First Day Questions POH

[mar2c1]

Hi, going on POH 1/22/07. This is our first cruse. I have a few questions.

What time can you board? I have been reading the boards for a few months so I know to make dining res. right away.

What else is open early on the ship?

Is the pool area open ?

How about dining for lunch?

Any other ideas? Thanks.

[ajrich]

I just got back from this cruise and we were able to board at 1pm. The pool was open when we took this cruise and also the buffet was open when we got on the ship. Our room wasn't ready until about 1:30pm so we ate lunch and then got settled in our room. Hope you enjoy your cruise and beautiful Hawaii.:)

[mbmam2]

We were on the 8/7 cruise and were told we could not board before 1:00 pm. We arrived at the terminal at 1:00 and there was quite a line for security. It moved pretty fast, but I would get there earlier (maybe 12:00?) for a couple of reasons. First, you would be at the head of the line so on the ship earlier and done with boarding. Second, once you are on early, run, don't walk to the first place you can find to make restaurant reservations. You can do it on the far right side of the service desk on deck 7, or at the Blue Lagoon, Asian Garden or the Mexican Restuarants on deck 7 and 8. See my review that is a few pages back (my formal one is still not posted for some reason), and also a separate thread on dining reservations on POH.

 

This is a very nice ship and a great itinerary. You will have a great time. Make those reservations and you will avoid a lot of trouble with the dining.

 

Also, if you have a room on a higher deck, your room will be ready earlier. We got on the ship at about 1:30 and our rooms on deck 11 were ready right when we boarded. Other people on lower decks waited for an hour or two. That is really not a problem though. You can use the time for the dinner reservations, spa appointments and to book excursions if you do not have them done ahead of time (recommended). You can also eat in the Aloha Nui Buffet (very good) and explore the ship. If you bring bathing suits separate from your luggage you can use the pool.

 

Have a great time.

 

MBMAM

[pattycakey]

We just returned from our POH cruise last week....had a super time...I would agree with the above posters that the most important thing to do the minute you get on the ship is make your dinner reservations for the week. My husband dropped us off at the pool and we had a light lunch at the buffet while he headed up to one of the speciality restaurants to make our dinner reservations for the week. This turned out to be the best idea because we were able to secure reservations at the specialty restaurants when we wanted them....if we had waited later on in the week-we would be stuck eating at the main dining rooms or the buffet.

I will mention that we all agreed that you are better off avoiding the main dining rooms if you can. We ate at Cagney's one night, Le Bistro (our favorite) one night, two nights at Papa's and one night at Paniolo Tapas. We thoroughly enjoyed these restaurants. The main dining rooms were less desirable (food and servicewise).

You will have a great time--after all, you are going to paradise!:cool:

[smartnblonde]

We are going on the 10/23 cruise. If we want can we make reservation for the main dining room? there is only 3 of us. Just wondering

[lindajeff]

Pattycakey - I'm confused. If you ate in the main dining room no more than twice for dinner, how can you make the statement that "The main dining rooms were less desirable (food and servicewise)."?

 

That said, how much do each of the speciality restaurants charge?

[mbmam2]

Yes you can make reservations in the main dining rooms and I would highly recommend that as well. We witnessed people waiting for quite some time who did not have reservations for the Grand Pacific. This was lobster night, so it may not be quite so bad on the other nights, but I would not take the chance. We only ate in the Grand Pacific one night on the lobster and formal night. Even with a reservation we had a wait because there was considerable confusion at the main desk. We finally ended up being seated about 20 minutes past our reservation. Then we had poor service and mediocre food, so our recommendation is to stay at the specialty restaurants.

 

As for charges in the specialty restaurants, they vary. Papas and Paniolo Tapas have no extra charge. Jasmine Garden, Shabu Shabu, the Sushi bar and Le Bistro have a $10 per person extra charge. Cagney's has a $15 per person cover and Teppanyaki has a $20 per person extra charge. Cagney's also has a specials menu with Maine Lobster, a larger steak and a surf and turf that has an extra $10 per person who orders it charge. We found Cagneys well worth it, as it was as good as a fine steak house in Chicago. Le Bistro was OK, but Papa's was great for no extra charge. We did not eat in the others.

 

We did meet a lot of people who did not make a reservation and ate in the main dining rooms. Most were very disappointed to very angry.

 

Even with three people I would make a reservation, even in the main dining rooms.

[tomluvsaida]

Yes you can make reservations in the main dining rooms and I would highly recommend that as well. We witnessed people waiting for quite some time who did not have reservations for the Grand Pacific. This was lobster night, so it may not be quite so bad on the other nights, but I would not take the chance. We only ate in the Grand Pacific one night on the lobster and formal night. Even with a reservation we had a wait because there was considerable confusion at the main desk. We finally ended up being seated about 20 minutes past our reservation. Then we had poor service and mediocre food, so our recommendation is to stay at the specialty restaurants.

 

As for charges in the specialty restaurants, they vary. Papas and Paniolo Tapas have no extra charge. Jasmine Garden, Shabu Shabu, the Sushi bar and Le Bistro have a $10 per person extra charge. Cagney's has a $15 per person cover and Teppanyaki has a $20 per person extra charge. Cagney's also has a specials menu with Maine Lobster, a larger steak and a surf and turf that has an extra $10 per person who orders it charge. We found Cagneys well worth it, as it was as good as a fine steak house in Chicago. Le Bistro was OK, but Papa's was great for no extra charge. We did not eat in the others.

 

We did meet a lot of people who did not make a reservation and ate in the main dining rooms. Most were very disappointed to very angry.

 

Even with three people I would make a reservation, even in the main dining rooms.

I'm confused now. I thought I was told in other posts that the main dinning rooms don't take reservations except for large groups. We are only two people and will be in the main dinning room only for lobster night (unless they serve prime rib and lobster in the buffet). Will we be able to make reservations for that for just two people?:confused:

[LuxuryCruise]

I'm confused now. I thought I was told in other posts that the main dinning rooms don't take reservations except for large groups. We are only two people and will be in the main dinning room only for lobster night (unless they serve prime rib and lobster in the buffet). Will we be able to make reservations for that for just two people?:confused:

I second this exact same question.........and also ask if anyone has links to good threads regarding the dining options. The extent of my knowledge now is from the helpful posts in this thread, which I'm summarizing what I learned below. Please let us know any other recommendations. Also, are reservations needed for lunches?

 

Aloha Nui Buffet - no extra charge "very good"

Papas - no extra charge "great"

Paniolo Tapas - no extra charge

Jasmine Garden - $10 per person

Shabu Shabu - $10 per person "the Sushi bar"

Le Bistro - $10 per person extra charge. "OK" & "our favorite"

Cagney's - $15 per person cover & has a specials menu with Maine Lobster, a larger steak and a surf and turf that has an extra $10 per person who orders it charge. "well worth it, as it was as good as a fine steak house in Chicago."

Teppanyaki - $20 per person extra charge.

 

Thanks a lot.

[mbmam2]

I am not sure about 2 people, but we made a reservation with 4 and they took it no problem. I think that comment was from people on another thread talking about other NCL ships, not the NCLA ships including POH. I do know of one other couple (2 people only) who made a reservation in the Grand Pacific and they took it. They had a special occaision though, so maybe that was an exception.

 

I would still try to make the reservation at the dining rooms, just to be sure.

 

By the way, we thought Papas was excellent. Also, on our daily compass they listed Shabu as separate from the Sushi Bar, but I am not sure what the difference there is, if any. Finally, they do serve lobster in the buffet on the same night as they do in the main dining room.

 

Sorry if I caused any confusion.

[LuxuryCruise]

Does anyone know what night is lobster night and what night is formal night? Don't know if it is different for different sailing but just in case ours departs Sept. 18, 2006. Updating list below:

 

Grand Pacific -

Aloha Nui Buffet - no extra charge "very good" "they do serve lobster in the buffet on the same night as they do in the main dining room."

Papas - no extra charge "great" "excellent"

Paniolo Tapas - no extra charge

Jasmine Garden - $10 per person

Shabu Shabu - $10 per person

The Sushi bar -

Le Bistro - $10 per person extra charge. "OK" & "our favorite"

Cagney's - $15 per person cover & has a specials menu with Maine Lobster, a larger steak and a surf and turf that has an extra $10 per person who orders it charge. "well worth it, as it was as good as a fine steak house in Chicago."

Teppanyaki - $20 per person extra charge.

[LuxuryCruise]

Does anyone know what night is lobster night and what night is formal night? Don't know if it is different for different sailing but just in case ours departs Sept. 18, 2006....

 

I've been trying to research this more and found this "Lobster Night on POH???" thread: http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=387019&page=2&highlight=lobster

 

But it looks like it is an unknown if it is Tuesday or Thursday.

[mbmam2]

Lobster night on our cruise was Tuesday night, which was also the first formal night. There was another formal night later in the cruise, but there was no special menu and not many people dressed up. Count on 2 nights to dress up and get pictures taken.

[tomluvsaida]

I am not sure about 2 people, but we made a reservation with 4 and they took it no problem. I think that comment was from people on another thread talking about other NCL ships, not the NCLA ships including POH. I do know of one other couple (2 people only) who made a reservation in the Grand Pacific and they took it. They had a special occaision though, so maybe that was an exception.

 

I would still try to make the reservation at the dining rooms, just to be sure.

 

By the way, we thought Papas was excellent. Also, on our daily compass they listed Shabu as separate from the Sushi Bar, but I am not sure what the difference there is, if any. Finally, they do serve lobster in the buffet on the same night as they do in the main dining room.

 

Sorry if I caused any confusion.

No confusion. Thats good information especially about lobster in the buffet! Thanks!:D

[cruzfiend]

For those of you who have just returned; I was told they took the coffee makers out of the rooms. We have a mini-suite - does anyone know if these rooms still have a coffee maker????????:confused: