Rethinking POA Decision

Hi everyone!

I have been reading many, many posts on this forum, and I have started several threads myself. I am writing now for honest (and respectful) thoughts on cruising on the POA. First, here's some background information.

My husband and I are in our mid 30s and enjoy adventurous and active vacations. We have been to Maui once before, and enjoyed every minute of it. We enjoy cruising but don't necessarily enjoy sea days. We are not picky eaters and will be more than happy eating from buffets.

I have booked a surprise getaway for our 10th anniversary in June 2017. The way that I have it planned right now, we will spend 2 nights pre-cruise in Oahu and then 7 days on the POA. I really like the POA option because there are overnights in Maui and Kauai and 2 stops on the Big Island. I have tentatively planned 1 "activity" each day and have tried hard not to "overbook" ourselves so that we can truly enjoy being in Hawaii. There will be a combination of excursions and DIY days using car rentals.

I guess the purpose of this post is to get feedback on POA cruises vs. land vacations. I have read many POA reviews (but would love to read more!) and I have read many negative opinions about cruising in Hawaii. I know that there are strong feelings about land vacations in Hawaii. Is there anyone who regrets cruising on the POA? Is it possible to maintain that Hawaii "essence" on a POA cruise?

I strongly believe that any visit to Hawaii will be a great one because it's Hawaii! My husband and I are NOT picky people, but I'm somewhat hesitant to spend this amount of money on a trip that has such mixed reviews. I truly appreciate your thoughts and the time that you take to reply-thank you!

In almost all the recent reviews people are saying good things about the cruise. We went two years ago, eight of us, and had a fantastic time.

Like you, I had been to Maui previously. My mother in law, who popped for almost the entire trip, had been to Oahu previously. We all loved our cruise and the four days we spent pre-cruise on Oahu. Mom has traveled extensively and she said the cruise ranked right up there with the best of them.

Next time I go to Hawaii it will be a land vacation. The cruise was great, but I'm not sure I'd do it again. For me it was a one and done type of thing.

SailingSunsets,

I coordinated a group of 8 on the POA this past January. I am not a travel agent, just enjoy doing the planning and my group loved letting me. [emoji4]. I guess the best recommendation is, we have booked the same cruise for next January. My husband (of 48 years) is usually unimpressed by our vacations, but has repeatedly replied to questions about how it was with "Great!! The best vacation we have ever taken!" That is very high praise from him.

We spent 3 nights pre-cruise on Oahu and 2 nights there post-cruise. We did some private tours, and this year we plan to do Oahu-photography tours in our pre cruise time. On Hawaii, we booked with MaryLou's big island tours and had their son, Kyle for both Hilo and Kona. I have already booked him for our big island days next year.

I think you will have a great anniversary cruise and I hope you will make to 48 as we have.

Margaret

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We've done both - land vacation visiting Oahu and Maul and the 7 day Norwegian cruise. They are each unique in their own way. Having done the land trip before, we really enjoyed the cruise this time (April 16). We arrived two days early just to acclimate to the time change.

The cruise was wonderful! Ship, entertainment, cruise staff, and ports were all wonderful. You spend so much time in port that we were able to do and see everything we wanted - and we only unpacked once.

Honestly I think people need to do both and land vacation and a cruise vacation. Each are the best at what they do but if I could do only one then I would opt for the cruise - 4 wonderful islands.

My husband and I did the POA in 2013 first cruise and first trip to Hawaii. We were mid 30's at the time and absolutely loved it.We found the POA a fantastic way to explore Hawaii and we will do this cruise again one day.

It is a bit pricey but we had zero complaints and found it to be a fun and somewhat busy cruise.

We have since cruised 4 times and have 4 more booked and POA is still hands down our favorite.

I would be surprised if anyone regretted doing this cruise.

This comes down to what you want to accomplish and personal taste. This is a great way to get a taste of all the islands. All the islands are so unique. I am not a fan of NCL but if I want to cruise Hawaii, I would choose them. Also, I would only want 2 to 3 days on some of islands, so if you want to visit all of them, this is a good option.

I've been to the islands several times including an NCL cruise. I think the best choice for a first timer is to do a combination trip, 1 week cruise, 1 week land. After that, I think land vacations are the way to go. If you want to be active each day, both options work. If you just want to relax, I recommend a land vacation. If you want to get the feel of Hawaii, I recommend a land vacation. A large cruise ship will not give you that feeling.

Think about what your favorite activities are, then choose. Your choose of islands, should be based on this also.

We have done both a land ( Maui and Kauai ) trip, plus two subsequent POA tours. The combination of both is the perfect option, flying in early or staying on after the cruise on your favorite island. Inter island flights are pretty cheap and quick.

We prefer this combination option. The islands are all so different and it does subtract significant vacation time to travel between several islands, transfers, check in and check out. More than a couple are just not practical, and I really do not want to have to choose between them, so we cruise supplemented with some land time.

As far as the Hawaiian vibe. No problem with that on this port intensive cruise with two overnights. No sea days. You will be in port for long days, every day, exploring the entire island.

Great vibe on the ship as well. There is a Hawaiian ambassador aboard. Plenty of Hawaiian entertainment and activities. They fly in some of the performers from island luaus for shows. I had the opposite reaction when we stayed in the Kaanapali beach area on our land trip. I felt like I could have just as well been in Ft Lauderdale or Miami.

Is there anyone who regrets cruising on the POA? Is it possible to maintain that Hawaii "essence" on a POA cruise?

I think that I got EXACTLY what I wanted from our POA cruise.

I've thoroughly researched everything I wanted to see, roughly the "essence", a taste of everything, not an "in depth" Hawaii, and the 4 stops were perfect for us.

I don't feel that I need another land vacation on those islands. I've seen what I wanted to see (well, 80%... since we traveled with another couple, who r not good at being on time...). If I've traveled only with DH, we would have seen everything we wanted.

We also arrived 2 days before the cruise to Oahu, have done the North Shore with a rental, and on the morning before the cruise, I've booked online tickets for PH, returned afterwards the rental, which provided a free shuttle back to pier, at around 2PM.

After the cruise, we flew directly back home.

We did a combined land and cruise holiday and thoroughly enjoyed it the whole trip. We were on Oahu for six days pre cruise, then on POA for a week, post cruise we went to Kona for four days and Maui for a week. We were in Hawaii for a total of three-and-a-half weeks. Perfect holiday.

I have to echo what everyone else has said- for us, the POA provided a great overview. We loved unpacking once, and having a floating hotel take us to different places. We enjoyed what little time we were on the ship.

We didn't really get the Hawaiian vibe- but with the limited time that we had, the POA was perfect. Someday, I'd love to pick an island and just go there to relax for two weeks and really explore, but until then, I am very thankful that we had a chance to get a little taste of the different places.

Our original plan was to do a land vacation, just spending a week each on two different islands, but there were so many different things that I wanted to see that it just became overwhelming to me to try to figure out how to squeeze it all in.

I think everyone else has basically said most of what I would say to you. POA is a great option, and you sound like exactly the right kind of people to make the most out of this particular itinerary. My husband and I went last year (late 20s/early 30s) and we LOVED it! Hawaii is great for adventures and the lack of sea days will be perfect for you.

I don't think you can go wrong with either a land vacation or the POA cruise. We've mostly done land vacations since because we can do long weekends but we absolutely plan to do the POA again as soon as we can get a week off and have the money for it!

~Katy

Thank you so very much for your honest, thoughtful, and positive comments. I am feeling much better about our cruise. I love that the cruise will allow us to see each island, and we would definitely make the most of each port. I'm still somewhat hung up on the cost, but I'm getting there!

Thanks again :)

Thank you so very much for your honest, thoughtful, and positive comments. I am feeling much better about our cruise. I love that the cruise will allow us to see each island, and we would definitely make the most of each port. I'm still somewhat hung up on the cost, but I'm getting there!

 

Thanks again :)

Hawaii is an expensive destination, no doubt about it, regardless of how you vacation. But because this cruise is much more about being ashore and seeing Hawaii, it does lend itself to some cost saving in choosing a less expensive cabin than you might go for on another cruise. Most people say they could be perfectly happy with an inside cabin because they are literally in there to shower and sleep.

And because so much of Hawaii requires no guided tours, you simply drive up, there is considerable savings over what you might spend on some cruises. We spent very little $ in Hawaii to actually see the sights as compared to the $$$ we spent in Alaska, for instance, where tours are more of a requirement.

Hawaii is an expensive destination, no doubt about it, regardless of how you vacation. But because this cruise is much more about being ashore and seeing Hawaii, it does lend itself to some cost saving in choosing a less expensive cabin than you might go for on another cruise. Most people say they could be perfectly happy with an inside cabin because they are literally in there to shower and sleep.

 

And because so much of Hawaii requires no guided tours, you simply drive up, there is considerable savings over what you might spend on some cruises. We spent very little $ in Hawaii to actually see the sights as compared to the $$$ we spent in Alaska, for instance, where tours are more of a requirement.

This is so true. The islands are such an easy place to rent a car and tour on your own, you don't have to pop for any excursions if you don't want to. :)

Hawaii is an expensive destination, no doubt about it, regardless of how you vacation. But because this cruise is much more about being ashore and seeing Hawaii, it does lend itself to some cost saving in choosing a less expensive cabin than you might go for on another cruise. Most people say they could be perfectly happy with an inside cabin because they are literally in there to shower and sleep.

 

And because so much of Hawaii requires no guided tours, you simply drive up, there is considerable savings over what you might spend on some cruises. We spent very little $ in Hawaii to actually see the sights as compared to the $$$ we spent in Alaska, for instance, where tours are more of a requirement.

Did you guys rent a car at each island?

Did you guys rent a car at each island?

We have rented a couple times in Kaui and Maui. They are perfect for self guided tours, unless you want something like ditch tubing or whale watch, snorkel type thing. But even then, you can book on your own and simply plan your itinerary to be where the tour is at a certain time of day. So easy to combine a beach day with shopping or seeing a canyon or volcano or end the day at a luau on the overnights.

On the Big Island, Hawaii, we like booking the highly rated Mary Lou's in Hilo, about 6 people per vehicle, for Volcano National Park and much more. They pick you up inside the port. These are family conducted only, Mary Lou, husband Ken and son Kyle. Like being shown around by family. They also do the Kona side, sharing the tours with son Kyle. It is only the three, so they book up fast.

If you have been to Hawaii before...a cruise can give you a good taste of you previous adventures....I don't recommend a cruise for 1st timers...too much to see and do and you can't do it all on a cruise.

If you have been to Hawaii before...a cruise can give you a good taste of you previous adventures....I don't recommend a cruise for 1st timers...too much to see and do and you can't do it all on a cruise.

You know we always disagree on this;).

I think the POA is the perfect solution for a first timer who has no idea what the islands have to offer. Have you done this cruise? I think you underestimate the time it offers you on shore. At least 16 hours on the overnights and more if you stay ashore in the evening. That is about the equivalent of three port calls on any other itinerary. I can pack a lot into 16 hours.:p

You know we always disagree on this;).

 

I think the POA is the perfect solution for a first timer who has no idea what the islands have to offer. Have you done this cruise? I think you underestimate the time it offers you on shore. At least 16 hours on the overnights and more if you stay ashore in the evening. That is about the equivalent of three port calls on any other itinerary. I can pack a lot into 16 hours.:p

I completely agree with punkincc on this one. POA is perfect for getting a solid taste of every island.

A land vacation you can only get in 2 islands reasonably in the same amount of time. And you can spend weeks on each island and still have things left to see anyways! On POA you get a feel for what each island has to offer, which is both great if it will be your only Hawaii vacation since you get to all the main islands, and also great if you plan to go back for a land vacation later so you have a better ideas of which island(s) you want to see more of.

~Katy

Hi! How did your trip turn out?? Did you end up cruising?

Hi! How did your trip turn out?? Did you end up cruising?

If you are asking the Thread Starter, do not be disappointed if she does not respond, as she hasn't posted anything since August of last year. Don't know if that means she was satisfied or dissatisfied with her cruise.

I too would love to know if they did the cruise!

We did the POA Hawaii cruise 3 years ago and have planned to do it again in May 2018. We have chose to do the cruise again becasue you get to see all of the islands and do as much or as little as you want at each port. I like that the ship is my floating hotel and restaurant base, but I can take in as much as I want at each island. To me, I think its a great way to see Hawaii, and the ship as recently been updated from when I was on it 3 years ago, and it needed it badly!