POH March 12-19 review

[cruisepal48]

My cruise was very good. I will try and give you a good feel of my experience. We booked our cruise almost a year ago. We had a 7 category upgrade if we booked when we did. I got a BB category deck 10 starboard side of the ship. We booked though a local travel agent who has arranged most of my travel plans. She then had NCL make all the arrangements. She told me that their flights were cheaper then what she could get. I booked a 2 day post stay after the cruise.

We traveled to Honolulu the day of the cruise. March 12th. We had a 6AM flight so that meant we had to spend the night in a hotel by seatac then get up at 3AM. We had a connecting flight in San Francisco. Day light time also started that week-end so we were exhausted when we arrived on the ship. We arrived in Honolulu at 11:30AM and were met by NCL agents who directed us to our shuttle to the pier. Embarkation went very smooth and quickly. We got in the latitude line as this was our 2nd cruise with NCL. We sat in the atrium for awhile then went up to deck 12 for a bite to eat as we waited for our stateroom to be ready. It was ready around 3:30 so we showered and then had muster drill at 4:30. We were so tired we went to bed for a nap. Woke up at 8PM and went out on our balcony for sail away. I have to say I would never travel the same day as the cruise because I missed the sail away party and the leis and a good dinner.

My stateroom was very well laid out and we enjoyed the balcony a lot. Our Stateroom Stewardess greeted us and gave us instructions on what she called the wheel of fortune, the wheel that you turn if you want your room cleaned, turned down or do not disturb. She was wonderful, friendly and went out of her way to help us. What else can I say, she got an extra tip at the end of our cruise.

Dining was excellent also. We ate breakfast in the main dining room and the buffet. Both were good. If I wanted a poached egg I went to the dining room, omelet the buffet. On lobster night I had the Prime Rib which was excellent. I had lobster on the previous cruise and I didn’t think it was that good. Beef Wellington was very good and the lamb shank. We didn’t make reservation for the main dining room and we got seated right away. We always chose to share seating which was interesting at times. The waiters were very friendly and did their very best to try and please everyone. We sat with one person who had the manager at the table and they even went to another restaurant to get her food and she still wasn’t happy. They did everything but stand on their head for her. We sat though the whole meal and had to endure her constant complaints. We ate once at Paniolo’s and had the Churrasco Fire Star Steak. It was so tender and good, excellent. I would recommend it. No extra charge for this either. Last night of the cruise we ate at Cagney’s. DH had the filet and I had the lamb. Both were very good. The banana foster is to die for. We had lunch only once in the buffet, the last day as we got back on the ship early that day. The food was a bit dried out but OK.

We only went to one show but I’m sure it was the best. On Broadway, very professional and I felt like I was really on Broadway. Don’t miss this one. I was always so tired from being on shore that I was ready for bed after dinner.

Debarkation went very smooth also. NCL has everything very organized. Since we had a post cruise stay we didn’t see our luggage until we got back to our room that night after a PCC tour. The luggage was in our room waiting for us.

Our roll call for this cruise was 4 of us. We really got to know each other and talked about what each of us was doing. We planned on meeting on the ship which we did. It was like we’d known each other for years. I’m sure you’ll be hearing from them. I’ll be posting my Hawaii experience in a separate post as this was too long.

I have to say I didn’t have a bad experience on the ship. The crew was great and very helpful. If you treat them nice and show your appreciation they’ll go out of their way for you. They told me how bad they feel about some of the passengers and how they complain all the time. More later about the ports and Islands. Feel free to ask questions.

[ImMom]

Thank you for your wonderful review! It puts my mind at ease for our upcoming POAl cruise. Glad you had a great experience.

[hello]

Great review -- thank you!

[travellady]

Thanks for your positive review Cruisepal48.

 

We're on the Pride of America this coming Saturday, the 31st. And also departing from Seatac at 6 AM with a connection through San Fran. Normally I would never book a flight on the same day but because airfare was far far less by booking through NCL, I decided to go for it. If by chance we miss are delayed in get in too late, we know catching up with the ship the next day won't be a problem. But, when we do Caribbean cruises, we always leave a day or 2 early. Trying to catch up there is far more of a hassle.

 

We're all getting really excited and absolutely need some sun and warmth. The Northwest rains are pounding hard today!

[CruisersfromMD]

Hi Cruisepal,

 

Thanks for the GREAT review, it was nice to read nice things about the ship, crew and meals (unfortunately I have read mnay bad reviews recently).

 

My DH and I leave in 5 days for Hawaii for a 3 night pre-stay before heading on the POH on 4-2.

 

What excurions did you do? We have pre-booked our excursions and we are doing: Volcano National Park and Rainbow Falls, Lahania on your own, Golf at Maui Lani, Golf at Poipu bay and Hollywood in Hawaii.

 

We have the Historic Kona tour booked, but may cancel that and walk around the port area and go to a nearby beach. A relaxing day in the middle of the cruise will be nice, especially since there are no see days (which we usually use to relax).

 

What hotel did you stay at after the cruise? We are staying at the Waikiki Beach Marriott.

 

Thanks :-)

[cruisepal48]

Hi Cruisepal,

 

Thanks for the GREAT review, it was nice to read nice things about the ship, crew and meals (unfortunately I have read mnay bad reviews recently).

 

My DH and I leave in 5 days for Hawaii for a 3 night pre-stay before heading on the POH on 4-2.

 

What excurions did you do? We have pre-booked our excursions and we are doing: Volcano National Park and Rainbow Falls, Lahania on your own, Golf at Maui Lani, Golf at Poipu bay and Hollywood in Hawaii.

 

We have the Historic Kona tour booked, but may cancel that and walk around the port area and go to a nearby beach. A relaxing day in the middle of the cruise will be nice, especially since there are no see days (which we usually use to relax).

 

What hotel did you stay at after the cruise? We are staying at the Waikiki Beach Marriott.

 

Thanks :-)

 

We rented a car in every port except Hilo. DH had a friend in Hilo who took us around. VNP, Falls, Mac farm. Maui we did the road to Hana 2nd day drove to west Maui. Kauai we drove to Waimea canyon then had a flight with air venture over Kauai the 2nd day. It was the best. I'll be posting the 2nd part of my review soon. We stayed a Waikiki Marriot also. The rooms are wonderful. NCL is there to help you if you need it. You'll love the whole trip.:)

[cruisepal48]

Thanks for your positive review Cruisepal48.

 

We're on the Pride of America this coming Saturday, the 31st. And also departing from Seatac at 6 AM with a connection through San Fran. Normally I would never book a flight on the same day but because airfare was far far less by booking through NCL, I decided to go for it. If by chance we miss are delayed in get in too late, we know catching up with the ship the next day won't be a problem. But, when we do Caribbean cruises, we always leave a day or 2 early. Trying to catch up there is far more of a hassle.

 

We're all getting really excited and absolutely need some sun and warmth. The Northwest rains are pounding hard today!

 

Travellady,

 

I live in Port Angeles and its been raining here too. That's why I had to drive to seatac the night before. Anyhow, if you're expecting no rain, think again. It rained almost everyday mostly in the morning. The sun would come out in the afternoon. You're in a tropical rain forest. I didn't mind the rain though. Bring an umbrella. It will be in the 80"s so you won't need a jacket even in the rain.:D

[wallaby20]

:rolleyes:

My cruise was very good. I will try and give you a good feel of my experience. We booked our cruise almost a year ago. We had a 7 category upgrade if we booked when we did. I got a BB category deck 10 starboard side of the ship. We booked though a local travel agent who has arranged most of my travel plans. She then had NCL make all the arrangements. She told me that their flights were cheaper then what she could get. I booked a 2 day post stay after the cruise.

We traveled to Honolulu the day of the cruise. March 12th. We had a 6AM flight so that meant we had to spend the night in a hotel by seatac then get up at 3AM. We had a connecting flight in San Francisco. Day light time also started that week-end so we were exhausted when we arrived on the ship. We arrived in Honolulu at 11:30AM and were met by NCL agents who directed us to our shuttle to the pier. Embarkation went very smooth and quickly. We got in the latitude line as this was our 2nd cruise with NCL. We sat in the atrium for awhile then went up to deck 12 for a bite to eat as we waited for our stateroom to be ready. It was ready around 3:30 so we showered and then had muster drill at 4:30. We were so tired we went to bed for a nap. Woke up at 8PM and went out on our balcony for sail away. I have to say I would never travel the same day as the cruise because I missed the sail away party and the leis and a good dinner.

My stateroom was very well laid out and we enjoyed the balcony a lot. Our Stateroom Stewardess greeted us and gave us instructions on what she called the wheel of fortune, the wheel that you turn if you want your room cleaned, turned down or do not disturb. She was wonderful, friendly and went out of her way to help us. What else can I say, she got an extra tip at the end of our cruise.

Dining was excellent also. We ate breakfast in the main dining room and the buffet. Both were good. If I wanted a poached egg I went to the dining room, omelet the buffet. On lobster night I had the Prime Rib which was excellent. I had lobster on the previous cruise and I didn’t think it was that good. Beef Wellington was very good and the lamb shank. We didn’t make reservation for the main dining room and we got seated right away. We always chose to share seating which was interesting at times. The waiters were very friendly and did their very best to try and please everyone. We sat with one person who had the manager at the table and they even went to another restaurant to get her food and she still wasn’t happy. They did everything but stand on their head for her. We sat though the whole meal and had to endure her constant complaints. We ate once at Paniolo’s and had the Churrasco Fire Star Steak. It was so tender and good, excellent. I would recommend it. No extra charge for this either. Last night of the cruise we ate at Cagney’s. DH had the filet and I had the lamb. Both were very good. The banana foster is to die for. We had lunch only once in the buffet, the last day as we got back on the ship early that day. The food was a bit dried out but OK.

We only went to one show but I’m sure it was the best. On Broadway, very professional and I felt like I was really on Broadway. Don’t miss this one. I was always so tired from being on shore that I was ready for bed after dinner.

Debarkation went very smooth also. NCL has everything very organized. Since we had a post cruise stay we didn’t see our luggage until we got back to our room that night after a PCC tour. The luggage was in our room waiting for us.

Our roll call for this cruise was 4 of us. We really got to know each other and talked about what each of us was doing. We planned on meeting on the ship which we did. It was like we’d known each other for years. I’m sure you’ll be hearing from them. I’ll be posting my Hawaii experience in a separate post as this was too long.

I have to say I didn’t have a bad experience on the ship. The crew was great and very helpful. If you treat them nice and show your appreciation they’ll go out of their way for you. They told me how bad they feel about some of the passengers and how they complain all the time. More later about the ports and Islands. Feel free to ask questions.

;) Great news to hear you enjoyed your cruise. We have also booked through an agent, will be cruising 5/14/2007. agree there are some people you cannot please. Do you have any good island tour experiences that you can share.:)

[flag fan]

Thanks for posting such a great review. I will be going on a Pride of Hawaii cruise next month and am really looking forward to it. My cruise will only one day on Kauai (10:00am to 6:30pm), so I will only have time to either rent a car and cruise around the island or go on a helicoptor tour. Having done both, which do you recommend?

[cruisepal48]

I am in the process of writing up my review of the islands and what I did. I didn't do any ship tours I rented a car in every port and DH and I shared the driving. It will be posted in a day or two.

As for Kauai. Do the Air Venture Airplane tour. Its only 100$ and you get taken around the whole island. You get a good view of Na Pali coast. Its not a helicpoter but it was just as good. I highly recomend it. You can find it on the internet. then you can do some shopping at the mini malls by the ship.

[debinnh]

Cruisepal48, thanks for the pleasant review. How was the weather? We are renting a car to do VNP and I have heard it rains there alot.

 

CruisersfromMD: we will see you there! We are flying out of Boston on Saturday for a pre-stay at the Marriott before sailing on the 2nd.

[singerdance]

where do you find roll call for POH? I try to look for it to find anyone go same day with me on 4/16/07 from New Jersey /NY,can anubody tell me. thanks

[flag fan]

cruisepal -- Thanks for the idea about an airplane tour--I hadn't thought of that as an option.

[cruisepal48]

where do you find roll call for POH? I try to look for it to find anyone go same day with me on 4/16/07 from New Jersey /NY,can anubody tell me. thanks

 

When you first log on the the boards. instead of going to the NCL forum scroll down to roll call forum then click on norweigeon roll call. then find your ship. If there isn't a date for your cruise then post a new thread. I's sure there will be one.

[houselady]

Hey fellow Maryland Cruisers. We are from Forest Hiil, Md. Hubby and I will be on the same 4-2 POA sailing and would love to meet up and say hello. Look for the lecture lady noted on your daily planner. Such a small world!

[AZ Karaoke Girl]

where do you find roll call for POH? I try to look for it to find anyone go same day with me on 4/16/07 from New Jersey /NY,can anubody tell me. thanks

Try this link for the POH roll calls

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/forumdisplay.php?f=360

[cruisepal48]

1st port was Hilo. We arrived at 8AM. Lucky for us DH has a friend who lives Hilo who offered to be our private tour guide. At the pier are venders who sell you tropical flower arrangements. I picked one up for my stateroom for $10. I heard about this on the CC boards so I was planning on this. We went to the Volcano and around the rim of the caldera. It reminded me of Yellowstone with the steam vents. We went to the Mauna Loa Macadamia farm, Rainbow Falls, a Wood carver place, orchid farm, winery and wine tasting. Bought 2 bottles and put them in my carry-on not even thinking about airport security only to have them taken away. The day started out foggy up at the volcano then was sunny later in the day. DH’s friend took us to lunch at a golf club restaurant. We went to a beach only to be so lucky to see 2 sea turtles feeding off shore.

That evening we had our CC roll call meeting. We all showed up and planned to meet the last day of cruise, which we did.

2nd port was Maui. We got a rental car at this port. We drove the road to Hana. That took the whole day. Hana is not the destination; the drive is the high-light of the trip. I must say it had 60 one lane bridges and lots of hair-pin turns. We stopped at lots of water falls, tropical garden, scenic overlooks and even a black sand beach. We saw chickens and mongoose on our ride. We were able to find a place to park back at the pier.

3rd day we went to Ioa Valley and Ioa Needles. Went to the Maui Tropical Plantation and took the tram, very nice. I bought decorated coconuts to mail home to my grown kids and grandkids. Then it was on to west Maui and Lahaina. We stopped at a Scenic out-look and saw the whales from shore. I saw lots of them blow holes and one breach. Lahaina was a cute beach town with lots of shops. Saw the large Banyan tree.

4th day Kona. I had arranged to tour the Chocolate farm but I had trouble with my cell phone and was unable to get a hold of her. I was very disappointed. We rented a car and drove down the coast. We went to the Manogo Hotel an old historical hotel for lunch. The restaurant is noted for its pork chops. I must say they were very good. DH had the teriyaki chicken. They came with sides of rice, mac/potato salad, bean sprouts and cabbage. Excellent and very reasonably priced. Then we went to the coffee museum. It is run by the Historical Society and kept up very well. They take you on a tour of the old coffee farm and talk about the owners of the farm (since 1913) which was a Japanese family that ran it for years. She told how the farm was run and how the coffee was processed. We thoroughly enjoyed this tour and found it very educational.

5th Day Kauai rented a car and went to Waimea Canyon. Make sure you go all the way to last look out and you will be rewarded with a look of the NaPali coast. There are lots of water falls to see along the way. On the way up we stopped at Jo Jo’s for Shave Ice. This was recommended by the revealed books. We had the tropical rainbow with mac ice cream in the bottom YUM. On the way back we stopped at the Kauai Coffee plantation and tried the coffee. It’s not as good as Kona coffee.

6th Day we went on the Air Venture flight. I must say this was very reasonable 99$ and we saw the whole Island. It was spectacular. I highly recommend this tour. I was very pleased. DH didn’t want to do a helicopter and this was before the crashes. I think the planes are safer. Seeing the Na Pali coast from this vantage was awesome.

Our roll call girls met again that afternoon while we were sailing by Na Pali coast. It was great to finally meet them after 2 months of planning our cruise. LokiGB, Jenny8589, and Sinclair it was great to meet you.

Post-cruise stay at Waikiki Beach Marriot for 2 days. We got off the ship at 10AM. NCL took care of all the arrangements. Our luggage was waiting for us in our room when we returned that evening. We went to PCC at 12:30 with a shuttle from PCC. I purchased the guide while I was on the bus. This was a very good tour. All the shows, music, luau, and the grand finale was the Horizon show. This was a full day for us. We got up to our room and was pleasantly surprised. Our room was lovely and the beds were very luxurious. NCL gives you city view but we were OK with that. The 2nd day we rented a car and drove to the North Shore to see the big waves. They were not so big but we did see surfers. On our way up we stopped at the Dole Plantation and took the train ride and ordered pineapple to take home. You pick it up at the airport and carry it on the plane. Its much cheaper then having them ship it. They are very good. We went to Giovanni’s Shrimp truck. The best garlic shrimp I ever ate. You get 12 shrimp and 2 scoops of rice with a lemon wedge for $12. They de-vein their shrimp which I’ve heard the other shrimp trucks don’t. You do have to peel them though. We drove back to Waikiki and managed to find Alamo rental to return our car. We then walked to the beach from our hotel as I wanted to get a feel for the beach. We walked to Dukes and had a fancy drink and some fish tacos. Nice ending for a fantastic Hawaiian Vacation.

I recommend the revealed books to get before your trip. They are the best guide books I found. Amazon is where I bought mine. Go on the roll call for your ship date. You just may meet some new friends, plus get some good ideas of what to do. These boards are a wealth of information and most everyone will try to help you. Last, go on your cruise with a positive attitude and be complimentary to the crew and they will go out of their way for you. Smile at them and try to remember their name. Remember you are on this cruise to see Hawaii. You are in Paradise. I would go again in a heartbeat.:)

[tray]

Hi Cruisepal,

 

Would you happen to remember about how long the sailing by the Napali Coast was? I know they say you start to pass it around 5 ish? Is that about right? Trying to think about dinner plans in advance and was just wondering what a realistic dinner time might be for that night. I don't want to be rushed or miss any of the beautiful coast.

 

Thanks again!!

[cruisepal48]

Hi Cruisepal,

 

Would you happen to remember about how long the sailing by the Napali Coast was? I know they say you start to pass it around 5 ish? Is that about right? Trying to think about dinner plans in advance and was just wondering what a realistic dinner time might be for that night. I don't want to be rushed or miss any of the beautiful coast.

 

Thanks again!!

Tray,

 

I'm sorry you won't get your Chocolate buffet, but you truely won't miss it. Anyhow, If you have a port side stateroom with a balcony then you won't have to go up on deck and fight the crowds, Otherwise go up around 4PM as the sites are awesome. We saw whales blow holes. The ocean is the color of sapphires. the closer to the coast its a green blue. Absolutely beautiful. You have about 2 hours of sceanic sailing. I had dinner at 8PM that night. Went to Cagney's as the main dinining room menu didn't appeal to me. :)

[tray]

I know I won't miss the buffet once we get on board............the problem is that I have too much time before my cruise so I keep thinking about all the fun to come and I'm getting obsessed planning, anticipating..............I CAN'T WAIT!!! And furthermore..........I'll be getting plenty of calories every time I turn around on the cruise!! I get way more enjoyment from seeing all the incredible things they are able to sculpt from chocolate than actually eating the chocolate. I certainly will enjoy our cruise just as much either way!:D

 

Thanks for the advice on the Napali Coast sights. 8 p.m. sounds like a good dinner time to me. My parents prefer to eat early, but I think for this one night they'll want to eat later so they don't miss the beautiful scenery!!

[thunderfox]

Hi Cruisepal,

 

Would you happen to remember about how long the sailing by the Napali Coast was? I know they say you start to pass it around 5 ish? Is that about right? Trying to think about dinner plans in advance and was just wondering what a realistic dinner time might be for that night. I don't want to be rushed or miss any of the beautiful coast.

 

Thanks again!!

 

 

Yes, you start to pass a little before 5p, but it gets really GOOD around 5:30pm.

 

We didn't have a balcony big enough for our whole group, so we staked out a big table on the aft deck of the Aloha Nui cafe... a popular place, as we guessed it would be. We got there around 3:30pm and any later, we would not have gotten a nice table. The bar is open and the scenery is gorgeous. We watched whales play around the ship as we cruised the coastline. (you don't have to be right up against the railing, but if you get there early enough, it's that much better)

 

Here's a TIP though: if you do this, you might want to bring along snacks or pick up something from the pool grill (Topsiders) and enjoy it out on the back deck (the buffet is closed from 3p - 5:30pm) with the cool beverages of your choice. :D It's a nice place to spend the afternoon, for sure.

 

We forgot to make reservations but were still able to walk-up to Cagney's around 8:30pm with a group of 4 - no problem. (so, if you aren't able to get reservations at the specialty restaurants - don't count out the walk-up opportunities - that works more often than you might guess.)

[tray]

Great information.............I can't wait to see the coast. I can't even imagine how beautiful it will be!!

 

Getting some snacks for our group for the 'long haul' is a great idea! Do you think you were able to see everything just as well from the aft as you would from the port side of the ship?