buckeye82

Go all the way forward on deck 11 to the Bridge observation room. Interesting to watch officers sailing the ship.

Sitting at the rail of the Blue Lagoon and eating dessert while looking down at the atrium entertainment is fun. Be on the lookout for the Dixie Land Jazz Jam there one night. They were very popular.

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Aye Captain this be the navigator I'll get the directions straighten out !

 

So you are on the POA and have just left Lihue (Port of Nawiliwili) and

you are sailing clockwise around the island of Kauai continuing around the

south end of the island sailing past Poipu Hanapepe Waimea (road to Kalalau

Lookout and the Waimea Grand Canyon of the Pacific) Kekaha the Pacific

Missile Range Facility AND finally the (cliffs) of Na Pali.

 

The starboard side would be seeing the cliffs of Na Pali on the west side of the island.

 

Then turn the ship to return to Honolulu without finishing the complete circle

around the north end of the island and the port side would be viewing the

cliffs - could be closer or farther out.

 

Summer viewing would not make a difference in seeing the island - winter

season and after 4 pm HST and the island would be gradually ebbing into dusk.

 

Now if the POA were sailing COUNTER-Clockwise leaving Lihue (Port of Nawiliwili)

continuing around the east end of the island heading north passing Hanamaula

Kapaa Anahola Kilauea (old light house) Princeville Hanalei (film South Pacific)

Haena AND finally the cliffs of Na Pali.

 

The Port side would be first to see the Na Pali coast and then reverse the

direction and the starboard would then see the cliffs -

 

Next destination Aloha Port of Honolulu.

 

There is another option of just simply making a circle in place off the Na Pali

coast and continue to complete the full circle of the island of Kauai.

 

Just like the cruises to Alaska the Captain maneuvers the ship to make a

photo opt for most everyone on board. The trips past the lava fields on the

Big Island may be different.

 

YMMV

 

One note the island of Kauai is one of the wettest spots on earth with over

450 inches of rainfall annually - It is virtually raining all the time on the top

of Mount Waialeale !

Thanks for clearing that up! Maybe the Captain will leave port and sail in graceful figure eights. I think a couple of us were trying to say that when we cruised on POA the ship did go "counterclockwise" and the port side had the first, slower and closer view of the Na Pali Coast. Having done research before the cruise, I knew that. Thought the OP might want to know that as well. Yes, if the Captain decides to change the usual course, then all bets are off.

Depends! We were on POA in December so by the time we turned around it was getting dark. Also went much faster on the second sail by and I believe I heard that was true regardless of the time of year.

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Port side might be better for the Na Pali Coast sail by which is absolutely beautiful! Starboard is supposed to be good for lava viewing, but there was no lava flowing into the ocean when we cruised in December.

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We were on the POA in December and the two MDR menus were slightly different as the previous poster mentioned. We would usually make a point of checking the posted dinner menus in the afternoon once lunch was over.

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Now they have Norwegian's Night Out and that is the night the Captain is available for photo ops if you are interested. But again, dressing up is up to you.

I originally posted that by the end of your cruise you might be sick of holiday music, but then I looked at your cruise dates more carefully. Not sure when they start playing Christmas carols!

Yes they do! I don't mind the soap dispenser by the sink, but don't care for it in the shower. We were in the connecting cabin to our relatives in a suite, so the cabin steward left shampoos and soaps in our bathroom as well as theirs.

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We were offered an upgrade to haven owner's suite on the Jade from our aft penthouse suite. I think it was about a week or two out from the cruise and I believe they wanted another 1000.00. We said thanks but no thanks.

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Norwegian's Night Out is the opportunity to dress up if you want to for dinner and the evening. The Captain was available for photos in the atruim if you want to do that. My DH and three twenty-something kids all wanted to get a little more dressed up so we did. No tuxes, just sports jackets for the men and dresses and skirts for us ladies. There was certainly a mix of dress on that evening.

One of my daughters brought a white outfit to wear to the white hot party. The social staff started wearing white tshirts in the evening to advertise the event. My DH and I ducked in for a few minutes, but my kids stayed and they said they had fun.

No coffee card. :(

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Did the train from Anchorage to Seward and did the Kenai Fjord boat trip as the previous poster suggested. It was wonderful!

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We were on the Spirit in March and it was a rock and roll ride most of the time. My husband was ill the first morning but he started taking Bonine and did ok after that. We were in a suite at the very front of the ship and had a sliding door that separated the bedroom from the living area as well as a regular door that separated the front hallway from the bedroom. We woke up one night to the slider sliding back and forth in its track. We got up and locked it shut, got back in bed and then the regular door starting swinging back and forth. Had to get up and adjust that too. We had gotten a letter the day before Casablanca warning of rough seas going into port, so we just stayed in bed until that time frame had passed! This was the first cruise where I actually saw some of the staff looking a little green. Pack medication just in case!

We were in the aft two bedroom suite on POA. It did have lavazza machine.

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I was looking at a Jade daily and it lists table tennis tournament -poolside.

So the only coffee choices are regular or decaf? No other options as far as bold or mild?

I specifically asked for different coffee options and our butler was surprised and said, "you don't like that?" I said it was too bitter and she said that was all they had. Maybe others have had different experiences. On our next cruise I saw the same selections, so I didn't even ask.

The two times I have used the machine I found the coffee too strong/bitter even with more water. When I asked for different types of coffee (light or medium brew) I was told they only had the regular and decaf. So we made tea once in awhile and I got coffee elsewhere. I prefer my Keurig!

UDP=ultimate dining package

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Ate in La Cucina on the POA and enjoyed it very much. Therefore, I was looking forward to it on the Spirit, but it was not good at all.

I had prepaid for the UDP on our last cruise. When I got my credit card bill I noticed that the price of the UDPs had been credited back to my credit card. Since I had called for a price adjustment a couple of times I assumed that somehow things had gotten mixed up.

I called NCL and explained that I did want the UDP and to please recharge my credit card. The rep explained that I had gotten the refund because I had gotten a free UDP package. She explained where to see it on my reservation and under promos with the flashes and the dashes I did see dindis.

Long story shortened... On the last day of the cruise it was decided we had not paid for our UDP and we were charged the cover charge, not the UDP price, for each specialty restaurant. Attempts at showing them the dindis on our papers were met with blank looks. We spent a lot of time at the front desk that last night but finally a more senior staff called Miami and was given "authorization to give away free meals." Sigh. Lesson learned!

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Go forward on deck 12 to the Galaxy of the stars observation lounge. It is a great place to get comfy with a book or just to gaze out to sea. Even if something is going on in there, you can go sit by the windows and it is partially partitioned off. There are fun odds and ends in glass cases to look at also. There is also a small spiral staircase that goes down to the bridge viewing area. It also has interesting things to look at down there.

The ship was originally used in china, so enjoy all the oriental decorations! There is only one Teppanyaki table on board the Spirit so if it is something you want to do be sure to get a reservation. They also had it open for lunch on sea days. We went in March and I found it chilly on board (I heard others complaining too), so bring a sweater or shawl.

We took a taxi from the Venice airport to a hotel. It was not a per person price.

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We took a ships excursion to a town outside Split. Then had a short time in Split. I wish we had just explored Split on our own. It was really nice.

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If you enter the wall on the east side you will be walking away from the sea since it is a one way walk around the walls. Yes, if you walk the whole wall you will end up where you started. We walked the whole thing and enjoyed it very much. The views were nice from all areas. It is a strenuous walk at times. The only benefit to walking the wall first is that it might be cooler outside. Bring water, a hat and sunglasses if it is going to be sunny. There were a couple of places to get refreshments up on the wall. Enjoy! It was lovely!

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When you check in at the hotel they will give you a train schedule and you can buy your tickets at the front desk when you are ready to travel. Be sure to validate your ticket in the machines before you go up to the platform to wait for the train. Someone did come around to check them.

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