Sailing the Hawaiian Islands - POA?

[The Traveling Man]

6 hours ago, chengkp75 said:

The newer ships have gone to 2 to a cabin, due to international conventions, but the older ships had mostly 4 to a cabin, and some 6 to a cabin.

The Epic, launched in 2010, was the first NCL ship to feature individual cabins for most (if not all) crew members.  Crew members on the Epic may share a jack-and-jill bathroom with another crew member, but they each have a private bedroom.  I have been told by several crew members on some of NCL's newer ships that the crew berthing on the new ships follows the same design.  NCL still operates ten ships which were built before the Epic and seven (soon to be eight) which have been built after the Epic.  I would be interested in knowing which of NCL's ships still berth more than two crew members per room.  And yes, I do know that even on the Epic NCL usually assigns two crew members to a single stateroom if they are married or in an intimate relationship.

[chengkp75]

I know for a fact that the Sky, Sun, Star, Dawn and Spirit have 4 person cabins.  The Sun and Sky also had 6 person cabins for casino staff.  I'm fairly certain that the Jewel class ships do as well, though its been a while.  

 

Because cabin size, and the number of occupants is based on job description, we had severe problems with this when NCL started the US flag operations.  All deck and engine crew, per their union contract, were to be only two to a cabin, even though on international ships their job descriptions only warranted 4 to a cabin.  Also, junior officers that were two to a cabin on international ships were required, again by union contract, to be in single cabins.  This required a major shifting of cabin assignments before we even crewed up, and led to a lot of hotel supervisors getting their nose out of joint.

 

Some of the more junior single cabins were about 6' x 8', just enough room for a single bed, sink and mirror, wardrobe, and 2' wide desk.  These shared the toilet and shower with the adjoining cabin.

[azappraiser]

We sailed on the POA in 2015; having never been to Hawaii, it was the perfect way to get a taste of the islands, transportation & meals included.  We splurged for a Non-Suite Aft Balcony on deck 8.  Best decision we made when booking.  It was our 3rd cruise w/NCL, Alaska & Eastern Caribbean on the Pearl & Gem respectively.

 

We've been back to Hawaii since, but only to Oahu.  And while we'd like to make at least one more vacation there, I doubt we'd repeat the POA cruise and opt to stay on one or two of the islands for several days each.

[chengkp75]

14 minutes ago, omahabob said:

And if it was as horrible as you make it sound, why would you stick with it for four years? There are lots of jobs available out there that don't require the sort of sacrifices you cite. Yet these people still choose to do it voluntarily, and they stay. So, it can't be as horrible as you make it sound.

I was a merchant mariner for 46 years.  And, yes, I and my family sacrificed a lot in order for me to practice my desired profession.  No, its not indentured service (as I said, since it is a US flag vessel, in a US port, and the crew are US citizens, they can walk off the ship (and did so in the thousands when we first started US flag operations) at any time.  There is still a percentage of POA crew that don't complete their first contract.  The problem is that most young American kids have never shared a room with a stranger until/if they go to college.  Most have never worked 7 days a week without a day off for months, and certainly most have not worked a 12 hour day.  And, most importantly, most have not lived where they work, so they are in constant interaction with their co-workers.  These are the factors that make cruise ship work extremely unattractive to US citizens.

[omahabob]

Unfortunately, a whole lot of work is unattractive to young Americans these days, so that attitude isn't limited to cruise ships. 46 years? Wow. I only did 20 in the military. But my wife did 25. So, can I add them together to make it sound more impressive? 😁

[Silver Sweethearts]

21 hours ago, Silver Sweethearts said:

Aloha dumbth:

 

Have you given thought to sailing the South Pacific on the Aranui 5?