Aloha is Love - Review of POA in Hawaii with Pics, Menus & More

[sjmbruce]

The ship looks really nice! Thanks for sharing your photos!

 

Absolutely! I've got more to post - I can never take too many :)

[sjmbruce]

Thanks so much for taking the time to provide such a detailed review of your holiday.

We are booked with friends for next Feb are in the planning stages of what to do at each port as well as in Oahu pre cruise.

Thanks for the information about your experience with Germaine's Luau. I had done this one many years ago and did not have the experiences you had.

 

Does the cruise line offer a luau in Kauai ? or any other island ? I only ask because I read somewhere on CC that someone had to be back by 4pm for the ships luau at this port.

 

I'm glad 2 buckeyes could offer some luau advice - thanks!

 

NCL does offer a luau in Kauai. I'm not sure about the time you'd need to get back to port. It looks like you can also book an extended luau that starts at the plantation earlier with additional activities.

Edited April 20, 2016 by sjmbruce

[sjmbruce]

Another comfy place to lounge by the pool:

 

Hallway outside stateroom:

 

Pool at Waikiki Bar:

There was also a hot tub here. Even though there were some unruly kids running around the main pool and having splash fights in the hot tubs, we didn't go to the adult pool due to smoking being allowed at the bar.

[sjmbruce]

After taking some pictures of the ship, I picked my husband up and went to our now ready room. We returned to the main pool for a Hawaiian blessing and some hula dancing.

 

 

[sjmbruce]

We explored the ship a little and found a few spots for sailing away from Honolulu.

 

 

We then headed to our first and only meal in the main dining room. I had made reservations for 7:30 and we were seated immediately.

Edited April 20, 2016 by sjmbruce

[sjmbruce]

Main Dining Room Menu, First Night:

 

 

 

 

[sjmbruce]

Crab & Cheese Souffle:

 

Roasted (aka raw) Butternut Squash Salad:

 

My fish, that was unfortunately under cooked:

 

Chocolate Lava Cake:

Edited April 20, 2016 by sjmbruce

[sjmbruce]

I really wanted to like the main dining room. I liked it so much on my previous cruises that I was looking forward to good food, great service and nice atmosphere. After receiving raw and under cooked food, we left hungry at 10:00pm, two and a half hours after being seated. We were exhausted and just wanted to go to bed. After all, tomorrow we would be in Maui!

[Kattus]

I really wanted to like the main dining room. I liked it so much on my previous cruises that I was looking forward to good food, great service and nice atmosphere. After receiving raw and under cooked food, we left hungry at 10:00pm, two and a half hours after being seated. We were exhausted and just wanted to go to bed. After all, tomorrow we would be in Maui!

Never dealt with undercooked food, but I remember ordering gnocchi on the Breakaway and it was pretty gross. We didn't go back to the dining room.

 

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[horseymike]

I am really enjoying your review and photos. Great work.:D

[Kattus]

I know I'm pushing your review a few days, but I'm dying to know, did the ship do the Kilauea Volcano sail-by?:D

[fridaythe13th]

Thank you for your review!

[rockfsh]

Were the dailies from your cruise the same as these from this post in 2015?

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2251720

[sjmbruce]

I am really enjoying your review and photos. Great work.:D

 

thanks, I'm glad you're enjoying it :)

[sjmbruce]

I know I'm pushing your review a few days, but I'm dying to know, did the ship do the Kilauea Volcano sail-by?:D

 

Unfortunately not. I have no clue about past cruises, but the guide we had at VNP said that lava has not been flowing into the ocean for a couple of years and that no lava has been reachable by foot or boat for awhile. I looked on the internet and there's some conflicting reports but generally the consensus was lava hasn't been viewable by boat since 2013 or 2014. Bummer!

What it did do was help me to make the decision that we have to go back to Hawaii so we can go return to VNP, try to find some lava by air, and do a nighttime glow tour.

[sjmbruce]

Thank you for your review!

 

Thanks for reading :) I'm glad people are enjoying it!

[Kattus]

Unfortunately not. I have no clue about past cruises, but the guide we had at VNP said that lava has not been flowing into the ocean for a couple of years and that no lava has been reachable by foot or boat for awhile. I looked on the internet and there's some conflicting reports but generally the consensus was lava hasn't been viewable by boat since 2013 or 2014. Bummer!

What it did do was help me to make the decision that we have to go back to Hawaii so we can go return to VNP, try to find some lava by air, and do a nighttime glow tour.

[emoji20] oh phooey! Thanks for letting me know so I don't get disappointed later. In the meanwhile, YouTube has some great videos of lava flowing into the ocean, so that'll suffice

 

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[billslowsky]

Thanks for reading :) I'm glad people are enjoying it!

 

Agreed! Thanks for posting these!

[travelbugforever]

The ship looks really nice! Thanks for sharing your photos!

 

I agree! Wonderful pictures:)

[travelbugforever]

We explored the ship a little and found a few spots for sailing away from Honolulu.

 

 

We then headed to our first and only meal in the main dining room. I had made reservations for 7:30 and we were seated immediately.

 

Do you need to make reservations, or can you just show up?

[sjmbruce]

Do you need to make reservations, or can you just show up?

 

You can definitely just show up. I only made the reservations so we wouldn't have to wait at all.

Edited April 21, 2016 by sjmbruce

[D&N LUV 2 TRAVEL]

You can definitely just show up. I only made the reservations so we wouldn't have to wait at all.

 

Mind my ignorance but this will be my first time with Norwegian. I have previously sailed with Princess and they have their Anytime dining which means you go to the dining room and it's 1st come 1st served. If you wish you can ask to sit at a larger table and they will add the next people in the line that want that similar choice. They would also allow reservations after the non peak times (after 7:30 pm)

 

I was wondering what the "Open Seating" dining means ? I hear you can make reservations but is there a certain time frame where no reservations are accepted ? Can you ask to be at a larger table ?

[sjmbruce]

Mind my ignorance but this will be my first time with Norwegian. I have previously sailed with Princess and they have their Anytime dining which means you go to the dining room and it's 1st come 1st served. If you wish you can ask to sit at a larger table and they will add the next people in the line that want that similar choice. They would also allow reservations after the non peak times (after 7:30 pm)

 

I was wondering what the "Open Seating" dining means ? I hear you can make reservations but is there a certain time frame where no reservations are accepted ? Can you ask to be at a larger table ?

 

Hopefully someone with more experience with NCL can answer. This was my third cruise and my previous two were with Princess. We only ate at the main dining room once and we had reservations.

Here's how I think it works. There's no anytime or fixed dining. You can't elect to dine everyday at 6:00pm at a four top table with the same waitstaff. It's just freestyle, meaning you can choose to make reservations or choose to show up when you'd like. If you just show up, there could be a line. There were larger tables so perhaps you can ask to sit with others.

 

If anyone has a correction for my understanding of NCL dining, please chime in.

[sjmbruce]

Here is the Freestyle Daily from day one. It's my first time uploading something like this, so hopefully it works well enough to be helpful.

 

 

 

 

An insert regarding dining:

 

 

[rockfsh]

Thanks for trying but the pictures are too small to read and the resolution too low to blow up on the dailies.