Review: NCL POA 9/25/10 sailing

[Scrufsmom]

I'm a cruiser, went with an open mind after reading up for months on everyones reviews of this ship. Now I am here to offer my own personal experience on board the NCL POA which sailed 9/25/10. We were a family of six adults with no children, but one family member has mobility issues which required the use of a wheelchair and a motorized scooter. Now I will apologize in advance as this will get a little bit lengthy, but I want everyone to know what to expect.

 

Saturday 9/25/10 Honolulu, HI: We arrived at noon at the Honolulu airport and found our luggage and proceeded to meet up with VIP Transportation. I had made reservations with this company two months ago for a round trip transfer from the airport to the pier for $18.50pp. They were very helpful with our luggage, our wheelchair and courteous to our family. Of course they were late with the shuttle due to an event going on close by. When we finally got on the shuttle it took us about 15 minutes to reach the pier. We were shocked once we got there as there were about 200 people standing outside in the hot sun trying to get thru a security checkpoint first. No one was allowed pass the tent whether you were handicapped, had children etc. There weren't even any porters outside willing to help you UNLESS you yelled out money or held up cash; then they came a running, tossing your luggage on a cart and escorted you pass the security lines. How horrible!

 

Embarkation Process: Since we had a handicapped person with us we were shuttled in quickly, but still had to go thru yet another security checkpoint. After that members of my family became very fowl and hence no one wanted to start off the cruise with pre cruise photos so we bypassed that experience. We decided to go directly to the checkin process in which that took almost 20 minutes to get all of it done. The lady was very nice and knowledgable. Once we reached the 2nd floor to walk onto the ship we had met a very nice crew member who escorted my husband onto the ship.

 

First Impressions: The ship seemed clean to the eye, but not very impressive at all.

 

Cabin experience: We got to our cabin just a few minutes before 2pm and since we were a party of six we had three cabins next to each other with one having a adjoining room. Our cabin steward, Robert who was from Hungary, was very personable and helpful. We had asked him to unlock the door between the two cabins, but was told to contact the help desk. When I called I gave my name, cabin number and asked to have the door unlocked. At that time the man on the phone asked me if I was in my cabin, I said yes and he yelled at me saying to leave my cabin immediately as it was not open to guests as of yet! Not two minutes later the announcement over the PA informed everyone that they could enter their cabins. Our cabin was extremely small, the bed seemed too short as I am 5'6" and my feet hung off the end of the bed. It wasn't very comfortable to say the least. Keep in mind that if you are a CC or RCCL cruiser don't expect too much from this cabin. You will be crampt! We did have enough closet space and I even liked the idea of the light inside the closet. That was left on all the time as it was helpful in the middle of the night for a little light inside the cabin. We didn't get the expected towel animals every night, but maybe three times during the week. They were cute. One night we woke up to a horrible stench and figured it was a sewer smell. It was just aweful! When we told Robert our steward we explained what happened and he would look into it. Upon our return afterwards all he did was poor some toilet cleaner inside the commode. That really didn't help the situation....Oh well! We did have a balcony so that made it extra special. One note: our travel agent was helpful stating that we should book a cabin on the PORT side of the ship so that we would be able to see the lava flow when we sailed by. The unfortunate part to this story is that our cabin was on the STARBOARD side and was told we would not be able to see the lava from our balcony. Very disappointing I must say. At the last minute of the sail by they announced over the PA system that the ship would be spinning around for all to see. So in the end everyone was very happy.

 

Freestyle Dining: First let me say this if you have ever sailed be aware that the main dining room won’t even come close to the type of foods you would expect to eat on other ships. The Skyline is your free dining experience and it is an experience! The service is horrible as you can sit as long as half hour waiting for someone to just take your drink order before anything else. We had only eaten once in this area and our waiter did everything from drinks to serving. What should have been a simple dinner was prolonged by his lousy service. The food left much to be desired. A shrimp cocktail appetizer was about 20 teeny tiny baby shrimp somehow lost in a bed of lettuce and no cocktail sauce. It was pretty nasty. We had ordered some pork loin with potatos and got half dollar size hash brown that they serve in the Aloha Cafe or the Cadillac Diner for breakfast. In my opinion I figure that they want to give you bad service and bad food that way they can force you to pay the extra money for the speciality restaurants. Those areas come with some hefty cover charges which range from $15pp up to $25pp. Keep in mind too that you can not just walk up and expect to get a table at any of these speciality places. You will have to make reservations in advance, but one thing we learned on our last night on the ship is make sure that the menus they show you is what you will be offered. We made tentative reservations at Little Italy (Italian food) on Monday for our Friday night meal because of what we saw on their menu. BEWARE: Corporate came on board, decided to change the menu in the middle of the cruise and not inform anyone. They changed it to family style buffet offering Pizza and Spaghetti. We were so angry because they wanted an additional $25pp to eat there when we could eat the same items for free in the Aloha Cafe Buffet.

 

We ate at the following restaurants and I wish to give you my honest opinion on them.

 

East meets West (Asian Fusion) also can have the Sushi as well. We first went to this restaurant for the Sushi/Sake tasting. It cost $20pp and worth ever penny. The Sushi was some of the best I have ever had away from home. It was fresh fish, no one got sick at all and we all had a good time. As for the East meets West it was good food too. Carmen who is the manager of the restaurant is so personable and makes you feel more like family then a passenger. If you are celebratiing an event let them know as they will sing to you and even throw on a dragon mask in your honor. It was really alot of fun.

 

Lazy J Steakhouse: This is just okay and I wouldn’t go out of my way to say it was awesome food. We all basically had the Filet Mignon, but we did try their Shrimp Cocktail and it was really the opposite of what we got in the Skyline because the Shrimp was so big that it really made up more as a meal then a appetizer. No one had dessert so I can’t comment on that.

 

Cadillac Diner: This was a cute place to eat and they were open til 2am. It was like stepping back into the old 50’s diner of yesteryear with booths shaped like Cadillacs and old records on the wall and music too. No complaints about the food, it was simple omelets, french toast for breakfast to fish n chips, wings and milkshakes galore. We ate there almost every morning. It was a quiet place to go and it never was crowded. If you decided to eat there make sure Matthew is working as he is a great server. His personality will keep you coming back again and again.

 

Little Italy: Once again we never even got past the drinks really. As the waiter wouldn’t give us the menu to see; he got very curt with us trying to explain it was a family style restaurant. We ended up leaving because that is not what we wanted for dinner. I left first and spoke to the manager of the restaurant who was very understanding. He tried to get me to speak to Corporate who was on the boat but it was amazing that he was in a meeting. I was assured he would contact me later that night. Of course, we ended up speaking to the Executive Chef (which could have been the dishwasher for all I know) who tried to offer us another venue to eat in, but every restaurant was booked thus making us eat in the Aloha Cafe Buffet. It was truely a bad night for our last evening together as a family.

 

Aloha Cafe Buffet: As other reviewers stated there will be crew members standing at the door with spray bottles to squirt your hands with sanitizer. It really wasn’t a bother at all to any of us. The food I found was greasy, the crew members weren’t helpful at all to anyone including the handicapped. Our family even witnessed a passenger who slipped slamming her head onto the floor. The manager of the Aloha Cafe walked over never asking if they lady was all right, but yelled at the crew members to clean up the floor; then he walked away leaving the lady on her back trying to regain some composure. Isn’t that swell?!

 

The only drinks that were offered were either Tea or Water, don’t expect any lemonade unless you want to pay for that. We took advantage of the soda card for an adult. In the end it cost us $52 for the week which means you have to consume 3 sodas in a day to make it work.

 

Sunday 9/26/10 Maui, Hi: This was our first day in port and we decided to rent a car through Enterprise at the airport. There were shuttles available to pick us up. We ended up rented a Chrysler Town N Country Minivan. We took a lovely scenic drive up along the coast to Lahaina which is on the other side of the island. It was a 40 minute drive and we saw some incredible waves, surfers and landscapes. Of course, we wished it was Whale watching season but it doesn’t begin until November. We ended up going thru some shops in this town, but nothing was great or eye popping as we would have liked. We somehow made our way back to the ship so that we could get ready for our luau. Our plans were to attend the Old Lahaina Luau which I had read was the best to see. This was not booked thru the cruiseline, but I had made advanced reservations directly with this venue. Let me say that this Luau was located on the beach, outside with an incredible landscape of boats floating out in the ocean, palms swaying, we saw turtles and dolphins swimming, local people showing off their talents by making wood carvings, flower lays, bracelets and photos. The food was awesome as the drinks were plentiful and I mean PLENTIFUL........premium all you can drink! Yummy! The show was mesmerizing, now there are no fire dancers since this is an authentic hawaiian dance experience. The women were gorgeous and the men were absolutely hunky. I suggest this dinner show to anyone who wants to go to this type of event. It isn’t anymore expensive then if you book thru the cruise doing their dinner show instead. In fact, I had spoken to other people who complained about that show and after looking at our pics they wished they knew about this instead. Look it up online and you will see the difference.

 

Monday 9/27/10 Maui, Hi: Day two of our Maui trip. My mother and I decided to use this day to relax so we booked a massage. They were offering a 20/20/20 for $129 so I went first. I decided to do a scalp rub, neck/shoulder massage and hand/arm massage. The ambiance of the spa was very inviting, warm, zen like. I met my massuse Kevin who spoke to me briefly but started asking me about Hot Stones. Huhm?! Confused, but I let it slip. He also explained that on this ship they do things differently regarding their massages. They don’t use sheets on their tables, but towels. Yes, towels even around the face plate so when you can get up you have pop marks on your face. This wasn’t too appealing to me at all. Continuing on with the massage I realized that he was using the stones. I did stop to correct him, but he was still hellbent on using them making this experience not so enjoyable. In the end of this experience I was giving my receipt to pay to see that they automatically billed a 18% service charge. When I asked what that was for I was informed that was the gratuity and now at the bottom please leave my tip. So my spa experience turned from $129 to $155 with just their additions, not mine. This was wrong and I never went back for another service. We also went shopping at Hilo Hatties. Beware: If you go to Hilo Hatties they will try to rope you into their pearl experience. Yes, I was roped in; I admit it and it ended up costing me earrings with pearls. LOL We pretty much kept to a calmer day experience by shopping, then getting back on board our ship for that wonderful Sushi/Sake tasting experience at East meet West. This was our first and only night to experience the Skyline restaurant. Not so wonderful and since the ship took off right around dinner time I believe that the captain put the gears in full throttle. The Skyline is located in the back of the boat and with the boat moving at warp speed we were swaying pretty bad. Now I am not one to get sea sick as I have cruised about 14 times, but this was pretty bad. In fact, during dinner I was getting a little gweesy and during our showtime experience I actually had to leave to go back to my cabin to lay down. As noted my family had to do the same. We saw lots of cruisers getting ill too.

 

Tuesday 9/28/10 Hilo, Hi: Today we decided to book the Circle of Fire tour and it was with Blue Hawaiian Helicopter Tours. What a fabulous experience! I’ve read that some people have found this to be rather dull and even not worth the money. Guess they want the full monty with lava spewing everywhere and such. Personally, I found it to be very entertaining and our helicopter guide Julie had such a peaceful tone to her voice as she explained the highlights of landscape. Yes, the Circle of Fire is just what it is called, but it goes more in depth and we did see lava and saw how it hits the coastline. I recommend it to anyone who is interested. This night we had plans on eating at the Lazy J Steakhouse and once again it was just an ok experience. Tonights Show was Murray from America’s Got Talent. He was the magician with the crazy blonde hair sticking up. We were all excited to him, but his show was simply slide of hand tricks and slap stick comedy. It didn’t go over too well and he came across as if he was some big name act instead. My husband was excited to him as well as my mother, but really I think he needs to learn more tricks.

 

Wednesday 9/29/10 Kona, HI: This is my mothers birthday and it was supposed to be a great day for her as we got into port. Of course, this port is a tender port. We had heard that you needed to get tickets for the tenders, so I went to get some in the Pink Champagne lounge at 7am. At this time I was told unless I was leaving right then they would give us tickets, but if not come back later with our party. So around 9:30am our party went to the lounge only to be given our stickers/tickets with 700 people waiting for tenders. We were told we had to wait in that area for one hour in order to leave the ship. This was totally uncalled for and no one knew what they were doing. NCL uses their own personal life boats to tender in and out. To tender out they put on about 80-90 people (not so cramped), but to tender back in they place you in like sardines to about 100-120pp. This didn’t make for an easy ride. On this day which was supposed to be sunny outside turned dark and gloomy. That black cloud never let up, but we decided to visit their most popular beach.....Turtle Beach. Now this beach is supposed to be one of the best on this island as you can swim with exotic fish and see turtles up close. Do not touch the turtles at all as it comes with a hefty fine of $10,000 When we reached the beach it was small, very black and full of rocks that you have to somehow bypass to get into the water. Since my husband is handicapped it completely destroyed our day as he couldn’t even attempt to walk out there. My father tried to get over the rocks, but found himself slipping and falling. In the end we had to leave about 1/2 after getting there and other people from our ship shared their disappointment of the beach too. Our evening meal was spent at the East meets West to celebrate my mom’s birthday. We gorged on Sushi, some at Chinese cuisine and we ended up having a birthday cake. They placed a dragons mask on my mother and sang to her. She felt very honored and celebrated.

 

Thursday 9/30/10 Kauai, HI: This has to be by far the prettiest island yet. Today we had booked the Tubing the Ditch experience. Recommendation is at the highest for this one. If you are looking for something relaxing, fun and adventurous do this one immediately! We booked this for the afternoon, but wished we had done this in the early morning instead. You end up on a river just tubing down a 4 miles thru tunnels and caves. The water this day was about 68 degrees.......very cold on the tush! LOL The guides were very helpful and if you have any kind of disability just know that they are there to help you. The landscape is an eye popping experience and to just take in the beauty is just not enough. We had to laugh though because everywhere you looked there were roosters just crooning away. They don’t eat them as they are wild, guess that makes up for dogs or cats rooming the streets. They are everywhere! There are some shops located very close to the port and they are within walking distance if you feel the need to stretch your legs. Since we had eaten on the ship everynight we wanted some hawaiian experience so we walked over the Marriott Hotel to dine in their famous restaurant DUKES. All we wanted was some Hawaiian music, Hawaiian food and just kick back and relax. Well, when we walked in a band was playing music (good) then as we sat down they stopped and never came back (bad). We order drinks which were horrible and had to refuse them. The food was on our table within 5 minutes of ordering and wasn’t all that grand. After all that is said and done our bill ended up being $175 for 6 people. I thought my dad was going to pass out! Guess you live and learn. At this point everyone was disappointed again so we went back to the ship.

 

Friday 10/1/10 Kauai, HI: We didn’t realize that this day, our second in Kauai was such a short day. Our ship leaves around 2pm which meant we needed to be back onboard by 1pm. So we rented a car yesterday, parked in the lot near the port (Beware: They charge you $20 to park there), got up real early today and drove to the other side of the island to some plantation that housed all these really old cottages on the beach. From there my mother and I decided to take in a spa experience on the beach. Oh, so relaxing listening to the waves hit the shore, breathing in that wonderful air and feeling so relaxed. Of course, let’s not forget about those wonderful roosters clucking around too! LOL This was our last day for an unforgettable moment and tonight we were to eat at the Little Italy restaurant. This was not the case. We did end up sailing past the Na Pali Coast and that in itself is a wonder to the eye.........let’s call it eye candy! It is totally uninhabited. Nature truly did an awesome job. Majestic peaks, lush landscapes and waves that brush up along the coast it is so magical.

 

Saturday 10/2/10 Honolulu, HI: We pull into port and everyone is excited to be leaving and heading back home. Our trip left much to be desired, but then I didn’t go into full detail as it was a family situation that ended up spoiling the majority of our cruise. We have never experienced freestyle cruising and won’t consider it again even on NCL. You as the passenger get to choose when you want to disembark and really it isn’t that bad. When we got off the ship we got our luggage, found our transportation guides who were to help us with our luggage and wheelchair; but ended up causing us much anguish. Like in the beginning we booked thru VIP Transport and the guys they had working for them left us stranded in the hanger forcing us to make other arrangements for transportation to the airport. They were rude, inconsiderate and unprofessional. We ended up waiting for over 45 mintues with no help or communication. Our party was the last people to leave the hanger and we were very lucky that we caught the final bus of another company willing to take us to the airport. In the end our experience with Hawaii, NCL and transportation made us want to leave as quickly as we got into port.

 

Overall Experience: Guess you can say you hear the good and the bad of cruising. But for the money we spent we could have taken a CC or RCCL for about $1000 less for a balcony room and make our trip longer from seven days to 13 days. Personally, My family nor I will travel on a NCL cruise ship again and Hawaii didn’t leave much to be desired either. The food was horrible, the captain couldn’t navigate the ship properly constantly making this boat rock all the time, the crew members did have attitude problems and all we wished for is that this vacation came to an end quickly.

[GypRasc]

Wow! I must admit this is a new one. I have NEVER heard anyone say that Hawaii didn't leave much to be desired regardless of what the experience on the cruise ship was like.

[e_piph_a_ny]

Personally, My family nor I will travel on a NCL cruise ship again and Hawaii didn’t leave much to be desired either. The food was horrible, the captain couldn’t navigate the ship properly constantly making this boat rock all the time, the crew members did have attitude problems and all we wished for is that this vacation came to an end quickly.

I read your comments earlier but wanted to wait awhile before responding. You used a wide brush there....

 

I was also on the 09/25 cruise and thought it was fine. A little rough in some areas but not too shabby.

 

Didn't experience the rocking you mentioned (inside cabin, Deck 11 forward) and the crew attitude ranged from mediocre to superb. Food went from good to mundane. As for your comment about the venue, makes me think something else is ticking you off. Hawaii was spectacular.

 

Sorry that the POA cruise didn't work out for you and your family.

[Kcarp]

the captain couldn’t navigate the ship properly constantly making this boat rock all the time

Sorry, you had a bad cruise. However, your Captain can't control the weather, high seas or whatever was causing the problem all the time and if you think he can, well you're just being negative. Tip: Fly into Hawaii 1 or 2 days to get adjusted to the Islands before you cruise.

[Scrufsmom]

[quote name=e_piph_a_ny;26396164

 

I was also on the 09/25 cruise and thought it was fine. A little rough in some areas but not too shabby.

 

Didn't experience the rocking you mentioned (inside cabin' date=' Deck 11 forward) and the crew attitude ranged from mediocre to superb. Food went from good to mundane. As for your comment about the venue, makes me think something else is ticking you off. Hawaii was spectacular.

 

Sorry that the POA cruise didn't work out for you and your family.[/quote]

 

 

We were on deck 9 starboard side balcony view, but that didn't change the fact that this boat was swaying way too much. I've never gotten sea sick on any of my past 14 cruises. The ship stabilizers weren't on or the captain was going way to fast thru rough seas. Guess you didn't notice the many people wearing patches behind their ear or hear the complaints from others. You must have been lucky. As for the rudeness I'm happy you didn't have to come across anyone with a bad attitude. In our situation we did and traveling with a handicapped person sometimes requires a little more assistance but we didn't get any. Hawaii is beautiful don't get me wrong but with all the aggravation it wasn't worth it.

[kapoho2]

I feel I have to correct you on one point. Your travel agent gave you bad advice telling you to book a PORT cabin for the lava sailby. The POA always passes the lava with the views from the STARBOARD side first. The ship may then turn so those on the port side get a view. The port side cabins are preferred for the Napali Coast sailby.

 

I just wanted to correct this for future cruisers.

[Umbarger]

In our situation we did and traveling with a handicapped person sometimes requires a little more assistance but we didn't get any.

 

Someone should have told you that you don't take this cruise to be entertained or wined and dined. You take this cruise to experience Hawaii. You need to treat this ship as a floating hotel.

 

It sounds like you wanted NCL to wait on your husband hand and foot just because he is disabled. Sorry to disappoint you but no cruise line is going to do this. At least I haven't experienced this on Carnival, Princess or NCL.

 

My mom is disabled so I know about traveling with the handicapped. In my opinion handicapped persons require more than a little more assistance. They require a lot of extra work. It is hard work to travel with someone disabled and not something you can pass on to the cruise line. As a daughter I gave my mother the assistance she needed. As a wife you need to offer assistance for your husband you cant expect NCL to do it.

 

Also, I am a little confused as no beaches are handicapped accessible. Not even sand beaches. Beaches are just plain dangerous for disabled persons. Most beaches are uneven, unsteady and sloped....an accident waiting to happen for any disabled person. Beaches require a beach wheelchair for the disabled. When traveling with someone disabled you need to do your homework and research, research, research.

 

Also, without being a cruise ship captain yourself you have no idea that the captain didn't know how to navigate his ship or was going too fast for the conditions. I have been on 4 Hawaii cruises and they were all a little rough getting away from the islands. Must be something to do with currents.

[Scrufsmom]

Wow, nothing like giving an opinion and getting attacked! You must think I'm some stupid person and didn't bother to do my homework. As you so put it research, research was the main key and I did it for months. I never expect anyone to do my wifely duties when it comes to my disabled husband, but I do expect either the cruise line to be ADA compliant, assistive when needed and courteous.

 

I live in Florida and know a few things about beaches, so please don't lecture me about beach safety. We asked pertinent questions before going anywhere and we are to be held responsible because we were given wrong information? I think not!

 

No matter how you look at things having to deal with any person in a handicapped capacity is difficult all the way around. What my husband can do and not is purely his choice. He is young and never wants to feel like a burden in any case. As a team we work together so that he has just as much fun and can experience all that is offered. I don't expect to be wined and dined after reading all the reviews of this ship. We went with eyes wide opened just never expected this boat to be this bad.

[riofriotex]

As you so put it research, research was the main key and I did it for months.

 

I find this hard to believe. I did not join Cruise Critic until two and a half months before my cruise, yet I was not "surprised" by so many things that apparently surprised you. Example: "We didn’t realize that this day, our second in Kauai was such a short day. Our ship leaves around 2pm which meant we needed to be back onboard by 1pm. So we rented a car yesterday, parked in the lot near the port (Beware: They charge you $20 to park there)..." REALLY?? The 2 PM departure on Friday is clearly stated when you book the cruise! And the $20 parking lot has been mentioned here MANY times.

 

There are plenty of other things you claim to have not known in your review that have been discussed frequently here in the Hawaii forum, and you would have known about them if you had really researched for months. But, I'm sorry you had such a bad time on your cruise, and I hope that your next cruise goes better for you and your family.

[Umbarger]

Wow, nothing like giving an opinion and getting attacked!

.

 

I did not attack you. Just did not agree with everything in your review. Different opinions are not attacks. ;)

[born2cruize]

I've been on the POAm 3 times with 2 more coming in January. I am also disabled. The last two times at the current location (pier 2). Both times when the staff at the chain link fence saw me get out of the bus or taxi someone from NCL has rush over with a wheelchair before I and my wife could get our luggage. They handled the luggage and whisked me inside to a table for wheelchair passengers. I guess I am one lucky fellow.

 

I on the other hand have never found the service or food in the restaurants better or worse than any American restaurant in the States. I've had bad service in $100.00 per plate restaurants, and excellent service in Shari's and Denny's.

 

Some of the things you were surprised about I knew from being on this board and researching.

 

For cruising purposes I prefer Celebrity or Princess but I've had excellent vacations on the POAm. Have I seen some of the missteps you mentioned, YES, has I been on the receiving end of such treatment, NO. I'm a believer that my wife's and my attitude goes a long way to smooth over some of the rough spots of life. (Don't get me wrong, I'm not a pollyanna type either).

 

As others have mentioned I hope your next cruise meets your expectations.

[mrrobby]

We also just got off this cruise and thought the service was at least pretty good to very good most of the time. We didn't think it was that rough and we were in a balcony cabin fully aft facing the wake. It is usually more rough than average back there. We thought the ship was just average compared to Princess or Royal Carribean. We really enjoyed Hawaii and the ship by no means took away from our enjoyment. We would sail NCL again, but only if the other lines I mentioned didn't have the itinerary we were looking for. It was a great time and we had one of our best vacations ever.

[bronxite]

I have been reading CC for a number of years with planning our April vacation. POA is just that, a floating hotel, I'm not looking for quality entertainment in the evening, as we will be very busy every day on each island. The only thing I'm looking for after returning to the ship each day is a drink and a hottub.

 

I'm sorry you did not have a good experience with POA or Hawaii. I'm sure that after traveling and going to directly to the ship does put some strain on your day. That's why we are booked two days ahead.

 

Hope your next cruise is more to your liking.

:)

[GypRasc]

Our trip left much to be desired, but then I didn’t go into full detail as it was a family situation that ended up spoiling the majority of our cruise.

 

I'd say this pretty much say's it all doesn't it?

[CruisingGoddess]

Tonights Show was Murray from America’s Got Talent. He was the magician with the crazy blonde hair sticking up. We were all excited to him, but his show was simply slide of hand tricks and slap stick comedy. It didn’t go over too well and he came across as if he was some big name act instead. My husband was excited to him as well as my mother, but really I think he needs to learn more tricks.

 

I was so excited to hear that Murray was on your cruise but I'm sad to hear that he wasn't good. :( He was one of our favorite contestants on "America's Got Talent". Perhaps his magic was off because they wouldn't let him bring a tiger onboard. ;)

[Sunny AZ Girl]

I was so excited to hear that Murray was on your cruise but I'm sad to hear that he wasn't good. :( He was one of our favorite contestants on "America's Got Talent". Perhaps his magic was off because they wouldn't let him bring a tiger onboard. ;)

LOL! I wonder how big THAT litter box would be.;)

 

I am sorry the cruise did not meet your expectations. I have not yet been on the cruise but was surprised that you were surprised by several things as they have been discussed here frequently. I appreciate your candor, however I am very glad that the vast majority of the reviewers report a better time as we are looking forward to this vacation very much.:cool:

[kapoho2]

We saw Murray several years ago on the NCL Star. I believe he had two shows....one was the big magic show and the other was more comedy. Both shows were great and he is very, very funny. I would love to see him again on a cruise.

[annecolorgreen]

Maybe it would be helpful for someone(s) to start a thread for people with disabilities on fun things to do/see while in Hawaii?? I'm so sorry turtle beach didn't work out, but I know there were many more beaches on that island and maybe another would have worked better??

 

Sorry you had a bad cruise experience. I sailed the week before and had an amazing time and hate to hear stories like yours.

[Sunny AZ Girl]

I do have a question for the OP - I saw the "Tubing the Ditch" excursion earlier and it does look like fun. I'm glad you liked it. How far is it from the ship and do you remember how long it took to get there from the ship? We are considering that one also. :)

[Scrufsmom]

I do have a question for the OP - I saw the "Tubing the Ditch" excursion earlier and it does look like fun. I'm glad you liked it. How far is it from the ship and do you remember how long it took to get there from the ship? We are considering that one also. :)

 

This was a fabulous excursion. They picked us up in a van and it took about 15-20 minutes to get there from the ship. Your first stop is to pick up your gear like helmets with lights, gloves and water shoes if needed. Then it takes another half an hour to het to the actual ditch. Along the way they will make pit stops giving you insight about the land.

 

Hope you book this one and enjoy!

[Sunny AZ Girl]

This was a fabulous excursion. They picked us up in a van and it took about 15-20 minutes to get there from the ship. Your first stop is to pick up your gear like helmets with lights, gloves and water shoes if needed. Then it takes another half an hour to het to the actual ditch. Along the way they will make pit stops giving you insight about the land.

 

Hope you book this one and enjoy!

Who did you book this excursion through? Did they pick you up at the ship? We have a rental car booked and I was thinking of going to Poipu beach and this excursion on the first day in Kauai. Thanks!:)

[Scrufsmom]

Who did you book this excursion through? Did they pick you up at the ship? We have a rental car booked and I was thinking of going to Poipu beach and this excursion on the first day in Kauai. Thanks!:)

 

We booked thru the cruise line directly. The company is actually called Backyard Adventures but the ship calls it "Tubing the Ditch ". Yes, you will be picked up at the ship.

[Sunny AZ Girl]

We booked thru the cruise line directly. The company is actually called Backyard Adventures but the ship calls it "Tubing the Ditch ". Yes, you will be picked up at the ship.

Interesting. It does not show up on either day of our excursions list, but we are still 7 months away.:( It may show up later. I was actually thinking of doing this on our own since we will have a car. I also saw another excursion company that did it, too. If we decide to do it on our first day in Kauai we would probably do it on our own as it is more than likely much less expensive. However, I am thinking of cancelling day two of our rental car and either doing the beach near the ship or an excursion through the ship or Robert's. If they offer it through the ship on Day 2 we may go that route, depending on what else we decide to do. Thank you for the information.

[e_piph_a_ny]

Interesting. It does not show up on either day of our excursions list,

 

On the actual NCL Shore Excursion Order Form, it is listed with Code NWK 1621. Hope this helps.

[Sunny AZ Girl]

On the actual NCL Shore Excursion Order Form, it is listed with Code NWK 1621. Hope this helps.

Thanks! Noever thought to look there.......:o