Poa review: June 7, 2014

[racingraysswimmom]

 

As promised I am reporting back with Review of POA June 7, 2014 Cruise

 

My group (17 cruisers) planned this cruise over a year in advance. Some of our group left several days early~ but the majority of us were on the same round trip air schedule.

Friday, June 6: We flew non stop from Chicago ORD on United Airlines. We booked our air 9 months prior to cruise and prices only went higher. Arrived in HNL at 2:30 pm Honolulu time. Note: WI FI not working, no movies, no music (unless you brought your own). Drink service only (2X) for us Economy passengers. Luckily we had our laptop with DVD's and I made sandwiches (no mayo), chips, trail mix, etc. Food for purchase on plane but did not seem interesting enough for me.

Since we had very early tickets (8 AM Arizona) to Pearl Harbor, we did not want to stay far from our first excursion. Note: we reserved our tickets to Arizona online 6 months prior to trip We stayed at the Outrigger Honolulu Airport Hotel which had a free shuttle from airport. We did not want to cab to Waikiki for dinner as it would have added another $100 round trip on a Friday 4 pm traffic congestion. After check-in at hotel, we got cabs to eat dinner at Nico's Pier 38. This restaurant got good reviews from previous CC members. . Saw a large signed picture of Guy Fieri from Food Network. Dinner was great and we enjoyed sitting outside watching the tour buses go by and looking out over the pier area. There was entertainment inside the restaurant with a live band that we could hear outside. Went back to hotel 3 hours later. Easy to get cabs from restaurant. Caught a cab back to hotel to get some rest for busy embarkation day. Note: we spent a great deal of time and money in cabs on this island. Be prepared to spend more money on cabs in Honolulu

 

Saturday, June 7: we had pre-ordered tickets to the Arizona 6 months prior online for Pearl Harbor 8 AM . Early check out from hotel and had bellman lock our luggage in storage. Took cab to Pearl Harbor and arrived by 7 AM. Walked around till time to line up for short movie presentation and then took shuttle to Arizona. Pearl Harbor brings out many emotions and we were so thrilled that we were able to see this remarkable historic place. Stayed at Pearl Harbor for 3.5 hours and then took another cab back to hotel. Freshened up in lobby bathroom and then got luggage and cabs to Pier #2.

 

Embarkation: When we arrived before 11 AM we saw no Porters at the pier so we wheeled our own luggage to the place where everyone was dropping off luggage for X-Ray. Then we got into line with carry-on luggage, passports and e-Doc’s. Went through security and then into line for boarding passes. Got Group A. Had our Lei Greeting and Embarkation Photo’s taken with family and group. While waiting to board ship, we were entertained with Hawaiian group that sang and danced for the passengers. It was before 11:30 AM that Group A was called and we were on our way to the POA. Our group went straight to the Aloha Buffet but you could go to the Skyline for lunch. We just liked the variety of food at the buffet. After eating we lounged outside on Deck 11 until they called our Deck 10.

I had asked on CC about stores near Embarkation Pier #2. We ended up not getting off ship to find one. Instead we stopped at a Wal-Mart in Maui on Day #1 to get Pop, Vitamin Water, Souvenirs - T-Shirts, Flip flops, Kona Coffee, Mac Nuts, Shot Glasses, Mugs, etc. Renting a car gave us much flexibility and we were able to tour at our pace, instead of someone else's. This worked out GREAT for us.

 

Cabin 10062 Family Stateroom Category B2.

This is a very tight fit for 4 adults :eek: – Mom, Dad, Son (24), & Daughter (19). We were able to put our clothes away in all the drawers and closet. We always bring extra hangers and also 2 hanger tree’s that has eight clips each to save on space in drawers. Thank goodness we did that. Luggage came after Muster drill. Bed arrangements: 1 pull-out couch (single), 1 bunk bed that comes down from ceiling which extends over pull-out couch and part way over double bed. There really was not any room for the ladder to go up on bunk, so if you had to go to the bathroom in the middle of the night the double bed people had to make room so they could get down. I just could not justify getting a suite when I knew we would not be spending much time in the stateroom and really no Sea Day’s. We have traveled on other cruiselines with 4 in the room, but this arrangement was extra tight. If we wanted to get to the Balcony we had to step on the beds. We knew this upfront but experiencing it was extra special. LOL

 

Room Steward(ess) name was Nicole. At Embarkation we found our room neat & clean, no dust on shelves or flat surfaces. Ice bucket always filled, and enough towels for 4. We did ask for 2 more bathrobes which were promptly put in our room. She did a fine job all week which we showed her our appreciation at the end of the week.

 

Room Service: Almost every morning we ordered room service. They were always on time. Easy to leave continental breakfast card on door handle the night before. Twice we ordered room service at peak hours for late lunch/late night snack and they quoted a 45 min. wait. That was what we expected because of prime times that we ordered. Food was always on time and good. I must comment that the people who brought our food got a chuckle when they saw how crammed it was in our room. The trays had to be left on the double bed( which was closest to door) because there was no way they could get to any flat surface to put down. Our small table had to be put on the balcony otherwise they could not open single couch.

 

Dining: As previously reported : No Lobster in Main Dining Rooms or Buffet (that we saw). On Embarkation Day, there was Shrimp on Menu in Sky Dining Room. We did not have time to try specialty dinning.I would have fallen asleep if we tried. Since our scheduled time back to ship was iffy in some ports we just decided to skip those venues. We never had to wait more than 5 minutes to be seated. Dinners were mostly in the Skyline Dining Room after our exhausting shore trips. Service was generally very acceptable, once it was very slow, but conversations about our activities during the day made the time go by. Our meals were enjoyable. We did not expect fine dining so we were not disappointed. Ate once at Cadillac for dinner which was good but needed to go to Aloha Buffet for a nice green salad to offset the fried goodies we ate at Cadillac. Ate once in the Liberty Dining Room which was the slowest service we encountered. Food was good, but I should mention we did not order many beef entries. My son did order steak and his was cooked correctly. He enjoyed so I was happy! The Chef’s Regional Selection has some very good Mahi Mahi dishes. That made me very happy!!

 

Excursions: We planned our own excursions from tips learned on CC. We rented cars from Discount Hawaii Car Rental. Shuttles were there to pick us up to take us to the Car Rental Terminals at Airport locations. Exceptions to Shuttle service was in Kona. After tendering from POA, our pick-up was at King Kam Hotel located near the pier. We rented 2 days in Maui and parked overnight at pier parking lot (free). Next day it was very easy getting off the ship, walk to lot, and drive to our next adventure. In Kauai we rented only 1 day since the following day is short in Kauai and parking has a $30 charge.

 

Maui Day #1: Started our day with visit to Hookipa Beach and watched the surfers. Got some welcome sun (we had an awful winter in Chicago and no Spring season) then drove south to the Tedeschi Vineyards for the wine tasting from a selection of pineapple wines made from locally grown Maui Pineapples and their grape and sparkling wines. The grounds were very nice and we all purchased some bottles to enjoy later. Then we backtracked north to the Alli Kula Lavender Farm near Kula. $3.00 per person entrance fee. The grounds are carpeted in lavender and we toured ourselves around the beautiful grounds. Bought several souvenirs of lavender products. Next we drove to Haleakala to experience the summit. Words just cannot describe the view. One CC member called this place a Holy Crap view and he was so right!! Spectacular does not even come close.

We spent several hours in the park and decided not to wait for the sunset. Just was hesitant to drive down on pitch black roads with the sharp turns and going downhill very slowly. Got back to the pier about 8:00 pm and found several spots open to park our cars. This was in the closest lot to the ship. It was VERY convenient. Next morning we just got off ship about 8 AM to tour more of Maui.

 

Maui Day #2: Drove to the Iao Valley Park and see the Iao Needle and the beautiful grounds. We spent 1.5 hours there, and then drove to the Kaanapali area and then on to Lahaina.

 

Hilo: Volcano National Park (weather was cool and rainy) so we would have spent more time but since weather not cooperating we stayed about 2.5 hours. We then went to Akaka Falls and weather cleared up nicely.

 

Kona: Tendered to Pier. Got early Tender Tickets at Guest Services. Very easy. Picked up vehicle at King Kam hotel. Drove to Puuhonua O Honaunau National Park, Painted Church, Southernmost Point of the US, and almost to Green Sand Beach (long story, but you have to hike 1.5 mi each way or have vehicle that can drive on any surface. We went part way but road too treacherous).

 

Kauai Day #1: Helicopter Tour with Safari. Book online and save. Excellent Tour of Island and everyone we met from Safari company were wonderful. Drove to Poipu Beach and stayed several hours, then to nearby Blowhole.

Kauai Day #2: No rental car. Took shuttle at pier to Anchor Cove and went to beach at the Marriott. We toured the grounds and shopped at the small shopping area. There were several different shuttles for different locations/shops. Very easy and convenient to cruise ship passengers.

 

Entertainment: From all our daytime activities, we were exhausted by 9 pm. We did see the Frankie Vallie show but we strained to stay awake. Did not miss the casino. The live bands that played near pool area were very good and enjoyed listening to music and having a cocktail as we left ports. One area that I usually spend money is the gift shops, but I did not purchase anything. What is wrong with me??!!

 

Disembarkation: we had an extra day in Oahu, so when they put out the luggage tags a few days before Saturday, I took the purple tags which were for later times (9 AM). By Thursday night no more purple tags were available so get them as soon as they put them out.

We took our time getting off the ship and the lines went quickly. Found our luggage right away and waited in line for shuttle to get rental car. Big mistake to rent car. The traffic that weekend was even worse because of Parade honoring King Kamehameha and festivities. We ended up paying extra to drop off car near our hotel as we were not going anywhere with blocked streets and congestion. Our group had originally planned to drop off luggage and tour Oahu. We stayed at the Outrigger on the Reef and enjoyed our time there. My group really did not want to leave as it was very comfortable and lovely at the hotel. They had entertainment at night near lobby/pool area. We walked to restaurants and shops. Enjoyed hanging out in open lobby area.

 

Sunday: Took cabs to Diamond Head. Made it to the top though a struggle for me. I had gotten a bad cold and was running a fever by Saturday night. Glad I made the effort. It was fun to finish the climb! Check out of hotel at 12 Noon, and enjoyed pool area for the afternoon. Used complimentary hospitality room to get ready for trip back to airport. Had to leave early for 7:25 PM flight because more streets blocked off as the festivities continued from the day before celebration. Luckily the cab driver to Diamond Head gave us the "heads up" of the situation. Outrigger staff were outstanding and went out of their way to get us information and made our stay with them very enjoyable.

 

It took 30 minutes longer to get to HNL airport, dodging parade and traffic. Non-stop Red-eye United flight home to ORD. Again nothing to entertain yourself but luckily lights turned off and most of us caught a few hours of sleep. Since I was sick I took some "nighttime" cold tabs which helped me sleep.

 

Summary: Loved seeing Hawaii for the first time on the ship. We saw so much on the islands but little of our POA. That was my only regret.

 

If you are able to get time off of work, stay several days before and after the cruise. We saw so many sites in 10 days. I am so glad we choose to cruise on POA for our first trip to Hawaii and would do it again. :D

__________________

[Ilovesailing]

All POA cabins are smaller than there other ships less newer ships.

But it is the biggest band for your buck.

[Anniesails]

thank you for your detailed review. taking this trip in August with my family of 7 in all/ we got 3 staterooms. I heard the cabins were very small. sounds like you had a great time.:cool:

[Ilovesailing]

All POA cabins are smaller than there other ships less newer ships.

But it is the biggest band for your buck.

 

Should read bang not band.

[racingraysswimmom]

Anniesails,

You will love the cruise. Even though I could go back to any of the islands to stay, I would love to cruise it again.

 

It has been 6 weeks ago and it seems like a dream. My group still is talking about what a wonder time we had ( I work with most of them at a dental office) and all our patients are hearing about it when they come in for their appointments. The patients get very excited about hearing all the details. They hardly notice what we are doing to them in their mouths!! LOL

 

Fun, fun, fun, with unbelievable scenery.

Have a great time and post your review! I will be watching for it!

 

Jan

[Courtmatt]

Did all 17 of you ever eat together at night? We are on the 8/9 sailing with 14 of us and we were wondering if we might all be able to eat together and how long of a wait we may have for a table?

[azappraiser]

Nice review... we'll be there in September. We have 4 nights in Oahu pre-cruise, with a rental car. We're also renting a car in Maui & Kauai.

 

We've booked a tour with Ricky's in Hilo and are planning a trip to the Seahorse Farm in Kona, which is also a kick back day to unwind a bit.

 

On our final morning in Kauai, we have a flight scheduled with Wings Over Kauai.

 

Counting down the days.........

[JuneauWhatIMean]

I've taken this cruise twice. Heaven on earth is an understatement.:D

[PathfinderEss]

Thanks for your review.

[cyndepet]

Thanks so much for posting your review. DH and I are doing this cruise next May, and I love reading about what others have done at the various islands. Of course by the time we go to make our plans, I'll have way too many things I want to do! They all sound so wonderful.

 

Glad you had such a great time!

[racingraysswimmom]

Did all 17 of you ever eat together at night? We are on the 8/9 sailing with 14 of us and we were wondering if we might all be able to eat together and how long of a wait we may have for a table?

 

We did NOT all eat altogether. Some in our group went to Buffet or Specialty dining. When 11 of us did want to eat together, they put us at separate tables next to each other. I think the most they could seat us was a table for 8. :(

Edited July 15, 2014 by racingraysswimmom

[racingraysswimmom]

We did NOT all eat altogether. Some in our group went to Buffet or Specialty dining. When 11 of us did want to eat together, they put us at separate tables next to each other. I think the most they could seat us was a table for 8. :(

 

Forgot to mention that we made reservations in AM early for dining at Skyline or Liberty. If you don't know what time you will need for reservations and just show up at restaurant, you are better off with a smaller group. We waited with pager for 10 minutes tops .....to be seated. That was at about 7-7:30 pm.

[curlerguy]

I noticed you said that you picked up luggage tags for disembarkation. Do they not send them to your cabin for you?

[punkincc]

I noticed you said that you picked up luggage tags for disembarkation. Do they not send them to your cabin for you?

 

They do not, because they do not know what time you want to leave the ship! The tags are color coded according to different departure times. You choose the tag that corresponds with the time you want to disembark.

[Hikini]

I have hesitated to take this cruise but only for one reason. We've been to Hawaii several times and love to be IN Hawaii. I'm afraid I wouldn't enjoy the ship and the cruise part of it as much as I should, just because I'd want to be on the land enjoying it all as we have before.

 

However, I'd love to see some of the vantage points you get from the ship, that you don't get on land.

 

Debating with myself is exhausting sometimes! :D

[punkincc]

I have hesitated to take this cruise but only for one reason. We've been to Hawaii several times and love to be IN Hawaii. I'm afraid I wouldn't enjoy the ship and the cruise part of it as much as I should, just because I'd want to be on the land enjoying it all as we have before.

 

However, I'd love to see some of the vantage points you get from the ship, that you don't get on land.

 

Debating with myself is exhausting sometimes! :D

 

We will be on this cruise in a few days. I really don't even think about it as I would a typical cruise. To me, it is more like a floating hotel that after an exhausting day ashore will take me to the next island adventure. I booked it because I wanted a taste of ALL of the islands. If you consider that you overnight in Maui and Kauai, and a long day at Kona and Hilo, you get quite a substantial bite, IMO, rather than just a taste. Much more on shore time than the typical cruise to be sure. We have a lot of touring time packed into this cruise. No way we could ever see and do all of this on a 7 day land vacation.

[Hikini]

We will be on this cruise in a few days. I really don't even think about it as I would a typical cruise. To me, it is more like a floating hotel that after an exhausting day ashore will take me to the next island adventure. I booked it because I wanted a taste of ALL of the islands. If you consider that you overnight in Maui and Kauai, and a long day at Kona and Hilo, you get quite a substantial bite, IMO, rather than just a taste. Much more on shore time than the typical cruise to be sure. We have a lot of touring time packed into this cruise. No way we could ever see and do all of this on a 7 day land vacation.

 

Thanks for your input. I'll look forward to your thoughts afterwards! Have a GREAT time!

[GrabMyWrist]

Thanks for your review. Just booked an Owners Suite for October 2016. Plenty of time to plan!

[AF-1]

I can tell you that POA is probably the most economical way of seeing the Hawaiian Islands. To be able to spend a overnight in Kauai and Maui, is worth the price. Doing a land tour requires you to pack up and airline island to island; the ship is definitely the way to go

[addisnana]

Great review racingraysswimom. You mention you stayed at the Outrigger. Any comments about your accommodations? Some reviews not very good. I know they are subjective. But since you were just there - thought I'd ask your opinion. Thanks.

[milolii]

I have hesitated to take this cruise but only for one reason. We've been to Hawaii several times and love to be IN Hawaii. I'm afraid I wouldn't enjoy the ship and the cruise part of it as much as I should, just because I'd want to be on the land enjoying it all as we have before.

 

However, I'd love to see some of the vantage points you get from the ship, that you don't get on land.

 

Debating with myself is exhausting sometimes! :D

 

This makes me laugh. We have the same issue. We have a second home on the Big Island. I understand how you feel. We watch the POA arrive and depart from Kona. We often take our kayaks out and get as close as we can. Each year we debate about taking this cruise. And ultimately decide our home and the waters off the Big Island are nicer. I advise those who ask, to visit for 10 days and 2 islands.

 

Still the POA is a nice way to see 4 Islands. And you do not have to cope with airports, packing, and unpacking, transports.

 

But someday we will take this cruise and stay on board by the pool for the Hilo and Kona stops. Now that would be fun.

 

OP. Mahalo for the review.

 

 

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