Zeno

I think it likely that you would have had a better time in the ports if you had done more research and perhaps rented a car in some of them.

On Maui, I have to agree Lahaina is somewhat over-rated. We had a lovely time on Maui BUT we drove up Haleakala and went to a beautiful clean beach with amazing views and lovely water and turtles! - which I had learned about doing research. The aquarium is pretty good too.

On Kauai, we drove to the gorgeous north shore and then to the Waimea Canyon

On the Big island, we drove up the Volcano and to the Black Sand Beach and in Kona we did a snorkeling excursion and wednt to the Place of Refuge.

On Oahu we went to Pearl Harbour on our own and had a great day. We visited Iolani Palace and the Bishop Museum. We climbed Diamond Head - all great experiences. But yes the homeless people could be disturbing - although I had a very interesting chat with one woman who offered me a seat on "her" bench.

I am pointing this all out because we had a great time in large part because we put a good deal of effort into researching the travel destination. BTW I do understand that some people are not as into research as I am. BTW we are headed back to Hawaii in 2018 and I am already looking into what we might want to do this time.

One thing that you have to be aware of is that only a portion of the tickets are available ahead of time. They always reserve some tickets for people to get on the day. If you can't make an advance booking - arrive EARLY on the day you want to go. You may not get the exact time that you want but you will be able to get tickets.

She is doing a fantastic job!

I love your videos!

I email my PCC with questions all the time that way I have some proof in the event of a dispute.

Sounds like it might be a PCC problem. I say this because when we booked, our PCC was very clear that if there was a possibility of a 3rd person - it was best to add them at the time of booking and if need be cancel them later. (Same 2 reasons mentioned - offer of free extra person could be removed at any time or there could be lifeboat capacity issues at a future date)

Just be aware of the altitude and the temperature changes.

This is the reason why I suggest stopping at the Visitor Center (approx. Half way up point) It helps you to get used to the altitude. I have asthma and heart problems - yet no issues here thanks to using common sense - walk slowly at the summit and rest frequently. Bring water - dehydration makes altitude problems worse. Unless you actually get sick - this drive is so worth it. We saw one couple where the wife got sick - they had rushed right to the summit without stopping.

Some suggestions by island (I too have mobility difficulties)

Oahu: Pearl Harbour:

Arizona Memorial

MAYBE Battleship Missouri - lots of stairs -(I managed it by pacing myself and sitting down a lot )

Driving around the East Coast and North Shore - some lovely scenery

Tanatalus Viewpoint - short walk from the car park to the view

Iolani Palace - there is an elevator

Bishop Museum

Maui:

Drive up Haleakala - NOT to be missed! You don't need to go at sunrise or sunset. Stop at the visitor center (about half way up). Side trails on the way up will likely be too challenging. Views at the top are easily accessible and spectacular.

Big Island (Hawaii):

Drive up to the Volcano (another NOT to be missed and easy to do) . Stop at the Museum/Visitor center.

Kauai:

Waimea Canyon Drive - most lookouts are pretty accessible. Be sure to drive as far as Kalalau Lookout - spectacular views

Maybe drive to North shore. I am not sure how accessible the lighthouse is (just can't remember) but I think it is and anyway the drive is lovely

Oh well - maybe we will get lucky on our cruise and have not too many Gold + passengers.

Thx for the info - I am hoping that is how it will work for us.

DH and I just became "gold" after our last NCL cruise. I understand that one of the perks is priority tendering. Can someone tell me how this works? Also we have someone in our cabin who is on her first NCL cruise - will she be able to accompany us on the same tender ? AND on our tender day we will be going on a private excursion with friends for whom this is a first NCL cruise - is there any way we can arrange to be on a tender with them?

Thx to anyone who answers (I am just trying to get my mind around how we will manage this all).

My best recommendations are:

Rent a car! - that way you are on your own schedule

Do research - plan some relaxing beach time but do try to determine one special thing that appeals to you on each island - for us - on Maui - it was driving up Haleakala (no need to do it at dawn or sunset - it's spectacular at any time)

Thanks to the people on the thread we are going to take the train.

VERY good decision - trains in Europe are efficient and a LOT cheaper.

Since you are so upset with NCL - just cancel and in the future do better research before booking. I would NEVER assume that NCL is obligated to provide transportation to the port. They sold you a CRUISE not a package holiday that included transfers. It's like saying that they should also provide airfare at a price to your liking.

If you have decided to take the cruise after all - make travel arrangements on your own and use the train.

The one thing I do agree with you on since not everyone looks at a map when they book (they really should), it would be clearer if NCL displayed the embarkation port as Warnemunde with Berlin in brackets. Good Luck.

For 2 people - no. For 17 - probably a good idea.

On Deck 7, it looks like 7104, 7106, 7108, and 7110, along with 7604, 7606, 7608, and 7610 might be the better layout, with a pull out sofa???

 

Judging from past NCl (and POA experience) you are likely correct about the cabins you listed re: pullout sofa.

I also think cabins 7644, 7144, 7652 and 7152 may have the sofa.

The things to look out for - the triangle generally means - sofa. The Plus sign means pull-down bunks. Also beware of "family" OV - I can pretty much guarantee they will have the pull-downs - so avoid "family" and plus signs.

I think it's likely that Mid-Ship OV with picture window and a marked with a triangle will have the sofa:

So look at category OA (with a triangle) and possibly category OC (with a triangle) (I am not quite as sure of these).

The thing that annoys me most about the website is that they basically give photos and layouts that can be contradictory - so if you lack experience with NCL ships - it can get pretty confusing. In our case luckily I was familiar with the configuration for the obstructed views - so I knew which cabin to select. (Unlike you we wanted a pulldown -having had one previously on POA and found that it worked very well for 3 people.) Good luck - I have found on every cruise line we have been on that getting the exact configuration you want can be challenging.

If what I am hearing is correct, NO ocean view cabins have any type of sofa.

I have been told that Third occupancy will always be a pull-down.

.

This is simply untrue. Once again I suggest you do some research on this website

https://www.cruisecritic.com/pride-of-america-deck-plans/dp/obstructed-oceanview-ok/cc/

If you take the time to read the page above you will discover that on Deck 7 cabins 7100, 7066, 7058, 7558, 7134 and 7618 are all ocean views with couches.

I suggest that you do some research on this website:

https://www.cruisecritic.com/photos/ships/pride-of-america-349/oceanview-cabin-obstructed-view-348576/

As you can see not all oceanview cabins have the overhead banks and some have couches.

In my experience on Pride of America - it is the oceanviews with sleeping accommodation for 4 that seem to have the overhead bunks and those OVs for 3 seem to have the couch. However I cannot guarantee that this is true for all 4s and 3s.

BTW in my experience if you are travelling in a group of 3 - the overhead bunk cabins for 4 are by far a better choice - more room to move around. If there are just 2 of you, the couch would probably be preferable. So my advice look for a cabin that accommodates 3 and try to determine if it has a couch.

Also go to the NCL website:

The following is a description of the different configurations in OVs on Deck 4:

https://www.ncl.com/ca/en/cruise-ship/pride-of-america/deck-plans#dsr1

In the past I have always found DESCRIPTIONS on the NCL website are pretty accurate, PHOTOS on the NCL website less so.

As Bruce said - it depends on conditions. I use a cane and a walker and I am actually capable of getting on and off a tender - I rely on the crew to assist me and I use common sense (if conditions look really bad I don't attempt it.) The crew will assist your mother on and off and make sure that she gets a convenient seat.

I hate to be a downer about what sounds positive BUT just because the port will be operational does not mean that the island is ready for visitors. We know people there: many people are still evacuated or without proper housing, most businesses are still not operational. The infrastructure is still being repaired. Beaches are a mess. Not all roads are cleared of debris. Personally I will be greatly surprised if things will actually be ready for tourists by January. (I hope for the island's economy that they will be but there is still so much to do!)

Lovely report Keith!

We LOVED this cruise and I intend to do my own report shortly. Unfortunately the day after we got back, I managed to trip in my own backyard !!! and hurt some ribs and so I have not been feeling up to organizing my thoughts in a reasonably lucid way! This after wandering all over the place with no major problems on the cruise - it figures....

We recently had a rough cruise between rough rough seas ( the blood vessels in my eyes broke from lack of sleep I can provide pictures for doubters) rude staff and not receiving perks we paid for. Nonetheless I'm sitting here going in between cc and ncl websites researching my next reservation without receiving a call back to address my issues.

Should I call ncl and tell them I'm prepared to make multiple deposits for future cruises depending on how guest relations handles my past cruise, or do I wait the 3 weeks for a call. For the record I would be a suite or haven guest exclusively would they handle me different with that knowledge.

1.. The rough seas are out of NCL's control - so you certainly won't get any compensation for that.

2. The other stuff - hard to say because you have not really provided much detail:

Did you complain while you were on board the ship about staff issues and perks not received? If you did not - I would say that it is most unlikely that you will receive any compensation - since there will be no record of your dissatisfaction.

What were the perks not received - for all we know it could have just been a misunderstanding of what you were entitled to - I say that because I cannot understand why NCL would not give you your perks on board as soon as the lack thereof was pointed out to them.

If you can actually prove that perks you were entitled to were actually refused on board - then you may have some hope.

Rude staff - how were staff rude - inappropriate language? or not responding as you expected?

Anyway - good luck - I doubt that future cruises will influence them much.

We did walk-in in September a few years ago. We only had to wait about an hour.

Actually, that's an unanswerable question. It is totally dependent on what the service provider is willing to accept.

Exactly. The main thing is to be sure that whoever the service provider is - that they provide you with enough documentation to satisfy your insurance company. The one time we had to get medical care, I knew that the insurance company would require dates, diagnosis, itemized treatment list with charges and the doctors name. This may vary.

We have done the POA cruise before and will be doing it again in Feb.

Why? If you actually want to see a lot of Hawaii rather than the Pacific ocean, POA is your best bet (2 days on every major island (Maui, Kauai and the Big Island AND the chance to spend as much time on Oahu as you want before or after the cruise (we are spending 6 days on Oahu before the cruise). as opposed to one day and likely less than 4 islands. Some people are OK with less island time and more open ocean time. However we are not. BTW the food on POA is fine - certainly comparable to what you will get on any of the other main stream cruise lines. Really it's your choice - time in Hawaii or days at sea.