CruisinKikster

14 hours ago, SeaShark said:

The question was did you register with the access desk, not if you had access services...these are not the same.

How does one get services without registering for them? Or am I missing something?

On 8/27/2022 at 11:54 PM, SeaShark said:

 

Did you contact and register with NCL's Access Desk when you made your reservation?

We have access services for the cruise, but the video should be fully captioned if it is required viewing before boarding. It's not. 

1 minute ago, FlGoodShips said:

Thank you for explanation. I did not know this. Thank you

 

Yeah most people think autocaptions are sufficient, but they really aren't. So it was disappointing to see it on the video today. 

2 hours ago, FlGoodShips said:

Found  pre boarding muster drill video on youtube and it is truly closed captioned (cc).

Just tap video and you will see "cc". 

That's autocaptioned. Not real captions. See my response above about the problems with that. 

2 hours ago, FlGoodShips said:

I just went to youtube and found NCL's Health and Safety video. Clicked on it. There is a "cc" icon on screen. Tapped it and closed caption came on.

Autocaptions came on. That is not the same as actual captions. 

Autocaptions don't have punctuation or capitalization so all sentences run into each other. They also "mishear" words a lot. They aren't access. 

Just checked in for my POA cruise, and the health and safety video is not captioned. They have autocaptions in there, but that's not the same as having actual captions with punctuation and capitalization (and correct words). Kinda unpleasantly surprised to see this from a large company, especially in 2022. 

On 8/9/2022 at 12:38 PM, rm13 said:

I was cut from Sept 17 and we had a balcony. Was in a group of 10 with 5 rooms all cut- there was 3 balcony rooms. 

I'm on the Sept 17 sailing and haven't been cut (yet). We are booked in the obstructed oceanview so fully expected we would be among the first to be given the boot. We booked air separately (in fact, had that before we decided on the cruise), and we booked maybe 5 months ago. Not the earliest, not the latest. We also have requested disability accommodations onboard, and communications with the accessibility office indicate we are still a go. 

If we get canceled, I have a plan B ready. But I really don't want to have to deal with interisland flights right now. The HI airports seem to be a hot mess. 

11 hours ago, sirenitas said:

We will also sail on the POA and will be going to Skull & Crown, La Mariana, Cuckoo Coconut, Mamahune's and Lava Lava.

We have reservations for our first night at Tiki Grill. And HwoaK for our last night. Not sure yet if we will make it to Tiki Iniki but they have a mug I'd like to get.

 

Do you collect mugs? Geckoz did the interior for La Mariana and his studio is open to those who contact him - he sells his mugs from there. In Maui Beachbumz seems to have a good selection of mugs. TikiRob is also based on Maui and his mugs are works of art.

Thank you for this! Some of these didn't even come up in my searches. My husband does have some tiki mugs, and if he likes one, he'll pick it up. I'll check to see if he wants to get one from Geckoz. 

15 hours ago, lovecruzin said:

@CruisinKikster on Kauai within walking distance of the ship (if no mobility issues) is Dukes. Decent view, tropical vibes and good food.

Wherever  you decide to go, check to see if you need a reservation, even for bar seating. Def book HWAK several weeks ahead of time.

I definitely have my HWAK rezzie already. 

To confirm, Duke's isn't a tiki bar specifically, right? It didn't strike me as one when I looked it up. 

I am looking for a fun tiki place, because we like to go to tiki bars everywhere we go... not just Hawaii. (If you are ever in DC, I can name 3 or 4 tiki bars to visit. And my recs wouldn't come with a lecture on how it's not real DC culture or where tiki originated.) 

I already have HWAK on the agenda for our visit so we can get some "authentic" vibes. But I also want to check out tiki bars. It's not an either/or for us - it's and. 

7 hours ago, 93yearsyoung said:

Everyone is entitled to their own idea of what a tiki bar is, but I think La Mariana is the last tiki bar in Hawaii. I would not call any of the TS Restaurants "tiki bars", they are Hawaiian or tropical themed restaurants. Todd Rundgren's restaurant on Kauai is nice and fun but is in no way a tiki bar.

Have you been to Skull and Crown yet? From what I can see, it's a traditional style tiki bar. I can't say for sure until we get there, but looking forward to it. 

Which one is Rundgren's restaurant? Neither of the ones from the blog seemed to be real tiki bars - Tahiti Nui or Tiki Iniki. They seem to be more restaurants with some tropical decorations. 

On 8/9/2022 at 12:56 AM, lovecruzin said:

You’re welcome, i love a good mai tai and I had not come across this. Or maybe I just prefer a strong mai tai that doesn’t have a bunch of fruit juice or god forbid, grenadine 😂 

I've been to Oahu 2 times since things opened up and was disappointed La Mariana wasn’t open, never been there. 

 

La Mariana just opened like a month ago I think. Reviews are mixed, but we'd like to go anyway to check it out!

2 hours ago, lovecruzin said:

I just came across this. 

https://thetikichick.com/tiki-bars-in-hawaii/

Thank you! I somehow didn't come across that in my googling. (Or it got lost in the 400 tabs I have open)

21 hours ago, scottca075 said:

 

Kind of, if you are expecting to find tiki bars on Hawaii Island, Kauai, and Maui that date from the 40s and 50s. The tiki bars like LA Mariana Sailing Club that date from the 40 and 50s really existed only on Oahu. The point is, it is not a "Hawaiian" thing so you will not find lots of them in Hawaii.

 

 

Ahh - you could have stated that up front.

I didn't state I was only wanting old-style tiki bars, and further, I specifically said we'd be going to Skull & Crown which is a new tiki bar.  I just wondered if there were any I didn't see in my research. Without qualification because then I can make a decision about what I want to do.  

Out of curiosity... Does knowing or not knowing that history negate my question? 

Yes, I'm aware of tiki history. I look for tiki bars generally when we travel. 

I'm looking for some quality tiki bars along the way. We will be going to Skull & Crown in Honolulu, and I hope to make La Mariana (which just re-opened). Are there any other go-to places for tiki drinks and tiki culture? 

We'll be on NCL POA so stopping in Maui, Hawaii (Hilo & Kona), and Kauai. We are also open to other options on Oahu that maybe haven't come up in our searches. 

Thanks!

When I travel for extended periods of time (including my upcoming cruise and trip to Hawaii), I use solid laundry soap to wash clothes in the sink. I have a travel clothesline that I then use to hang dry my clothes on. It's a really compact way to do laundry and doesn't require a lot of time or effort on my part. 

Thank you for this review! I enjoyed looking at the pictures and reading about your experience. I also have a dining plan, but now I'm wondering if I should book Eden separately, because I really want to eat there!

On 5/8/2022 at 7:46 AM, micmacmissy said:

A lot of people asking lately what your Retreat Host can do for you…honestly, ours didn’t do much.  We requested two things:  ice in our ice bucket at turndown.  And on two separate mornings, coffee delivered to our room.  It took until day 4 (and two reminders) before the ice showed up.  Coffee took 30-45 minutes to be delivered.  Meh.  The other request - can you help check on our reservation requests for Eden and Rooftop Grill?  He ghosted us on those things.

That's a shame. Ours was wonderful and went above and beyond. I think we did the restaurant reservation requests in the Retreat area with the lounge concierge, because that just seemed to make more sense for us. I didn't think to ask the Host. Were there Retreat concierges on the Apex?

On 4/24/2022 at 7:04 PM, micmacmissy said:

She then asked me why my butler/Retreat host didn’t handle that for me - I felt like I got him in trouble!  I really only asked her where I could find cookies onboard - did not mean to start Cookiegate 2022…and I would never ask my poor hardworking Retreat host/butler guy to be my cookie servant.

 

And yes, we had a plate of cookies in our room every day on the cruise from then on.  I felt guilty every time I looked at them!

I would have just said "Oh I didn't ask him." That's not getting anyone into trouble. Your host doesn't know what you need unless you ask, and there's no reason to feel guilty. 

On my last cruise, the coffee took about 30-40 minutes to arrive, so I just ordered it when I woke up and by the time I was ready for it, it arrived. (I was in the Retreat on the Reflection.)

I'm curious about this too. Or do the companies offer shipping of the pineapple back to the mainland? I'd love to have some fresh pineapple when I get home (and am already planning to gorge myself on it in HI)

On 12/3/2021 at 3:21 AM, Therese S. said:

For my rentals in Hilo and Kauai, both pickups are at the airport.  I will need to call and see if thrifty and budget still have operating shuttles.  

Did you ever find out the answer to this question? I'm booked with Thrifty at the Hilo airport. 

10 hours ago, RainbowTraveler said:

I booked a split cabana on our upcoming Apex (3/19) on both sea days.  My only reason was for the comfy seating and having a sure place to put our stuff for the day, get drinks and food without an issue from the butlers and generally have a space on a crowded pool deck.

 

I don't mind people walking by at all.  It is their ship too.  This is just my seat(s) for that day.  🙂

That is my only issue with sea days is having a space to call home by the pool.  I am not a chair hog/ early riser.  I can't do that to other people but this way, I've paid for my space so I feel good about that.

 

Even if I'm not actively sitting there, I don't mind leaving my stuff because I paid for it.

 

I booked a split cabana on the Apex for later this year, so I'd love to know your experiences when you return. Especially if you think it's worth it!

I always order 2 souffles for dessert in Murano. Souffles are one of my favorite desserts, and they are rarely found on a menu.  So I look forward to having my double dessert at Murano!