Pride of America - "The Suite Life" - 7/16/11 - a cruise review

[Zimomiller]

Great advice...thank you! Do you think that if we are off the ship through lunch, our butler could have one put in our fridge for later?:)

 

I like the way you think, but I would order 2.....

[keeponcruising]

Which suite are you in, albertamom? We'll be in #12502 and plan on taking a lot of pictures of the suite.;)

Thanks, we will have a wonderful trip -- we'll be cruising in an Owner's Suite in Hawaii!!!

 

Please take lots of pictures, because I am booked in the same suite next Oct.:)

 

Ellen

[keeponcruising]

Thank you Thank you Zimomiller for your review. I love your review and Cubechick's on cruisetravel talk. I booked next year because of both of your reviews.

 

Ellen

[brunolvr]

You indicated that Thomas Meier was the Concierge. Any idea how long he was going to be there? I know sometimes the Concierge is James Lines.

What about Hotel Director? was it John O'Hara?

and Captain Kjell Nesheim or Captain Buz Radican?

Edited August 31, 2011 by brunolvr

[Zimomiller]

You indicated that Thomas Meier was the Concierge. Any idea how long he was going to be there? I know sometimes the Concierge is James Lines.

What about Hotel Director? was it John O'Hara?

and Captain Kjell Nesheim or Captain Buz Radican?

 

No idea on Thomas.

John Ohara was the hotel director, but I had no interaction with him.

 

No idea on the Captain as we did not attend any events

[jonbgd]

OK Zimomiller...... where is our review of Kauai that we were suppose to get yesterday?

Am I going to have to send a couple Anchor Steams with 2 of your labs and a couple of my DR;) RYJ's robustos with your 3rd lab to get this done

[Zimomiller]

OK Zimomiller...... where is our review of Kauai that we were suppose to get yesterday?

Am I going to have to send a couple Anchor Steams with 2 of your labs and a couple of my DR;) RYJ's robustos with your 3rd lab to get this done

 

Yes.

 

I will send you my address

[Zimomiller]

Kauai – Gilligan’s Island redux 7/21/11

 

Kauai was the one port that had me nervous.

 

In all my research and planning it was apparent that the weather was a lot more unpredictable and seemed to be the one factor that impacted peoples plans the most. Especially if you were planning to take a helicopter tour.

 

As it turned out for our 2 days on Kauai, the weather was not a factor. In fact the weather was magnificent and rain was non-existent.

 

Tip # 37 Don’t over plan and expect the worst, but be aware that you may need to make lemonade if presented with lemons

 

I knew from the start that a helicopter tour was out of the question.

 

A few years ago while vacationing in Vegas the whole family jumped on board a helicopter for an aerial tour of the Grand Canyon and the Hoover Dam. The ride was pretty calm and really not bumpy at all.

 

About ½ ways there the wife turned green and woozy.

 

We landed in the Canyon for a wine and picnic lunch and I ended up drinking all the wine (a common theme eh?) and I also finished a couple lunches. The kids were not their normal ravenous selves either.

 

The trip back was punctuated by the wife barfing in a bag a couple times and the kids turning green as well.

 

I think the main issue was it was a fresh air copter, no A/C.

 

Tip # 38 My advice to anyone considering doing a helicopter tour with anyone that tends to get motion sickness is to make em take Dramamine an hour before you go and plan to get a copter with A/C.

 

(Side note: Just sitting here eating macadamia nuts as I type, damn these are good...hardly need the beer to wash em down but they do work well togethewr.. ok back to the review)

 

I spent my planning time reading reviews and looking for a unique tour guide experience. I finally settled on Kauai Eden Tours.

 

http://www.kauaiedentours.com/EKomoMai_Welcome_to_Eden.php

 

The reviews were consistently good so I made a reservation for the 5 of us. This was a rather expensive tour compared to the ones we had taken on the other islands but I decided to take a chance. Glad I did.

 

We sailed into port bright and early and I was actually up in time to snap off some photos as we came in.

 

I made sure that I made lots of noise in the cabin and woke everyone up earlier than normal as I wanted to make sure that we were all at Lazy Js early so we could get stuffed as lunch was hours away.

 

Oops, I accidentally fell in bed with my wife and daughter on the way to the balcony. They yelled a lot. Mission accomplished.

 

Lazy Js was very busy when we arrived but they had a table for 5 waiting for us and we had our usual breakfast feast and 5 lbs of bacon.

 

After breakfast we went back to grab our bags and then we headed off the ship to catch the Thrifty shuttle to head over to the airport location to pick up a minivan for the day. I had reserved the van ahead of time including joining the Blue Chip program so the paperwork and keys would be ready to go on arrival.

 

A lot of people recommend using the link below for renting cars in Hawaii, but I found the same rates direct with Thrifty.

 

http://www.discounthawaiicarrental.com/

 

I called Karen from the tour company on the way over and she was on her way to meet us there.

 

The reason I had to rent a van was that Kauai Eden tours did not have vehicle that could accommodate more than 5 people total. I was not thrilled by this as it meant I was driving and that it also added about $100 to the tour cost.

 

We met Karen at Thrifty and then followed her to a parking lot at the airport where she parked, unloaded all her tour goodies and the loaded them into our minivan. And then we were off.

 

First stop was a lovely scenic beach where we wandered around a few minutes, grabbed some great photos and then we loaded up and split.

 

Next we stopped at a local outdoor fruit stand where Karen purchased several unique island fruits, sugar cane and a couple coconuts. She took our sandwich orders for lunch and called ahead so they would be ready for us to pick up on our way.

 

We eventually ended up on another gorgeous beach where we pretended to be castaways on Gilligan’s island. We donned some grass skirts etc and then bashed the hell out of our coconuts trying to get them open, which we eventually did. Drank the milk, ate some meat, took a lot of fun pictures etc.

 

It was pointed out that I looked most like the Skipper. Sigh, I always envisioned myself as Gilligan. Never have been able to get the wife to wear that Mary Ann oufit I got her years ago.

 

After carefully cleaning up, we headed out from there exploring the coast line, stopping to see scenic beauty and just generally enjoying the ride and view. We stopped and wandered down a long hill to spend a bit of time on an excellent beach followed by lunch overlooking an amazing coastline with crashing waves and jagged rocks. I wish now I had paid more attention to the beach names and parks that we visited so that I could pass on better info.

 

Tip # 39 Remember to snap off a picture of the Park and beach names as you get to a destination

 

We eventually reached the end of the road on the Northwest side of the island near the Napali coast and paid $5 to park at a vacant lot manned by some enterprising local boys.

 

From there we wandered down to Tunnels beach where we spent about three hours just relaxing and enjoying one of the most memorable and scenic beaches I have ever been to. Pictures and words really do not describe it.

 

Tip # 40 You need to visit this beach, trust me on this one.

 

http://www.google.com/search?q=tunnels+beach&hl=en&biw=1393&bih=695&prmd=ivnsm&tbm=isch&tbo=u&source=univ&sa=X&ei=5exeTvP1JcbjsQK_5oUG&sqi=2&ved=0CDcQsAQ

 

I had specifically asked Karen to tailor our tour day to take us to this beach and spend a few hours based upon my research. That was a good decision.

 

Tip # 41 With a private tour guide, if there is something important to you, make sure they know it and tailor the trip to your needs.( I know, this is a repaet for emphasis)

 

We played in the water, snorkeled, explored and just plain vegged. Watched a puppy play in the sand chasing crabs, saw some sea turtles frolicking in the surf.

 

I remembered to pack a cigar which I enjoyed in the shade out of range of any smoke ****s that I knew would be hiding behind palm trees looking for someone like me.

 

I had thought a head enough to consider bringing a 6 pack of beer, but oh yeah, I was driving so no chance of that.

 

The weather was remarkable all day and I think we will remember this beach and experience for as long time.

 

Karen really makes the extra effort to immerse her guests in the island experience. She brings CDs of local artists, food and snack and local fruits for everyone to try and experience. She also brought snorkels, flippers, walking sticks for hiking etc.

 

She always had a camera in hand and she spent a lot of time taking pictures of our family on the tour. She had trouble remebering to turn it off and we also got several random pics and videos of feet arms bags sand etc....

 

About a week after we returned home a CD arrived in the mail with all the pictures from our day along with some gorgeous shots that Karen had accumulated from prior tours. There were a lot of very unique and beautiful shots.

 

We eventually dragged our butts back off the beach and started back. I went ahead and met everyone with the van.

 

I must say that driving on the island was a breeze and it is very easy to get around, but it sure was helpful to have someone to tell me where to go (other than my wife..)

 

On the way back we stopped in Princeville which is a very expensive small city on the island and visited the St Regis resort hotel.

 

All I can say is WOW. If I ever come back to Kauai and have the moolah to spend on a magnificent resort experience, this will be the place I go. The resort is opulent and gorgeous. The views are indescribable. I did not want to leave.

 

But all good things come to an end and after a long drive back I eventually dropped the family at the port and I returned to the airport lot with Karen to return her goodies to her car and then the van to Thrifty. I signed the charge card receipt and then Karen dropped me off at the port.

 

In retrospect, the day was long, fun, unique, memorable and as perfect as you could hope for. I would recommend Kauai Eden tours to future cruisers.

 

By the time I returned to our cabin it was about 6pm and I quickly showered and dressed for dinner as I had to head up to the Waikiki bar for a few cocktails and a short cigar before dinner. Yeah, I was in a comfortable routine. ran into a few of my new cruise buddies as usual and we related stories of our days.

 

7pm I met the family in Cagney’s…err.. Lazy Js for dinner where we were once again treated like royalty in a very quiet restaurant. Surf and turf was the order of the night for my son and I and as always it was very good.

 

I joked as we were ordering dessert that we sure could use another chocolate fondue from Jefferson’s Bistro and our server was ready to run down and get one for us, but we declined the offer as we knew we were returning there tomorrow evening for our farewell dinner.

 

Little did I know the experience that was in store for us tomorrow evening at dinner.

 

Stay tuned for Day 2 in Kauai, our sea day #2 , sailing the Napali coast and the story of our concierge to the rescue.

 

http://travel.webshots.com/album/580713641yLjEKk?start=0 Pictures from Day 1 on Kauai and our tour

[albertamom]

Sounds like an amazing day! My son will be all over that surf and turf! If he is having our butler deliver a shrimp cocktail for post-excursion enjoyment, my daughter and I may need to put in a request for the chocolate fondue! Yummy!:D

[Zimomiller]

Sounds like an amazing day! My son will be all over that surf and turf! If he is having our butler deliver a shrimp cocktail for post-excursion enjoyment, my daughter and I may need to put in a request for the chocolate fondue! Yummy!:D

 

That would be an easy request to fulfill.

 

I will tell you that my family would typically two of these for dessert to split between the four of them.

 

They are decadent and delicious.

[mydreamvacation]

We're also going to be in an Owner's Suite on the POA in a short 2 weeks. I'm hoping all of the "suite amenities" will be there!:o If not, I'll be sure to post about it!

 

We are in owners suite number 12000 for our 1/7/12 sailing and I will be very upset if we don't get all of the amenities. Every week I have to hear my husband complain that it is a waste of money- (of course it is for my birthday not his where the sky is the limit) please report in brunolvr!

[mydreamvacation]

Which suite are you in, albertamom? We'll be in #12502 and plan on taking a lot of pictures of the suite.;)

Thanks, we will have a wonderful trip -- we'll be cruising in an Owner's Suite in Hawaii!!!

 

PLEASE post lots of photos as we are on the flip side of yours in 12000- also any info on the butler and if he or she will be there still in January. We have had some amazing butlers with NCL but once we had a guy that was HORRIBLE we only saw him on the last day when he came looking for a tip. Any idea who the concierge is and if he or she will still be there in January?

[brunolvr]

We are in owners suite number 12000 for our 1/7/12 sailing and I will be very upset if we don't get all of the amenities. Every week I have to hear my husband complain that it is a waste of money- (of course it is for my birthday not his where the sky is the limit) please report in brunolvr!

 

A fellow cruise critic was in an Owner's Suite and indicated to me that they did have all the amenities. So, I wouldn't worry!;)

[Stoney13]

What a fantastic review!! I needed to print it ALL out for my wife!! We can't wait for our Sep 24th sail!! Thanks!!

[Zimomiller]

Kauai – Our second sea day – 7/22/11

 

I know that there are many of you that have been reading my review that think we are nuts for spending day 2 on Maui on the ship. Well, guess what, we did the same thing on Kauai.

 

For our family it is quality of over quantity. We have learned the hard way on past cruise and land vacations that if you pack every day with activities, the overall experience is diminished by that rushed feeling and eventual exhaustion. This may not be the same for you, it works for us.

 

The Port area on Kauai is actually surrounded by wonderful scenery and views. In my opinion, it was the most picturesque of all our ports. As you will see in the link to our pics from day 2 on Kauai I took a lot more pics as we left port as well as a photo survey of most of the outside decks on the POA forward and aft.

 

Tip #42 Explore the ship early in the week. On the last day you are likely to find something you wished you knew about on day 1.

 

Knowing that we were treating the day as a sea day we set a rather late 9 am alarm for Mom and I and left the kids to sleep until we roused them after breakfast. As we enjoyed another quiet breakfast at Lazy Js we could not help but begin to think about the fact this was the last day of our cruise and the next to last breakfast we would be able to enjoy on board.

 

I know I sound like a broken record, but the suite life benefit of breakfast and lunch at Lazy Js is the best. We never missed all the amenities or butler service. We were just too busy and not around that much.

 

Once again the weather was bright and sunny but not too hot. Mom and I made a lot of noise as we changed into suits and packed up some towels and books etc. for the day in the sun aft by the pool by the Waikiki bar.

 

It was a quiet morning on deck but became gradually busier as the morning wore on. All aboard was 130 today so I suspect that there were a lot of like-minded people that slept in.

 

After a late morning adult beverage or 2 and a cigar or three, I picked up my camera and wandered around the ship taking photos of the outside decks and basically exploring areas that I had not visited during the week. The POA has a huge amount of outside deck space and a lot of the forward area goes unused.

 

Tip # 43 If you want quiet, go forward and on top on the POA

 

The rest of the early afternoon was spent enjoying the day the view and the weather. Oh yeah and the booze etc.

 

I became the bar tender for my wife and kids as they lazed the day away. They can suck down virgin Strawberry Daiquiris like pros. God help me when they are all 21.

 

Eventually I retreated to our balcony to document our sail away from Kauai but not before I slipped down to Lazy Js for one last Sesame Ahi burger and carrot cake for lunch.

 

Sail away was perfect I really enjoyed the views and shots I captured from deck 9 aft.

 

Excitement was palpable as the outside decks became alive in the mid afternoon as passengers began staking out that perfect place to watch the Napali coast as we sailed by. The port side of the ship was decorated with passengers.

 

From my throne at the Waikiki bar I monitored all the day’s activities including the pub crawl. There were about 35 hardy souls that were parading around the ship en masse gulping down drinks and being loud and obnoxious. They appeared to be having a grand time. Looked like too much work to me so I just ordered another drink.

 

Tip # 44 For a fun cheap way to see all the bars and a lot of the ship while getting toasted and meeting new, people sign up for a pub crawl.

 

Late afternoon was spent on deck and then on our balcony watching the wonder that is nature as we sailed by. It did not disappoint. There were rainy clouds in the mountains and rainbows galore. All my pictures and videos do not do it justice. It was fun trying to pick out Tunnels beach from a different point of view.

 

Our aft balcony was a marvelous un-crowded and quiet vantage point. And then when the POA reversed course, we had a front row seat to a magnificent view that we will never forget. Indescribable beauty.

 

Tip #45 Do not miss this sail by

 

Eventually it was approaching dinner time and actually getting a bit chilly outside so one by one we bid adieu to the view, hit the showers and prepared for our last dinner on board.

 

One of our family traditions on NCL has been to dine at the Le Bistro on the final night as it is without a doubt our favorite. The food and service have always been terrific and memorable. Oh yeah, there is the chocolate fondue at the end of dinner as well.

 

As usual I escaped our cabin to the quiet fortress of solitude aft that I had grown attached to this week. After the required pre dinner martinis and cigar I wandered down to the host stand area at Jefferson’s Bistro to wait for the family who promptly arrived at 7 pm.

 

This is where things got interesting.

 

The restaurant was obviously busier than we had seen it all week. No surprise as this was the last evening.

 

I approached the host who was looking rather busy. She eventually acknowledged my presence and I gave her my name and indicated we had a 7 pm reservation.

 

As we waited I chatted with my wife.

 

The host then turned to me and said “You do not have a reservation and I cannot seat you”. A very terse matter of fact statement to say the least.

 

I said excuse me but you must be mistaken as I had the concierge make all our reservations on our arrival last Saturday. She said” Thomas made the reservation? "And then she repeated “You do not have a reservation, we are very busy and I cannot seat you”.

 

She then turned back to her host stand looking very busy and clearly uninterested in the damage being caused by her lack of attention to customer service.

 

I was confused at first but now I was pissed. I re-engaged her in conversation and encouraged her to check again and to find a way to accommodate us or I was going to be very unhappy and raise a fuss.

 

Meanwhile, my wife and son turned around and started back to our cabin to retrieve our confirmation letter from the concierge that clearly stated each and every dining reservation we made by date, time and restaurant.

 

Guess who they ran into as they walked around the corner of the restaurant? Yup, Thomas our concierge.

 

The guy was everywhere all week long. I swear he had at least one twin or a couple clones. They quickly explained what was transpiring to him and he immediately led them back to Jefferson’s.

 

Thomas interrupted my conversation with the host and asked me to wait with my family as he handled things.

 

We watched as he worked his magic. It was clear that the host had taken a position that she was not about to budge from. After about 3-4 minutes of discussion and a phone call, an officer appeared who apparently was in charge of restaurant operations and the three of them continued to “chat”

 

Immediately after that we were quickly seated in what I considered to be the best table for 5 in the restaurant. (A U shaped booth for the 5 of us, actually the same one we had been in earlier in the week)

 

The dining room staff took a couple minutes to get around to us as it was quite busy, but eventually we were met with a smile and the service that we loved.

 

I indicated that my wife and I were both Platinum Latitudes members and that we intended to exercise those benefits for the meal. (i.e. 2 complimentary dinners each and a bottle of complimentary wine each) I watched out of the corner of my eye as the waitress for our table then relayed this information to the host, who was still in conversation with the officer and our concierge) I chuckled a bit as I watched the host’s reaction to the news as she clearly was not happy.

 

While we waited for our dinner orders to arrive, my wife had my son retrieve our dinner reservation confirmation letter from our cabin.

 

When Thomas, our concierge, came by our table before he left, she gave it to him. He indicated that she did not need to do that because he knew that the reservation had been made. But he did take it with him. My wife mentioned later that she saw him go back to the host and the officer to show it to them.

 

The rest of our dinner was casual, relaxed, delicious and flawless. As usual, the kids and Mom fought over the details of the chocolate fondues while I enjoyed my last Crème Brule of the cruise.

 

When it came time for the check, we were informed that everything had already been taken care of and have a great rest of the evening. Heh heh, I bet that pissed off the restaurant host to no end. She was clearly the wrong person to be in that position and I am betting several people were reminded of that based upon our experience.

 

Tip #45 On this cruise I learned the power of reconfirming reservations. Luckily I had a hired gun in the form of our concierge.

 

One of our family traditions is to take a stroll on the promenade deck one last time after the last dinner of the cruise. We sauntered along enjoying the evening, our victory over the snotty host and the successful demolition of 2 more chocolate fondues. But mainly we were avoiding the painful task of packing for the trip home that lay waiting for us in our cabin.

 

I am always amazed at how much crap five people can bring along on vacation, especially when they were told to pack lite.

 

Tip #46 Tell everyone to pack what they want. They will anyways. You are then the hero

 

It took us an hour and a half to pack all our stuff. This was more complicated than usual due to our plans for Saturday. We had to pack 1 bag with a change of clothes, swimsuits and necessities for the day for everyone as we were returning to the Outrigger Waikiki on the Beach for the day as our flight out was scheduled for 10:45 PM Saturday.

 

I am ashamed to admit it but by the time we were done packing I was exhausted and failed to return to the Waikiki bar for one last drink and cigar that evening. I will be haunted by this failure until our next cruise.

 

We all crashed early as we knew we had another fun day ahead on Waikiki beach.

 

But I know we were all a little sad that this was our last night on board the POA. God I hate that.

 

 

http://travel.webshots.com/album/580716874cexmoy Pics on board and the Napali coast

 

Stay tuned for debarkation and one last day on Waikiki beach and dinner at Duke's.

Edited September 6, 2011 by Zimomiller

[Planmaam]

So glad I checked one more time to see if you had posted another chapter! Loved it. Glad to get the tip about confirming reservations, will remember that one.

 

I actually felt that "last night of the cruise" sadness as I read, it's palpable, isn't it. :(:(

 

Can't wait for more. So glad you are sharing.

[Countrygirl44]

How Sad! How very very sad!

Just one more installment in your cruise review. It was such an excitement to check morning and at bed time to see if you had posted. How much fun it was to read your review and enjoy your excursions and daily exploits on the ship.

Your writing is just absolutely fantastic. Sure hope you cruise again soon and will write a review.

P.S. Thanks for the dailies.

[Marlod]

Glad to hear you had great views of Napali Coast. We are booked in that cabin in December and were concerned about being on the "wrong" side.

[herdingdogmom]

Wonderful review. Thanks so much for taking the time to write it and for the dailies. My favorite part of your review was at the beginning with the cigar smoking while doing the laundry at the Outrigger on the beach - loved that!

 

We are on the POA for the first time in early December and I must say I am concerned about your restaurant reservation troubles for the pay restaurants. Sounds like you handled it well , but you should not have had to rely on your concierge to get you seating on the spot. Customer service in this area on the POA definitely needs improvement. Please post these two sections of your review on NCL's site so they see it.

 

Luckily I can pass on sushi, Teppanaki, etc. as it was pretty run of the mill on the Jade in Feb. this year. But I really want to try Le Bistro on lobster night on the POA. We aren't in a suite, so I'm thinking we'll just stick with Cagney's (Lazy J's) one night and eat at restaurants in port - like Mama's Fish House the rest of the cruise. Who needs the hassle to pay $25 a head after an expensive cruise and tips?

 

Thanks again for your review and photos.

[albertamom]

You have definitely inspired me to stop and take time to smell the roses (or hibiscuses).:)

 

Because this will be our first cruise, and because DH likes to be busy, we have excitedly planned excursions at every port, but in most cases will be back onboard by lunchtime. We will make a concerted effort to appreciate every moment of this wonderful opportunity.:D

 

Looking forward to your final installment!

[sunline2000]

Cannot wait for our turn to arrive in March...March 24 to be exact Thanks for a well done review and fun commentary to go with it...

[Bob&Janet]

Just loving the story of you Hawaii cruise and cant wait for the final instalment ... debarkation and one last day on Waikiki beach and dinner at Duke's ... where is it? Im in Hawaii now so keen to read before I get to Waikiki after the weekend.

 

Cheers to your great story telling

Bob

[Stoney13]

Love the newest update!!

 

I have a question about when and where Lobster is served?? Is it available at all the restaurants on Lobster Night?

 

Thanks!

 

:D

 

Jon

[herdingdogmom]

Love the newest update!!

 

I have a question about when and where Lobster is served?? Is it available at all the restaurants on Lobster Night?

 

Thanks!

 

:D

 

Jon

 

I read from a review in the Spring that lobster is picked up in Kona on Wednesday and that night lobster is served on the POA in the main dining rooms. Le Bistro/Jefferson's has a "bigger/better" lobster available that night for $10 pp over the regular $20 cover charge fee.

[jaclync324]

What an awesome review! I am sold! Since NCL is having that awesome sale, we are booking POA for March 2013. We want to stay in a suite. Any recommendations for a family of 3?