RCCL Cruisers on NCL for the First Time - Advice?

[handbellplayer]

We are experienced (Diamond) RCCL cruisers who have booked POA for May because we want to cruise Hawaii without crossing the Pacific. I am OK with researching Hawaii and excursions, but I am curious about the similarities and differences we will experience onboard POA. I would appreciate tips from others who have had a similar experience. Thanks!

[902tater]

We are also RCCL doing POA for the first time, same reasoning as you. We are going in March. We are booking our excursions with Roberts of Hawaii, package rates are better than the ship and they use a better Luau place. Our travel agent has recently been on POA and advised us that it is different in that the focus is the ports rather than the ship. NCL serves Pepsi products rather than Coke products and there is no assigned dining time.

 

 

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[ryarger]

The key thing to remember about POA is that is different from any other cruise, even other NCL cruises. The ship is a floating hotel and Hawaii is the star of the week.

 

Yes, it has excellent specialty restaurants and good complementary options (Cadillac Diner is a gem) but the entertainment is an afterthought. Do take advantage of the "ambassadors" - Hawaiian natives who give port talks and put on some programs about native Hawaiian dance and customs.

 

 

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[ddcruisers93]

We went in 2012 and was one of our best ever. A good number of the crew was American. The ship was a perfect hotel and transportation between the islands. We went with our best friends and rented cars a number of days. We did our research and mapped out what we wanted to do each day, driving was easier than at home. The ship stayed overnight in two of the ports so we could stay out late. We thought the ship was clean. The beds were good.The food was quite edible. The only thing lacking was the entertainment was so-so but most nights we were tired from going all over. If you can afford it get a balcony some of the sights are very beautiful and we used it a lot. We have cruised on both lines and like them both.

[robbinsca]

POA was one of our favorite cruises. It is different than most other cruises. You do have a port every day, and the ship almost seems secondary. There has been a drydock since we were on, so my info may be dated.

 

Specialty dining does provide better food- we loved dinner the first night at Jefferson's Bistro. The Italian restaurant was not worth it on any of our NCL cruises.

 

Easy to rent a car at the ports and do your own thing. We took one group tour, but enjoyed time with friends or by ourselves much more.

 

 

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[tgirl25]

10yrs ago and slightly different ship(Pride of Aloha) I did my 1st Hawaii cruise. It almost kept me from cruising NCL ever again because it was the worse service I had ever had, with servers arguing with us about what order we could place our dining orders in and other nonsense. Not super picky but to me, the service aspect was not there. You are literally there to sleep, more then that you will find disappointments. Pools were always crowded, staff were not friendly and the shows were just bad.

 

Now that all could have changed, had heard the service had gotten a little better and the food as well but the shows don't seem to have improved any.

 

If you go in with low expectations, you should be fine. Oh and most places we rented a car and did our own thing, that worked out really well but beware the locals. We had 1 demanding we pull off the side of the road so he could go around. When we didn't(stubborn uncle driving) and it was a no passing zone with not much room to pull over, he passed us anyway(after honking and getting on our butt and honking again many times). My uncle in his infinite wisdom and hot temper though it would be brilliant to flip him the bird. Not a good move. We spent the next miles with this guy getting in front of us, then getting in back of us speeding up and slowing down honking and even throwing a water bottle out the window and hitting the rental car with it. Thank god we were heading back to the car rental place which was fenced. I swear the guy kept yelling and trying to get my uncle to come out and fight him, even tried to enter once but the guard wouldn't let him in(he was not a renter). Entered the ship and I swear that evening the story blew up and everyone was wondering who had gotten into a fist fight/road rage incident with a local. We hung our heads in shame.... So beware of the locals and don't loose your temper if they display rude behavior, they really do not like us Howlies...