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Port side..In Kauai while docked we were facing the mountains and marina. So nice not to look at the dock/industrial side. I enjoyed sitting on my balcony having my coffee..it was so peaceful . Other than Kona(where we were tendered out in the ocean) we were docked and had a view of the port :P. the coastline was awesome too. I wish that when the cruise director narrated what we saw it would come thru to the balcony's..or be able to have a switch to turn it on or off. Oh well

We were on the 11/28/15 POA cruise and we have AT&T and with our 4G was able to keep in touch also. Nice to be able to text to each other..unless we were out to sea

I'm sure the pins get either put in our room (or we can ask) but I just never thought about keeping/saving them until just last year. I'll just shoot Latitudes an email, thanks everyone!

let us know how you do. I need a Pearl Pin

I had to ask for mine on Pride of America just recently

Does anyone know if that is open to outside guest? and what the price is

Thanks so much. Unfortunately the retirement won't be happening for another year :(..but the 60th birthday did . We will be getting on the Saturday after Thanksgiving..and was hoping for decorations..AFTER Thanksgiving is acceptable :)

Do the NCL ships decorate for Christmas after Thanksgiving?

Anyone know if there are any specfic dances they do during the White Hot Party? I was on the Star back in 2012 and can't remember the dance moves the DJ was showing the dancers

Geesh..I can remember when I was aboard the Carnival Inspiration back in 2008 they did it for free :(

I did finally find your review again and the dailies..It does have the skyline open..wonderful. 69 more days!! I pray the weather will cooperate and no snow. Last thanksgiving the airports were closed/delayed..

thank you so much..go onboard, and turn left :)

do you know which dining rooms are open during embarking? We've been on a few cruises where the buffet is horrendous, and as my husband has walking issues we find the dining room to be better suited until everyone settles in

when getting on the POA in Hawaii, what deck do you embark onto and at what area.

also, can anyone direct me to a touring company that may offer ATV excursions?

I was wondering the same thing

If you call..please share

I'm not a fish eater..but the others in the party are..I'm the one that orders chicken :) Was wondering the prices of taxis. Where we live if you don't have 2 feet or 4 wheels you don't go very far..so taxis/buses etc prices are foreign to me

it will probably be within walking distance

We sailed on the Star in 2012 after sailing in 2010 on the Pearl. thought we would be terribly disappointed but was not (was more disappointed with the GEM) The only thing I missed on the Star that was on the bigger Pearl was the fantail outside buffet for breakfast..so I solved that..got a balcony and had breakfast delivered. SOLVED..

With the ports that the Pride of America is going to visit..where would you sugguest eating offship either for Lunch or Dinner..especially seafood.

We considered United from Newark, but the Hawaiian flight from JFK was cheaper. Then I discovered that the sunday return was A LOT cheaper than the Saturday. That is why we stayed a day after the cruise. With the extra hotel night we were still ahead hundreds for the 4 of us.

 

The 10 1/2 hour flight is a nightmare, I won't lie. But just keep telling yourself you will be in paradise soon enough. Bring lots to do.

 

Everyone told us the jet lag would kill us, especially on the way home but honestly it wasn't that bad for us. Our flight landed at 2:50 Hawaii time and we had been up since 4am our time. But we checked in and the sun and warmth and excitement gave us energy. We looked around the hotel, walked thru Waikiki and grabbed some dinner. About 9pm Hawaii time we went to bed but that was 3am for us. We all slept fine and woke up ready to go.

 

Home was a bit harder because sleeping on the plane was sporadic. The kids slept more than we did and they slept again in the limo for the 2 hour ride home. The car service was a great help because we didn't have to worry about traffic, claiming our car, or driving too tired. We were in bed pretty early that night but by the next day everyone felt pretty ok.

 

While the flight was no picnic, I'd do it again for a chance to go back.

Thanks for the heads up. Looked at the flights from JFK..but being originally from NJ my husband refused to go there :) We're more familiar with Newark. soo. have my snacks/books/tablet and running shoes ready to go..can't wait

In Kona, can you walk to a beach? is there any post offices close by within walking distances?

We will be sailing shortly..We will be leaving Binghamton NY to Newark for the long flight. Did you go with United? it will be me/my hubby/my son/his girlfriend and my brother/sisterinlaw. Wish we could stay longer than the day before..Can't wait..trying to figure out what excursions to do..definilty want Pearl Harbor and a Luau

Thank you so much. We were lucky and got the dining package..so we will probably hit up the other venues..Normally I wouldn't pay for them. Did you see the Oh What a Night musical? we saw that in 2010 on the Pearl and enjoyed it immensely.

Do they still serve lobster in the dining rooms?

Saturday afternoon- Time to board the ship!!

 

Our driver took us to the port around 2:30. We had priority boarding from our stay at the Marriott, so we whisked right through, got our leis and pictures taken, and boarded the ship. Our room was ready, and our luggage was already there.

 

 

We were in room 10648, which ended up being a great spot for us. Our travel agent suggested this room because it has a slight bump out on the balcony. It was nice because we could see out to the side, but we could also look straight ahead to see where the ship was heading.

 

 

 

Being on the port side was also ideal for the Na Pali Coast viewing, and it was convenient to be so close to the buffet and elevators. I had worried a bit about noise and hallway traffic from being so close to the stairs and elevators, but we didn't hear a sound inside the cabin.

 

We explored the ship, and unpacked our suitcases. We found there was plenty of storage. I had spent the last year reading negative reviews about the ship, so I was pleasantly surprised when I saw our cabin. It was so much bigger than other people had described! Our three large suitcases fit easily under the bed, and our clothing fit into the drawers and hangers. We even ended up with a few empty shelves inside the closet. The storage space is well designed. We asked our steward to empty the contents from the refrigerator, but we ended up doing it ourselves. The fridge was small, but sufficient for our purposes.

 

 

At 4:40, we reported to the MDR for the muster drill. It seemed a little disorganized at first because some of the signs were broken or missing, but we figured out where we were supposed to be and waited. It didn't take long to run through the safety procedures.

 

We had planned on going to the sail away party and cookout, but we ended up getting dinner at the buffet, and then sitting on our balcony as we sailed away. I had planned on getting an inside room, but my husband wanted the balcony, and I'm glad we went in that direction. With three people in the cabin, it was really nice to have the extra space. It was especially nice for me, since I was waking up ridiculously early. I enjoyed sitting on the balcony and reading before everyone else was awake.

 

One of the hotels on Waikiki has a fireworks display, so we watched that as we sailed away.

 

 

 

We will be staying in room 10636. Glad to hear it's spacious

Anyone have menus for the main dining room on the POA? When is formal night? Dailies?