Recap of August 10-21 POA Cruise--Days 1-4

[cruisersmom]

We (my husband, myself and another couple, all in our early 60s) recently returned from an 11- day Land/Sea Tour of Hawaii (August 10-21) through NCL and on the Pride of America. I am going to briefly summarize each day and will be more than happy to answer individual questions. The CruiseCritic boards were a great source of information for me as we planned our trip. We had a balcony stateroom, port side, room 9570. Our friends had the exact same room on the starboard side. For the pre-cruise portion of the trip, we stayed at the Waikiki Beach Marriott Resort and Spa-oceanview. While this review looks lengthy, I’m not going to go into great detail on the excursions,shows, etc. because you can find this information in numerous places. All our excursions were provided/booked through NCL. The land tours were on Polynesian Tours Gray Line buses, owned by NCL! We were impressed by the variety and quality of the main shows. They were all highly entertaining and professionally done. Some we saw twice because we enjoyed them so much the first time! We ate dinner in both the Skyline and Liberty Dining Rooms—exact same menus; the Liberty has a dress code (but it’s still not super dressy). Leo, our guide for the first three days of our pre-cruise, mentioned that you CAN make reservations in either dining room ahead of time—we did this on four of the nights. You can request your dining room server as well; no guarantee you’ll get them, but it worked out for us both times we did this.

 

Day 1—Direct Flight, Atlanta to Honolulu—Delta Airlines. We had arranged transportation from the HNL airport to the Marriott through Pacific Shuttle ( info@pacific-shuttle.com). Cost was $31 for four adults and our luggage. Although a transfer was provided through NCL as part of our package, we wanted the quickest way possible to get to the hotel after a nine-hour flight. We arrived at our hotel around 3:45 p.m. and were met in the lobby by a representative of NCL who immediately identified us as cruisers (maybe it was the large pieces of luggage we had!), took our bags and led us to the NCL Cruise Center in the Marriott lobby. Security photos were taken; we were given envelopes with room keys, itineraries for the next three days, etc. and were in our rooms before 4 p.m. Our luggage arrived promptly. After freshening up, we met our friends in the lobby where we crossed one street straight to Waikiki Beach. We then walked to dinner at a highly recommended, hole- in-the- wall restaurant called Rainbow Grill (about 6-8 blocks from the hotel, away from the beach). We walked back to the hotel and were all in bed by 7:30 pm-Hawaii time.

 

Day 2—Dole Pineapple Shop, North Shore and Polynesian Cultural Center ( about 8 hours of touring)--¬Of course, we were up way too EARLY ( like 5 am) and ready to go. We had scoped out the coffee shop in the open-air lobby the night before and knew they had enough options to satisfy all four of us. As we were eating, our driver and tour guide for the next three days, Leo, was walking through the lobby, identifying those going on the NCL tour, and pointing us to where we would meet. The schedule for each day was listed in the itinerary we were given the day before. IF you are exhausted and decide NOT to go on the provided tours, please be courteous and let the NCL desk know. The drivers don’t want to leave anyone; they know how many people are supposed to be on the bus when it leaves the Marriott and lose valuable time trying to out where the missing people are! At times, the schedule was tweaked, but we were given plenty of notice. The tour buses were relatively new, very clean, cool and had a great PA system. Leo was an EXCELLENT tour guide and provided lots of local and background information and made all three days very enjoyable. He pointed out great places for photo ops, was happy to take pictures and knew where ALL the restrooms were and which ones were the cleanest! After the first two stops, we arrived at the Polynesian Cultural Center about 45 minutes before it opened; this gave us time to eat lunch at several food trucks/ restaurants located in the outer area. It was a wonderful day and we arrived back at our hotel between 5 and 530. On the concierge’s recommendation we ate dinner at Lulu’s (about two blocks from the hotel). She also made reservations for us at Duke’s Waikiki for the next night.

 

Day 3—Punch Bowl, Pearl Harbor (about 6.5 hours)—Leo again met us in the open air lobby and we were loaded and ready to go by 8:15. Again, we wasted time while Leo looked for four missing people (who decided not to go). Honolulu traffic is heavy in the mornings and evenings—just like rush hour in any other big city. Because of the early morning traffic, Leo postponed the city portion of the tour until Saturday. Drove through Punch Bowl, the National Cemetery of the Pacific but did not get off the bus, then headed to Pearl Harbor where we first visited Ford Island and the Aviation Museum. REMEMBER—since 9/11, no purses, backpacks, diaper bags or camera bags are allowed into any of the areas!! Next was the USS Missouri memorial followed by the USS Arizona and the Bowfin submarine. Leo will give you two tickets when you arrive—keep them handy! Your ticket to the USS Arizona memorial specifies a time—pay attention! Again Leo, our tour guide/driver, did an excellent job of pointing out restrooms, restaurants, etc. and was always visible around the memorials to answer questions and point you in the right direction. If you are remotely claustrophobic, don’t do the Bowfin sub! Take my word for that! It was another wonderful day—don’t miss Pearl Harbor! We arrived back at the Marriott around 530 and had dinner reservations at Duke’s Waikiki for 7:45. It was about a 15-minute walk to the restaurant, but it gets dark early and our phone GPS had us walking in circles. We finally had to stop and ask for directions. We were seated immediately, but all four of us agreed the setting was beautiful (overlooking the ocean), but the food was so-so. Not sure we would choose to go there again.

 

Day 4—Kualoa Ranch and Embarkation Day—When you leave the Marriott, your luggage is left in your room except for your carry-on luggage. You will give Leo the count of the number of bags left in your room when you board the bus. Leo will store your carry-ons in the luggage hold under the bus during the tours. This day ended up not being exactly as planned because of the rainy, windy weather. It was supposed to be a presentation on Hawaiian culture and a catamaran ride to ‘Secret Island’ to eat a boxed lunch (which you had ordered the day before) and swim if you wanted to. The presentation was OK—kind of seemed like a time filler to many of us. The rough water caused the catamaran ride to be cancelled so we ate the boxed lunch under the tent at the visitors’ center, then headed back to Honolulu to get on the ship. On the way back, we took a ride through downtown Honolulu where we saw several historic sites, Chinatown, the financial district, the state capitol building, etc. Because of the cancellation of part of the tour, each person received a $25 credit to their ship account. Also, we arrived at the ship about an hour and a half ahead of our ¬¬schedule (2 pm instead of 330pm). We ate at the Aloha Café, took a tour of the ship, then headed to our rooms. Sail away was at 7, followed by one show, the Hollywood Showtime: Welcome Aboard Show, that spotlighted the entertainment for the rest of the week.

[cruisersmom]

Day 5—Maui—our excursion that day was the Haleakala Crater at Sunset. Our morning and early afternoon was free so we slept in and explored the ship before leaving at 330. Everything was perfect about this excursion—my camera couldn’t capture the beauty and the ever-changing landscape. We would all do this again in a heartbeat. Dress in layers, wear long pants and take a jacket! The temperature was probably in the mid- to high 40s at the summit. We got back to the ship about 8 pm; ate in the Aloha Café and went to bed! We didn’t go to the show that night.

 

Day 6—Maui—Our excursion was the Molokini Crater and Turtle Snorkel. We snorkeled at the Molokini Crater and at another site ( Turtle Cove?). NCL used the Pacific Whale Foundation for the excursion. There were 86 people on our excursion plus the crew. Breakfast ( banana bread, pineapple pastry, juice etc) and lunch (hamburger, veggie burger or grilled chicken sandwich, bean salad and macaroni/potato salad) were included as well as soft drinks. Wet suit jackets were available to rent for $10—all four of us rented them and were glad we did. You had about an hour at each site that you were actually in the water. Flotation devices and noodles were provided and at least two PWF employees were in the water at all times serving as lifeguards. A ‘Snorkeling 101’ class was offered by the captain—since none of us had ever snorkeled before, we took the time to do this. It was helpful. Before leaving the dock, you had the opportunity to rent an underwater camera for $40—at the end of the excursion, you could keep the SD card. I didn’t do this, but later wished that I had or that I had brought a disposable underwater camera with me. I’m not the best swimmer, so I was hesitant about this excursion. We enjoyed it so much that we snorkeled at two other ports!

Dinner was in the Liberty Dining Room; the show that night was Showtime: Lights, Camera, Action!

 

Day 7—Hilo—our excursion that day was Volcanoes National Park and Rainbow Falls. Again, we were in awe of the different types of terrain and vegetation. VNP was phenomenal and our guide was excellent in explaining and describing what you were seeing. Walking through the rain forest and the Thurston Lava Tube was amazing and mind-boggling. We stopped at an orchid greenhouse and the Mauna Loa Macadamia Nut Factory on the way back into town. Our last stop was Rainbow Falls—we didn’t see any rainbows; the falls were pretty, but not spectacular and were located right in the middle of a neighborhood in Hilo! Personally, I would have rather had more time at VNP and skipped the other three stops! That’s just my opinion!

Wonders! A Magical Experience was the show in the Hollywood Theatre.

That night, as we sailed from Hilo to Kona, we passed by an active lava flow that had made it to the sea. Seeing this was an unexpected pleasure—had we been two months earlier, it wouldn’t have been visible. My still photos don’t capture it as well as the video does. This was in my top 3 favorite memories from the cruise.

 

Day 8—Kona—our excursion was Historic Kona-- a coffee plantation, the Pu’uonua o Honaunau National Historical Park (City of Refuge)and the Painted Church. Again it was an excellent excursion. We did not book in advance like we did all the others, but decided to book it the night before. It lasted about 3-4 hours. There was a public beach right where the tender dock was, so we took our swimsuits and snorkeling gear with us. When the tour ended, we ate lunch in town at a restaurant recommended by someone at the Shore Ex desk—it wasn’t anything special and I can’t remember the name. We would probably choose differently if we ever went back! Some of us swam, some snorkeled and one explored the historical part of the town. We were back on the ship about 330.

Tonight’s show was Oh What A Night! Tribute to Frankie Valli & The Four Seasons. This was so good that we went to both the 7 and 9 pm shows.

[cruisersmom]

Day 9—Kauai—our excursion was the Luau Kalamaku—we had the morning/early afternoon free. Again we slept in, played trivia and/or worked out. We left the ship at 430 for a 10-minute ride to the site of the luau, an old sugar mill plantation. There are three options for the luau; if we had it to do over, we would have taken the option that included the train ride. There were several shops and craft booths around the perimeter of the grounds. A beautiful open-sided pavilion housed the buffet and the show. Tables were assigned before you left the ship and you received a note with your table number on it. There was an opportunity to request to sit with people from other staterooms—you had to turn this in 48 hours in advance. It was all very organized and highly enjoyable. The food was OK, nothing special, but the show was fantastic. We were back onboard the ship by 9 pm—and caught that night’s 1030 show—Comedy with Michael Somerville.

 

Day 10—Kauai—we had not booked an excursion for this day—sailaway was at 2 p.m. Our friends ended up booking The Director’s Cut excursion (it left at 6:15 am) which took you to several places where movies had been filmed on Kauai. They really enjoyed that. We took a free shuttle to Amber Cove which was a shopping area and a beach. We rented chairs and an umbrella and spent the morning snorkeling and swimming. There are also free shuttles going to Wal-mart and K-mart! It was only a 10-minute walk from the ship, so we walked back, ate lunch and began packing to disembark the next morning.

At 515 we began a sail-by of the Na Pali Coast. This was probably the most spectacular scenery of the whole trip—so spectacular that we got up from the dinner table to go outside and see it, rather than look at it through the dining room windows. While we were outside, the most vivid rainbow I’ve ever seen appeared, followed by a second one a minute or so later. It’s hard to describe how beautiful it was!

That night’s show was Vegas! The Show, followed by Tribute to the Eagles with Toby Beau and then Late Night Comedy with Michael Somerville.

 

Day 11-Disembarkation Day—We chose to put our luggage outside our room the night before so that we didn’t have to mess with it; our friends kept theirs with them ( they pack lighter than we do!). Again, we used Pacific Shuttle to pick us up at the pier and take us to the airport. It was $24 for the four of us and all of our luggage! Our plane didn’t leave until 3:30; Brent with Pacific Shuttle will customize tours around the island for you for $40/hour for up to eight people. If you choose to do this, then the $24 fee is waived. However, since we had done the 3 days pre-cruise, we chose to on to the airport. We were checked in by 10:00 and headed to a gate for a flight that didn’t leave until 3:30! Be aware that there are not a lot of food options at the Honolulu airport AND that, while there are lots of seats at each gate, those seats are only available to you when the flight before you has departed. It might be like this at many airports; I travel mainly out of Atlanta and there the seats at the gates are available to you at any time. We were not expecting this! We finally found a corner that had a row of about 15 seats and we staked out four of those—they filled up fast as did the floor areas in that concourse. The entrance to each gate is blocked off and only accessible when the ropes are removed. Even if the ropes are removed and the area has 300 empty seats, you will be asked to leave by a security guard if you decide to sit there—trust me on this!! We boarded our plane at 3:30pm and arrived, safe and sound in Atlanta, at 6:32 am!

 

I would do it again—exactly the same way—in a heartbeat. I only hope I have the opportunity to do so one day!

[cincicruisers]

Thanks for sharing your review with us.

[Clarea]

Thanks for the report.

[gregnjen1]

Great review! Thank you for sharing. So happy you got to see the lava flow.

[easyboy]

Thanks for the review.