Just off the ship

[country traveler]

Just off the ship Saturday I can try to answer questions?

[mousey]

Hi, off what ship? The POA? If so, I would like to know how we can get to the "A" beach (Anaehoomalu Bay I think is its name, on our own? Are there any beaches you can walk to from the port in Hilo that have good snorkling? Thanks for any info you have on the Hawaiin ports. What is there to do in Maui in the evening? Thanks you!:D

[country traveler]

We were on POA there was a beach right at the pier that I saw people using snorkling gear at. And there is a shuttle to Kahalu'u Beach Park that rents snorkle gear. We went with Captain Zodiac to Kealakekua Bay, It was a awesome trip. Snorkling was fantastic, we saw alot of whales and dolphins on the way to the bay.

 

Night life in Maui, unless you have a rental car there is nothing within walking distance from the pier. We were pretty tired at night so we didn't leave the ship at night.

[country traveler]

The beaches I was refering to are in Kona. In Hilo there is a beach and a park that were walkable. I didn't notice anyone snorkling when we were there.

[shazz43]

We were on POA there was a beach right at the pier that I saw people using snorkling gear at. And there is a shuttle to Kahalu'u Beach Park that rents snorkle gear. We went with Captain Zodiac to Kealakekua Bay, It was a awesome trip. Snorkling was fantastic, we saw alot of whales and dolphins on the way to the bay.

 

Night life in Maui, unless you have a rental car there is nothing within walking distance from the pier. We were pretty tired at night so we didn't leave the ship at night.

Hi Country Traveler

where did you do the Captian Zodiac? and who did you do it with?

was it with the cruise ship or another tour company?

it sounds good:)

[Scarlett3]

Any tips, hints, suggestions you can make about the ship? Things you wished you would have known prior to going on the cruise?

[country traveler]

Hi Country Traveler

where did you do the Captian Zodiac? and who did you do it with?

was it with the cruise ship or another tour company?

it sounds good:)

We booked it as a shore excursion through the ship in Kona. You can book it direct with them it leaves from the some dock you tender into. It isn't much cheaper and with the ship you are able to get on one of the first tenders, check in was at 8am. It was a great time a small raft type boat with about 14 people. We had more than a hour of snorkel time at Captian Cook memorial. The water was very clear and alot of fish.They stop along the way to view whales and dolphins. Its about a 20 mile ride to the bay.

Was one of the high lights of our trip

[country traveler]

Any tips, hints, suggestions you can make about the ship? Things you wished you would have known prior to going on the cruise?

The ship is very cold in the public areas, a sweater jacket or shawl are nice to have.

 

There isn't a clock in the cabins. You can get a wake up call, but it drove me nuts not knowing what time in was when I woke up in the middle of the night. It was too dark to see my watch, so I used my cell phone.A travel clock would have been nice.

 

I was amazed at how wrinkled my clothes got in transit. A travel steamer would have been nice. They do not allow irons on board, but I heard you can have a small steamer. They may have irons you can borrow but I didn't see anywhere that they had them.

 

We had an aft cabin it was great. We had a good view of the lava flow sail by and the napi pali coast.

 

The buffet food was good. We were there for breakfast about 6:30am and avoided the big crowds. The last morning it was nuts for breakfast.

 

The Skyline dining room was about 1 1/2 hours to eat dinner. We ate most dinners at the buffet, had alot of the same food and quicker.

 

It was a great time I wish I was still there

[LJH1]

country traveler did you see the lava flow from your aft balcony, if so whatdeck where you on or did you have to go to upper deck? Thanks

[country traveler]

country traveler did you see the lava flow from your aft balcony, if so whatdeck where you on or did you have to go to upper deck? Thanks

 

We watched it from our balcony we were on deck 7 cabin 7680 we had a great view. We could not hear the naturalist talking from our balcony. We were able to view it for alot longer than everyone else.

[LJH1]

We watched it from our balcony we were on deck 7 cabin 7680 we had a great view. We could not hear the naturalist talking from our balcony. We were able to view it for alot longer than everyone else.

 

Thanks for your reply. It's good to hear because we are on deck 9 aft in Oct.

[mousey]

Thanks for your response to my question.:D We leave for Hawaii on 4/3!:D

[intentionaltourist]

Thankyou for starting this link. I have two questions. How did you find the service on the ship. Also what tours did you book through the ship and which ones did you do on your own? We are going in October.

[country traveler]

Thankyou for starting this link. I have two questions. How did you find the service on the ship. Also what tours did you book through the ship and which ones did you do on your own? We are going in October.

 

We found the service to be great, our cabin attendant was great, towel animals every night. Our safe was locked shut when we boarded, after calling they were there with the hour to open it for us. No complaints about service in any other areas.

 

We rented a caar in each port through Thrift in each port except Kona. We booked Captain Zodiac Raft & Snorkel through the ship,great time, and then walked around town.

 

In Maui had car first day, did the Iao Valley & needle on the way to Lahaina for a whale watch we booked through Pacific Whale Foundation, saw lots of whales,may not be whales in Oct. Notice that they stay right on time for thing ,show departures ect.

 

Second day we did through the ship Moloniki Snorkel trip. nice time snorkeling was better in Kona.

 

In Hilo we rent car and did Volcano National Park, and stopped at macadamia nut factory on way back to ship.

 

Kauai rented car first day, drove hte North Shore in morning and to Waimea Canyon in the afternoon. Had plenty of time to do both. We didn't do any hiking. Stopped at the coffee visitor center on the way back to ship,was ok got a free cup of coffee, were back on ship by 8pm

 

Second day did the Kauai Backroads Adventure through the ship, were looking for something other than water activity, was oksaw some intresting things, but was not a high light kind of trip.

[warjo2611]

Great thread:)

[CruisingGoddess]

country traveler - Welcome back!! Would you mind checking these menus and letting me know if it's the same as you recall on POA?

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1146235&page=2

 

The menus start on Post #29. Thanks!!

[country traveler]

country traveler - Welcome back!! Would you mind checking these menus and letting me know if it's the same as you recall on POA?

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1146235&page=2

 

The menus start on Post #29. Thanks!!

The menu on post #29 was from the Pearl. POA's was different. They had some of the same dishes on the buffet every night. When the dining room had prime rib the buffet did also. We didn't eat in the dining room because of the long waits.

[CruisingGoddess]

The menu on post #29 was from the Pearl. POA's was different. They had some of the same dishes on the buffet every night. When the dining room had prime rib the buffet did also. We didn't eat in the dining room because of the long waits.

 

Oh no. How long were the waits in the dining room and what time did you go each night? :(

[country traveler]

Oh no. How long were the waits in the dining room and what time did you go each night? :(

The wait to get in wasn't to long. We were just to tired to take a hour and a half to eat. By the time we got back on the ship and ready for dinner we just wanted something fast and easy.

[mousey]

The wait to get in wasn't to long. We were just to tired to take a hour and a half to eat. By the time we got back on the ship and ready for dinner we just wanted something fast and easy.

 

 

I've read that you are allowed to make reservations for the MDRs now. Did you find that to be true? If so, how did it work out for you? Was it too hard to get through to the reservationist?

 

Also, I have been wondering, are you able to use your cell phone on the POA when its docked and when you are walking or riding around in Hawaii without being charged extra high fees?

 

Thanks for being so helpful!:D

[country traveler]

I've read that you are allowed to make reservations for the MDRs now. Did you find that to be true? If so, how did it work out for you? Was it too hard to get through to the reservationist?

 

Also, I have been wondering, are you able to use your cell phone on the POA when its docked and when you are walking or riding around in Hawaii without being charged extra high fees?

 

Thanks for being so helpful!:D

Im not sure about resevations in the MDR, we didn't check that out.

 

Cell phone coverage was good everyway except Volcano National Park, we had some areas there with no signal.

[CruisingGoddess]

Do you know if there is a cell tower on the ship so you can use your cell when it is at sea? (I'm aware there will be extra charges.)

[mousey]

Im not sure about resevations in the MDR, we didn't check that out.

 

Cell phone coverage was good everyway except Volcano National Park, we had some areas there with no signal.

 

Country Traveler, thanks again for answering one of my questons.:D

[flashdog_1]

There is no tower on the ship, so make your calls when docked, or on land.

 

We had absolutely NO wait to get into the dining rooms. If Liberty has a wait, go downstairs to Skyline. Maybe it was the hour you chose to eat that required a wait. I think we ate late. Or if we were starving we went to Cadillac Diner for something fun.

 

There was an appetizer of batter fried crawfish I'd never seen on an NCl (or any other cruiseline for that matter!) on the menu in the MDR.

 

And is especially cold in the specialty restaurants.

[CruisingGoddess]

There is no tower on the ship, so make your calls when docked, or on land.

 

We had absolutely NO wait to get into the dining rooms. If Liberty has a wait, go downstairs to Skyline. Maybe it was the hour you chose to eat that required a wait. I think we ate late. Or if we were starving we went to Cadillac Diner for something fun.

 

There was an appetizer of batter fried crawfish I'd never seen on an NCl (or any other cruiseline for that matter!) on the menu in the MDR.

 

And is especially cold in the specialty restaurants.

 

Thanks!!