newcruise12

23 hours ago, sunsetsoon said:

You guys have given me lots to think about. I truly did think this would be a brief review that would interest a few people but not a lot. I wanted to write a brief review after my first NCL cruise on the Jade. I really, really wanted to write one after my second NCL cruise on the Bliss. I didn't because there seemed to be some hostility toward those considered to be "NCL cheerleaders" and those that sailed in the Haven - because so much space was being devoted to the Haven at the expense of non-Haven passengers. I'm so thankful there hasn't been a single negative post to my thread.

 

In the meantime until Aprille gets your blog set up, maybe you could entertain us with recollections of adventures from your first two trips??? (Pretty please?) We wouldn’t mind that they were a while ago!

 Thank you so much for sharing your journey with us.  I’m also going to try to adopt and promote your philosophy “don’t let it ruin your vacation” (or day/week/life). Great advice... 

Yikes!! Thank you all for taking the time to share your experiences. Do you remember who the GM was on your ship? With things being so horrible all the way down the line, I think I’d want to avoid any ship he is overseeing.  I know how frustrated we’d be if we had to endure a WEEK of the poor service, etc. that you experienced — but 19 DAYS?!? OMG! Pure torture, and you even had trouble drinking to forget it! (“Forgetting” to put the alcohol in your margaritas??)  I’m glad we decided against purchasing CruiseNext on our recent cruise — they sure were pushing the purchase of them.  I hope NCL sends you a survey. I didn’t receive one for this last trip. 

17 hours ago, lightcruiser28 said:

3.  Any recommendations for excursions on this Alaska cruise suitable for our group that would not require a lot of physical activity?  We will have both old and very young travelers.

Congratulations on your first cruise!! 😎  

In Ketchikan, we’ve enjoyed the Duck Tour - the vehicle takes you on a tour around town like a regular vehicle, but it also goes into the water, like a boat. 

14 hours ago, Jen731 said:

 

Hey, I’m back and I have all dailies, will try to upload in the next day or so! Have to find where I packed them as I get everything unpacked. 😉

Jen731, thank you SOOOOO MUCH for all the trouble you’ve gone through to get information and copies of everything!! We all appreciate it!! 😀 You’re awesome. I hope you had a great time. Looking forward to reading more...... 

On the June 8, 2019 sailing:

Captain - Gavin Pears

Hotel General Manager - Carlo Gunetti

Cruise Director - Corey Moir

I’d been working on a trip report, but since I’ve been sick after the end of the cruise, had been talking myself out of finishing it. Will try to get something done soon, in case it might be of any help. 😀

17 minutes ago, flarad said:

So frustrating. Still can’t book for our July 7 on Escape. 

On 6/23/2019 at 7:24 PM, TenForward said:

October 13 Escape to Bermuda is up!

Something’s not right with that! Are you all checked in?

Sounds like it is time to gather up some snacks and a cool drink and camp out on the phone to ask NCL Customer Service! GOOD LUCK! 

We were able to make our Bliss res for October on Monday... 

Thanks for all the good info! It brings back a lot of good memories.... I hope to take this cruise again someday. 

Thanks for your offer of info. Have a great trip!! Take good care of the ship for us! We’ll be on the Bliss in October. 

I’m ALMOST feeling like I’d like to give you our dining and entertainment reservation requests to pass along to them, LOL! 😉  

Thanks for your review! I’m glad you enjoyed good weather. We’re going to be on the Golden Princess next month, and I hope you didn’t use up all the sunny days, LOL. I hear it’s been colder here in Los Angeles than it’s been in Alaska. 

I’ve been a little concerned about the leaks reported onboard. Thank you for your information about that. 

Did you try the desserts in the buffet? 

Thanks, Northern Aurora! Looking forward to it!

We are booked on a Princess cruisetour for June 2019 (yay, next month!), and our Cruise Personalizer website page said: “You will be assigned a hotel prior to travel. This information will be available in the Cruise Personalizer or Princess.com.”  This week our travel agent emailed us that Princess has booked us into the Bear Lodge, 212 Wedgewood Drive. The reviews I found seemed good. One reviewer said it used to be an apartment building, and units have a full kitchen. 

UPDATE on the GEM As of 10/1/2016 sailing

 

HD...Jovo

F&B Director..Vik

Cruise Director Drew

Exec Houskeeper...Christopher

Exec Chef Noriel

Restaurant Manager Loredana

Beverage Manager Alphanso

Guest Services Alfie

Group Services..Mary Ann

The Captain was Roger Gustavsen. He sang and played a guitar at the Latitudes party - a talented man!

I asked a crew member about upcoming officer changes. He said Jovo and the Staff Captain would be "leaving soon". Sorry, I don't know how soon, but others here might know about that.

The Concierge was Elvina. We loved her! :D She was very attentive and friendly. Actually, the whole crew was great! But alas, now it's back to the real world...:(

We've received most of the above-mentioned snacks, too.

Onboard the Gem right now. Have y'all received more than one snack per day? Considering all the cutbacks I'd read about before our trip, I was shocked :eek: and confused :confused: by that. Unless my mom called and told them I needed fattening up! :D Not complaining.....

Thank you so much for posting these! I've only tried the first page so far, but it came through beautifully. Did you have a good trip?? How comfortable was the weather? Who was your captain? We're on the next sailing :D

Enjoyed your review! What is a latitudes party? First time NCL.

Oops, I got distracted and didn't notice that part of my reply didn't post -

I wanted to let you know that I'm excited for you!!!! Only days to go!

Have a great cruise!!!!

Enjoyed your review! What is a latitudes party? First time NCL.

Latitudes is NCL's loyalty rewards (frequent cruiser) program. But unfortunately for you on this trip, they don't invite you to the party until the second cruise. :(

From NCL's website:

"You will earn one point per cruise night and an additional point per night if you book in a Suite* or in The Haven, book nine months or more in advance, or if you book with a Latitudes Insider offer. Rewards points are not applied for Cruisetour nights or hotel stay nights.

*For full fare Suites booked at the time the reservation was originally made. Does not include mini-suites."

They don't credit you with points until you disembark the cruise, though.

Do you have some fun excursions planned?

KAUAI... free shopping shuttles included:

- Anchor Cove shops (close to the ship; includes Del Sol, Maui Divers, and ABC Store; Kalapaki Beach is accessible from here)

- KMart (Kukui Grove Shopping Center is right next door)

- Walmart

We noticed (less frequent) shuttles from Hilo Hatties, Kukui Grove, and Coconut Marketplace.

OVERALL

Service - We had fairly low expectations, but we encountered some helpful and welcoming staff and crew members. I was pleasantly surprised on Day 1 by all of the friendly "aloha" greetings and the offers of help in finding our way. Of course, we encountered a few examples of poor service as well, but that's the way it goes.:( I did not know beforehand that POA's crew is not comprised entirely of Americans. We were told that 75% were Americans.

Wi-fi - Since POA's itinerary includes so much time in port, it was great to be able to use our devices' cellular signals instead of needing the usual wi-fi package. :D

Washy-washy, happy-happy - Kudos to Anthony, who is a terrific, friendly greeter and sprayer. :D I wish they still used the happy, smiling washy-washy people more often at buffet entrances on NCL ships. A couple of times when no one was assigned at Aloha Cafe to spray hands, we found the hand sanitizer next to the Aft elevator to be empty. :eek:

This year Hawaii has had a lot of hot, humid days. But Hawaii has some beautiful scenery, wonderful outdoor activities, and an interesting cultural history. The Hawaiian residents (kama'aina) and their warm spirit of aloha make a visit to the islands a memorable experience. I hope you get to see it..... :cool:

I need to cut my review short, so I'll just cover some things I had already drafted...

Before arrival in Hilo, we attended the short Port Talk given by China, the ship's Hawaiian Ambassador. She told us that there would be ladies at the dock to assist passengers. China also told us about free van service to the farmer's market available in the early portion of the morning. She also mentioned a hop-on, hop-off bus available outside the dock gate. And another option was a Walmart shuttle to Kuhio Mall. Of course, taxis are available right off the ship, too. I like that her port talks were not those listings of where to find jewelry stores. :D

After going ashore, we had only a couple of minutes to ask questions before catching the free shuttle to the farmers market. But we did receive a paper showing downtown Hilo stores and city bus schedule. At the farmers market DB bought a vegetable knife from the personable young salesman. The day we were there, he had a cucumber whale on display. Meanwhile, I shopped at a booth that sold various topical oils. I bought some "bone oil" that is supposed to help relieve arthritis pains; hopefully it works.

Later we ended up outside the Pacific Tsunami Museum, we went in to take a look. Admission is $8; $7 for seniors and kama'aina; children age 6-17 are $4. They show a 20-minute film about the huge tsunami that hit Hilo in 1946. There are also a lot of old photos/stories on the walls, and information about how to survive a tsunami.

When we were ready to return, we just had to find the bus terminal. No problem, it's across the street from the farmers market. Fare is $2, or $1 for seniors and students. The route seemed rather circuitous, but you get a look at residential neighborhoods, too. If we'd been returning earlier, we could have caught the farmers market shuttle back.

Is it silly that I'm excited about the lei class? ;)

Heehee, that's cute. Let me tell you, that's not the only lei class! There's also a Lauhala Ribbon Weave Lei Class on Wednesday, Day 5.

But wait, there's more! I wasn't able to attend, but there's also a Fresh Flower Lei Class on Tuesday, Day 4. They do warn that "late arrivals may not be accommodated". On Wednesday, there was also time set aside called Lei-Making Kits for Purchase.

The class that I was sad to have missed was the Sarong Tying Class (Thursday, Day 6). China teaches the ladies how to tie their sarongs in many different styles. I think it's BYOS - bring your own sarong. But you can probably attend without already having one.

Of course, since you'll be on your honeymoon, you might not have time for all of these... ;) Have a great trip!

After you disembark, do you find yourself measuring time in terms of your cruise?

I'm still in that phase. Later on disembarkation day, I said, "Oh, it's almost time for the next cruisers to leave Honolulu." We even heard the ship's horn in the distance as it was leaving. Of course, I had to turn towards the harbor and wave goodbye, even though we were miles away and couldn't actually see the ship! :p Then each day, you recall what port you were in on that day of the week: "We were on Maui last Sunday....":D "The ship is in Hilo today...." :D "Wow, the cruise after ours has disembarked and the crew is getting ready for another eager group already...."

Thanks for doing a write up! We had such a great time in Hawaii and on-board the POA, I just love reading of other people's adventures.:)

Thanks. I just checked out your great review. I'd never have known it was your first! Beautiful photos, too. I feel the same way about being disappointed with the development in Lahaina compared to 20 years ago. I feel that way about Kona, too - I seem to remember when there was only one traffic signal. But then again, that could just be my memory (or lack of same!). :D

Great thread!! We just got off the ship a couple of weeks ago.

One thing that I would add just in case some people don't know is that there is no casino onboard. Since you're in Hawaiian waters the whole week, and Hawaii doesn't allow gambling = no casino. That's why the Las Vegas vacation packages are so popular with the locals. They don't even have the lottery. :eek:

Here's a link to my ongoing review.

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2241872

MAUI - Monday

Honolulu radio station KSSK's morning team - Perry and Price - broadcasted their morning show live from the Mardi Gras room on Monday through Thursday. They said that 217 of their listeners were along for the cruise in 80 cabins. We enjoyed meeting this duo that we've heard on the radio for so many years. My man even got interviewed! Perry and Price talked to CD Malu, Capt. Kjell Nesheim, and also to HD Kaj Turunen while we were there. We heard later that Perry and Price are planning to broadcast from the Gem in early October 2016.

On our second Maui day, we opted to do an easy morning of shopping in Kahului. Since there were a number of people in line ahead of us for the free shuttle to Queen Ka'ahumanu Center, we walked it. There are two other shopping centers along the way. The first one is Maui Mall, which has a Whole Foods Market (natural and organic foods). The second is Kahului Shopping Center. Queen K is the largest shopping center in Maui. We did ride the free shuttle to return to the ship.

We went to China's kukui nut lei class. It took her a few minutes to get set up. Meanwhile, no matter how many times she asked for people not to open the plastic bag containing the nuts yet, some people did. The man sitting in front of us even strung all the nuts on the ribbon and tied it. Surprise, dude! That's not how you do it. :eek: You should have waited. He ended up leaving early.

Speaking of leaving early, we had to hele on (hurry) to the Latitudes cocktail party. No, we're not really drinkers, but they do a raffle there, too. On a previous cruise, we won a free laundry bag; no, not an actual bag, but they cleaned a bagful for free. And yay, we won a prize! I thought long and hard about whether to mention the Latitudes party because the more people who attend, the worse chances of a prize for me in the future, but since Notion of the Ocean has already posted about the free-flowing alcohol - and since we're here to share good ideas - it seemed only right to let you know that they have appetizers and prizes. :p

This was our most memorable day of the trip. :D:D

KAHULUI, MAUI - Sunday

We had a Dollar rental car reserved for 10:00am on Sunday, our first Maui day. The major rental companies run shuttles to/from the pier for customers who have advance reservations; it's a short ride to their facilities near the airport. At the dock after we got off the ship, there are numbered areas for you to wait for the appropriate shuttle - we just had to ask which number was the area for Dollar/Thrifty. Oh, good! Not too many people waiting. But it took a while for the shuttle to arrive. Argggghh, at the busy rental car office, there was a long, slow line. But the wait gave us an opportunity to chat with a nice family from Pennsylvania. I think the whole process from dock to car took 45-60 minutes, YMMV, but you may want to factor this time into your planning.

We drove to Lahaina and walked around the little shops in the banyan tree vicinity. Still hot weather! What a good excuse for ice cream from Banyan Treats! Not that we ever really need an excuse.

For years, there was a man sitting on the sidewalk carving tiki's at the Wharf Cinema Shopping Center; it looks like they've relocated across the street. A small craft fair was being held under the huge banyan tree. Too bad that the "Maui's Own" craft fair up the road at the community center was not open this weekend. I've bought nice handmade souvenirs there in the past and was looking forward to doing so again. We did buy gifts for relatives in a couple of Lahaina shops. We returned the car in Kahului that afternoon since we didn't really need it the next day. And as you might already know, the secured parking lot next to the ship is very small.

We enjoyed the Aloha Polynesia show featuring the dances of Tahiti, New Zealand, Samoa, Tonga and Hawaii.

going in 15 days[emoji4]

Have a great cruise!! :cool: