Hawaii "security" compared to Alaska security

[Sunburg1]

We are very experienced senior citizen cruises, with 45 plus cruises on most cruise lines. Our POA cruise was routine in most respects but a couple of very negative items really bother us. The second may or may not be the responsibility of NCL, the first is.

 

After fairly quick check-in we found that at 2 PM the rooms were not ready and they were not available until 3:45 PM! After that it was a daily occurance to find the room not cleaned until about 2 PM and evening turn down did not occur until 9 PM. It appears obvious to me that the ship is very short staffed.

 

The other big gripe was the excessive useless and unpleasant “security”. On every occasion the excursion bus was stopped and every passenger was required to show a picture ID and ship card. OK, but then the bus would move 50 feet with the doors closed and then everyone would have to show a picture ID and ship card AGAIN when they got off. What did they expect to happen in that 50 feet. EVERYWHERE you went you encountered a surly unfriendly rent-a cop demanding picture ID and ship card.

 

Now we are back from an 14 day HAL Alaska cruise and the difference in security was amazing. There was only the security presence that was needed, and yes. the military installations in Alaska are at least as important as those in Hawaii. Security people were friendly and helpful.

 

I am sure again that is not the cruise line that provides security. But I do know that the HAL staff I dealt with were by far more friendly and professional that the NCL people I had conta with.

[Silver Sweethearts]

The other big gripe was the excessive useless and unpleasant “security”. On every occasion the excursion bus was stopped and every passenger was required to show a picture ID and ship card. OK, but then the bus would move 50 feet with the doors closed and then everyone would have to show a picture ID and ship card AGAIN when they got off. What did they expect to happen in that 50 feet. EVERYWHERE you went you encountered a surly unfriendly rent-a cop demanding picture ID and ship card.

 

So that we might better address the situation, please tell us where "EVERYWHERE" was on Maui.

[FranknBeans]

The security procedure for Hawaii has been like that for years, just like they have tighter controls for alcohol and NO gambling. The security people have a job to do and don't need to be distracted, they are no different than airport security.

And what is your point of 45 cruises there are many others here with way more than that and are still cruising and cruising Hawaii.

Suggest you stay with Hal if your that dissatisfied.

We have done this cruise many times w/o issue nor any staff issues either

[punkincc]

We have done this POA cruise twice and did not find anything different security wise while off the ship than on any other trip, including the Caribbean and Alaska.

 

Blame Homeland Security or whatever agency it is that governs Port Security these days. We were asked to present ID and ship cards before our vehicle entered the Ports when returning from excursions. This keeps the ship safe, and I'm all for it. This happened everywhere, not just Hawaii. On an Alaskan tour involving a train which entered Canada, they boarded the train and we had to show passports. In some Ports, there is a building you walk through inside the Port where sometimes this info is requested again. We had been advised by NCL of Port ID requirements, so it was expected, and not really an inconvenience, taking literally seconds, but we avoid the big bus tours where it may take longer to check many people. In all cases, the security was polite and professional. I assume they have good reason for the rules they have, so I don't complain.

 

As far as cabin availability, we have cruised other lines and don't recall that our cabin was ever ready when we boarded. It takes a long time to service a thousand odd cabins. POA passengers probably tend to board a bit later on the whole because many fly in from the Mainland or elsewhere on the day of or they want to tour before boarding since the ship does not leave until 7:00 pm. The decks are completed one by one untill all are done. 3:45 does not sound completely unreasonable since the ship does not sail until 7:00 pm. Luck of the draw whether your deck is first or last. Same goes for the cabin steward in making up rooms and turn down service. We have never had a problem, but keep in mind that the steward cannot read your mind. If someone likes to retire early nightly and finds that the cabin is not serviced early enough, usually all one has to do is to mention it to the steward who can then shuffle his schedule to accommodate you. If he is not cooperative, then it should be discussed with the Housekeeping Supervisor or the HD. One thing to mention, which is completely obvious, but we have done it ourselves, is to forget to turn to sign at the door to "Welcome" or "Service" or "Turn Down". If you leave and have it flipped over to "Do Not Disturb", don't the expect to have a made up cabin when you return.

 

We have found the POA staff to be friendly and professional, but they are mostly American ( and therefore tend to have a bit of a different attitude toward passengers than their mostly Filipino counterparts on other ships ) due to the fact that the ship is flagged in the USA and must therefore have a large percentage of US citizens as employees rather than the predominately Filipino population of the other ships. We don't like a lot of fawning, so it did not bother us at all.

Edited September 1, 2016 by punkincc

[CruiserBruce]

 

As far as cabin availability, we have cruised other lines and don't recall that our cabin was ever ready when we boarded. It takes a long time to service a thousand odd cabins. POA passengers probably tend to board a bit later on the whole because many fly in from the Mainland or elsewhere on the day of or they want to tour before boarding since the ship does not leave until 7:00 pm. The decks are completed one by one untill all are done. 3:45 does not sound completely unreasonable since the ship does not sail until 7:00 pm. Luck of the draw whether your deck is first or last.

 

OP is used to/spoiled by HAL, where the cabins are available by noon at the latest. Not all cruise lines follow that goal/procedure, but HAL certainly does.

[relic2]

While I had several issues on the POA this past January, they were taken care of quickly and efficiently. Our cabin steward couldn't have been better. In fact, we were so pleased with the overall experience, that we booked the same cruise for next January.

 

I don't mind, in the least, the port security. Most of the ports not only serve the cruise ships, but container ships. I am glad to see security personnel doing their jobs thoroughly.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[kgymn]

OP is used to/spoiled by HAL, where the cabins are available by noon at the latest. Not all cruise lines follow that goal/procedure, but HAL certainly does.

 

Honestly I don't think that the OP is spoiled. I am very low maintenance but the OP is correct that it can take FOREVER for the rooms to be ready. We typically cruise on Carnival, personally. But the only real negative I can think of with out POA cruise was how LONG it took the rooms to be ready. It took so long that I messaged a friend who had done the cruise a week or two prior to see when their rooms were ready, theirs had been ready much earlier though so it seems to be hit or miss which weeks take a long time.

 

The biggest issue to me was that they tell you when checking in that rooms are supposed to be ready before 3. When it hits 3:00 and only 2 floors of rooms are ready, each minute that passes waiting and waiting drags on. We barely had time to drop our carry on items in our room before our CC meet n greet, never mind that our invitation for that was AT our cabin, but more I felt if it was going to take until 3:30/3:45 for most of the rooms to actually be ready, they should have just said that up front.

 

It certainly didn't ruin our trip but it didn't leave a very good first impression. I was less bothered by the security, but we only had to show our IDs entering the port area not when getting off the buses last year.

 

~Katy

[punkincc]

Honestly I don't think that the OP is spoiled. I am very low maintenance but the OP is correct that it can take FOREVER for the rooms to be ready. We typically cruise on Carnival, personally. But the only real negative I can think of with out POA cruise was how LONG it took the rooms to be ready. It took so long that I messaged a friend who had done the cruise a week or two prior to see when their rooms were ready, theirs had been ready much earlier though so it seems to be hit or miss which weeks take a long time.

 

The biggest issue to me was that they tell you when checking in that rooms are supposed to be ready before 3. When it hits 3:00 and only 2 floors of rooms are ready, each minute that passes waiting and waiting drags on. We barely had time to drop our carry on items in our room before our CC meet n greet, never mind that our invitation for that was AT our cabin, but more I felt if it was going to take until 3:30/3:45 for most of the rooms to actually be ready, they should have just said that up front.

 

It certainly didn't ruin our trip but it didn't leave a very good first impression. I was less bothered by the security, but we only had to show our IDs entering the port area not when getting off the buses last year.

 

~Katy

 

 

 

:confused:I know everyone cruises differently, but I really don't understand why it makes that much difference to anyone what time their cabin is ready on embark day. We dont make it difficult for ourselves by boarding with carryons that must be lugged around the ship. We only walk on with what we can carry easily. For those who feel they can't part with a suitcase, there are designated "drop off" stations, where you can securely leave your items until your cabin is ready. The fact that HAL has cabins ready at noon would make absolutely no difference to us. There are other things cruise lines do, or don't do, which are way more important to us. I might stick my head in the door to check it out, and then I am gone. We typically board, have lunch, walk around and explore the decks, take a tour of the spa, have a couple drinks and lounge here and there. This can take a least a few hours.

 

We have sometimes found that our cabin hall can be entered even if not officially cleared, and if the steward is there we have advised him we are dropping a tote bag or something in the cabin. I don't ever recall being told by NCL when to expect my cabin to be ready. Are those check in people even NCL employees? I thought not. They clear the decks one by one, not all at once. Someone always has to be last, but it seems that ours has always been fairly early, luck of the draw.