POA: How much time do you spend on ship where you are not asleep or eating?

[Hawaiidan]

We are booked on the POA in April 2015 in a deluxe penthouse with a large balcony (SD) on deck 13 (13002). The entire suite area (all of deck 13) was remodeled late last year. We have 5 of us in the suite and it originally cost $11,245 plus $250 OBC when we booked it a year ago. I check the website daily and whenever I see a special I call and they adjust the rate. A few months ago they had kids sail for free. It dropped my rate to $9,143 with $150 OBC. This suite is 500 square feet and an additional 480 square foot balcony. Whenever we cruise we book about a year and half ahead of time and the price almost always drops eventually. We stay in suites because of the size of the room, number of people we have in our family, the perks and the great balconies on most NCL ships. We usually nap on the balcony between dinner and the shows and sometimes fall asleep for the night on the balcony. If you have the room you will use it.

 

This trip is different.... Trust me I have spoken with hundreds of passengers over the years on the pier in Kona.... and they were all pretty much the same. " we envisioned a gentle slow sail through and past the islands and plenty of time to enjoy the ship.... boy were we wrong"

 

Please believe me that after 8to 12 hours of on the go your going to feel beat. Making it to dinner will be about all you can do. Then when you add this schedule day after day it erodes your strength... and most all find they can do less and less each day.

Your desire to nap in the evening on the balcony forgets one little thing in Hawaii in April..... It rains a lot at night and off shore rain is a daily event... and wind can be strong.

 

I would rethink the cabin and the reality of what it is going to deliver on this trip for you.

 

I wish you luck

[punkincc]

This trip is different.... Trust me I have spoken with hundreds of passengers over the years on the pier in Kona.... and they were all pretty much the same. " we envisioned a gentle slow sail through and past the islands and plenty of time to enjoy the ship.... boy were we wrong"

 

Please believe me that after 8to 12 hours of on the go your going to feel beat. Making it to dinner will be about all you can do. Then when you add this schedule day after day it erodes your strength... and most all find they can do less and less each day.

Your desire to nap in the evening on the balcony forgets one little thing in Hawaii in April..... It rains a lot at night and off shore rain is a daily event... and wind can be strong.

 

I would rethink the cabin and the reality of what it is going to deliver on this trip for you.

 

I wish you luck

 

I agree with everything you said here. We did opt for a balcony, but we got a really good deal on it. If money were no object, I would book a suite like bosnatis, but I do agree it is pretty much a waste of money on the POA. Save the suite for a cruise where you have 3 sea days and not much to do as far as excursions.

 

People should also consider the fact that for most cruisers their body clock is going to be out of whack by 5 hours or so. I thought we'd be adjusted after a day or two, and we flew in a day early, but we never felt rested all week. We had a quick bite to eat each night and then fell into bed. No shows, no bar hopping. 8pm felt like 1 am. By the end of the cruise, we were sooo thankful we had booked a few more days on Oahu to recuperate.

[fitnessmouse]

We are booked on poa April 2015 2a+2c for $3450 in inside cabin. We'd rather spend the money on excursions. DH an I went on our honeymoon years ago and spent 3 nights on 3 islands, which effectively gave us only 2 real days to explore per island. We figure we now have the same amount of time per island and for less money and hassle only having to pack and unpack once. (4 interisland flights +bag fees for 4 people + hotels + food is way more than the cruise)

 

Anyway we'll be off rhe ship most of the day and use it as floating hotel, thats why we chose inside cabin.

[WarmWaters]

Interesting thread you have going here.

 

I want it all and I want a good deal. So I wait patiently. I do like balconies. On this ship the insides are something like 132 sq feet which is tiny and the balconies they start at 187 sq ft approx.

 

So what I do is, wait patiently for the price to drop to where I think its a good deal now and then I book it. This ship does not sell out often. So I book my flights and then I watch and wait.

 

I booked a few days ago a balcony for 13 Dec sailing for $ 830 per person tax in which I thought was about the normal price for the tiny inside room without a window.. which to me sounds really depressing.

 

Patience pays off many a time. I do agree if you want a certain room category and you have deep pockets then book at it the high price. But if you are careful with your money and you like to cruise often, then wait till there is some urgency to fill that ship.

 

On top of this great price, I got $ 150 onboard ship credits. So that is how we go about to make it happen.

[DaisyGoldberg]

I am someone who really enjoys unwinding in the cabin (and on a balcony when I have one). A big part of vacationing to me is getting away from the world, so I purposely spend a few hours mid-day reading and napping in the cabin. Then we stay up late, read some more, and are up early. So for me, the whole "it's only a place to shower and sleep" argument is completely against my cruising style.

 

That said, the POA is the one ship/itinerary I probably agree with it on (if trying to maximize savings). If you're renting a car and going out on your own, you're probably going to be going all day. If you're on an NCL tour, you're probably going to be gone 4-6 (or more!) hours. And on ship there are more fun, customized activities on board than I've experienced so far on other ships, from hula lessons to lei making to other Hawaii-centric cultural presentations.

 

Hawaii on the POA is really tiring! (It doesn't have to be if you stay on board, but for most it's a once in a lifetime trip and you want to maximize the amount of Hawaii you experience for the great expense of getting there).

 

I think the latest we ever stayed up was 11:30. We would laugh with other cruisers about conking out at 9 pm every night!

 

We had a balcony and loved it for the fresh air and the (minimal) scenic views as we cruised. There's something lovely about going out there just before bed and listening to the sea and breathing the sweet air. Getting up in the morning and going out in your pajamas and breathing in the sweet air and seeing the sun rise feels luxurious. Getting milkshakes and watching the Na Pali coast is great. However, as others have said, you sail at night and the in-port views are not necessarily stellar, so if something has to give, the balcony is probably something to give on.

 

Especially if it makes the difference of staying over a few days before/after the cruise. Coming from the east coast of the US, we needed two full days to feel like ourselves -- if we hadn't had that, the exhausting cruise would have been far more stressful. Likewise, the extra night we took in Oahu after the cruise enabled us to de-stress before the lengthy journey home.

 

My advice for Alaska would be to still get the balcony if you can.