POAm - January 22 - February 5, 2011

[Raison]

Weather did clear, we had a beautiful day at Hawaiian Botanical Gardens then drove to Akaka Falls.

 

After walking around the gardens, the trip to Akaka Falls was to much. Not designed for a stroke patient who walks with a cane. Anyone who says it's easy is lying. Not only is the path most of the time incline or decline but boy are there a lot of steps, makes the hike at Diamondhead look like a stroll.

 

Please give me some ideas what your looking for about b2b. The hardest part is getting you TA to book the same room. LOL.

 

 

Glad you got out to the Botanic Gardens.

 

My questions about B2B are mainly about the saturday (disembarkation day for cruise 1). I just realised it is probably that day today for you!

 

We have the same cabin and understand we can leave all our stuff there.

 

We want to go out for the morning and then want to be able to get to our cabin when we get back on board. Do you know if we can access our cabin before the deck is opened for new passengers?

 

Also do we need to pay our bill for the first cruise and then start again for the second one?

 

Do we need to be checked -in again for the second cruise?

 

Many thanks!

[Raison]

We just got into Kauai. 3.75 hours late. Have not been told much but it appears to be engine problem. However, they did give us our cards for next week.

 

We were traveling slowly this morning getting into port so whatever the issue it hasn't been fixed.

 

For those who plan on b2b. Here is POAms instruction. No need to pack between cruises if in same room. You must leave the ship with everyone else. Can not return before noon. Do not have to wait for deck to be cleared to before going back to your room.

 

Just read further and there are my questions answered!! Thanks:)

[born2cruize]

Tone 1-

Our son works on the ship and he told me that the azipod was the problem.

 

I asked several staff members and they acted like they had no idea what the problem was. Thanks for the into. Maybe what I got was the company line :) .

[born2cruize]

Light is just appearing, covered in clouds today. Still coming into port, West Maui on my right. We are scheduled to go to Lahainia for the day.

 

Later I will post some new features they seem to be offering.

[tone1]

Tone 1-

Our son works on the ship and he told me that the azipod was the problem.

 

Thank you so much for sharing that. Did your son happen to train with James? If so, like James, does he also do blogs or posts so that we can get ever more inside info about POA?

[ohioNCLcruiser]

I'm enjoying reading this also! Also as said above the ship is back to full speed!

[Kylie]

Thank you so much for sharing that. Did your son happen to train with James? If so, like James, does he also do blogs or posts so that we can get ever more inside info about POA?

 

Yes, our son and James went to Piney Point together and started work with NCL at the same time (Hi James!) so are good friends. Our son is an officer, behind the scenes, in the IT Dept. that keeps the computers running on the ship. He doesn't have much contact with the pax at all and doesn't post here. I keep him informed about the cc news! :-D

[sue402001]

I like your title for today's post born2cruise!

 

Thanks for stopping by James! I'm sad that I won't be meeting you in April. Where are you headed to next or are you taking another trip somewhere?

[sue402001]

I just thought of something else born2cruise. Which dining room is open for lunch on embarkation day? Also, is it true that their is no laundry specials available? Thanks!

[born2cruize]

I just thought of something else born2cruise. Which dining room is open for lunch on embarkation day? Also, is it true that their is no laundry specials available? Thanks!

 

Funny you should ask. Today is day two in Maui and don't have anything scheduled so planned to go through 10 days of Dailies and post bits that some people don't notice til after the fact.

 

To date have seen no mention of laundry specials.

[sha88]

Hi, there, Born. Thanks for all the wonderful information. I was wondering if you could share any information when you get to Kona regarding taxi service. We are doing a tour with NCL, but returning at 3pm. I want to get to Super J's restaurant which was featured on Food Network's Best thing I ever ate and was wondering how to get there. I believe it is located in Captain Cook.

 

Thanks so much.

 

Shahira

[born2cruize]

From the Embarkation Daily - These are available only on embarkation day

 

Best of all Brunch - Jefferson Bistro $10.00 - Noon to 2:00

** * Live music and foods from the different specialty restaurants.

 

Freestyle Dining presentation and tour - Hollywood Theater - 2:00

 

Bottled water special - 24 500ml Aguafina or 12 1L Hawaiian Springs and save 25%.

 

WHAT'S OPEN FOR LUNCH

 

Skyline restaurant - Noon - 2:00

Aloha Cafe Buffet - Noon - 4:00

Key West Bar & Grill - Noon - 4:00

Jefferson Bistro (Best of all Brunch) - Noon - 2:00

 

WHAT'S OPEN FOR DINNER - SPECIALTY RESTAURANTS

** *(Special prices this night only)

 

Lazy J Steakhouse - 5:30 - 10:00 ($25.00)

Jefferson Bistro - 5:30 - 9:30 ($15.00)

 

EVENTS FOR THE WEEK

 

Hawaiiana Today

 

Sunday - Hula Aerobics - 8:30 AM

** * * * - Hula & Tahitian Class - 4:30 PM

** * * * - Hawaiian Olelo (language class) - 5:15 PM

 

Monday - Hula & Tahitian Class - 3:30 PM

** * * * *- Kului Nut Lei Class - 4:30 PM

** * * * *- Hawaiian Names - 6:00 PM

 

Tuesday - Hula Aerobics - 8:30 AM

** * * * *- Hula & Tahitian Class - 3:30 PM

** * * * *- Fresh Orchid Lei Class - 4:30 PM

** * * * *- Hawaiian Story Telling - 6:00 PM

 

Wednesday - Hula & Tahitian Class - 3:30 PM

** * * * * * *- Lauhala Ribbon Weave Lei Class - 4:15 PM

** * * * * * *- Aloha Shirt Money Folding - 6:00 PM

 

Thursday - Hula Aerobics - 8:30 AM

** * * * * *- Hula & Tahitian Class - 3:00 PM

** * * * * *- Fresh flower Hair Picks - 3:45 PM

 

Friday - Final Hula Class - 1:00 PM

** * * *- Graduation - 3:15 PM

** * * *- Kanikapila - 8:15 PM

 

MAIN SHOWS

 

Saturday - Comedy Show - Tim Kaminsky - 9:00 - Hollywood Theater

Sunday - Aloha Polynesia Show - 7 & 9 - Hollywood Theater

** * * * - Beatles Salute with Toby Beau - 8 - Club Mardi Gras

Monday - Comedy Showtime: The Second City - 7 & 9 - Hollywood*Theater

** * * * *- Toby Beau - A Tribute to the Eagles - 8 - Club Mardi Gras

Tuesday - Magic of John Shyrock - 7 & 8:30 - Hollywood Theater

** * * * *- Jokers Wild with Tim Kaminsky - 10:15 - Club Mardi Gras

Wednesday - Tribute to Frankie Valli and the Four Seaons - 7 & 9 -*Hollywood Theater

** * * * * * *- White Hot Dance Party - 10 - Club Mardi Gras

Thursday - Never Too Old To Rock 'n Roll - 7:30 & 9:30 - Hollywood*Theater

** * * * * *- Dancing with the American Stars - 10:15 - Club Mardi*Gras

Friday - Farewell Variety Show - 7 & 9 - Hollywood Theater

** * * *- The Second City "Scriptless" - 10:15 - Club Mardi Gras

 

DRINKING EVENTS

 

Saturday - NCL U Margarita Tasting - 3:00 - Gold Rush Saloon

** * * * * *- Welcome Aboard Pub Crawl - 5:30 signup - Gold Rush Saloon

Sunday - NCL U Martini Tasting - 4:00 - Lanai Bar

Monday - NCL U Wine Tasting - 4:00 - Napa Wine Bar

** * * * *- NCL U Sushi & Sake Tasting - 4:00 - East Meets West

Tuesday - NCL U Global Beer Tasting - 4:00 - Gold Rush Saloon

Wednesday - NCL U Mojito Tasting - 4:00 - Key West Bar & Grill

Thursday - SOBER UP DAY (My idea)

Friday - DRY DAY (Another idea)

 

I have more to publish but will add later.

[born2cruize]

CONTINUATION OF BITS AND PIECES

 

PINK'S CHAMPAGNE BAR Entertainment

 

Saturday - Cocktails & Jazz with Kukui Nuts - 6:00 - 7:30

** * * * * - Guitar stylings of Vic Pore - 8:00 - 10:00

** * * * * - A tribute to the Monkees - 10:15

Sunday - Cocktails & Jazz with Kukui Nuts - 6:00 - 8:00

** * * * - Piano and Vocal Stylings of Robin Lucas - 8:15

** * * * - Tribute to Nat King Cole - 8:45

Monday - Piano and Vocal Stylings of Robin Lucas - 7:30

** * * * *- Tribute to the Carpenters - 10:00

Tuesday*- Cocktails & Jazz with Kukui Nuts - 6:00 - 8:00

** * * * * - Piano and Vocal Stylings of Robin Lucas - 8:15

** * * * * - A tribute to Gershwin - 8:45

Wednesday - Cocktail's & Jazz with The Kukui Nuts - 6:00 - 8:00

** * * * * * *- Robin Lukas Entertains at the Piano - 8:15

Thursday -*Cocktail's & Jazz with The Kukui Nuts - 6:00 - 6:45

** * * * * *- Piano Entertainment with Vic Lukas - 7:30

** * * * * *- A tribute to Bacharach & David - 8:45

Friday - Cocktail Music with Jeff Rosko - 6:00 - 7:30

** * * *- Robin Lukas at the Piano - 7:45

 

CLUB MARDI GRAS Entertainment

 

Saturday - Classic Rock Mix w/DJ Hurricane Holt - 10:00PM

Sunday - Beatles salute w/ Toby Beau 8:00

** * * * - Late Night Comedy - 10:15

** * * * - Late Night Dance Music - 11:15

Monday - Ballroom Dancing w/ Kukui Nuts - 6:00 - 7:00

** * * * *- Broadway on the Pacific w/ Doug - 7:15

** * * * *- Not-So Newlywed Game Show - 9:00

** * * * *- 50's Sock Hop - 10:00

** * * * *- Late Night Dance Music - 11:00

Tuesday -*Broadway on the Pacific w/ Doug - 8:15

** * * * *-*Late Night Comedy: Joker's Wild w/ Tim Kaminski - 10:15

** * * * *-*Late Night Music - 11:15

Wednesday - Improv Comedy of the Second City - 8:00

** * * * * * *- White Hot Dance Party - 10:00

Thursday -*Broadway on the Pacific w/ Doug - 7:00

** * * * * - Shout it Out Music Trivia - 7:30

** * * * * - Close up Magic w/ John Shyrock - 8:30

** * * * * - Dancing with the Stars Sign-ups - 10:15 - 10:30

** * * * * - Dancing with the Stars Competion - 10:30

** * * * * -*Late Night Dance Music - 11:45

Friday - Kanikapila - 8:15

** * * *- The Second City "Scriptless" Adult Comedy - 10:15

** * * *- "Hang Loose" Request Night - 11:00

 

GOLD RUSH SALOON Entertainment

 

Saturday - Karaoke - 8:30

Sunday -*Karaoke - 8:30

Monday -*Karaoke - 8:30

Tuesday -*Karaoke - 8:30

Wednesday - American Idol on TV - 7:00 til 9:00

** * * * * * *- Karaoke - 9:30

Thursday - American Idol on TV - 7:00 til 8:00

** * * * * - Karaoke - 8:30

Friday - Karaoke Stars Sign Ups - 8:15 til 8:30

** * * *- Karaoke Stars Competition - 8:30

 

Don't come back here and say there's nothing to do on the ship.

[born2cruize]

Hi, there, Born. Thanks for all the wonderful information. I was wondering if you could share any information when you get to Kona regarding taxi service. We are doing a tour with NCL, but returning at 3pm. I want to get to Super J's restaurant which was featured on Food Network's Best thing I ever ate and was wondering how to get there. I believe it is located in Captain Cook.

 

Thanks so much.

 

Shahira

 

We went through the town of Captain Cook last week on the way to Painted church and Place of Refuge. It seemed it took about and hour before the driver announced we were going through the town. Others will know better than I. The last tender is at 5:00 so if you're only interested in seeing the place you're cutting it close. If you're planning to eat there I don't see how.

[kapoho2]

sha88....I hate to tell you, but you will have to save visiting Super J's for a future trip to the Big Island. Could it be done??... possibly. Would I attempt it??...no way. The town of Captain Cook is just too far from Kailua-Kona (where the pier is) to risk trying to get there and back in 2 hours. Even though the directions say "highway", you have to realize that this does not mean a 55-mph multi-lane expressway. And the town of Captain Cook is on a slow, windy part of the road. It would just be too risky to attempt this....especially at rush hour. There is a good chance that you might be waving aloha to the ship on your return.

 

The good news is that we have never heard or or been to Super J's....but it is now on our radar for sure! Mahalo for the tip!!

 

Enjoy your cruise!

[want-to-cruise]

Thanks for posting the ship activities. We will board when you disembark. That is if we can fly out of Chicago on Thursday morning.

[Kylie]

Thanks for posting the ship activities. We will board when you disembark. That is if we can fly out of Chicago on Thursday morning.

 

Good luck with your travels - sounds like you are really going to get dumped on later today. We have no school here today in Nebraska but didn't get much snow - it just drifted where we need to walk/drive because of the strong, cold winds.

How far do you have to travel to get to Chicago? Can you go early to be close to the airport? Always a risk traveling from the midwest in the winter. We wish you safe travels!!

[sha88]

Born and Kapoho, thanks for the information. I have this bucket list goal to hit as many of the restaurants that are featured on that show as possbile. Four of them are in HI. One, in Oahu, two in Maui and the on the Big Island. When visiting these restaurants, I am going only to sample whatever the food item was on the show, ie, it's the LauLau at Super J's.

 

Oh, well, guess I will have to return one day. Yay.

 

I definitely think the excursion to the falls is way more important just in case I can't do another visit. :D

 

Thanks again for the info!

 

Shahira

[want-to-cruise]

Kylie,

We have to drive 60 miles to get to the airport in Cedar Rapids to catch the 7 am flight to Chicago. Even if we have a layover we still should get to Hawaii in time to board the ship on Saturday. We will miss all the pre sailing events though. We are getting a lot of snow and blowing here in northeast Iowa.

Thanks for your good wishes for our travels.

Sharon

[Kylie]

Kylie,

We have to drive 60 miles to get to the airport in Cedar Rapids to catch the 7 am flight to Chicago. Even if we have a layover we still should get to Hawaii in time to board the ship on Saturday. We will miss all the pre sailing events though. We are getting a lot of snow and blowing here in northeast Iowa.

Thanks for your good wishes for our travels.

Sharon

 

Bummer that you might miss your pre-cruise days but as long as you get to Hawaii in time to catch the ship on Saturday all will not be lost! Good luck! We missed 3 nights of a cruise to Hawaii once because of weather related problems - not fun!

We'll be thinking about you and all the other travelers out there hoping to get to a ship somewhere this weekend!

[afdds]

Born2cruize...this is the best read yet! Thank you for all your time and effort that is going into posting while cruising. Post #87 plus the other bits and pieces is outstanding. I've already printed and put in my cruise folder for May 14th.

 

Question: If Lazy J Steakhouse is $25.00 pp only on embarkation evening...what is the cost on any other night. I looked on NCL web site and I couldn't find a list of the specialty restaurants with their cover charge. LOL I can find the restaurants just not the prices.

 

Thank you for your help.

Mahalo :)

[born2cruize]

Born2cruize...this is the best read yet! Thank you for all your time and effort that is going into posting while cruising. Post #87 plus the other bits and pieces is outstanding. I've already printed and put in my cruise folder for May 14th.

 

Question: If Lazy J Steakhouse is $25.00 pp only on embarkation evening...what is the cost on any other night. I looked on NCL web site and I couldn't find a list of the specialty restaurants with their cover charge. LOL I can find the restaurants just not the prices.

 

Thank you for your help.

Mahalo :)

 

For both restaurants, that is the regular price per person. Don't know how much they discounted on embarkation day. At one point it was half price, then for a while it was half price if reservation was before 6 PM. I know that the prices have been posted for the specialty restaurants previously. Regular prices have not changed since out first cruise on POAm back in '06. So on my web site the prices are listed on any of the Freestyle Dailies.

[born2cruize]

Last night she was at her best. There was 5 rivers of lava into the ocean. Many hot spots glowing in the night but watching the steam and lava flow was great. A few notes, don't use a flash. They had to make an announcement not to if your stills are to be their best. They also said that they were 1/2 a mile from the coast, a little point and shot won't do it justice. In fact my DSLR with a 300 mm lens didn't do it justice. But I have it on a video HD and I can't wait to get home and do some editing. LOL, this was the first time we stayed up for the lava in 5 cruises.

[Sunny AZ Girl]

Last night she was at her best. There was 5 rivers of lava into the ocean. Many hot spots glowing in the night but watching the steam and lava flow was great. A few notes, don't use a flash. They had to make an announcement not to if your stills are to be their best. They also said that they were 1/2 a mile from the coast, a little point and shot won't do it justice. In fact my DSLR with a 300 mm lens didn't do it justice. But I have it on a video HD and I can't wait to get home and do some editing. LOL, this was the first time we stayed up for the lava in 5 cruises.

I love to take pictures and my photobooks are the highlight of my cruise. However, I am prepared to buy the Pro-shots of the lava and just enjoy the flow with my own eyes. Another reviewer did say (and she posted) the pro-shots that she purchased. Did you happen to notice if they were still being sold onboard?

[born2cruize]

I love to take pictures and my photobooks are the highlight of my cruise. However, I am prepared to buy the Pro-shots of the lava and just enjoy the flow with my own eyes. Another reviewer did say (and she posted) the pro-shots that she purchased. Did you happen to notice if they were still being sold onboard?

 

I'm expecting them to be avaiable tonight, they did announce that they were taking photos. Still nothing like reminiscing over photos or videos you took.