POA 10/22 Cruse

[Kathy D]

We are back from our POA cruse. We had a great trip - saw a lot of the islands and enjoyed the people of Hawaii.

 

The ship was another story.

 

We checked in to the ship around 1:00 on Saturday. We had pre registered at the Marriott the previous day. The check in was a little disorganized, but OK.

 

On checking into our room we found the room to be dirty. The bathroom had not been cleaned and not much vacuming had been done. I tried to call housekeeping - the line was busy for about 3 hours. Lots of people with problems. I found the room steward arount 7:00 and asked her to clean the room and provide a top sheet for the bed. When we returned from dinner the room was clean and folded top sheet was on top of the bed. The connecting door to the room next door was unlocked. It took two days to get that corrected. Lucky they were friends. After the initial problem - the steward did an acceptable job. It helps to leave notes if you need something.

 

One of the big problems with the ship is lack of staff. We had some bumpy weather on the first day out. A number of staff members got off the ship and didn't return. The dinning rooms had a number of tables empty and people waiting outside. They didn't have enough staff to man the tables, so people had to wait to get into the dinning room. They were picking up around 50 new staff members on Saturday. Lots of staff just waiting until their contract ends so they can get off the ship. We had no complaints about the dinning room staff or the food, with the exception of lobster night. I was so looking forward to lobster - couldn't eat it. It was dry and tough.

 

The Aloha Cafe - The food was good, but didn't vary all week. Ice cream machine didn't work all week. Don't plan on fresh eggs on the back deck unless you have a lot of time. Long lines and the chefs have no idea what they are doing. Lots of egg on the floor.

 

The ship stinks - a wonderful combination of motor oil and septic tank. It gets worse as the week goes on. The area around the Hollywood Theature was so bad it was hard to walk through. We complained to a staff member standing at the entrance to the theature. He seemed supprised to hear that the place smelled. Three people complained to him so he said he would call the frount desk. That is the one thing we found. All staff members were supprised to hear that there were problems.

 

Entertainment - Don't bother to go.

 

If you can overlook the ships problems and enjoy Hawaii you will have a great time. We loved the islands and the crusing around the lava flow and coast.

 

I will be glad to answer any questions you might have. Sorry about the spelling I'm tired.

[lhall85917]

Thanks for posting your experience - I'm sorry that you were disappointed with the ship. As a poster on another thread stated, it seems like reviews are really swinging from one side to the other - either you love it or hate it.

[jvz]

Kathy D - Sorry to hear about the disappointments. Can you tell us what you enjoyed when off the ship? Maybe that made up for the bad time onboard.

[Sea Going Fool]

I've heard that sometimes the ship will do a 360 on the scenic viewing and sometimes they don't. Did they turn the ship for viewing so both starboard and portside got a good look? We're sailing on 12/03.

[Kathy D]

I've heard that sometimes the ship will do a 360 on the scenic viewing and sometimes they don't. Did they turn the ship for viewing so both starboard and portside got a good look? We're sailing on 12/03.

 

They did turn the ship for the lava flow - gave everyone plenty of time to enjoy the view. The coast viewing was only on the port side. We were on the top deck of the ship and had a great time with the other passengers.

[larryalb]

I can't imagine that things have gotten so bad since we cruised on 9/3. Just having had an unexpected surgery two weeks before the cruise I was wheelchair bound for the cruise. We found that the crew, staff and dining room personnel went out of their way to take care of us. Embarcation was the smoothest I can remember in the 18 cruises we have been on. Our cabin steward was very efficient and took care of all of our needs. The only real 2 "complaints" we have was that in the main dining rooms there seemes to be a lack of co-ordination between the servers, busboys and matre d"s. We were fortunate to have very good waiters but we did notice this at other sections in the sining room. We dined in all the specialty restaurants and they were well worth the extra fees involved. The ship was beautiful and we really enjoyed our larger balcony cabin on deck 11 which was in between all the suites which is probably why we had a better cabin steward. Our only other complaint was that one of the tours we booked claimed to be wheelchair accessible and it wasn't. We told this to the tour manager on board and our money was refunded. All in all, it was a great trip and well worth the money spent.

[Kathy D]

We rented a car in both Maui and Kauai. We used Thrifty and they were great. The shuttle bus runs often and the check in was smooth in both places.

 

In Maui we did the Road to Hana - long but great. Only do this one if you have a lot of time. We did the Haleakala Crater and Lahanna on the second day. Enjoyed all.

 

In Kauai we drove to the Walimea Canyon, Princeville and the various falls. Had a great time, lots of time in the car. Didn't keep the car for the second day, we had to be back on the ship by 1:30. Lots of free shuttles to shopping and beach at the pier. One of the couples with us took the helicopter ride - they loved it. We had already done it on a previous trip so we passed.

 

Hilo - The ship was not able to dock.

Kona - The guys did a deep sea fishing tour - no fish. They haven't caught anything on the tour for a very long time. We live in Florida and my husband fishes every day. He still had a good time on the boat.

 

The girls did the Beach and Snorkel tour. They take you to a great beach with all the water sports included in the package. They also have a glass bottom boat at the beach. Everything is included in the tour. We had a great day. Great snorkeling - lots of fish.

 

When we returned to port we took the Pearl Harbor & City Tour. They take your luggage and store it under the bus. At the end of the tour they drop you off at the airport. It worked well for us - our plane did not leave until 7:40 pm. Pearl Harbor is worth the trip.

[alinnj]

The ship stinks - a wonderful combination of motor oil and septic tank. It gets worse as the week goes on. The area around the Hollywood Theature was so bad it was hard to walk through. We complained to a staff member standing at the entrance to the theature. He seemed supprised to hear that the place smelled. Three people complained to him so he said he would call the frount desk. That is the one thing we found. All staff members were supprised to hear that there were problems.

 

The staff told me that the problem is at the lavatories near Jefferson Bistro! The staff knows of the smell.............

I can't believe that after my cruise from two months ago that the ship still STINKS!! Thats pretty poor:eek: