POA post drydock

[dexddd]

NO cell at sea service - signed up with Verizon before trip and about 1.5 days in no service. Asked onboard and no one knows - they aren't familiar. Finally asked Captain at party tonight and he said ship never had the cell tower - maybe chengpk can confirm.

 

I see Merriem has posted some pics and I won't be giving as much info as originally planned due to being on NCL wifi until we get to Hawaii. New colors are dark browns and dark teals. Other areas rich reds or light pinks. Ship looks good in most cases but could have used one more week in drydock.

 

Klaus was at the CC M&G but didn't talk and left with HD before the questions arose about whether the OBC is refundable.

 

Mixed overall - crew working hard and nice overall but seem to be struggling against the ship operations side of things. New Cagneys lunch menu - no more steak but it was very good plus new roast beef sandwich. Service painfully slow there as they "are dealing with new menus" and apologies help out.

[chengkp75]

NO cell at sea service - signed up with Verizon before trip and about 1.5 days in no service. Asked onboard and no one knows - they aren't familiar. Finally asked Captain at party tonight and he said ship never had the cell tower - maybe chengpk can confirm.

 

I see Merriem has posted some pics and I won't be giving as much info as originally planned due to being on NCL wifi until we get to Hawaii. New colors are dark browns and dark teals. Other areas rich reds or light pinks. Ship looks good in most cases but could have used one more week in drydock.

 

Klaus was at the CC M&G but didn't talk and left with HD before the questions arose about whether the OBC is refundable.

 

Mixed overall - crew working hard and nice overall but seem to be struggling against the ship operations side of things. New Cagneys lunch menu - no more steak but it was very good plus new roast beef sandwich. Service painfully slow there as they "are dealing with new menus" and apologies help out.

 

Cellular at Sea actually piggybacks off the satellite data/internet provider domes, I can't remember who NCL uses. However, the POA was never subscribed to Cellular at Sea, and this is actually noted at the bottom of NCL's "staying connected @ sea" page.

 

When we were rolling out new menus, etc, they tried to have the galley staff and wait staff prepare these dishes during drydock, and have the officers act as guests to hone service. If the drydock was too intensive, many of the officers and supervisors don't have the time to do a sit down full dinner, so this plan sometimes falls apart.

[dexddd]

Thanks for the info about Cell at Sea. Never saw it on the NCL page but never really looked. Verizon sold it so I'll deal with them when I get home. Card in room says CellatSea but Capt. said that was probably generic card.

 

Other info:

 

A few updates. Still no Nav Channel so not sure where we are. Yesterday at 12:30 p.m. we had travelled 297 knots and doing 19.1 knots. Captain Ron (no likeness to Kurt Russell) said we still had a long way to go. He is a young guy and I’m sure the ladies would think he is better looking than Kurt Russell.

 

Weather much nicer today. 3 of 4 main hot tubs open today vs. only 1 yesterday. Both main pools were open today but then the larger one was drained and not sure what they are doing. Deck 13 above and behind pool all closed off – lots of work on exterior areas including most of the “gutters” seemed to be scrapped and awaiting paint. Load of buckets of pressure sensitive adhesive on 13. Must be what we were told they had problems using “cement here and there on the deck during drydock due to all the rain” plus problem applying other sealants, grout, etc.

 

A few guys with “Techni Teak” jackets on, a few guys from a Dutch or German firm, lots of what appear to be NCL Maintenance guys out fixing lights, clocks, railings, etc. Also some guys from Scottish Decorators Marine. Most of the work inside appears done. They did swap out the red cushions on balcony furniture to new green ones – still the same brown furniture like on the newer ships. Quite a few of the loungers outside the pool area are in pretty rough shape.

 

The noon update we were at 30-46-135-??? If any of you can decipher that – I may have it wrong as I was in the hallway and had to listen then write it down. Also apologize about this – not sure if Capt. Said we had gone 488 knots since last update or total. I’m guessing since last update around noon yesterday.

 

Temp 64, 4 meter swells. We ran into some fog and it seems we slowed down quite a bit but no clear. Chengpk – is there a protocol for fog?

CC’ers did cabin crawl and we had fun. Our floor has new carpet in hall but no fish. Some floors had new carpet but no fish. Others – deck 7 – had the old Hawaiian type carpet.

 

Did I say the food has been great – it has been.

[Merriem]

Cellular at Sea actually piggybacks off the satellite data/internet provider domes, I can't remember who NCL uses. However, the POA was never subscribed to Cellular at Sea, and this is actually noted at the bottom of NCL's "staying connected @ sea" page.

 

 

 

When we were rolling out new menus, etc, they tried to have the galley staff and wait staff prepare these dishes during drydock, and have the officers act as guests to hone service. If the drydock was too intensive, many of the officers and supervisors don't have the time to do a sit down full dinner, so this plan sometimes falls apart.

 

 

With reference to the new menus. Slow service in Cagney's and poor everything at La Cucina. The Bistro is great

[mking8288]

... Other info: A few updates. Still no Nav Channel so not sure where we are. Yesterday at 12:30 p.m. we had travelled 297 knots and doing 19.1 knots. Captain Ron (no likeness to Kurt Russell) said we still had a long way to go.

 

The noon update we were at 30-46-135-??? If any of you can decipher that – ... Said we had gone 488 knots since last update or total. I’m guessing since last update around noon yesterday.

 

Temp 64, 4 meter swells. We ran into some fog and it seems we slowed down quite a bit but no clear ...

Did I say the food has been great – it has been.

 

Mahalo, Dexddd - thanks for efforts to maintain live posting, how are you managing it without data access to your plan (VZW or otherwise) ? ... so, you do have some means of broadband access on the POA.

 

Looked up some data, distance between SFO & Kahului is roughly 2,234 NM and as such, you might be doing this crossing for several more days unless conditions can allow the ship to gain some speed. Marine traffic site I'm using showed ETA of 21 March at 18:07 - about 3 days ?? to cover 1,500+ nautical miles ... hmmm. That sounded like pretty challenging with 4 meters or 13 ft. waves, although those sleek ships certainly were built and can handle it (our Gem sailing in 2012 right after Sandy ... we're doing almost 25 knots for a good 10 to 12+ hours overnight punching thru an incoming Noreaster)

 

Those 3 sets of numbers were likely your longtitudes and latitudes, a 2nd. set of numbers needed to plot/pinpoint your locations on maps, etc. - suffice to say, you are in somewhere safely crossing the Pacific, far out of any radar ranges ... but, looking skyward - tracking by satellites are likely.

 

Sunday is the first day of Spring & weather forecast for NYC now calling for 2" to 4" of wet snow early on Sunday, continuing & mostly wet, into the evening - making for a messy & sloppy wet Monday commute on the roads ... much rather be in the Aloha mindset, LOL.

 

Watch out for those wild red roosters running free all over Kahului, they are everywhere. Regards :D

Edited March 19, 2016 by mking8288

[herdingdogmom]

Thanks for the live updates. It has been several years since we were on the POA, but one thing I remember about cell phones and service is to turn off the phone or put in airplane mode when you are sailing at night from island to island. If the phone is on, it tries to connect to the land cell towers all night and in the morning the phone is dead. Have a great cruise.

[chengkp75]

Distances are in nautical miles, speed is in knots, just to pick nits.

 

If you're doing 19 knots, the time to get to Hawaii is 4 days, 14 hours, minus the time changes. In any 24 hour period, you should cover about 460 nm. She still has some reserve to handle seas, though 4m is not that rough.

 

Techni Teak are the guys that work on the wood decks around the pools. If the weather was too bad in dock, they couldn't get the caulking between planks done, so there may be sections roped off. The other two firms do the interiors of the hotel. If they've completed their work, then they get a free cruise.

 

The first two numbers are your lattitude (north/south). SF is around 37* 45m north, while Kahului is 20* 55m north.

 

The third number and the one you missed are your longitude (east/west). SF is 122* 25m west, while Kahului is 156* 30m west.

 

With regards to fog, with no visible references, it may seem like you've slowed, but may not have. Out in the middle of the ocean, with a couple of good radars working, there is no need to slow down, but they may be working to make a timed arrival. In confined waters (around ports, or in the traffic separation schemes outside ports, or in heavy traffic areas, they will slow down some in fog.

 

Capt. Ron was one of the original US officers, as Staff Captain with me back in 2004 on the inaugural of the Pride of Aloha. Your in good hands, he takes the guest service part of his job very much to heart.

[dexddd]

Thanks everyone for the updates. I see Merriem is also posting some info so hopefully this is not duplicate. We are doing around 460 nm each day. We have 800+ to go.

 

We met Troy from Environmental so you may know him Chengkp since he said he worked on Pride of Aloha. Service is great overall.

 

One less thing for us CCer’s to argue about size/number – the shrimp cockatail at Cagneys Lunch is gone.

 

Food has been very good.

[gwsster]

Thanks Dexddd, I have been following your posts and those of Merriem. Your observations of what is happening on the ship is fun for me to read. I do wonder why they still have the Hawaiian carpet on deck 7? Maybe didn't have time to change it out. I will miss the fishes though. I love knowing which way was forward on the ship.

[dexddd]

Sunday mid-day and warmer yet again, slight seas. They have been having BBQ on pool deck today and last two days.

 

Gym appears to have all new TechnoGym equipment and it is quite nice and nice variety. Still lots of work on 13 deck as well as various areas here and there. Back pool was closed yesterday when we went by and lounge chairs but no pads – maybe they are changing them over to the new ones?

 

Dinner at La Cucina last night. Service was good enough. For those who have said it was like going to Olive Garden, the menu is vastly different. Personally, I kind of liked the old menu. We sat next to a nice couple who have sailed POA 3 times and lived in Hawaii for 7 years before going back to California. They gave us some tips like getting Kona coffee and macadamia nuts at the Costco. Works for us.

 

Chengkp75 – thanks for the info above and I apologize for getting your name wrong in one of the posts and for correcting my confusion on nm and knots – I was thinking about that after I posted.

 

MKing – funny you talk about the chickens. When we went on the Spirit in Dec., we asked our Steward if he was going ashore any of the days and he said he wasn’t sure but might go to KFC if he got a chance. So we were walking around Grand Cayman and walk by the small red KFC and what is in front of the store – a bunch of chickens. We later walked by the Burger King but didn’t see any cows grazing.

 

They have been having Teppanyaki lunch on some days but no one signed up yesterday. Overall and talking to others, not a lot of specialty dinners on this cruise.

[mking8288]

Good evening, dexddd - thanks for keeping us entertained with updates ... less than 24 hours to go before seeing land, Maui on the horizon & to exercise those sea legs :D

 

Anything of interest in the comfort food category from the Cadillac Diner ?

 

While you might not get any chicken at the Maui pier to welcome your arrival, you will definitely come across the descendants of these free ranging red roosters, the feral chickens, often joked as the unofficial bird for the island of Kauai - they are plumb and loud, crowing all day & night - noisy. The population of roosters exceeding that of people living in Kauai, I was told.

Here's a picture for your reference, LOL - https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/64025118/NCL%20Cruising%20-%20General/DSC00182.JPG

 

The other tip - if you venture on your own, make a morning pitstop at a nearby McD - checkout the localized breakfast specials - only in Hawaii - served with rice, seriously - I am not kidding.

https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/64025118/NCL%20Cruising%20-%20General/DSC00355-09.jpg

 

FYI - here in NY, the arrival of Spring is greeted by "snow" - which has turned into a dud mostly in the city, just a coating on colder surfaces & wet roads overnight - warming up to the 60's by midweek.

 

Enjoying your evening & doing fine dining, I hope - are there shows during this crossing as I can't imagine not having a casino for some action for much of the week, LOL. With new HDTV installed as mentioned (I think) by Merriem, interactive TV should be rolled out or not ? including PPV selections ?

[dexddd]

Arrived

 

 

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[greatlakesgirl]

Thanks so much for this thread, love the positivity of your posts! Let us know about your days spent on the islands. Enjoy! :)

[GeezerCouple]

Arrived

 

 

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Thanks for the update!

 

So... do you (or maybe others) have a "regular" PoA cruise now?

Or does everyone have to get off, and then it's just like regular?

 

And does it look like they got most (all?) of the "leftover" work completed?

 

Were you the one who mentioned "temporary" carpeting somewhere?

I assume that wasn't planned...?

 

I hope you all had a great time despite the difficulties, and that you enjoy Hawaii now.

[akswimmom]

No, still lots of work left to do. I've heard the spa still won't be ready to open even by the end of our cruise.

[dexddd]

Thanks Dexddd, I have been following your posts and those of Merriem. Your observations of what is happening on the ship is fun for me to read. I do wonder why they still have the Hawaiian carpet on deck 7? Maybe didn't have time to change it out. I will miss the fishes though. I love knowing which way was forward on the ship.

 

 

We walked all floors and the old carpet is on several. Areas by elevators and a short distance down have new carpet as do 12, 13, maybe 11 and all public floors.

 

Some of the floors do have new fish carpet darker tones than the other ships,

 

 

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[dexddd]

We do 6 days and didn't have to get off just one long cruise. Times a bit different and only one Maui day.

 

 

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[dexddd]

 

 

 

 

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[dexddd]

Ex deck 8

 

 

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[barnacle_boy]

No, still lots of work left to do. I've heard the spa still won't be ready to open even by the end of our cruise.

 

It'll be another several weeks at least.

[dexddd]

It'll be another several weeks at least.

 

It doesn't seem like there is much going on in that area as I've seen workers all over other places but that area has been completely closed off. A couple guys from BOLIDT I saw maybe once in the gym area close to the spa door.

 

Still lots of work on 13 and 14 and haven't been accessible other than for the cabin areas on 13. Lots of work grinding old paint off on 6 in the gutters and behind lifeboats.

[dexddd]

They still have some of the old Sole tvs around but our room has new Samsung TVs with the interactive options - quite nice although some glitches they are working on like the menus. They were there the first couple days but not now - we talked to someone who said they had to make some corrections so maybe they took them down.

 

PPV movies - 50 pretty current titles and you can stop and save and watch them later. We are triple or double booked at restaurants in some cases on the tv but concierge says he can't see that just one reservation each night.

[dexddd]

 

Someone asked about 12504 balcony - best I can do without invading privacy at the moment

 

 

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[dexddd]

 

New furniture by key west bar

 

 

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[dexddd]

 

 

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