Aloha~! A Photo Trip Report of the POA - 10/11/14

[Miicah]

can't wait to read more

 

Thank you for reading so far! More's on the way!

 

I wonder if the cruise ever starts! Thanks for your review so far but what about your cruise on POA?

 

The cruise does start, haha. I mentioned it's the next part :p Don't worry!

[Miicah]

Looking forward to hearing more about the cruise portion of the review! :D

 

Thank you! =D It's coming up in just a minute!

[Miicah]

Day 8 – 10/11/14 – Embarkation

 

(Totally just remembered I can't edit my first post to link here, haha. Oh well!)

 

It was a bittersweet day! Half of our vacation was over, but the start of our very first cruise was coming up! Since the POA arrives back at Honolulu at 7am, my mom was up at like 6am since she wanted to see it come into the pier. She woke me up when it was near to take some pictures.

 

 

 

For breakfast we headed to IHOP one last time. We won’t be able to eat here until the next time we’re in the States!

 

 

Afterward we headed back to the condo to finish packing and ‘check out’ with whom I believe was the owner of the unit. Then we headed downstairs and outside the lobby to wait for our ‘hotel’ to pier transfer from GO808Express that was supposed to come at 11am. Keyword was supposed. It was maybe five minutes later and we were thinking, where are they? My mom headed inside to use the phone at the front desk (the people there were quite rude, by the way. I guess they’re not pleasant to anyone who’s not their guest and stays there privately).

 

Apparently you’re supposed to call and confirm the day before, which is odd because the only reservation both their website and the emails they sent me say you only need to confirm hotel to airport transfers. It wouldn’t have been a problem if they had told me that, since there is a landline in the condo I could’ve used. They were also quite rude with my mom about it, saying how they called and left messages on my phone. Well, unless you plan on paying my roaming charges, I don’t see why I should have to have my phone available to take or make a call I wasn’t told I was going to get or have to make.

 

Since we didn’t confirm with them they gave our reservation to someone else and didn’t have any extra to pick us up. Wasn’t too impressed with them at all, especially when they said we couldn’t confirm our port to airport transfer that day and had to call when we arrived back at the port next Saturday. Like, really? I’m telling you right now. We ended up calling a cab, and it only cost a dollar more than GO808Express. Don’t plan on using them again if I return to Oahu unless it’s an airport to hotel transfer, since that was the only part I liked of their service.

 

Anywhoo, our first look of the POA docked on our way to the pier!

 

 

I’ve read a lot about porters and whatnot from the different reviews I’ve read of other ships, but that service doesn’t exist here, haha.

 

Edited December 26, 2014 by Miicah

[Miicah]

When you enter you head to the left first to drop off your baggage. I guess I’ll mention now that we were mailed our luggage tags since we were in a suite, so you don’t have to live in the States for that suite service. It was just something I read in a thread on the NCL board, so I thought I’d put that out there. After that you head to the right for security—if you have a pen on you, it’d be easier to fill out the paper they give you.

 

 

 

 

Once you clear that, you enter the main hub for passenger check in. You’re given a lei, and then ushered towards the first ship picture (before you’re even on the ship, haha).

 

 

 

[Miicah]

I kinda forgot through all the excitement to take a picture, but we arrived at this point maybe around noon and the lines were crazy! Luckily, I read on here that suite passengers check in somewhere else, so we asked and were directed to a separate room. There were two families ahead of us, but it went by so quickly we didn’t really have time to sit and take in the drinks and food offered, haha.

 

Once you’re done checking in, someone escorts you up to the ship. It’s kinda hard to see her, but our escort is silhouetted here, haha. She was one of the many Filipino workers we met during the week! There’s another picture when you hit the gangway (the one in my very first post).

 

 

 

 

We were then escorted to the Napa Wine Bar, where we were given a glass of champagne (I wasn’t carded!) and met the concierge, Thomas. After a small chat about the spa, photo studio and shore excursions and whatnot, we went into Cagney’s for lunch, which is open to suite passengers only for breakfast and lunch, and then open to the ship for dinner.

 

 

Lunch menu (click for larger image). The lunch (and breakfast) menus don’t change for the week, I believe. We never ended up eating here for dinner so I don't know about their dinner menus, but I do like their lunch. Not a big fan of their breakfast, but the lack of crowds was a plus.

 

 

A view from our table. Not exactly as grand as I thought it’d be for a generally suite-only restaurant, haha.

 

 

[Miicah]

I’m told you can order things that are also not on the menu, and though I can’t comment food wise, I was able to order a mai tai (apparently Hawaii's offical drink; also wasn’t carded for it!), which isn’t listed on their drink menus.

 

 

 

 

 

Edited December 26, 2014 by Miicah

[Miicah]

When we were done Thomas came around and told us that there was an announcement about cabins being ready. I found it odd that the announcement can’t be heard inside the restaurant, but it is what it is I guess. I was pleasantly surprised that our bags were also there, since I also read a lot of reviews saying otherwise. A suite perk, I guess? Haha, either way, I’m liking it! I want to point out the colour of the doors. On the other floors, suite cabins are painted a different colour from inside rooms (which are white), but as you can see that is not the case on deck 13. Maybe they didn’t have the paint anymore at the time of the POA’s dry dock, haha.

 

 

So, we were on Suite 13508. We played a bit of musical chairs where the stateroom was concerned. After hearing from friends that have cruised that a balcony cabin was the way to go, I eventually chose 8206 after stumbling upon Cruise Critic while doing my research and learning that aft cabins were highly recommended—this was back in January. A couple of months later my dad decides he might want to tag along, so in order to have room for him I changed our cabin to a two-bedroom family suite, 8702, still in aft. Eventually he backed out because his pride wouldn’t allow him to take a trip he can’t pay for (who doesn’t want a free vacation, yeesh!), but then my mom and I could have our own room so I was like whatever.

 

Then a few months later my aunts decide they want to come along, so I call my PCC to see if I could add them in—turns out I couldn’t because the lifeboat capacity was filled for that section. He then tells me I could get a free upgrade to a penthouse suite, though—pay the same price as the cabin I currently have but get more room. Apparently they were having trouble selling the penthouses, so I was like sure, why not. At first he tried to give me one the ones overlooking the pool on deck 11 (I guess he misunderstood me when I said those were near the pool and he was like no, those are two decks down haha), but I didn’t feel that had enough privacy so I was able to get 13508 on the port side. Of course, my aunts ended up having to back out too since they were moving and needed the rent money, but yay, more room for us, haha.

 

Anywhoo, enough rambling! Onto the cabin! I got to have this bed all to myself, since my mom decided the birthday girl should have it, haha. She ended up getting the Murphy bed that pulls down from the wall that you can see on the other side of the curtain. The main bed is tall enough that we were able to put our luggage underneath, which I thought was super neat.

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Miicah]

The bathroom. The fan was always on as there isn’t a switch to turn it off (that I could find, anyway). Careful when you walk in, though, as there’s this piece you could trip over.

 

 

 

 

We had no idea how to use the shower and at the time we haven’t seen our room steward yet, so my mom ended up finding another room steward—small world, she’s cousins with one of my mom’s classmates back in the Philippines, haha. She was a doll, super helpful, and tracked down our room steward for us!

 

 

Never used the bathtub, but there are “luxury bath packages” you can order.

 

 

Suites come with those special toiletries. I heard they don’t get refilled but ours did, haha. We had an awesome room steward in Edwin! Apparently he’s from my mom’s region up north but can’t speak the dialect, haha.

 

[Miicah]

One of two closets outside the bathroom. This one had the life jackets and the keypad safe. The mirrored one had the robes and slippers (which I never even noticed until the end! I was so bummed, I hate wearing shoes inside a house).

 

 

The free champagne and water! Totally took that champagne home, haha.

 

 

I've read that there's not enough storage or outlets on cabins, but totally not the case in a suite.

 

 

Not sure who that booklet belonged to, but it had Korean post it notes.

 

 

The sofa could also pull out into a bed. Apparently you can rent movies but I never saw the DVD player, so not sure how that would’ve worked out.

 

 

The Lavazza coffee machine people seem to like so much. I don’t drink coffee or tea, but my mom tried a cup and she liked it, so I guess it’s good, haha. Underneath is the mini fridge, and I had that emptied via a note I wrote to our room steward before we met him.

 

Edited December 26, 2014 by Miicah

[Miicah]

Our large balcony. Don’t mind the clothes—we washed some clothes at the condo last minute and didn’t have the time to try them all the way, haha. It’s only partially covered—if you go all the way to the railing you can turn and see deck 14. The only issue I had was that the door was hard to open and close—a little piece of the rubber was out. I also wrote about that in my aforementioned note, and Edwin showed us the trick of putting the handle all the way up so it’s easier to pull. Wonder when they’ll get that fixed, though.

 

 

 

 

At some point while we were inside our butler Jose came by. I immediately reserved Teppanyaki with him.

[Miicah]

 

 

 

 

 

[Miicah]

 

 

[Miicah]

After that, we did some walking around. The weird thing about deck 13 is that you can’t take the midship elevator and expect to be able to reach your cabin. If you do, you find out you’ll have to walk down to deck 12, go across and head up the stairs back to deck 13. If you want the cabins, take the forward elevator or get off the midship one on deck 12.

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Miicah]

 

 

 

We watched part of the sailaway from this area in the aft of the ship.

 

 

 

[Miicah]

The top gangway on deck 5 is what you use for embarking and debarking in Honolulu. The bottom one on deck 3 is what you use when the boat is at port.

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Miicah]

 

 

 

 

 

[Miicah]

 

I believe you could get extra beach towels here.

 

 

 

 

 

I always wanted to try the Jacuzzi but never did end up using it, even though they were pretty empty in the early evening before they’re closed for the night. Same goes for the pool, though I had no desire to get in there, haha.

 

[Miicah]

Pretty sure every deck at each of the staircases had pretty pictures in the landings between decks. I don’t think I ended up taking a picture of them all, haha.

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Miicah]

 

 

 

 

 

[Miicah]

 

 

 

 

 

[Miicah]

 

You have to go through the Napa Wine Bar to reach Cagney's.

 

 

 

 

 

[Miicah]

The tender boats.

 

 

 

One of the MDRs, Skyline is on deck 5 aft. Liberty, the MDR with the dress code, is right above on deck 6. There’s a staircase inside Skyline to go up there so you don’t have to take the long way around.

 

 

 

You can guess the price of one of their pieces throughout the week, and if you’re right you win!

 

 

[Miicah]

 

 

 

 

 

I bought the model of this ship as a souvenir!

 

[Miicah]

Inside here is the sushi bar and Teppanyaki.

 

 

 

 

I’ve heard you could check your account on the TV, but that’s not the case with NCL (at least not on the POA). You’ll have to go Guest Services and ask them to print it out for you whenever you wanna see it.

 

 

 

[Miicah]

All the pictures the ship takes are displayed in the Photo Gallery. I got talked into buying one of their packages (I also joke whenever I see the guy who talked me into it, Fred—also Filipino!—that I was gonna kill him, haha), but we were offered that other package of photos of the ship and whatnot for free so I was like eh, whatever, haha. We went to every photo shoot the ship had, though, haha. You’re able to store all your photos and pick the ones you want in the end, and it turned out we liked more than our package allows, haha. We didn’t upgrade to a higher one, though.

 

 

I think reading a lot of different reviews kinda hurt me on the shops, since I was so used to reading about the amount of shops and all the duty free and whatnot—but since the POA doesn’t go into international waters, there was none of that, haha. There are only three shops on the POA.

 

 

 

Our cabin’s muster station was here. We didn’t have to bring the life jackets or anything. I know a lot of people complain about the drill but I didn’t think it was all that bad. Definitely better than taking the makeup on while you’re docked in Maui.