Home from Hawaii

[corvette1963]

We were just on the POA 3/20 to 3/27. I wrote a review, but since I learned more info from here there's some things I'd like to share.

 

We were in a balcony cabin 9170. There's more room and storage than I ever dreamed. The closet has both lots of hanging space and shelves on both sides. There's also 2 drawers beside the closet. There is a light in the back of the closet. Look for it...very helpful. In the room above and below the coffee service there are more shelves handy to hold your camera, purse, cooler, bags, etc. There are 2 drawers below the fridge as well, and at the desk there is plenty of space to put hair doing stuff. (This is where the nice full size hair dryer is. There is no plug in the bathroom.) There is extra space above and behind the TV also. We put all our luggage under the bed. You can store alot of stuff under the bed. There are 3 big mirrors in the room. One above the bed, one at the desk and a full length one outside the bathroom.

There is a light on the wall on each side of the head of the bed. I had taken a tip from threads here and took 2 of those tea light kind of battery operated candles for getting up in the middle of the night, one on each of the bedside tables. We used them and they really came in handy, easier to find and not bright like the ones on the wall.

The bathroom had plenty of room. The mirror is 3 pc. The one closest to the wall opens to reveal 3 small shelves. It held all my makeup and tooth brushes, etc. There were 2 bathrobes in the closest when we returned on the 2nd. day.

The bed was so comfortable. I wish I could have brought it home.

The balcony door stays open and you won't need a bungee to keep it open. I took a small clothesline and pins I did not use. There is a retractable one in the shower, but we laid our suits on the seat of our chairs on the balcony to dry while in port.

 

We found everything very clean and our service everywhere was great, even in the dining rooms. We never ate at any of the extra cost restaurants, and found the Liberty, Skyline, Cadillac, and Aloha cafe to be good. Not great food, but if I don't have to cook or clean up I'm a happy camper. There are so many choices in the Aloha cafe that if someone can't find something they're happy with then I think they're just the kind of person that nothings never good enough maybe. I left some "not very good" stuff on my plate a time or two and found something much better.

We went to the shows most of the evenings and were entertained. The only class I attended was the free lei making and it was fun and I made 2 free leis.

I spent the money for the entertainment book. I got my money back by using the coupon for the 4 of us (2 couples) to go to Germaine's Luau on Oahu and for Pineapple Whips at the Done plantation, but never used another coupon. I could have spent a little more time researching where restaurants were to use the 2 for 1 coupons, but on Oahu we just looked for somewhere to eat when we were hungry.

We rented cars in the ports and did not do any of the ships excursions.

Our cabin was kept very clean, we had ice and towel animals every evening and were very happy with our cruise.

One of our hightlights was during the sail by the Napali Coast we had a whale breach quite close to the ship..so awesome. As a matter of fact we saw many whales just sitting on our balcony. We thought the balcony (port side) was worth every penny of the extra money.

One warning: Don't underestimate how car sick you can get on the road to Hana. I was only concerned about the road conditions I read about. Well we did the entire loop and the road was no big deal but I wish I'd of taken something before we started. (I've never had a problem.) At every stop with restrooms someone (not any of our group) was being ill in the bathrooms. None of us vomited, but only the driver escaped the quesies. The back side of the loop is every bit as beautiful as the part to Hana.

At VNP the day we were there everything was closed except the visitor center and the Thurston Lava Tube. We enjoyed this awesome place in spite of it. There was no flow into the ocean on our sail by but still neat to see.

I'm not going into detail on the rest of our shore excursions as I don't think I have anything new to add to what I've already read but anyone can feel free to ask questions. I learned so much from all of previous posters, and I'd love to "pay back" for all I gained from this site.

Happy travels to all, and I hope you all have as good of a trip as we had.

Aloha - Mary

[Cruise_More_Often]

Mary, thanks for posting your review. It's terrific, and it sounds like you had a great time on the cruise. I had to laugh when you said you should have planned out where to eat so you could have used your coupons. We're just like you -- we do try to plan, but our plans go out the window when we actually get to the ports. We just find something that looks decent and in we go. The stomach rules in our house.

 

Thanks again!

[tripster]

Mary, thank you for all your helpful information. I love reading all the different reviews...and the posting of this additional type of info is appreciated just as much. You did a great job!

[Hawaiian Mongoose]

We were just on the POA 3/20 to 3/27. One of our hightlights was during the sail by the Napali Coast we had a whale breach quite close to the ship..so awesome. As a matter of fact we saw many whales just sitting on our balcony. Aloha - Mary

Mary, I had a very funny mental picture of whales on lounge chairs on your POA balcony. :) Seriously though, we will be aboard in May and greatly appreciate your feedback. Aloha!

[vbmom87]

There was no flow into the ocean on our sail by but still neat to see.

 

If you couldn't see the flow into the ocean, what was it that you saw that was "neat"?

[corvette1963]

We were able to see the glow of lava on the mountain from the ship. It was kind of like seeing the remnants of a big bon fire, embers glowing. They were from what I assume was near the top of Kilaeha. Several areas glowing red. I was not able to get any pictures. We were not very close, but just knowing you're sailing past an active volcano is a once in a lifetime sort of thing. Kinda sappy maybe, but I thought it was neat.

 

P.S: FF Mongoose...Re: the whales on the balcony: Now I have the same mental picture and had a great laugh. Thanks for that! :)

 

Mary

[sungoddezz]

Mary, thanks for your review. Our sail date on POA is May 08, 2010. Just a couple of questions for you.

 

My DH and I have been to VNP in the past, but our daughter who is coming with us this time has not and really wants to go to VNP. I've been hearing about all these closures, so I'm not sure if we should plan another excursion instead of VNP?

 

I've also read that the wait times for the dining room are quite long and the service slow. My DH has issues with wait times (I've already told him I'll leave him on our room balcony and call him when we get in), but my daughter wants to eat in the dining rooms and not buffet all the time. How long did it usually take before you were seated?

 

What time during the day did they make the leis?

 

Thanks so much

[corvette1963]

The VNP is going to be a crapshoot as I think conditions can change daily. We were very disappointed not to get to drive the chain of craters road, but I've read from others already that have been able to drive it since we were there. It was worth it for us because we've never been near a volcano. It was kind of a downer though, only some steam vents and one decent plume of smoke. We did walk through the Thurston Lava Tube and thought it was neat, but if we were going again and conditions were the same I'd go see something I've never seen before. That said, if you think it will be your daughters only chance...? If you're going to have a car rented like we did, you can always wait to find out the conditions the day before and then have a plan B. We were going to go to the Jagger Museum as well, but when the roads were closed we just assumed we could not get to it. I think there was another route to it that we were not aware of. (We didn't think to ask either)

 

Regarding wait times for dinner. We never had one. Oh, maybe a few minutes as they were seating the people in front of us. Maybe we were very lucky, or perhaps because we seemed to eat dinner soon after opening time. They have these great signs by the elevators that shows current capacity in the various restaurants and you can easily choose one without much of a wait. We normally had dinner in one of the 2 main dining rooms, once at the Cadillac. Our service was super every where we went. Surprised me with all the negative stuff I read. We never ate at the extra cost restaurants.

 

The lei making: I'm not 100% sure of the time. It was late afternoon one day. I made 2 and we wore them to dinner that night. It was the only class I did. (Wanted to have a lei: made my own) It was fun. There was both men and women and tween age kids in there but my hubby was taking a nap and our travel companions were at the pool, so I made one for me and my friend. They do that class more than once and there is also a class where you can make a lei out of nuts, etc. We were off the boat most of every day so that's why we didn't participate in more.

 

Hope that answers your question, happy travels to you,

Mary

[sungoddezz]

Mary, thanks for answering all my questions. That's a good idea to have a plan B in case we can't get to VNP. We will have a car rental so I'll make sure my daughter won't be too disappointed.

[Boytjie]

Mary, I had a very funny mental picture of whales on lounge chairs on your POA balcony. :) Seriously though, we will be aboard in May and greatly appreciate your feedback. Aloha!

 

I had that same image! You try to go out on your balcony and there they are: whales lounging in your chairrs. LOL

[corvette1963]

I had that same image! You try to go out on your balcony and there they are: whales lounging in your chairrs. LOL

 

Boytjie:

Now I can't get the picture out of my head either...but I see the old Charlie Tuna from the old "Chicken of the Sea" commercials that I don't think people younger than 40 would ever remember!!