Review of of POA cruise 6th March

[Cash123]

Hi All,

I'll try and keep this brief as a lot of the information given will have already been posted on other threads but if anyone would like further info just ask.

 

2 couples both in 50's, left Heathrow Sun 28th Feb on United flying into San fransisco, great flight no delays, arrived mid afternoon and had a private shuttle booked to take us to the MArriott Fishermans Wharf, got upgraded room as Im a Marriott Elite member ( nice touch), hotel was excellent location just a few blocks from Pier 39 and couldnt fault it. That afternoon walked to pier 39 had a look at the seals baskinjg in the sun and then had a bite to eat at Bubba Gumps

 

Mon 1st March did Alcatraz in the morning, we all felt this was a not to be missed experience, in the afternoon rode the cable cars to union Square and had lunch at the cheescake factory on top of Macys, walked through Chinatown and again rode the cable cars this time hanging on for dear life but a unforgetable experience and stopped at Russian Hill the winding road and walked down.

Tues 2nd March had an all day trip to Yosemite, althought the weather wasnt that good it was still breathtaking.

Wed flew via Untied to Honolulu and had a limo pick us up from Jays Limos with Lei's for the girls and took us to the Outrigger on the Beach, this was a great start to our Hawaii adventure, had booked a ocean view room which was on the 16th floor and did give us a view of the ocean but the next day decided to upgrade to a ocean front room which was without doubt the best hotel room we have had mainly due to the view, we were on the 12th floor and it was wonderful to be able to see all the beach and Diamond Head. the hotel couldnt be faulted in any way and would recommend it in an instance,

Thursday vistited Pearl Harbour, we did take the bus but my suggestion would be to take a cab, it took well over an hour and we got the express bus !!, although we didnt get there till around 11.30 we only had a hour to wait for our ferry over to the memorial, in the afternoon managed to get some beach time a the hotel.

Friday had booked a grand island limo tour again through Jays Limos and it was fantastic, 8 hour tour and we saw all the island in style including a stop for lunch at Giovannis shrimp truck near north beach.

 

Sat 6th had the limo again take us to the docks to board the Pride of America, will come back with more soon.

[sungoddezz]

Love to hear more of your review. We leave on May 7th. Can't wait!

[smrtypnts]

Loving your review already! I was indecisive about the bus to Pearl Harbor and you may have made my decision for me; thanks for the info.

[Cash123]

Sat 6th March, got to the ship around 12.30pm only problem we had was the wife left her holdall in the limo and had to chase it up the street to get it back LOL, still the exercise did her good, was no waiting around took less than 30 mins to get onboard, went up to the pool bar and ordered the first of our many beers lol, sat on the loungers as the weather was great and waited for our rooms to be called, after about 1 hour they called deck 8 cabins now available, we hang around a while longer and then went to our cabins, we had 8528 & 8530 which are at the front of the ship and have the larger balconies, althought the room was compact !!! having the larger balcony really helped, we had a full size lounger and a lounge chair which went down. Watched us sail away from our balcony and then headed to the Starlight for dinner, food was fine although we did sign up for the gold wine package.

Sun 7th march had hired a car from dollar for 2 days and in the morning got the shuttle to the airport in Kahuluiand then did the Road to Hana, if you see anyone on here say its not all that ignore them its a great drive, we got to hana around 1.30 pm after stopping at various waterfalls, the botanical gardens where you get some great views and other scenic spots along the way, ok its a tricky drive but if you take your time its a lot of fun.

 

We left Hana around 2.00pm and had to get to Lahaina before 5.15pm as we had booked the OLL, we did it in just over 2.5 hours and that included a stop on the coast road before you get to Lahaina as we saw whales off the coast. Got to the OLL and we all changed into our Hawaiian shirts and dresses, the shirts for us blokes LOL, I can see why people say it is the best Luau to go to, it was excellent, the food was good as was the open bar although I had to take it easy as I was the driver, the show after the food was very authentic and was done in a very classy style.

 

Left the Luau when if finished around 8.30pm and made our way back to the ship, we were told by the shuttle driver that there was parking just by the pier but it can get filled up, when we got back we saw a dock security guard directing a driver onto a piece of land just before the car park as it was full, I managed to get next to him but there was only spaces for around 5 cars.

 

 

Mon 8th March us lads had a round of golf booked at Wailae Blue while the girls had a whale watching tour via Roberts, we both enjoyed our day even though it was very windy which meant our balls didnt go that far and the girls were thrown around a bit on the boat. That night we eat at Little Italy, food was wonderful service not the same.

 

Tuesday 9th March got a cab to the airport as we had a helicopter tour via Blue Hawaiian of the Vocanoes, we didnt see any lava flowing but it was a great tour to see the sulphur gasses escaping and the area that has been affected by the volcanoes, afterwards we got a cab into Hilo where we had a walk around and had a drink at a pavement bar.That night we eat at Jeffersons Bistro, a very nice atmosphere and great food.

 

Wed 10th Mar Kona, this was our big day as it was Carols big 50 and why we did this trip, I had her cabin all decked out for a bithday with ballons and bunting plus she got as big cake LOL, car booked at Dollar at the Hotel King Kamehameha, the hotel has work going on and you have to walk round the back of the hotel to get to the dollar desk, had nothing planned so decided to head north to Waikola Village shops and beaches, a lovely place and after some beach time headed down to Anachoomalu or A beach, another lovely beach and we even had 4 turtles basking on the beach, how good was that. BAck at the hotel used the drop book by the dollar office to give back the car keys. That evening eat at Lazy j's,again good food and then went up on deck for the lava sail by but no lava !!!

 

Thurs 11th Mar had a helicopter tour of the Island again with Blue Hawaiian, got the shuttle to the Anchor Shops and crossed the road to the harbour mall where their office is, after the breifing they took us to the airport for our flight, I wouldnt want to say too much about the flight in case some of you have booked it, all i will say is our freind Carol had tears in her eyes at the end as she thought it was just so fantastic, we even bought the DVD so it must have been good LOL.

After the trip I picked up a car form dollar at the airport and again as we didnt have anything planned we drove firstly down to Poipu and spent some time on the beaches and then went to Waimea Plantation Brewery which was just a great peaceful and relaxing way to spend a few hours, they brew there own beer there and we sat on the patio under the blazing sun drinking and taking in the view. Drove back to ship and dropped the car off even though we had it till the next morning, that night we eat at the aloha cafe and it was good, plenty of choice.

Fri 12th Mar, us lads had managed to talk the girls into another round of golf which we played at Pukea which was right next to the port, the girls had a shopping day and were able to get a shuttle from the ship, our last night and we decided to give Little Italy another chance and theis time as well as the food being excellent so was the service.

[Cash123]

Sat 13th March and so it all ends at least for the cruise, overall we all had a fantastic time on the POA, the islands were stunning, the people were freindly and most of the time it was sunny and very warm, our steward Arnold was excellent in getting anything we wanted, the ship couldnt be faulted as long as you realise your not on the Crown Princess or similar, this ship takes you around the Hawaiian Islands and at the same time treats you very well, the only gripes we had was our toilet overflowed on the Sun night at 11.00pm and took over an hour ro fix, in then dediced to pack up again wed morning 4.30am and flooded the bathroom again, this wasnt our fault just the toilet overflowing, this was very annoying, as smokers you are only allowed to smoke either on your balacony and at the Waikiki bar which is at the aft end of the sip on deck 13, you can imaging what thats like at night when your sailing, it was windy !!!, i can see why one half of the promanade deck 6 cant be made a smokers area, and NCL should show prices more clearly.

 

After disemabarking we got a cab to the airport for our afternoon flight to Los Angeles, we had booked the Viceroy hotel in Santa Monica, it was a choice between that and Lowes, we were all glad we choose the Viceroy it was a wonderful hotel, on the Sunday we walked into Venice Beach which was an event in itself, to see so many throw backs to the 60's wacky backy smoking hippies was a sight to behold LOL, on Monday we booked a tour via the hotel to see the normal sights, Rodeo Drive, Hollywood, Kodak Theatre etc which was good and then chilled out till our flight home on Tuesday eevening, we even had a film shoot at the hotel tuesday morning around the pool which was fun.

 

So thats it, a truly memorable vacation which none of wanted to end but now back in the land of living and getting over jet lag, i know Ive left so much off this but please if you want to ask more go ahead.

 

Cheers and mahalo

[Cruise_More_Often]

Cash, thanks so much for doing your review, as it was really helpful.

 

I got a big kick out of your trip to San Francisco, as that's where I work (and play on some weekends). Neither my husband nor I have been to Alcatraz, can you believe it? But we sure have hung off our share of cable cars.

 

With your experience with the helicopter tours, if you had to choose between a tour of the Big Island or Kauai, which one would you choose today?

[darceyg3]

Ex info....cannot wait until July.

 

 

Can you tell me did you book your excursions through NCL or independently? Did you notice any islands offering "Swimming with Dolphins". i would love to do this as party of my 50th birthday celebrations. Any information gratefully received....thanks.

[CruisingGoddess]

Thanks for the review!! Makes me so excited!! But I have to wait until November!!! Poooo.

[jbuch02]

Cruise More Often ..... on the helos. First, I've never been so take this for what its worth but I am an obsessive planner and researcher. Our trip is June 26th. If there has been anything reviewed about helo rides, I've probably read it.

 

Hands down, the opinion on helo rides is to do Kauai. Favorable as well is the Hughes A500 Open Door ride done by Jack Harter Heliocopters (Google it you'll get to the site). This may not be for everyone because it can get windy and cool but if you want a view, this is reportedly it. 4 places not including the pilot on the left (3 seats in front, two in back) so everyone has a "window" seat. I'm a pilot and half some time in UH-1 Helos so, I can speak with some authority on this being the way to go compared to larger 6 and 8 passenger Helos.

 

I've already booked ... did it on the Internet and got a personal call from the Company the next day to make sure of my wishes. They pick you up at the pier at 10:15 for an 11 -12 flight. Then they'll drop us off at Thrifty at the airport to pick up our rental for the rest of the day and one half. Perfect for our plans.

[Cruise_More_Often]

PERFECT, jbuch02! Sounds just like just the information we've been looking for. We haven't done a helicopter excursion yet, but we did a seaplane excursion in Alaska, and it's by far our favorite excursion. You just can't get the views any other way.

 

I really appreciate your suggestions!

[Cruise_More_Often]

Deleted -- duplicate mesage because the Board is acting weird today.

[Cash123]

Quote"

 

Ex info....cannot wait until July.

 

 

Can you tell me did you book your excursions through NCL or independently? Did you notice any islands offering "Swimming with Dolphins". i would love to do this as party of my 50th birthday celebrations. Any information gratefully received....thanks.

 

I booked all the tours independently, the helicopter tours through Blue Hawaiian and the Old Lahaina Luau direct with them on their web site, NCL dont do the OLL so you have to book that yourself, the only problem with that is you have to make your own way over there but we had hired a car so it didnt bother us, as I said we did the RTH in the morning and then drove straight over to lahaina. Pearl Harbour we also did on our own, for any golfers NCL wanted $160 to play on Kuaii plus club hire , we played Puakia for just $99, we did ask if we could play the course that NCL takes you to but when we told them we were on the POA they said it would cost $175 so I would say pick a course and do it yourself.

 

Cant tell you about swimming with dolphins but Im sure you can google it and find somewhere.

[Cash123]

If I had to pick just one helicopter tour then I think it would have to be kauai,, it was breathtaking flying over the Jurassic Park waterfalls then waimea canyon, plus all the other sites including Na Pali coastline, Im not saying the tour over the Big Island wasnt anygood it was also fantastic but as we didnt see any lava flowing it has to come second to Kauai.

[igfan]

Quote"

 

Ex info....cannot wait until July.

 

 

Can you tell me did you book your excursions through NCL or independently? Did you notice any islands offering "Swimming with Dolphins". i would love to do this as party of my 50th birthday celebrations. Any information gratefully received....thanks.

 

I booked all the tours independently, the helicopter tours through Blue Hawaiian and the Old Lahaina Luau direct with them on their web site, NCL dont do the OLL so you have to book that yourself, the only problem with that is you have to make your own way over there but we had hired a car so it didnt bother us, as I said we did the RTH in the morning and then drove straight over to lahaina. Pearl Harbour we also did on our own, for any golfers NCL wanted $160 to play on Kuaii plus club hire , we played Puakia for just $99, we did ask if we could play the course that NCL takes you to but when we told them we were on the POA they said it would cost $175 so I would say pick a course and do it yourself.

 

Cant tell you about swimming with dolphins but Im sure you can google it and find somewhere.

 

We too are going to do the OLL. May I ask what car rental you used? We will need to drop the car off that same night. What time did you get back from the OLL?? Thanks! We leave on April 17 and I can't wait!!!!

[goehoe]

We are want to book the OLL but need to change from Swim suits, dry hair, etc. Is there a dressing/bathroom to change into proper clothing and dry hair , then go to OLL? If so, please advise, where? We have a rental and will be in the area that day for the luau.

[Cash123]

We too are going to do the OLL. May I ask what car rental you used? We will need to drop the car off that same night. What time did you get back from the OLL?? Thanks! We leave on April 17 and I can't wait!!!!

 

We used Dollar for all the car hires and never had any problems, I even managed to use my dollar express card to get quicker service a couple of times.

 

The OLL finished around 8.30pm and we got back to the pier around 9.30pm, if you have to take the car back the same night you may have to get a cab back to the ship as Im not sure what times the shutle buses run up to.

We had our car for 2 days so it wasnt a problem.

[Cash123]

We are want to book the OLL but need to change from Swim suits, dry hair, etc. Is there a dressing/bathroom to change into proper clothing and dry hair , then go to OLL? If so, please advise, where? We have a rental and will be in the area that day for the luau.

 

As we did the RTH in the morning we took a change of clothing for the Luau, when we got there we asked if there was anywhere to change and they told us to use the restrooms in the shopping mall right opposite the Luau, if was fine to change there.

[vbmom87]

Cash123: Did you ever leave the ship as soon as they opened the gates to disembark? I am wondering how the crowds are to get off? We are scheduled to be picked up at 8:05 a.m. in Maui for a tour and am wondering if we have to line up early in order to be one of the first people off the ship.

[ekomann]

Hi Cash123.

 

I see that you had a great time on your cruise. I wish that we could have said the same. Most likely we were on the same ship at the same time. In fact, we also rented from Thrifty on Maui and since Thrifty and Dollars share the same facilities, probably saw you at the rental counter picking up our vehicles.

 

We had several mishaps on our cruise, making this our worst vacation ranging from walking out of the Skyline resturant after waiting for a hour without being served our meals to having NCL double charging our account.

 

Needless to say, we will never book with NCL again.

[Cash123]

Cash123: Did you ever leave the ship as soon as they opened the gates to disembark? I am wondering how the crowds are to get off? We are scheduled to be picked up at 8:05 a.m. in Maui for a tour and am wondering if we have to line up early in order to be one of the first people off the ship.

 

Sorry we never were that early in getting off, on the times that our balconly looked out to the pier I was always up watching us come into port and i did see passengers come off as soon as the gangways were in place but it never seemed that a lot of people were coming off, dont forget most times we docked around 7.00am.

[Cash123]

Hi Cash123.

 

I see that you had a great time on your cruise. I wish that we could have said the same. Most likely we were on the same ship at the same time. In fact, we also rented from Thrifty on Maui and since Thrifty and Dollars share the same facilities, probably saw you at the rental counter picking up our vehicles.

 

We had several mishaps on our cruise, making this our worst vacation ranging from walking out of the Skyline resturant after waiting for a hour without being served our meals to having NCL double charging our account.

 

Needless to say, we will never book with NCL again.

 

Hello Ekomann,

 

So sorry to hear you had problems on the POA, I suppose this just goes to show that people looking for information on forums like this can get confused, as we were probably on the same cruise you would think that we would have similar experiences but as others can see we have 2 very different stories to tell, although you dont say what the mishaps were they were bad enough for you to say you would never cruise with NCL again, and yet we found everything with a few exceptions to be first class.

 

We did eat once in the Skyline restaruant and have to say found it very good, as soon as we were seated we had a waiter serve us drinks and then as soon as we were ready to order our food they were there ready, food came quickly and was just as we ordered it.

 

We found all the staff very freindly and helpful at all times and as I said we only really had 2 complaints, one they decorated our freinds cabin for her birthday 3 days early but they did compensate us with bottles of wine and a problem with our toilet which Im sure could happen on any ship.

 

Would we travel on NCL again, well if we found a cruise that we liked and it happened to be NCL then yes we would but maybe try a different ship just for the experience.