NikiPinkston

@CPL1979, as you mentioned Seattle Shuttle, have you been able to contact them and get a response? We used them in 2021 and they were great, so I wanted to book them from SEA-TAC for our cruise next month, but I've tried to contact them via phone messages, email and their website but without success. We're now looking at Premier Airport Shuttle instead. Does anyone have any suggestions for a good shuttle service from SEA-TAC? (Or should I finally break down and try uber?) Also, I can vouch for how great Port Valet is!

I have sensitive ears, too, during take-off and landing, so I also do this, but I recently purchased ear planes to pop in my ears during these times and they work like a charm. https://www.amazon.com/s?k=ear+planes&crid=3L6CVTZQ9X9G&sprefix=ear+planes%2Caps%2C271&ref=nb_sb_noss_2 I got those for smaller ears or kids and the regular ones for DH. (Not to get off-track here...)

We used Port Valet in 2021 and it was awesome! We will definitely use it again next month if it's available to us.

Love your spreadsheet! I think I'm definitely an over organizer as I have a six-page excel spreadsheet with tabs for itinerary, packing lists, to-do before we cruise, etc., but I think I'll copy your format for DH and make him his very own. I love organizing the heck out of stuff!

Thank you, @Moonglo! I'm so glad it was helpful. Have a wonderful honeymoon and many years of happiness!

Hello, @moolineI'm so glad that your daughter is enjoying the dailies. IIRC, there was a separate flyer that was left in our stateroom for the laundry special, although we didn't take advantage of it. I pulled out the hard copies of my dailies in case I happened to have it, but no luck.

I caught that. I would be sad if no coffee maker but, hey, I'm on a cruise so I would adjust. There's always room service, right?😊

@jlacy1987here's a CC webpage that says that NCL has coffee makers in balcony cabins (on most ships): https://www.cruisecritic.com/articles.cfm?ID=1818 I guess I've just been spoiled and didn't realize it. Another reason to stick with NCL!

Oh, good, I'll try to request a hot pot in our stateroom prior to boarding. I just need hot water. Thank you for the photos!

I didn't know that. We've been on 7 NCL cruises and have always had one in our stateroom. I thought you just had to request one if it wasn't already there.

Oh, that's too bad Viator doesn't pick up at the ship! I guess you could always do the "North Shore and Waterfalls" excursion through NCL and just ignore the "shopping opportunities." Haleakala is beautiful anytime of day. Congratulations on 40 years and happy anniversary!

Hi, @TMoore1144, whatever you do, you're going to have a fabulous time! @georgiacathas a great suggestion. A private tour might be perfect for you. My hubby has a back condition that makes hiking or walking long distances uncomfortable, so I understand the requirement for low-impact activities. On our first trip to Maui, we stayed at Kaanapali Beach and rented a car and drove all over the island, but we booked a tour for the road to Hana. You are wise in not trying to drive yourself as I understand that it’s become quite congested with all of the visitors wanting to see it. If booking a private tour doesn't work out for you, Viator also has some road to Hana tours that might work: https://www.viator.com/searchResults/all?text=road+to+hana I didn’t know the date of your cruise, so I just picked a random Sunday in July as the POA is in port in Maui on Sundays and Mondays.You could book a tour for Sunday as the ship doesn’t leave port there until Monday (late afternoon-early evening, as I recall) just for extra peace of mind. Viator also has some “waterfall” tours. https://www.viator.com/searchResults/all?text=waterfalls+on+maui+hi You can just go to their main page and enter your search info and a lot of choices will come up. They’re a very reputable company: https://www.viator.com/ We did the helicopter ride once and we saw a lot of amazing scenery and waterfalls. It was fabulous, although I realize it’s pricy. I also noticed that NCL has two Haleakala excursions, sunrise and sunset. We’ve visited at both times and enjoyed it so you might consider that. Hope that helps! Have a wonderful cruise! (I envy you.)

Wait, Princess doesn't have coffeemakers in their staterooms?! We usually cruise NCL and are used to being able to make coffee when we first get up. We're booked on our first Princess cruise in December and, if not, this will be an adjustment. Is the tap water really hot enough to make instant? I don't like the coffee NCL gives us to brew in the stateroom (or that at hotels, for that matter) so, on the recommendation of another CC member, I recently purchased these to add to hot water (from the in-room coffee maker) and they're quite good: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01G4LWFKG?ref=ppx_yo2ov_dt_b_product_details&th=1

Love the chocolate lava cake in the MDR and my dessert-of-choice in Cagney's is the raspberry creme brulee, but I'm going to have to try that cheesecake in a jar.❤️🎂🍮

I vote for a mai tai or a pina colada, my favorite foo foo drinks! (DH likes them, too.)

Hi, @mooline, I’m so glad my review was helpful! Thank you for your kind comments; I really enjoyed doing it. You are going to love your cruise on the POA - I would do it again in a minute! I believe that the water off Oahu is always pretty warm. Our days of snorkeling are long over, but we’ve gone into the water at Waikiki Beach and it was quite comfortable, and I never heard comments from our fellow passengers that the water was cold. Here’s some info on the water temperature around Oahu that might be helpful: https://seatemperature.net/current/united-states/oahu-hawaii-united-states-sea-temperature#:~:text=The swimming season in this,82°F) in September. Everything we ordered in the MDR was really quite good except for those steaks! The steak that DH ordered in Cadillac Diner was really good and, both times we ate in Cagney’s, the filet mignon was excellent. He really should have sent those bad MDR steaks back and ordered something else – that’s always an option. When we cruised, it was shortly after the POA had started sailing again, so some of the restaurants were not yet open, and we really like Cagney’s so we just stuck with that venue for our two specialty meals. The food in Cadillac Diner, another included venue, was also always really good and, while the buffet is not my favorite dining venue, DH likes it so we ate there a couple of times. I’m used to the buffets on NCL having really good food and selections, but many of the items in the buffet on the POA were lukewarm and a bit tasteless. Again, that may have been due to their recent start-up at that time. If you have some real steak lovers in your group (like DH), it might be worth it to purchase some extra specialty dining, but you could probably get by okay without it. Whatever you decide, have a wonderful cruise!

Thank you again for taking us along on your journey and for being my inspiration for booking this same voyage later this year! Your review was excellent and it was so much fun to follow along with you. I know that I'll refer to it often in the coming months.🙂🚢❤️

You are so right, it's pretty difficult to become upset on a cruise. It's my happy place! 😁🚢❤️

Thank you so much for the webcam view and the great photo! I just checked in for our Bliss cruise in 3 weeks and the excitement is kicking into high gear. I remember visiting Seattle as a child and seeing the Space Needle under construction (yes, I know, I'm not as young as I look LOL). So looking forward to your live, @graphicguy, as there have been several reviews lately indicating that the experience onboard the Bliss has been less than stellar. Hoping your cruise will be awesome!

Hi there, @Acruzaholic I noticed that no one had yet responded, so here's the link to my POA review from this past November which includes all of the week's Freestyle Dailies. Hopefully, someone will post something more current, but I don't think that the dailies change very much. Have a wonderful cruise!

Love the photo! Is that you? The river looks COLD!

That would be so cool if we bumped into one another! 🙂

Yay, another @YVRteacher live review! We're on the Bliss to Alaska just a few days after you embark and I so appreciate your sharing with us. Looking forward to hearing about your adventures and your dad's "complaints." Bon voyage!

Thank you for your excellent live and all of the great photos! We've really enjoyed the Bliss in the past, so I'm sad to hear about all of the challenges and the poor service that you're experiencing. I hope that things improve for you! We'll be onboard again in a few weeks and I tried to book between spring break(s) and summer vacation, so I hope we have fewer passengers and, hopefully, shorter lines. I feel bad for the staff but am upset with NCL that they're letting passenger service suffer. We'll be platinum after this next cruise but we just booked our first cruise on Princess for later this year and I'm anxious to see what their service and amenities are like.

Thank you, @Lady Arwen! You are very kind.