Live from the Pride of Hawaii!

[cruzegirl]

Ok Julie,

sounds like your having fun..... Wish I was on there too.... Is Captain Evans Hoyt your Captain?? If so, please tell him hi from Debbie, one of the 3 Musketeers from the Pride of America October last year.... The 3 of us on the cruise last year ran into him 7 or 8 times last year... It was so funny... He finally said, I'm not stalking you guys, I live here.... He's a very nice guy....

Can't wait to hear more

[zimmerjulie]

Eek,

sorry all, and especially to the original poster!

I popped in to answer a few questions early on this thread, as people often do, and caused confusion.

 

Unfortunately, Julie isn't live from the Pride of Hawai'i, but is keeping up with this thread to see what fun kat28 is having!

[kathiean]

Hi everyone...trying to hold still tonight as the seas are averaging 12 foot swells...according to the captain! Had a fun day at sea. Breakfast in the room, spent the day at the spa. If you are having a spa treatment, you can spend the entire day there. If you are not having a treatment you have to pay $15 a day to use the facilities like steam and sauna, polar plunge, 3 different types of jacuzzis, etc. I had a pedicure and my mom had a facieal and neck and shoulder massage...both were excellent! Ask for Constance if you want a pedicure. Eric and Robb are the concierges and have also called me to see how everything is going. Jessica, our butler, and Carole, our room steward are constantly calling us checking up on us, bringing us goodies that we did not ask for. Man oh man are we getting spoiled! The CC'ers met this a.m. for a social. The cruise director and many officers were there to ask us how everything is going. I found out today that many of the staff on board are reading my blog. The waiter from Cagneys' even printed out my comments about Cagney's and has shown it to everyone. And this afternoon the vice-president of NCL newbuild delivery came to visit me and made sure I was happy with everything. I cannot believe how wonderful almost everything is! They sure learned from their mistakes with the POA. The only critism I have so far is with the regular dining rooms...the Alizar and Pacific. Service is very slow and inconsistent. Everyone tries hard but they seem to be quite flustered. Lots of the servers run around accomplishing little. The food in the main dining rooms is OK, but fabulous in the specialty restaurants. We're trying Papa's tomorrow night so I will let you know how it was. To answer your $$$ Cagney's is open for breakfast and lunch for suites only for free...dinner is still $15 pp. There is no Adult Activity Center...but there is a card room and a beautiful well-stocked library. The boat is quite empty...about 50% capacity which makes it nice!! Yes, I am the original poster for this thread. The average age on this cruise has to be around 70. There are only 7 little ones and the 7 teens makes 14 kids. All the rest are quite elderly. The comedian was making fun of that fact tonight. Can't remember his name...he was OK. The POH Production Company put on a show tonight in the Starlight...they were very good! Probably the best on-board show I have ever seen. They did songs and dances from Broadway...like Wicked, etc. Thoroughly enjoyed them. Well, that's all for now. We get an extra hour tonight as we are crossing a time zone. Rocking and rolling all night long!!! (The waves, that is!!!)

[Bow Thrusters]

Your posts are thoroughly enjoyed. Thanks for taking the time to log-on and write about your days. Glad you're enjoying the cruise.

 

I'm really looking forward to sailing the POH (9/4/06).

[DrivesLikeMario]

It's interesting to hear that some of the crew are reading your posts! We'll be on the POH on 7/31 with 2 adjoining mini-suites. As a TA, I'm looking forward to giving NCL a try! Wish I could've been there for the 2 day TA/Media tour in LA. :o

 

Continue to post whenever you can, Kat. We all appreciate them! :)

[Cruisecontroler]

Wow...thanks for the on-board reports...but don't forget to enjoy yourself too...right...like you would...;)

 

Sure gets me geeked for our trip in Septemer on the POH:D

 

Thanks!

 

Barb

[RuUp2It?]

can anyone verify the existance of passengers carrying the personal wireless phones to contact the butler. There's been mention on another thread that they are on other ships, but no metion of this larger class.

[kabookie]

... We'll be on the POH on 7/31 with 2 adjoining mini-suites.

 

We will be on the same sailing, Lady Jag - I keep checking for a roll call but no one has started one. Will have 2 adjoining inside cabins (no mini-suites :(). Can't wait!

[GoHuskies!]

I think you mean room STEWARD with a "d". Sorry, but it's a pet peeve of mine! ;)

 

Oh for crying out loud--let's leave pet peeves at home. As my mentor in creative writing put it (Prof. Porter Perrin--maybe you've read his books), one chooses one's style to fit not only the audience but also the comfort level of everyone. Sure it's a steward, but by golly the OP communicated just fine.

[loLA123]

Do all of the cabins have blow dryers?

[kathiean]

What a day! The seas have finally calmed a bit. To answer some ??? Yes, there are hair dryers in the staterooms...good ones too. However, I suggest you bring a couple of extension cords. We sure have used them for cameras, curling irons, cell phones, etc. If you are in a penthouse suite, you will indeed get a cell phone that you cn use throughout the ship to call the concierge, butler, cabin steward, or new friends...one cell phone per suite but we also have 2 additional wall mounted phones. Tonight we had a juggler/comedian as entertainment. He was quite good. We ate dinner at Papa's...very good food and service. We ate breakfast in the Aloha Cafe and lunch again in Cagney's. I continue to be impressed with the overall food and superb friendliness of the crew. You absolutely cannot walk by a crew member without them giving you a big 'Aloha'! Eric and Robb, our concierges, are amazing. I call them to make reservations for us in the speciality restaurants and within 10-15 minutes, they are calling me back to confirm the day and time. The ship is so beautiful and the crew is proud to show it off. I truly believe they learned a great deal from the POA. I have been on quite a few cruise lines, and this is the friendliest crew I have ever encountered. Worked out for a while in the well-appointed gym today too. We werwe invited to the captain's reception tonight as were the other CCers on board. All the top guns were there to ask us how we were enjoying everything. They really seemed to listen. The cruise director and I had a long talk and told us to let him know any way he could improve things. I am hard pressed to come up with any complaints. Only two come to mind...the hot food is not very hot...soups are lukewarm and the food runs out quickly in the Aloha Cafe. I heard that the chefs are trying to remedy this. As I said...minor details to be worked out on a new ship. Aloha for now!!!

[DrivesLikeMario]

Oh for crying out loud--let's leave pet peeves at home. As my mentor in creative writing put it (Prof. Porter Perrin--maybe you've read his books), one chooses one's style to fit not only the audience but also the comfort level of everyone. Sure it's a steward, but by golly the OP communicated just fine.

 

It's not only a matter of it being a pet peeve, GoHuskies, it's wrong. It's not a cabin stewart that cleans your cabin, it's a cabin steward with a "d". I'm sure the person that used the wrong word would appreciate knowing the RIGHT word.

[cruzegirl]

Ok Julie,

sounds like your having fun..... Wish I was on there too.... Is Captain Evans Hoyt your Captain?? If so, please tell him hi from Debbie, one of the 3 Musketeers from the Pride of America October last year.... The 3 of us on the cruise last year ran into him 7 or 8 times last year... It was so funny... He finally said, I'm not stalking you guys, I live here.... He's a very nice guy....

Can't wait to hear more

Wow.......guess I got confused...... lol.......Surprise!!! So Kathie, is Captain Evans Hoyt your Captain?? Can you share the above with him if he is?? He was a very nice man.... I've had 4 cruises now and other than Captain's night on my first, I never saw the Captains on the others except the Pride of America... He was all over the ship checking on things......

Glad your seas have calmed down..... I so wish I could be on that ship.... I'm ready to go to Hawaii again.... Oh, can you ask when the bridgecam will be operational?? It's linked on Kroooz cams.com but it's not active yet....

Have fun.........

[hollym]

Kathie,

You're doing an awesome job of reporting. Thanks a bundle!:D

[jlsanta]

having fun reading your thread!

 

can you tell me about the pools - is there an adult only pool?

also, the bars and nightclub? any experience with them?

thank you :)

[kathiean]

Aloha everyone! Lots of good stuff tonight!!! First of all, the ship DOES have laundry facilities! Deck 9, 10, and 11 have beautiful launderettes with 3 waxhers and 3 dryers. They are state-of-the art and best of all, FREE! Small boxes of tide are $1 but you can bring your own detergent. Second, each cabin has at least one thermostat to control the temp. My parents like their room warm and we like ours cold. No problem! In our penthouse we have 3 air temp controls! Third, the cell phone that is available for you to use around the ship if you are in a penthouse or higher is to call anyone! Butler, concierge, a friend in another room. There's only one cell phone but 2 wall phones too. Fourth...many bars and nightclubs are on the ship...karaoke, jazz, top 40...all very fun! Adult pool...haven't seen one but remember there are only 14 kids on this whole cruise and I have seem very few in the pool area. Today the Tihati Group, a group of 8 native-to-the-island young people, taught Tahitian dance. We also had hula lessons. That was a lot of fun! The show tonight was Jeff Trachta. He sang and did impressions of famous people. He was so good he got a standing ovation! We have one more show tonight...the POH Crew Show put on by the room stewards, wait persons, and officers. It's supposed to be awesome! Weather today is still cool...66 degrees and cloudy. We hope for sunny warm days ahead! Had a terrific meal in Paniolo..Tex Mex food. Our waiters Carol and Ryan were superb...they anticipated all of our needs and stopped to talk to us too. The Assistant Maitre'D also came by our table and we talked to her for a long time. As soon as I mentioned that the soup in the restaurants was not very hot, she immediately took out a notepad and jotted it down. I continue to be thrilled and amazed with the friendliness and genuine care from the crew. Tomorrow is our last sea day and we are ready to get off and explore Hawaii! Talk to you all tomorrow!

[Molokai-Chuck]

Kathiean...

 

Thanks for doing your posts from the POHawaii. Also for the news on the laundry facilities. We can now for sure cut back on the amount of clothes to bring.

 

My wife wants to know if they offer or plan to offer any yoga classes???

 

Aloha and Mahalo .....

 

Chuck and Mary

[POLSON]

Eric, one of the concierges, is a friend of mine. He was telling me how lovely the ship is and your pictures are amazing!! The suites are incredible. Nice bathrooms too not to mention the outside areas.

 

Say Aloha to Eric for me if you have a chance -

[jimp1266]

First, thank you for the great POH info. I was curious if the Aloha Nui Lanai area on deck 12 aft was outside?

[GoHuskies!]

 

It's not only a matter of it being a pet peeve, GoHuskies, it's wrong. It's not a cabin stewart that cleans your cabin, it's a cabin steward with a "d". I'm sure the person that used the wrong word would appreciate knowing the RIGHT word.

I know that very well indeed. I'm sure that the whole world will appreciate being "corrected" by you.

[DrivesLikeMario]

Thanks for the great posts, Kathie, they are very much appreciated! :) Hope you continue to have such wonderful service and a terrific time! :)

[Lynniexo]

Thank-you to everyone, especially Kathlean, for all the wonderful reviews of our next cruiseship. The ship sounds fantastic.:)

We are leaving on the POH on June 5th. I believe it will be the first Hawaii sailing. Our first full day on the ship will be on 06/06/06! That is a once in a lifetime date to remember!!:D

We spent our honeymoon in Hawaii 16 years ago and will be celebrating our 16th wedding anniversary and first time back to Hawaii this cruise.

It sounds like a wonderful ship and we are really excited. My DH already purchased a Honeymoon package for us when we get on board. ;)

Our first cruise back in 1993 was on a NCL ship and we have been addicted ever since.

We are meeting the CC gang for sailaway on the 5th at Bali Hai and hopefully will have some other meetings while on board.

Thanks again for all of you that took precious time out to let us start dreaming about our next cruise. You all have been fantastic and I have really enjoyed the reviews.

Steve and Lynn A

[Shiraz]

Thank you so very much Kathie for your posts!!! We're loving keeping up with you and your adventures on the new ship and looking forward to hearing almost 'real time' stories about your further fun on the islands! Most of the posts I've been researching have been from winter time cruises and everyone says the highlight of their trip was a whale breaching next to the ship -- guess we summertime travelers will have to do without that, oh well! There couldn't be some remedial whales in training that forgot to migrate yet (ha ha)?

 

I second 'cruzegirl's' (sp?) question above -- is there anyone you can ask about when the bridge's webcam will be working??? (I underlined it because I know you might be in a hurry, not to be pushy!!!) I've been checking in on PoAm's every day! Saw some shots of presumably SF Bay on PoA (obviously no HI yet). Thank you millions for sharing your experience -- we definitely appreciate your time and energy (and $$ I guess -- talk ain't cheap at sea!!). Thanks again!!!!

[thecruisers723]

Kathjean, thanks so much for your daily postings. It's making the anticpation of our upcoming cruise on June 26th that much more exciting.

 

One quick question for today. Do you know if you can walk into the Paniolo Tapas/Tex Mex restuarant at around 11:00 at night and sit down for just an appetizer if they're not too busy?

 

Thanks and have fun when you reach the islands. I can't wait to hear all about that too.

[pioneers]

First, I would like to thank you for taking the time to give us all this information and pictures! I love it!

 

I know that NCL is freeestyle cruising but can you tell me how dressy are passengers dressing in the dining room during the formal night? My husband has always dressed up but since he has heard that you don't have to he doesn't want to. My dad doesn't want to wear a tie and just wants to pack a dinner jacket. Ironically my kids are not giving me a hard time about dressing just the older men!!!!!!!