Totally random encounter with the POA

[smrtypnts]

I'm thinking I really don't care what she looks like but I do love where she is going to be taking me in February....can't wait to be on that sexy stern of hers in my aft cabin......

Like

[spacepotatoes]

Honestly, as nice as it is, I personally find this picture a little aggravating as a bad reminder. The POA missed Kona when I took the HI cruise, as well as Maui soon thereafter for the first day. NCL seems to be prone to missing ports, as both NCL cruises I've taken missed ports and none of the other cruises I've taken have missed any.

 

I don't think NCL is any more prone than any other cruise line and 2 cruises are not much of a baseline for making that kind of a generalization. I've also only been on 2 cruises with NCL and we didn't miss a port on either one. Depends where you go, time of year, whether or not it's a tendered port, etc.

 

That's too bad that you missed Kona and some time on Maui, though, both are beautiful places. You'll just have to go back sometime ;)

[iceman2a]

First the EPIC from an airplane and now the PoA, you sure do get some good photos of NCL ships AND from Great vacation destinations!

 

I don't have to tell you to "enjoy your vacation" :D cause I can tell from your posts you mostly do!

 

Thanks Mike!

[iceman2a]

Honestly, as nice as it is, I personally find this picture a little aggravating as a bad reminder. The POA missed Kona when I took the HI cruise, as well as Maui soon thereafter for the first day. NCL seems to be prone to missing ports, as both NCL cruises I've taken missed ports and none of the other cruises I've taken have missed any.

 

I have NEVER missed a port on any NCL cruise, I must be very lucky:rolleyes:

[Shep_Proudfoot]

I don't think NCL is any more prone than any other cruise line and 2 cruises are not much of a baseline for making that kind of a generalization. I've also only been on 2 cruises with NCL and we didn't miss a port on either one. Depends where you go, time of year, whether or not it's a tendered port, etc.

 

That's too bad that you missed Kona and some time on Maui, though, both are beautiful places. You'll just have to go back sometime ;)

 

Yes, well given the expense that is not likely any time soon. And while two cruises may not be "much of a baseline" well they are my only two cruises with NCL and 3 days in port out of 10 scheduled were missed. Considering that none of the other completed cruises in my signature missed a single day, and yes there were a number of tender ports in there Spacepotatoe (and all cruises were from Dec-Feb), well I am sorry if I am unimpressed with NCL's ability to get to where they say they will. Especially since Maui is a docking port and tendering was a non-factor. Obviously I could have had equally bad luck elsewhere, but I haven't and that is what colors my opinion of NCL-I just don't think they try very hard, to be quite honest, and have no qualms about erroring on the side of caution and shorting the passengers without trying to make it up to people in any meaningful way.

[QueenofEverything]

The Vog was the giveaway for me. Yuk

[InTheCruisingYearsOfLife]

The Vog was the giveaway for me. Yuk

 

But for your post, I'd have guessed that the top picture might have been taken with a 3X or 4X telephoto from Holualoa (or maybe a mile north), on the Mamalahoa Highway, mauka (uphill) of Kailua-Kona. That would have placed it one or two miles south of the coffee farm I used to own, which had a killer view of the bay.

 

But that was before the vog. Yuk. And while a telephoto lens makes stuff look closer, it does nothing to cut through all the vog (yuk) in between. So I guess it was NOT taken from Holualoa. Maybe somewhere on Hualalai Road or Palani Road. It's hard to think of where there would be an adequate clearing with adequate elevation on Hualalai Road, so I'm guessing Palani Road, or maybe the Kuakini Highway with about a 2X telephoto.

 

 

InTheCruisingYearsOfLife

[sdmike]

First the EPIC from an airplane and now the PoA, you sure do get some good photos of NCL ships AND from Great vacation destinations!

 

I don't have to tell you to "enjoy your vacation" :D cause I can tell from your posts you mostly do!

 

Thanks Mike!

 

Indeed I do enjoy them, Iceman! You remember that airplane picture, huh? Still a favorite, and a complete surprise!

[sdmike]

That first shot was taken from over 5 miles away, up on N. Kona Belt Rd (180), which is why the vog shows up so prominently. If I recall correctly we were up near Hula Daddy or UCC.

[sdmike]

Here are a few other pictures for fun

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[brunolvr]

Beautiful pictures, sdmike! Thanks for sharing!:)

[canadian cruise queen]

Nice pictures and I also love spotting NCL ships wherever I am.

 

Last week I actually saw the NCL Dawn on Friday and then got to see the NCL Star on Saturday. I did not cruise on either.

 

I was in Seattle last weekend and saw the Star as well. I have been on her twice. What a beautiful weekend it was in Seattle, had a great time, too bad I wasn't going on the ship, but only 2 months until I cruise out of Venice to the Greek Isles (hopefully?)

[debster818]

Kona was our favorite port in Hawaii a few years back (on the Wind). Hopefully, in a few years, we can spend a week or two on POA. Can’t think of a better way to see the islands.

 

 

What do you enjoy most about Kona? We haven't figured out what to do on shore yet....thinking about renting a car and seeing sights on our own at this port. Any suggestions? Thanks.

[sdmike]

What do you enjoy most about Kona? We haven't figured out what to do on shore yet....thinking about renting a car and seeing sights on our own at this port. Any suggestions? Thanks.

 

How long do you have in port and what kinds of things do you like to see? I just spent 2 weeks there so if you give me an idea I can provide some suggestions. Here are a couple of observations:

 

If you're into shopping Kona has lots and lots of stores. There is a Hilo Hattie's just a few blocks from the port (borderline walking distance), which is a "famous" place for shirts, etc. There's lots of touristy shopping there in the port area, and lots of good restaurants (and some great local dives). Make sure to hit Scandinavian Shave Ice. :)

 

If you're into beer and good pizza, the Kona Brewing Company is a couple block walk from the port

 

If you have a car (or are willing to take a cab), about 8 miles down the road on Ali'i drive there are beach areas where you can swim/wade with sea turtles that come in to graze on the algae that forms on the rocks. Touching them is frowned upon, and they're not scared of people at all. It's very neat to spend some time.

 

If you are into tattoos there are several shops in Kona with great artists. The best of the best is Ono Tattoo. Nicole and Amanda are true artists. Their shop is right there in the seafront area.

 

If you are a coffee lover you may want to rent a car and create a self tour of coffee companies up and down the coast. 100% Kona coffee is amazing. In 3-4 hours you could easily visit a half dozen plantations. If you head down hwy 11 (Kuakini Hwy, aka Hawaii Belt Road) from Kona you'll hit places Kona Joe's and Royal Kona heading down into Captain Cook. There's a little town along the way too, with a "Donkey Ball" (chocolate covered Macadamia's) shop that's interesting to visit. At Royal Kona they have a small Lava Tube you can walk through. Just to the west, on the coast from there, is a national historical park with amazing lava flows and ancient monuments. The picture of the palms and lava above is from there. Then you turn back north and head up the 180 "highway" off hwy 11 and get up into the hills to some more plantations. That's where Hula Daddy and several others are. Then it's a short drive back down the hill into Kona.

 

Going down to the volcanos, over to Hilo or up to Mauna Kea is going to be way too far for a day trip.

 

Those are just a few things. If you give me a few likes/dislikes I could come up with more.

[debster818]

Thanks for the suggestions. Hubby would like Kona Brewry for sure. Not much is history. Like beautiful sights, good food and drinks. Love meeting people. Turtles sound awesome. Love animals.

 

We will also be going to Hilo on another day so any suggestions would be appreciated. Like I said, probably won't do an organized tour on these two ports.

 

Thanks.

[sdmike]

For turtles you'll want to get down to Kahaluu Beach Park, less than 10 miles south on Ali'i drive... just north of Kona Country Club. There is a barrier reef so the area is good for snorkeling if you have gear. There are restrooms and showers there, but you would need to bring any towels, drinks, etc. with you.

Kona Brewing Company is famous for their Porters and their Wailua Wheat beer, but a favorite of ours was the Lavaman Red Ale. The brewery is more restaurant than anything else, but the pizza is outstanding. It's a several block walk up the hill, but you can find it easily on google maps to see if that's for you.

If you rent a car, the drive I described down hwy 11 and up 180 provides outstanding views. Remember, that island goes from sea level to 13,000 feet in pretty short order, so you can get up pretty high for some amazing views pretty quickly. Again, I recommend the historical site for views and the lava fields (we didn't even see the "history" stuff). If you go there, head off the main driveway from the parking lot towards the south. That will take you down a rough path to a rustic parking area under the palms.

If you're going to stay there in town by the docks, I would recommend some local fare and maybe not the more commercialized places (sorry, Bubba Gump Shrimp). There's an upstairs place called Kokonutz that overlooks the main road, and they have the most amazing hamburgers and homemade fries. They have a decent beer selection, and we really enjoyed sitting up there talking to the owner.

Anyway, hope this was helpful. Feel free to ask any questions.

At the Beach Park

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Over on the Hilo side

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