My P.O. America Review - 10/15/05 sailing

[bankofdad]

Thanks for the review! I appreciate knowing the good and the bad. The more I read about this cruise- the less anxiety I feel. Even though this was not the perfect cruise for you, your experiences help the rest of us.

 

I am in the process of selecting excursions and your info really helped. I am also blue chip with Thrifty- would you suggest I go with someone else? Are the other rental companies better organized?

 

Hi Karen,

 

Thanks for reading the review. We just seemed to have the misfortune of being in some bad situations, but others have posted just the opposite. We still enjoyed all of Hawaii and most of the cruise; the cruise portion just didn't go the way we had expected based upon our past experience on POAloha.

 

Regarding Thrifty, I personally won't use them again, although they did have the better rates we had come across. Last year we used Hertz and everything went perfect, althoough Hertz was the most expensive. We used Hertz because we are #1 Club members, and it was extremely convenient. Thrifty's Blue Chip program, IMHO doesn't even come close. With Hertz, except for Hilo, I was dropped off at my waiting car from the shuttle. With Thrifty, I still had to go inside and stand in line for signatures, credit card and liscense checks each time. I also noticed that the Dollar, Hertz and Budget rental car shuttles ran much later into the evening than Thrifty.

 

You'll love Hawaii! I'm sure you'll have a great time.:D

[bankofdad]

Hey Bank O Dad, you can see my mini-review for the exact same cruise and date here:

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=246517

 

I had the opposite impression of crew, thought they were among the best I have seen in 11 cruises, really made the cruise more cheerful for us. The ones behind the reception desk were not the most friendly, but otherwise they were great.

 

Hi Mike,

 

Nice mini-review. I'm glad to see you enjoyed your cruise.:)

[bankofdad]

Hey Bank O Dad, you can see my mini-review for the exact same cruise and date here:

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=246517

 

I had the opposite impression of crew, thought they were among the best I have seen in 11 cruises, really made the cruise more cheerful for us. The ones behind the reception desk were not the most friendly, but otherwise they were great.

 

Hi Mike,

 

Nice mini-review! Glad to read that you enjoyed your cruise:) .

[penorment]

Thanks for the tip on rental cars. For the price difference I think I will go with Hertz. My husband is Gold also...well you know what I mean.

[gsquaredstwins]

Since you have kids- let me ask- did you use the kids camp program. For my kids that is the highlight of our cruise vacation !!! I worry that because the ship is so port intensive, that there won't be much offered for the kids programs (or if there is we will have to pay for it all of the time).

 

Also, was there an offering of 50% off in specialty restaurants on the first night on board the cruise (as other NCL cruises offer)? If so, I may consider eating there our first night sicne the kids pay full price 9and my kids dont eat anything) so it will be a waste for sure.

 

Thanks

[bankofdad]

Since you have kids- let me ask- did you use the kids camp program. For my kids that is the highlight of our cruise vacation !!! I worry that because the ship is so port intensive, that there won't be much offered for the kids programs (or if there is we will have to pay for it all of the time).

 

Also, was there an offering of 50% off in specialty restaurants on the first night on board the cruise (as other NCL cruises offer)? If so, I may consider eating there our first night sicne the kids pay full price 9and my kids dont eat anything) so it will be a waste for sure.

 

Thanks

 

We did use the kids club onboard! I’m really sorry I forgot to include this in my review (jet lag I guess).

The “Rascal’s” kids club is located just off of the mid-ship elevators on deck 12. The location was very convenient to the pool area, Gold Rush Saloon and Aloha Café. The space is very nicely done, with play structures within the main area. The staff we encountered were all very friendly and professional.

“Bubble Gum Beth” was the Group leader for the 6-9 y.o. group, and she was the person we interfaced with the most. She seamed to have seniority over the others, and helped to manage the operation. DD, who is 9y.o. made an instant connection with Beth, and she had a great time during the cruise when she had a chance to go. Beth also was very good with our DS#1 who is 3 y.o., and had him smiling quite a bit (but couldn’t convince him to attend, as all he wanted to do was hang out with DW, MIL, DS#1 and I).

DS#1, 12.y.o (almost 13) didn’t want to participate either. Unlike the previous three cruises he’d been on (all on Carnival) he was not allowed to sign himself in/out of the club at all (Carnival allows 10 y.o.’s to do so, as you may know, if the parents approve at registration), and the meeting space for the 10-12, 6-9 and 3-5 y.o’s is in the same space. So, needles to say, he was my shadow most of the time, which was fine with me.

Most of the organized kids club activities occur between 7-10 PM. There are some activities in the morning (9-11AM), but we were usually off to breakfast and off on the Islands during this time period. From Noon to 5PM, NCLA offered “Port Play” at a cost (which I do not know what it is since we didn’t use it), but it was more-or-less babysitting services at the Rascal’s location.

Another thing I did really like about the kids club is that registration for your child(ren) was offered between 2-4PM and 7-9PM on embarkation day. Usually all parents/guardians that will sign kids in out have to attend, so having the early registration was nice and did not tie all three of us (DW, MIL & I) up on embarkation evening with a mandatory oreientation session.

 

Regarding the specialty restaurants, Jefferson's Bistro (definitely an adult & mature child type of restaurant IMHO) and East Meets West offered 1/2 price reservations on embarkation night.

 

Hope this helps!

[jvz]

Thanks for the great review. I read every word. Did you notice local tour operators at the pier in every port? I read about green tours on this board but they require prepayment. If the ship misses the port, like they did thiis week, we're out the money. Thanks for any information you have.

[jvz]

Thanks for the great review. I read every word. Did you notice local tour operators at the pier in every port? I read about green tours on this board but they require prepayment. If the ship misses the port, like they did thiis week, we're out the money. Thanks for any information you have.

[bankofdad]

Thanks for the great review. I read every word. Did you notice local tour operators at the pier in every port? I read about green tours on this board but they require prepayment. If the ship misses the port, like they did thiis week, we're out the money. Thanks for any information you have.

 

Hi JVC,

 

I did not notice local operators waiting at the pier on either our PO Aloha or PO America cruises. That's not to say there weren't a few of them there, but we always had a plan when we left the ship, so we weren't looking for anything like that.

 

That said, in the Caribbean you notice local operators at every port trying to sell their services, whether you're looking for them or not. Hawaii is somewhat different that way, but it it so easy to book on your own with on-line research up-front. There are so many more shore excursion options than are offered by the ship. On our PO Aloha cruisewe booked all of our excursions independently. On this one we did do two of the ships tours, and enjoyed them both (Captain Zodiac & the Kona Tiki Party Boat).

 

It really is important to kow the operators cancellation policy if you can't make port. Here's a link http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=196949&highlight=jack+harter+bankofdad that may be of interest that shows the influence CC can have on local operators, and it also has some good advise pertaining to researching cancellation policies and protecting you from being placed in a bad situation if the ship can't make port.

 

Hope this helps!

[AmyinVail]

Bankofdad, you mentioned that you had edocs for your cruise and had to go to a place at the pier to get tags for your luggage. We upgraded after receiving our "real" docs and luggage tags and therefore now have edocs and no luggage tags for our suite. Can you tell me where exactly I go when I get to the pier and how badly of a process that was? Thanks!

[bankofdad]

Bankofdad, you mentioned that you had edocs for your cruise and had to go to a place at the pier to get tags for your luggage. We upgraded after receiving our "real" docs and luggage tags and therefore now have edocs and no luggage tags for our suite. Can you tell me where exactly I go when I get to the pier and how badly of a process that was? Thanks!

 

Hi Amy,

 

We were kind of worried about this being a big hassle, too, but the process was pretty painless. If you've never been to the Honolulu pier, I think you'll find it to be about as easy as any embarkation you've ever had.

 

If your taking a taxi to the pier, they drop you off curbside just between the Aloha Tower Marketplace and Piers 10 & 11. Most likely you'll see POAm parked at Pier 10, which is right near the drop off point.

 

We had a porter help us with the bags, and he led us over to a table that was outside and about 50 feet from the curbside. They have the passenger and cabin lists with the current room assignments with them right there, and they wrote our cabin number(s) on the tags and attached them to each bag for us. It took less than 5 minutes for the entire process, and we had (8) peices of luggage we were checking through. NCLA had two agents doing the same thing, and they were very efficient and friendly. No stress at all:) .

 

From there the porter walked us over to the security station which was about 30-40 feet away with our luggage, where they took a look at our E-Docs, passports & kid's birth certificates. Quick and easy here as well, a tip for the porter, and our bags were checked in.

 

From there we walked about 100 feet to the entrance of the embarkation line.

 

From curbide to the embarkation line, it was only about a 12-15 minute process. No stress, very efficient with a very freindly port staff (something you don't always see at the likes of Port of Miami for example).

[ejnsb]

Thanks for the review, bankofdad, warts and all. We cruise Nov. 19. I'm wondering about the elimination of the service charge during your cruise. Any explanation for that or suggestions or guidelines for tipping in lieu of the sc. I know that you are expected to add gratuities for cocktails but when they have no service charge do they expect you to leave money after every meal since you may never see that waiter or waitress again? How is the room steward handled?

 

Also, we've booked Thrifty at all three ports and I'm concerned about your comments. Do you have any of the local numbers handy?

[bankofdad]

Thanks for the review, bankofdad, warts and all. We cruise Nov. 19. I'm wondering about the elimination of the service charge during your cruise. Any explanation for that or suggestions or guidelines for tipping in lieu of the sc. I know that you are expected to add gratuities for cocktails but when they have no service charge do they expect you to leave money after every meal since you may never see that waiter or waitress again? How is the room steward handled?

 

Also, we've booked Thrifty at all three ports and I'm concerned about your comments. Do you have any of the local numbers handy?

 

Hi ejnsb,

 

Regarding the service charge, we were surprised to see that removed, because the ship was getting so many positive reviews here at CC. My first thought when I saw the note was that they must have been receiving a lot of negative comments on the comment cards about the house-keeping and dining room services, and that may have been true, but then again it could just be that a lot of people like to, and are used to tipping directly to the staff and complained about NCLA’s policy.

I recall that when the removal of the service charge started occurring on the PO Aloha, it was at first done by notices to passengers either partially through or at the end of the cruise with an apology for the level of services rendered. By the time we sailed on her, the note was a standard insert (without the apology) into the embarkation day Daily. Truth is, I’m only speculating about the reason and don’t really know the truth for certain.

Regarding tipping, like you said, at the bar you can add gratuity on to the drink receipt or pay the tip in cash, and we did a little of both, depending upon if I had cash in my pocket at the time. I can say that the staff seemed much more appreciative of the cash tips, so I used cash whenever possible. The line recommends a 15% gratuity.

Fortunately I'd recently cruised on RCI with DW, and she also cruised with her Mom and Aunt last month on CCL, so we both kind of remembered what they suggest for dining room and housekeeping staff tips so we used that as our guideline ($5.50pp/day for the dining room team and 3.50pp/day for the cabin stewardess). Another approach, which we used last year on PO Aloha was to estimate the cost of the meal if you were to purchase it at a similarly equipped restaurant near your home, and estimate what the associate tip might be

We are notorious for over tipping because we really appreciate how hard cruise ship staff works as a whole. The services AT THE BAR were excellent all around, so we always tipped more than 20%. The dining room and housekeeping, well, you know my thought from my review so we stuck to the normal guidelines I’ve shown above for the bad dining room days, and tipped a little more for the good days. Housekeeping got a tip right about at the guideline for other lines as well.

Regarding the local numbers for Thrifty, I don’t have them handy, but if you call the reservation number shown on your confirmation email (it’s an 877 toll free number), they can give it to you. While we were in port they actually forwarded our call right to the local offices without me having to write the number down and make another call. This took a little extra time, so if you have the numbers before you go you’ll be glad you did.

I hope you have a great cruise and enjoy the islands!:D

[oregongirl]

My husband and I were also on the 10/15 cruise and had a WONDERFUL time. I'll post my review in a few days. We DID get charged the service fee... how is it that you didn't???

[drummer]

Bankofdad---My wife and I were on the Sept. 24th sailing of the Pride of America and had a blast. We encounter some setbacks aswell, but knew when travelling these things happen and you move on. Unless you are some sort of royalty, this will happen. I'm not the type of person to let a broken ice cream machine, or a slow waiter, or even a rude hot dog griller make me bitter, we just laugh at these situations and have fun with it. Maybe you and your kids would've had a better time at disneyland. The fact that your in Hawaii on vacation seems to get lost somewhere when were looking so close for people to screw up so we can bitch. I'm glad I'm not like that and I'm glad that I come home from every vacation thinking it was better than the one before, just because it is newer in my mind. Remember, waiting for a room to be ready on vacation is better than waiting for the coffee to be ready at work!

[drummer]

Also, we've booked Thrifty at all three ports and I'm concerned about your comments. Do you have any of the local numbers handy?

 

We used thrifty and had not one problem, friendly and helpful drivers. you'll be fine.

[Zeno]

Bankofdad---My wife and I were on the Sept. 24th sailing of the Pride of America and had a blast. We encounter some setbacks aswell, but knew when travelling these things happen and you move on. Unless you are some sort of royalty, this will happen. I'm not the type of person to let a broken ice cream machine, or a slow waiter, or even a rude hot dog griller make me bitter, we just laugh at these situations and have fun with it. Maybe you and your kids would've had a better time at disneyland. The fact that your in Hawaii on vacation seems to get lost somewhere when were looking so close for people to screw up so we can bitch. I'm glad I'm not like that and I'm glad that I come home from every vacation thinking it was better than the one before, just because it is newer in my mind. Remember, waiting for a room to be ready on vacation is better than waiting for the coffee to be ready at work!

 

Well I can't believe it - here I am an NCL "loyalist" (whatever that is) jumping in on this one. I thought bankofdad's review was actually quite balanced. He had some service complaints but he did not let them ruin his cruise and I don't think he dwelled on them - just pointed out where he felt there were some disappointments. I think he had a very positive POAloha experience service wise so any little service failings (even small ones) on POAm just seemed a little more disappointing. I also think a lot of what you might interpret as complaints were more observations than complaints (like waiting for the cabins).

[drummer]

I guess, just seemed there was a problem with service everywhere he went including hotels, car rentals, etc. Anyways, Zeno, The POAM was fun and my wife and I had a great time on our honeymoon. We just both turned 30 if that helps. We just did what we wanted and relaxed. Rented cars on the islands and enjoyed just being away from home. We don't need to be catered too that much.

[Zeno]

I guess, just seemed there was a problem with service everywhere he went including hotels, car rentals, etc. Anyways, Zeno, The POAM was fun and my wife and I had a great time on our honeymoon. We just both turned 30 if that helps. We just did what we wanted and relaxed. Rented cars on the islands and enjoyed just being away from home. We don't need to be catered too that much.

I am glad to hear that you had a great cruise! I think bankofdad just wanted to provide a lot of detail (including maybe things some might ignore) - so people would know what to expect. I am pretty easy going myself but I know others really are into all details (good and bad) of the experience. Read some of the reviews posted here (i.e. cruises "ruined" by infrequent glass replenishment or a lack of towel animals or ships having to change (or even drop) ports (because of hurricanes)). Believe me in comparison to that bankofdad's observations seem very mild.

[penorment]

For what it's worth I don't think Bank of Dad sounded bitter at all. Just because you remember what went wrong doesn't mean you let it ruin your vacation. It's better to be prepared for the minor glitches so you can ignore them. All that ice cream won't look good on the beaches in Hawaii anyway!

[p2lockhart]

BankOfDad, I have always appreciated your reviews and opinions and have found them balanced and objective. In fact, I have relied on them heavily in planning my excursions, even though I will be cruising on the Wind and not on one of the ships you have cruised on. Personally, I want to know where service is lacking and I do not consider that complaining. That is just stating the facts. After all, we spend alot of time researching so we will be fully informed and can make good decisions, weighing all of the pros and cons.

 

I must confess that I have been rather disappointed with the negative tone and out right flaming that some posters have taken recently with people who merely state their honest observations and report less than stellar service or circumstances. If posters have to be worried about people flaming them if people do not like the posters' observations, then we will never get an honest review and will end up with nothing more than a bunch of meaningless saccharine people pleasing pulp. You should not shoot the messenger. He did not create the facts, he merely reported them. This is called Cruise Critic, after all.

[johnql]

Thanks to bankofdad for an extremely thorough, balanced review.

 

p2lockhart, I agree with your sentiment but I disagree with your claim that the OP (or any other reviewer) is stating facts. Most of the time, people are stating opinions, their perceptions of their experiences. Facts are objective, indisputable truths - e.g., square footage of the cabin, wait time to be seated, wait time to be served, number of production shows, prices of drinks, price of bingo, etc. Once someone gives their impression of a fact, it becomes an opinion - e.g., stating that service was poor, the beds were hard, service was slow, etc. That said, I agree with your desire to hear both the good and bad. However, I am always sure to remind myself that it's still just one person's opinion.

[Zeno]

BankOfDad, I have always appreciated your reviews and opinions and have found them balanced and objective. In fact, I have relied on them heavily in planning my excursions, even though I will be cruising on the Wind and not on one of the ships you have cruised on. Personally, I want to know where service is lacking and I do not consider that complaining. That is just stating the facts. After all, we spend alot of time researching so we will be fully informed and can make good decisions, weighing all of the pros and cons.

 

I must confess that I have been rather disappointed with the negative tone and out right flaming that some posters have taken recently with people who merely state their honest observations and report less than stellar service or circumstances. If posters have to be worried about people flaming them if people do not like the posters' observations, then we will never get an honest review and will end up with nothing more than a bunch of meaningless saccharine people pleasing pulp. You should not shoot the messenger. He did not create the facts, he merely reported them. This is called Cruise Critic, after all.

Uhm - actually I thought bankofdad's observations for the most part were pretty well received. Hs observations were detailed and calmly and logically presented. He did not get into a complete snit over trivia (unlike some of the other posters) and he tried not to over-emphasize relatively minor but certainly for him annoying things. I and most other commenters seemed to enjoy his review.

[bankofdad]

Maybe you and your kids would've had a better time at disneyland. The fact that your in Hawaii on vacation seems to get lost somewhere when were looking so close for people to screw up so we can bitch.

 

Hi drummer,

 

I'm glad you had a great time on your trip. Welcome back!

 

Just so you don't think I'm the type of person looking for problems and a reason to b****, please take a look at my review from last year on POAloha, which is here http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=93997&highlight=bankofdad+pride+aloha+review.

 

Just like I said continuously in my review, my coments were based upon my experiences onboard, and didn't necessarily reflect the experiences of others. I speak for no one other than myself, and my comments were just what they are, based upon MHO.

 

I'm extremely please that others have had opposite experiences. I think that's great! I'm absolutely not looking for "misery loves company" compassion.

[Zeno]

Just like I said continuously in my review, my coments were based upon my experiences onboard, and didn't necessarily reflect the experiences of others. I speak for no one other than myself, and my comments were just what they are, based upon MHO.

 

I'm extremely please that others have had opposite experiences. I think that's great! I'm absolutely not looking for "misery loves company" compassion.

 

Great attitude ! (But then I kind of expect that from you.) Thanks again for the review (The "warts" did not 'irritate' me at all).