasagna, which they did not have.... as other reviewers have stated, this is not a truly authentic kind of Italian restaurant, but still a great value for only $10.00pp. I did enjoy the meatballs and the pizza was good.

- Cadillac Diner--> The kids loved this place- and so did the adults! We liked the tuna melt sandwich and the cheese sticks! The desserts were very good as well- fudge brownie and the strawberry shortcake hit the spot!

- Aloha Cafe--> Was always pretty busy... okay food, quite a large selection of items.

- Lazy J's breakfast (for suite guests)--> EXCELLENT! This is a great perk of the suites-- I love having a relaxing, sit down breakfast with good food! The cinnamon french toast and banana walnut pancakes were excellent! And oh my, the pineapple is FANTASTIC! You order off the menu and can choose from buffet style "starter" selections prior to your meal (fruits, cereals, juices, breads, etc.) The hostess Jennifer was a delight to see each morning- she did a great job!

SHOWS/ ENTERTAINMENT:

- I read many reviews prior to leaving that said they didnt have time or were too exhausted to catch the shows-- I now see what they mean! We were either too tired or wanted to order room service and enjoy our nice room, view, and each others company (and not deal with the crowds). We need catch a portion of the Polynesian show which was decent and attended the White Party. The White Party was fun and consisted of mostly hip-hop and top 40 kind of music- if you are not into that, you will not like the white party. We also attended the karaoke competition, which is fun if you like karaoke! Other than that, we did not attend any other events. I would have liked to do the pub crawl, which was offered 2 times during the cruise. For $20.00, you get 5 drinks in 5 bars for 55 minutes-- it looked like a good time!

SERVICE OVERALL:

Overall, I think the service provided by the PoA crew was pretty darn good. It definitely has a different feel than a foreign flagged ship does. The crew is mostly Americans, and they seem to be bothered and/or irritated a bit easier than service staff from other countries. Also, there were quite a few occasions when I waited 5 minutes or so before being acknowledged- a "I'll be right with you" would have sufficed. Again, you can tell that the PoA has made a concerted effort to improve the customer service on the ship- the improvements seem to be evident (based on reviews of this cruise from years ago).

PORTS:

As most other cruise critic members have said, this is the highlight of the cruise. This is a wonderful 7 day itinerary. We primarily enjoy snorkeling and spending time at the beaches:

- OAHU (HONOLULU)- SATURDAY--> We have been here many times, so we did not do any excursions...we did spend 1 night in Honolulu after the cruise in my timeshare on Waikiki.

- MAUI (KAHULUI)- SUNDAY/ MONDAY- overnight--> this is tough to say, however this was our least favorite of the 4 ports we went to. It was EXTREMELY windy during our time here, which made snorkeling and beach activities very difficult. We rented a car here and drove to Lahaina (not a very far drive, approximately 45minutes to 1 hours). Some nice beaches here and quite a bit of shopping. We finally found a beach that we could do some snorkeling on. Second day we drove south to the Makena area, where the beaches are beautiful-- crappy part was that the surf was very high from the high winds and no snorkeling was to be found (we were headed for Big Beach, where there is supposedly good snorkeling) We spoke with one of the lifeguards and he recommended going a bit north to Wailea Beach. The Wailea area is beautiful- gorgeous houses and high end resorts here. We ended up at Wailea Beach and enjoyed our time here- the kids were able to play in the waves until the beach cleared out about 3PM when the surf became a bit dangerous.

We spoke to a few people about their trip to Hana- mixed reviews, however the general consensus I got was that it took entirely too long to get there and they probably wouldnt have recommended it-- take that information for what it is worth.... I spoke with a couple while returning our rental cars and they looked disappointed and exhausted. They did not enjoy 6 hours in a car most of the day!

- BIG ISLAND (HILO)- TUESDAY--> Of course, Volcano National Park is a must if you have not experienced it before. Again, we rented a car and drove there. We hit the highlights (Thurston Lava Tube, crater, steam vents), then drove down to the Kalapana area to see the black sand beach (Kaimu Beach I believe it is called). You walk over the lava fields to get there and it truly is a beautiful site. We then rounded out the day by visiting Rainbow Falls, which is close to where the cruise ship is ported. This was a nice day!

- BIG ISLAND (KONA)- WEDNESDAY--> We spent most of day at Turtle Beach (Kahalu'u Beach Park). We really enjoyed this beach and had some wonderful snorkeling-- I even got the chance to swim with a turtle-- how cool!! This is a small beach area, so get there early-- the beach is more pebbly than sandy, which we liked. The beach also has bathroom facilities and a snack truck for drinks/ snow cones/ nachos, etc. After this, we went to lunch at the Kona Brewery, which we loved! The food was great and the beer was wonderful! If you are a fan of Kona brews, you have to have a Kona beer at the original Kona Brew Company!! :-) We ended up taking a taxi to the beach and then to the brewery- cost about 40-45 bucks- was not terribly far, but not close enough to walk--- would have been better off renting a car!

- KAUAI (NAWILIWILI)- THURSDAY/ FRIDAY- OVERNIGHT--> Again, we rented a car here. See below for more information on rental cars. On Thursday, we did the Tubing the Ditch adventure. I booked this through the company website (Kauai Backcountry Adventures). We saw mixed reviews on this activity, so were a bit worried-- everyone in my party loved it! If you are extremely adventurous and enjoy whitewater rafting, then this may not be for you. We thoroughly enjoyed it however. You are only in the water "ditch" for about 1 hour, but it really is a fun time! Go onto their website to find out more on this activity. The same company also offers ziplining.

After the tubing adventure, we drove to Wailua Falls, which was really beautiful.

The island overall is beautiful- very untouched and rural- also called the "rooster island" because there are tons of roosters running around! Apparently, the roosters became very overpopulated after Hurricane Iniki freed many of them in 1992 and multiplied like wildfire!

The second day on Kauai was a short day- had to be back on the ship by 1:30PM. We explored the island a bit by car- went to see Spouting Horn and Po'ipu beach, which is a wonderful beach! When we go back to Kauai, we will definitely spend the day at Po'ipu Beach- great sand, great snorkeling, generally calm waters, good parking, and beautiful scenery.

RENTAL CARS:

- I suggest rental cars in every port. We used Thrifty, which was great! We rented in Maui, Hilo, and Kauai. Based on suggestions from fellow cruise critic members, we did not rent a car in Kona. In hindsight, I would have rented a car here. We spent almost 50 dollars on taxi fares to Turtle Beach and Kona Brew Company. The rental car company (Thrifty) is right in the King Kamanehea Hotel (sp?) and only costs about 40 dollars for the day. We got a full size car in each port (Dodge Charger)- Maui cost $82.00 for 2 days, Hilo $38.00 for 1 day, and Kauai $82.00 for 2 days. Great deals! I booked these online prior to going on the cruise. We were extremely pleased with Thrifty--- word of advice.... join the free "Blue Chip" program though Thrifty. When you are a Blue Chip member, they will have your keys waiting and you have your own line to wait in when picking up your car! This saved me a SUBSTANTIAL amount of time in Kauai- there was approximately a 20 minute wait in the regular line and no line for Blue Chip members-- remember, signing up is free!

In Kauai, the closest cruise ship parking is in a small shopping center called Anchor Cove. Go and pick up your car early and get to the shopping center parking lot-- there will be a man there that sells overnight parking passes for $20.00. Once that lot fills up, you are out of luck- once you buy the pass, you have your spot "reserved"- you get in/out privs for the day and overnight parking. The walk from Anchor Cove to the ship is about 7-8 minutes.

I did rent a GPS from Thrifty on Maui- other than that, we just used maps-- the roads are pretty easy to navigate, however if you want hassle free driving, GPS may be the way to go. Be careful however- Hawaiian road names are difficult for the GPS to pronounce, so you will have to be vigilant while driving looking for your turns!

BOOKS/ GUIDES:

- As many cruise critic members have recommended, I HIGHLY recommend the "Revealed" books. I purchased the 4th edition "Maui Revealed: The Ultimate Guidebook" ($16.95 Borders), 5th edition "Hawaii The Big Island Revealed" ($16.95 Borders), and 7th edition "The Ultimate Kauai Guidebook- Kauai Revealed" ($16.95 Borders). These book have a wealth of information and very good maps. It does have a bad review of the tubing the ditch adventure in Kauai, however which I do not agree with. Apparently, the author had a relationship gone bad with a staff member of Kauai Backcountry Adventures and this was his revenge (this is what the tour guides told me when I asked them about this!).

VARIOUS INFORMATION:

- When getting off the ship when in port, you must have your room key card AND a photo ID to get back on the ship (drivers license, passport)

- If you like snorkeling, I would recommend buying a set at the K-Mart/ Wal-Mart when you arrive in Maui. A decent set cost me about $40.00- I did not have room to pack my own set from home in my luggage. This is likely more cost effective and time effective than trying to find a rental facility to rent snorkel gear.

- I highly recommend renting a car and doing your own tours/ exploring/ adventures versus ship excursions-- especially with larger families/ groups. We would be looking at $400-$500 for organized excursions- we paid $40.00 for a rental car and basically did the same thing the big busses did-- only ours was on our own time and private!!

- There is a Wal-Mart/ K-Mart on all of the islands!! The ship charges for sodas and bottled waters-- so head to the big box stores and stock up on these items- you can bring non-alcoholic drinks back onto the ship!

- You may smoke on the ship- only in your stateroom or at the aft bar on the ship "Waikiki Lounge" I believe it is called

I hope this helps! I am going to try and scan all of the Freestyle Dailies and post a link to give you all an idea of activities on the ship as well as some pictures.

Please let me know if I can answer any questions or clarify anything for you! This is a wonderful cruise and itinerary- you won't be disappointed!

Happy cruising-

Pete

San Diego, CA

Thanks for your posting of the cruise. Sounds like you had a great time. Looking forward to your scanning and posting of the dailys.

Chuck and Mary

Thank you for taking the time to write your review. We're just beginning the planning stages for our cruise next April. I'm enjoying reading what everyone else has done!

Thank you very much for the detailed review. It is coming in very handy for our upcoming trip.

One question. Do you happen to remember which side of the ship is better to be on? I am concerned about the overnights. I am hearing that the ports are rather industrial and would rather face the ocean than shipping containers!

Thank you very much!

susanrobert-

We were directly in the front of the ship, so we did have both vantage points:

Maui- lots of containers on both sides, however I think starboard side had the better of the 2 views (you can see some mountains) Starboard with the slight edge here!

Hilo- Not as industrial as Maui- I remember looking more off to the port side, however the Kilauea Volcano cruise by is seen on the starboard side, which is a highlight of the cruise. You can go up to deck 12 I believe where they do narration as we do the cruise by. Starboard side wins here!

Kona- This is the only port where we are anchored and take tender boats into town. However, with the way we anchored, the good view of the city was from the port side. Port side wins here!

Kauai- Is beautiful, but port is industrial (not as much as Maui). The more unspoiled view here is the port side. Port side wins! The Na Pali coast cruise by is on both sides (the ship turns around), however I believe the cruising is slower and longer viewing on the starboard side-- not very noticeable however.

Hope this helps- keep firing away with questions- I am happy to help out!

Happy cruising!

Pete

San Diego, CA

Thanks for posting your detailed review. It's too bad about your "butler" relationship. I too would have tipped accordingly and would have let him know why the tip was so low or possibly why no tip at all.

Thanks for your detailed posting of the cruise. We are trying to decide if to rent a car in ports or do the ship's excursions. Seems as if the rental car is winning. Overall it sounds like you had a great time.

SDTraveler78--Thank you so much for the quick response. I really appreciate it! We have a suite booked on the starboard side and I was hoping I made the right choice.

Since you offered, here are a couple more questions. Was Lazy J's opened for lunch too for suite guests or just breakfast? Where there any other suite perks that come to mind? Lastly, do you remember if they offered a laundry special?

Thank you again for taking the time to post your review and answering questions.

Susan

I was on the same cruise. We only got the towel animals twice. We were in a balcony room on the 7th deck. We had pretty good service. We always got the daily and when we were close to running out of tp it was replaced. We had a problem with our toilet and maintenance came very quickly and even called the next day to make sure that everything was still ok. We fell asleep after dinner so the only shows we saw were the Aloha Polynesia, the magic show, and the finale show. The day we came onboard our rooms weren't ready so we went to the shopping talk. We booked all of our excursions through NCL and really enjoyed everything we did and all of our guides. We ate breakfast in the Aloha Cafe and dinner in Skyline. We wanted a shared table and the host tried to get people to join us. A few times he was unsuccessful. Lunch was provided on our excursions or there was time for us to grab a bite. The last day we ate at the Cadillac Diner. We had an amazing time!

Our group is very excited about our Valentine's Day in Hawaii + the whale watching. Most of us have been to Hi but not to all of the islands so we are all looking forward to seeing some new sites during the week.

Most are golfers so they will be trying to find courses - but many of us wives are not golfing - so renting a car might be the way to go - although I do so enjoy leaving the driving to someone else.....

Pete, your port info was extremely helpful -- I printed it off and will share with the rest of our group. I also appreciated your restaurant reviews -- we always enjoy the 'extra charge' restaurants in addition to a few 'free' meals in the dining room.

I know this cruise is all about the ports and not the ship so I do not expect to be up late going to the shows.

Reading reviews makes me even more excited but I have an EPIC cruise to enjoy first! :D

Thanks again for the great review. Oh - and the Blue Chip info was great to have!!! I am not always a 'Thrifty' customer but this is a great reason to become one!

susanrobert-

No problem! Yesterday/ today are my unwind and relax days prior to going back to work, so of course I am checking out cruise critic and looking for my next cruise vacation!!

1. Lazy J's was open for lunch for suite guests, however we did not once took advantage of it because we were always on land at the various ports- I would assume most were in the same situation.

2. I did not see any laundry specials- and did not even see a laundry bag/ order form in the room like other past cruises I have seen.

3. I was a bit disappointed with some of the "suite" perks- on my last NCL cruise, they left us a menu for afternoon snacks that would be waiting in our room upon return from exploring the port. No menus like this for the PoA suite. We had a few cookies waiting a couple times. We got smart and made our own list of snacks we wanted waiting for us upon return from shore activities!

4. Suite perks: obviously bigger room, room service from any of the dining restaurants, butler/ concierge service, the specialty coffee maker in room is nice :-), VIP Captains Cocktail Hour, Lazy J's daily for breakfast and lunch, priority reservations at specialty restaurants (at least it seems as if this is the case!), VIP check in, VIP express disembarkation, priority tendering tickets for Kona (although did not seem to be any waiting for tender boats if you plan to go onto shore early)

5. We really loved the extra room of the suite and the view outside our balcony- that was truly the best part as well as the Lazy J's breakfast- it was NEVER busy in there and SOOOOO much nicer than fighting the crowds in the main dining areas. I love to be social, but also love the private time spent with family/ friends in a spacious stateroom and more intimate dining environments!

Continue asking the questions! I love to help out- this site was such a help for us prior to cruising!

Pete

San Diego, CA

Great Review and Great Advice .... Hawaii is truly beautiful. I can't wait to go back.

Boy did your review bring back memories of our Pride of Hawaii cruise a few years back. We also found a drawer full of trash, heavy dust above about 5ft5in, and ran out of soap/shampoo as well. Too funny :-)

If it makes you feel any better, we had no towel animals at all on our PofA cruise Nov/Dec, but the cabin was always clean.

The cost savings is fantastic when renting a car. I put it to my DD this way: In Maui we can rent a car for a day or take a helicopter ride It's $40 vs. $400." She chose the rental car! And if you're just going to go to the beach and/or snorkle it would be a great way to save.

But if you are interested in any history or info on the flora and fauna, sometimes a good guide can give this information that might not be in a Revealed book or other book. (we had an especially good guide on the Movie tour). MY DD never does any pre-cruise research, leaving it up to me, so even if I have read everything, she may not know it all. But if we take a tour, she gets to hear it as well.

We rented a car 3 days and took tours the other 3 days. One of the troubles with tours is the scheduled stops at coffee or candy stores. Great if you wanted to buy those things, but it takes a long time to herd 50 people on and off a bus. With a rental car you can go to the same places a tour does, and skip the candy store and do something that's on another tour (feeling like you saved the cost of two tours!).

Thanks for sharing your trip with us.

Hello fellow cruisers!

My mother, sister, nephew, nephew's friend, and I (5 of us) just returned from the 7 day Pride of America Hawaii cruise and I am happy to provide an in depth review of our wonderful vacation. I hope that you find some of the information helpful for your future PoA cruise- I spent countless hours reading fellow cruise critic postings and used many of their suggestions. I am a cruising veteran, however this was the first cruise for the rest of my family- it was interesting to get their impressions from a "first timer" point of view!

 

Cruise Date: 5/29/10- 6/5/10

Stateroom: 9500 (Family Penthouse Suite)

 

HONOLULU ARRIVAL/ EMBARKATION:

We flew on Delta from Los Angeles arriving in Honolulu at approximately 12PM on Saturday (cruise day). The drive time from the airport to the cruise ship terminal is quite short- approximately 15-20 minutes. We had 5 people and 11 bags, so we decided to get a taxi (which was no problem- airport personnel at curbside called for an SUV type taxi)- it was definitely the way to go, as it was only a $25.00 fare! You could take the Roberts Hawaii bus, but it would have cost more for 5 people than a private taxi would have! We were dropped off at the port and were immediately greeted by a porter that assisted us with our bags- we were so happy to be freed from those bags- never saw them again until they were brought to our room!

We passed through port security once and then entered the NCL check-in area. We were in a suite, so there was a suite/ VIP section set up for check in. There was even a very cheezy "VIP lounge" area set up next to the check in with a few chairs and tables- the family got a good laugh out of that! We had our pictures taken for the key cards and set up the on board account. The representative (who looked about 21 and acted like it was his first day on the job) then pointed where we were to go proceed to get onto the ship. On previous cruises, the butler escorted us to our room- this time, we were on our own-- no biggie, just an observation. We finally arrived on the ship and were immediately greeted by one of the bar staff- very friendly and a great first impression.

 

STATEROOM:

We were in room 9500 (9th deck), which is a family penthouse suite. We were very happy with the room overall. The entry is very private and is in the very front (forward) of the ship- 9000 and 9500 are the only staterooms in the area. You walk into the room and there is a "powder room" immediately to your right- which was such a wonderful area for the ladies, as it was ideal for makeup, hair, and all the other things ladies do to get ready! Immediately to the left is plenty of storage area- shelves, drawers, the mini-fridge (stocked with beers, liquor, soda- which you must pay for of course), and the infamous coffee maker (Lavazza coffee)- this machine was different than the one we had on the Star- the water reservoir had to be filled multiple times each morning, which was annoying.

You then walk into the small sitting area, which is also the main bedroom. This stateroom is considered 2 bedroom, however the main "bedroom" really doubles as the living room area as well- the best you can do for privacy is pull a curtain. There is a nice LCD television in the "living room" a chair, 2 seater "loveseat", and a glass table. The chair/ loveseat need to be upgraded- they were not very comfortable and are looking a bit worn and dirty. The bed was extremely comfortable and large (looks like a king sized bed). There is also a small desk with drawers in the living room area, which was great for storing guidebooks, freestyle dailies, room service menus, etc.

Around the corner is the main bathroom- toilet, sink, and tub-style shower. This bathroom is larger than the regular bathrooms on ship, however nothing to brag about. I was a bit disappointed with the bathtub, as I am 6'4" tall and I could not stand up straight in the shower because my head would hit the ceiling. The bathroom was stocked with Elemis bath products, which was a nice touch. I also did not like the hanging devices they had to hang your clothes/ towel in the bathroom- they were so small that everything would fall off the "nubs" each time something was put on them.

There was a nice hallway with "stained glass" windows on the wall leading to the "kids" bathroom and bedroom. This hallway was nice because you could store some of your bags along the wall and still be able to keep the walkway open. You first approach the bathroom- this is the basic cruise ship bathroom with stand up shower stall. You then enter the second room- two very comfortable twin beds and one upper bunk bed on the back wall. This room had a small "old school tube style" television (I think a 13") and tons of cabinets and storage space. It also had a nice sized desk with multiple drawers for storage.

The balcony was smaller than I had imagined, however the view and vantage point were priceless. When you turn the television on to watch the live cam from the ship, the view is basically the one you see from the balcony of 9500!! We absolutely loved this. Again, it was a bit small- 2 lounge chairs and 3 regular chairs fit tightly onto the balcony. The lounge chairs have to be turned at an angle, as their is not enough room to have them straight to face forward. But again, the view is spectacular!

Overall, we were very happy with the accomodations- plenty of room for 5 people and absolutely perfect for families with children.

 

CLEANLINESS/ BUTLER/ CONCIERGE/ ROOM STEWARD:

I always treat hotel and restaurant personnel well and tip well, however when I am on vacation and pay for a room that is quite expensive, I expect the service and ammenities to be up to par. I was dissappointed with a few things in this category. Our butler, Sean, dropped the ball quite a few times during our cruise. When we first arrived in our room, we were like kids in a candy store exploring our stateroom-- opening all drawers and cabinets, admiring all of the storage space. Well, we opened one drawer that was FULL of junk and items from the previous occupants of the room- potato chip bags, old freestyle dailies, a man's belt and black trousers, wrappers, etc. Gross!! Oh well, we let the butler Sean know when he came to introduce himself. He said that "he would have it taken care of"- well it was still there 2 days later and had to ask him again. We asked for an iron and ironing board from Sean- had to ask 2 more times to get that...eventually got it on cruise day #3. He always felt rushed and bothered when we had requests, which the requests were few and far between. When he went over the services he provides on the first day, he said to go through him when booking restaurant reservations. So we went through him one day and he said he couldn't confirm the reservation until after 5:30- so I called the restaurant directly and immediately got a reservation. It was more difficult going through him, so we pretty much stopped requesting anything through him by cruise day #4.

Our concierge James was very professional and a great resource. We were greeted by him each morning at the complimentary Lazy J's breakfast exclusive for suite guests. He had great insight into what to do on each of the islands and appropriately answered any questions we had. He confirmed all specialty restaurant reservations we requested and overall we were pleased with him.

We met our room steward once (Elvira) and were not terribly impressed. We ran out of bath products twice and were not refilled on 2 occasions. As mentioned earlier, junk was left from the previous cruise in drawers. We would have the seating moved around in the arrangement we desired and every day it was put back to the ship standard arrangement- you would think she would catch on that we did that because we liked it that way! This is a very small detail, however we enjoy the small things that really make a difference, such as the towel animals. We only had 1 towel animal for our entire cruise- the kids love it, however every day we came back from port, we were animal-free!! We talked to fellow cruise members and we were hearing of small zoo's in their stateroom from all of the towel animals they received! Again, not that big of a deal.

 

RESTAURANTS:

We dined in specialty restaurants 5 times- 2 days Teppanyaki ($25.00), 1 day East Meets West ($15.00), 1 day Sushi ($15.00), and 1 day Little Italy ($10.00). We also dined/ room service at the Cadillac Diner and Aloha Cafe.

- Teppanyaki--> LOVE IT! Great entertainment and wonderful "surf and turf" type food. Advice- when the waitress takes your order, order multiple items off the menu if you wish--- all of the specialty restaurants are all you can eat, however once the teppanyaki chef cooks the food, you can't really go back and order more (it is a show- not really time to go back and cook more). For example, I ordered the Filet Mignon and shrimp- I also order scallops and extra shrimp... the food is fantastic and a fun atmosphere!! It was my nephew's birthday and they had a cake made with his name on it and sang happy birthday-- great touch!! Carmen A. was a blast- she provided good service and fun to our teppanyaki experience!

- East Meets West--> good value for $15.00.... I relate this to PF Changs type of food...we loved it and ordered "family style" and shared everything.

- Sushi--> Sushi, teppanyaki, and East Meets West are all in the same area or large room. If you like sushi, you MUST eat here. It is by far the best food value on the planet. I had a sashimi plate for a starter that had 5 different types of fish and would have been easily $25.00 out in town. I then had 4 additional rolls after that-- I stopped at that point! Great value and the fish was very fresh.

- Little Italy--> This was good, but not great. I was really craving lasagna, which they did not have.... as other reviewers have stated, this is not a truly authentic kind of Italian restaurant, but still a great value for only $10.00pp. I did enjoy the meatballs and the pizza was good.

- Cadillac Diner--> The kids loved this place- and so did the adults! We liked the tuna melt sandwich and the cheese sticks! The desserts were very good as well- fudge brownie and the strawberry shortcake hit the spot!

- Aloha Cafe--> Was always pretty busy... okay food, quite a large selection of items.

- Lazy J's breakfast (for suite guests)--> EXCELLENT! This is a great perk of the suites-- I love having a relaxing, sit down breakfast with good food! The cinnamon french toast and banana walnut pancakes were excellent! And oh my, the pineapple is FANTASTIC! You order off the menu and can choose from buffet style "starter" selections prior to your meal (fruits, cereals, juices, breads, etc.) The hostess Jennifer was a delight to see each morning- she did a great job!

 

SHOWS/ ENTERTAINMENT:

- I read many reviews prior to leaving that said they didnt have time or were too exhausted to catch the shows-- I now see what they mean! We were either too tired or wanted to order room service and enjoy our nice room, view, and each others company (and not deal with the crowds). We need catch a portion of the Polynesian show which was decent and attended the White Party. The White Party was fun and consisted of mostly hip-hop and top 40 kind of music- if you are not into that, you will not like the white party. We also attended the karaoke competition, which is fun if you like karaoke! Other than that, we did not attend any other events. I would have liked to do the pub crawl, which was offered 2 times during the cruise. For $20.00, you get 5 drinks in 5 bars for 55 minutes-- it looked like a good time!

 

SERVICE OVERALL:

Overall, I think the service provided by the PoA crew was pretty darn good. It definitely has a different feel than a foreign flagged ship does. The crew is mostly Americans, and they seem to be bothered and/or irritated a bit easier than service staff from other countries. Also, there were quite a few occasions when I waited 5 minutes or so before being acknowledged- a "I'll be right with you" would have sufficed. Again, you can tell that the PoA has made a concerted effort to improve the customer service on the ship- the improvements seem to be evident (based on reviews of this cruise from years ago).

 

PORTS:

As most other cruise critic members have said, this is the highlight of the cruise. This is a wonderful 7 day itinerary. We primarily enjoy snorkeling and spending time at the beaches:

 

- OAHU (HONOLULU)- SATURDAY--> We have been here many times, so we did not do any excursions...we did spend 1 night in Honolulu after the cruise in my timeshare on Waikiki.

 

- MAUI (KAHULUI)- SUNDAY/ MONDAY- overnight--> this is tough to say, however this was our least favorite of the 4 ports we went to. It was EXTREMELY windy during our time here, which made snorkeling and beach activities very difficult. We rented a car here and drove to Lahaina (not a very far drive, approximately 45minutes to 1 hours). Some nice beaches here and quite a bit of shopping. We finally found a beach that we could do some snorkeling on. Second day we drove south to the Makena area, where the beaches are beautiful-- crappy part was that the surf was very high from the high winds and no snorkeling was to be found (we were headed for Big Beach, where there is supposedly good snorkeling) We spoke with one of the lifeguards and he recommended going a bit north to Wailea Beach. The Wailea area is beautiful- gorgeous houses and high end resorts here. We ended up at Wailea Beach and enjoyed our time here- the kids were able to play in the waves until the beach cleared out about 3PM when the surf became a bit dangerous.

We spoke to a few people about their trip to Hana- mixed reviews, however the general consensus I got was that it took entirely too long to get there and they probably wouldnt have recommended it-- take that information for what it is worth.... I spoke with a couple while returning our rental cars and they looked disappointed and exhausted. They did not enjoy 6 hours in a car most of the day!

 

- BIG ISLAND (HILO)- TUESDAY--> Of course, Volcano National Park is a must if you have not experienced it before. Again, we rented a car and drove there. We hit the highlights (Thurston Lava Tube, crater, steam vents), then drove down to the Kalapana area to see the black sand beach (Kaimu Beach I believe it is called). You walk over the lava fields to get there and it truly is a beautiful site. We then rounded out the day by visiting Rainbow Falls, which is close to where the cruise ship is ported. This was a nice day!

 

- BIG ISLAND (KONA)- WEDNESDAY--> We spent most of day at Turtle Beach (Kahalu'u Beach Park). We really enjoyed this beach and had some wonderful snorkeling-- I even got the chance to swim with a turtle-- how cool!! This is a small beach area, so get there early-- the beach is more pebbly than sandy, which we liked. The beach also has bathroom facilities and a snack truck for drinks/ snow cones/ nachos, etc. After this, we went to lunch at the Kona Brewery, which we loved! The food was great and the beer was wonderful! If you are a fan of Kona brews, you have to have a Kona beer at the original Kona Brew Company!! :-) We ended up taking a taxi to the beach and then to the brewery- cost about 40-45 bucks- was not terribly far, but not close enough to walk--- would have been better off renting a car!

 

- KAUAI (NAWILIWILI)- THURSDAY/ FRIDAY- OVERNIGHT--> Again, we rented a car here. See below for more information on rental cars. On Thursday, we did the Tubing the Ditch adventure. I booked this through the company website (Kauai Backcountry Adventures). We saw mixed reviews on this activity, so were a bit worried-- everyone in my party loved it! If you are extremely adventurous and enjoy whitewater rafting, then this may not be for you. We thoroughly enjoyed it however. You are only in the water "ditch" for about 1 hour, but it really is a fun time! Go onto their website to find out more on this activity. The same company also offers ziplining.

After the tubing adventure, we drove to Wailua Falls, which was really beautiful.

The island overall is beautiful- very untouched and rural- also called the "rooster island" because there are tons of roosters running around! Apparently, the roosters became very overpopulated after Hurricane Iniki freed many of them in 1992 and multiplied like wildfire!

The second day on Kauai was a short day- had to be back on the ship by 1:30PM. We explored the island a bit by car- went to see Spouting Horn and Po'ipu beach, which is a wonderful beach! When we go back to Kauai, we will definitely spend the day at Po'ipu Beach- great sand, great snorkeling, generally calm waters, good parking, and beautiful scenery.

 

RENTAL CARS:

- I suggest rental cars in every port. We used Thrifty, which was great! We rented in Maui, Hilo, and Kauai. Based on suggestions from fellow cruise critic members, we did not rent a car in Kona. In hindsight, I would have rented a car here. We spent almost 50 dollars on taxi fares to Turtle Beach and Kona Brew Company. The rental car company (Thrifty) is right in the King Kamanehea Hotel (sp?) and only costs about 40 dollars for the day. We got a full size car in each port (Dodge Charger)- Maui cost $82.00 for 2 days, Hilo $38.00 for 1 day, and Kauai $82.00 for 2 days. Great deals! I booked these online prior to going on the cruise. We were extremely pleased with Thrifty--- word of advice.... join the free "Blue Chip" program though Thrifty. When you are a Blue Chip member, they will have your keys waiting and you have your own line to wait in when picking up your car! This saved me a SUBSTANTIAL amount of time in Kauai- there was approximately a 20 minute wait in the regular line and no line for Blue Chip members-- remember, signing up is free!

In Kauai, the closest cruise ship parking is in a small shopping center called Anchor Cove. Go and pick up your car early and get to the shopping center parking lot-- there will be a man there that sells overnight parking passes for $20.00. Once that lot fills up, you are out of luck- once you buy the pass, you have your spot "reserved"- you get in/out privs for the day and overnight parking. The walk from Anchor Cove to the ship is about 7-8 minutes.

I did rent a GPS from Thrifty on Maui- other than that, we just used maps-- the roads are pretty easy to navigate, however if you want hassle free driving, GPS may be the way to go. Be careful however- Hawaiian road names are difficult for the GPS to pronounce, so you will have to be vigilant while driving looking for your turns!

 

BOOKS/ GUIDES:

- As many cruise critic members have recommended, I HIGHLY recommend the "Revealed" books. I purchased the 4th edition "Maui Revealed: The Ultimate Guidebook" ($16.95 Borders), 5th edition "Hawaii The Big Island Revealed" ($16.95 Borders), and 7th edition "The Ultimate Kauai Guidebook- Kauai Revealed" ($16.95 Borders). These book have a wealth of information and very good maps. It does have a bad review of the tubing the ditch adventure in Kauai, however which I do not agree with. Apparently, the author had a relationship gone bad with a staff member of Kauai Backcountry Adventures and this was his revenge (this is what the tour guides told me when I asked them about this!).

 

VARIOUS INFORMATION:

- When getting off the ship when in port, you must have your room key card AND a photo ID to get back on the ship (drivers license, passport)

- If you like snorkeling, I would recommend buying a set at the K-Mart/ Wal-Mart when you arrive in Maui. A decent set cost me about $40.00- I did not have room to pack my own set from home in my luggage. This is likely more cost effective and time effective than trying to find a rental facility to rent snorkel gear.

- I highly recommend renting a car and doing your own tours/ exploring/ adventures versus ship excursions-- especially with larger families/ groups. We would be looking at $400-$500 for organized excursions- we paid $40.00 for a rental car and basically did the same thing the big busses did-- only ours was on our own time and private!!

- There is a Wal-Mart/ K-Mart on all of the islands!! The ship charges for sodas and bottled waters-- so head to the big box stores and stock up on these items- you can bring non-alcoholic drinks back onto the ship!

- You may smoke on the ship- only in your stateroom or at the aft bar on the ship "Waikiki Lounge" I believe it is called

 

 

I hope this helps! I am going to try and scan all of the Freestyle Dailies and post a link to give you all an idea of activities on the ship as well as some pictures.

Please let me know if I can answer any questions or clarify anything for you! This is a wonderful cruise and itinerary- you won't be disappointed!

 

Happy cruising-

Pete

San Diego, CA

Mentioning staff names on the boards where they cannot defend themselves is sad. I always believe best way is to sort it out whilst on board, instead of shaming them on C.C.

Thanks for a very informative and helpful review. We are taking POA in July... cant wait!:p

Down-unders-

It was addressed on board directly with the person... I wasn't shaming anyone- it is important to put my experiences out there for others to know about and then formulate your own opinion based on your experiences- get your facts straight before you post your unnecessary comments. Your "best way" may not be the right way. Thank you-

Pete

San Diego, CA

Thanks for a very informative and helpful review. We are taking POA in July... cant wait!:p

No problem jrbp- let me know if you have any questions or how I can help you out in your vacation preparation!

Pete

San Diego, CA

Great review, thanks for sharing with us. I can't wait for next year to experience it for myself!

Excellent review - lots of good info!

Hi, Pete. We're new to the chat. Thanks so much for your review; awesome and very informative! We're going on the PoA to Hawaii in October 2010. Starting off by staying on Oahu in Waikiki for 4 nights/5 days. Do you/anyone know about these hotels? Royal Hawaiian (we'll probably stay there for 3 nights after the cruise), then we can't decide between Hilton Hawaiian Village (looks amazing with the new pools and gardens), the Sheraton Waikiki, the Outrigger Reef Waikiki, or the Hyatt Regency Waikiki (across the street from the beach). Got great deals in all but wondered what someone thinks.

Also, what do they do on the PoA as far as a luau is concerned? Anything or just Hawaiian dancers? Should we do a luau at the hotel or the Polynesian Cultural Center? (and do we really need to go there?).

What kinds of shows were onboard? We like the nightlife. And finally, what do you suggest for each of the islands -- day and night -- including Honolulu/Oahu?

Thanks for all the great tips. Oh, and where is the ship's pier?

BTW, we'd also love to know what you did on your Fiji cruise. Ship, length of cruise, where, etc. Did you think it was better going on a cruise, instead of maybe staying there for awhile (after all, it's a distance, and a shame to just be there for a day or so). Thanks!

Living in Paradise (Florida)

(Chuck & Phyllis)

Hi there Chuck and Phyllis-

I would suggest the Hilton Hawaiian Village- beautiful hotel and that end of Waikiki Beach has the most area of beach....as you progress down Waikiki Beach towards Diamond head, the beach gets smaller and smaller to the point where there is literally no beach to walk on!

We did not see the luau on the ship- I don't even know if they had one on the ship!! Check out a different thread I posted-- I posted the "Freestyle Dailies" that detail the events on the ship. I would suggest the Paradise Cove Luau on Oahu (google or yahoo it)...it has been the best luau I have experienced so far on the island.

The nightlife on the PoA is pretty much non-existent (at least for the cruise we were on)-- we also love nightlife on the ship, however we were exhausted most of the evenings we returned to the ship- this itinerary is so port intensive-- takes all the energy out of ya!!

The pier on Honolulu is only about 10 minutes from the airport-- 25.00 cab ride! :-)

The French Polynesia cruise was to the Society Islands-- out of Tahiti....not Fiji. BUT..... I highly recommend the area, not necessarily the cruise. I actually got sick on the cruise 4 days in and we disembarked the ship in Bora Bora-- stayed there the next 3 nights and was the most amazing place I have ever been-- loved it! Beautiful and relaxing....so, I think I would prefer vacationing the entire time in one place... Bora Bora is heaven on earth! The area experienced a cyclone earlier in the year and the islands took a moderate hit-- resorts are just beginning to open again this month.

Let me know if you have any other questions- happy to help!

Happy cruising,

Pete

San Diego, CA

We went to the PCC as part of an excursion on the day POA docked and I did not care for it. I heard the evening show and dinner is great there.

How much time did you spend at VNP? I'm just wondering what an average would be? We really want to try to hike to the lava if it is flowing when we go.

I'd love to see pictures of your suite and also the sights you saw on your cruise. Any chance you'll be posting some pictures soon?