POH help!

[makariosTX]

I apologize if this question seems stupid or if it has been discussed on this forum before. I am new to this whole "posting" thing (my kids mock me endlessly for this failure to connect), so please be patient!

 

My wife and I are thinking about taking a Hawaii cruise on the Pride of Hawaii. We want to be able and spend the days in port resting on the area beaches. I realize some of the ports require the use of tenders, but are any of these ports within walking distance to a beach . . . and if not does POH offer (free) shuttles to the beach?

 

Mon.

Honolulu, O'ahu

--

8:00pm

Tue.

Hilo, Hawaii

8:00am

7:00pm

(Evening sail by Mount Kilauea)

Wed.

Kahului, Maui

8:00am

Overnight

(Optional Tours to Lana'i Available)

Thu.

Kahului, Maui

--

6:00pm

Fri.

Kona, Hawaii

7:00am

6:00pm

Sat.

Nawiliwili, Kauai

7:00am

Overnight

Sun.

Nawiliwili, Kauai

--

2:00pm

 

Thanks for any help you can provide!

[klguess]

Hi! Just back from POH 6/19 - Kona has a beach within walking distance. A fairly nice one. And, I believe that Kuiai does too - you have about a 1/2 mile walk -

plus at every port there are tour shuttles that will take and pick you up from beaches - see the welcoming committees when you get off the ship. Have a great time!

[klguess]

Hi! Just back from POH 6/19 - Kona has a beach within walking distance. A fairly nice one. And, I believe that Kuiai does too - you have about a 1/2 mile walk -

plus at every port there are tour shuttles that will take and pick you up from beaches - see the welcoming committees when you get off the ship. Have a great time!

[lambs2]

We were on the Pride of America in early June, but the itinerary for your cruise is very similar to ours. The only free shuttles I saw at any ports were to Hilo Hatties, Walmart and K-Mart, and they are not close to any beaches. In Hilo there is a beach not too far from where the ship docks. I do not know if it is in walking distance, but it seemed close. (Help me out anyone who might have done this). We rented a car there to see Volcano National Park and waterfalls in the area. In Kahalui, Maui I did not see any beach within walking distance and just the usual free shuttles to stores. Again, we rented a car for both days as there is so much to see and do. The best beaches, in my opinion are on the Lahaina side of Maui or up by Hana which all take transportation. The ship does offer beach day tours. In Kona there is a small beach right where we tendered into port. Not the best the area has to offer, but ok. In Kauai there IS a lovely beach within walking distance right next to the Anchor Cove shopping center and then onto the Marriot. I read that there is a shuttle to the Anchor Cove Shopping Center, but I never personally saw it, and again we rented a car and went to LOTS of even more beautiful beaches there. But we did walk to that beach and it was nice.

[CruisinMK]

At least with Kauai you are set with the nice beach right there.

You can get really good use out of the second day even though the ship leaves at 2pm.

 

Kona doesn't have too much in the way of sand, there is one sandy beach a bit south. However the snorkeling is really fantastic all around, gotta do it. If you can handle a bumpy zodiac ride I think captain zodiac shore excursion is really great, leaves right from where the ship tender pulls in. Snorkeling is good right where the ship pulls in though too.

[rosiej]

I'm sailing July 17th on PoH, and our itinerary has us leaving Kuaui on the second day at 6pm, yet I have read SEVERAL times that the ship leaves at 2pm:eek:. I am busily trying to plan our days, and THIS IS AN EXTREMELY IMPORTANT DETAIL. Can anyone sailing on the PoH since its maiden voyage share what they experienced in this port? When does PoH let you KNOW the ship leaves that port at 2pm? Does anyone think they would be able to answer that question now, if I called them?:confused:

 

Thanks for any info. (A little late for this, but should I create a new thread for this question?) :o

[mitsguy2001]

At least with Kauai you are set with the nice beach right there.

You can get really good use out of the second day even though the ship leaves at 2pm.

 

Kona doesn't have too much in the way of sand, there is one sandy beach a bit south. However the snorkeling is really fantastic all around, gotta do it. If you can handle a bumpy zodiac ride I think captain zodiac shore excursion is really great, leaves right from where the ship tender pulls in. Snorkeling is good right where the ship pulls in though too.

 

My plan is to go on the April 30, 2007 POH cruise. However, for some strange reason (which no one has been able to answer), it has a different itinerary, where they will be at Kona on Tuesday, May 1, but an hour later than they'd normally arrive at Kona (when it would be there on Friday). Would I still be able to do the snorkeling excursions on that day?

[pbastedo]

I have read on other posts from people that have done the Pride of Hawaii cruise that the ship does leave at 2 pm in order to sail by the Na Pali coast in the evening. I can only assume that they will continue this schedule and make plans accordingly.

 

Paul

[bonvoyagie]

The first ininary called for the coast sailing in the morning prior to docking in Kuai. That means that the sun is in your eyes while trying to view the coast. So due to customer feedback, they now go around the coast on the afternoon of day 2 - thus the need to pull out at 2 pm. I think the time spend in port is the same as you now arrive earlier in the morning on day 1. One should also note that in all but one harbor (Kona) you are sharing the port with cargo barges and other cruise ships so schedules are sometimes altered, usually the NCL Web site is the most up to date source for this info - it is also subject to change.

[CruisinMK]

yeah 2pm

[COWBOYGIRL]

Just returned from 6/19 - I did go on shore excusions almost everyday, but from what I saw all ports have beaches within walking distance. The only island you are tenderd on is Kona. If you just want to relax beaches are within walking distance.

 

You leave Kauai at 2:00 because of the Na Pali Coast tour.

[pioneers]

The ship does offer beach day tours. In Kona there is a small beach right where we tendered into port. Not the best the area has to offer, but ok. In Kauai there IS a lovely beach within walking distance right next to the Anchor Cove shopping center and then onto the Marriot. I read that there is a shuttle to the Anchor Cove Shopping Center, but I never personally saw it.

 

I was on the POH on June 19 and yes they do offer beach day tours. I did the one in Maui. It is a day spent at the Sheraton in Maui. They give you beach chairs and some pineapple slices. You don't have access to their pools by the way. The resort is nice and there is a shopping area near by. It has several eating places and nice shops. In Kauai we took the free shuttle to Anchor Cove and then went to the beach. It is at the Marriot hotel which is behind the shopping center. It was a nice beach and they also had things you can rent there. I didn't rent anything but just wanted you to know. Hope this helps.

[sandyneck]

Captain Zodiac check in time is 8am. Is that cutting it too close for a ship arrival at 7am and then having to use a tender? I think it is, but wondering if anyone has done it. As far as the 2pm departure time from Kauai, I just checked the NCL site and that is what is now listed.

[PhillyEagle]

Just returned from 6/19 - I did go on shore excusions almost everyday, but from what I saw all ports have beaches within walking distance. The only island you are tenderd on is Kona. If you just want to relax beaches are within walking distance.

 

You leave Kauai at 2:00 because of the Na Pali Coast tour.

 

Do you (or anyone else who has sailed on POH so far) recall what time you arrived in Kauai on Saturday morning? I think the original schedule says 10am, but some have noted the ship has come in earlier b/c of the whole change in the Na Pali coast schedule.

[kabookie]

Captain Zodiac check in time is 8am. Is that cutting it too close for a ship arrival at 7am and then having to use a tender? I think it is, but wondering if anyone has done it. As far as the 2pm departure time from Kauai, I just checked the NCL site and that is what is now listed.

 

If you are cutting it close, best to schedule the excursion thru the ship as they will make sure you connect.

[kitchacaT]

I am sailing on poh on august 14 and I called ncl and they said thqat they are leaving at 6pm. Coastline sail by is in the morning . Therir website does list several differnt itineraries for different sialing dates. I guess I will be by their word and note that it is subject to change....

 

kitchacat

[CruisinMK]

A very few sailings do not get a second day, leaving immediately in the morning after the overnight.

(Kauai is a very small port and occasionally they get bumped out the 2nd day by some other ship)

All the ones that have a second day leave at 2pm

[DrivesLikeMario]

Make sure you check your individual sailing because there are quite a few that are different. For our July POH cruise, we cruise by the Napali coast in the morning on our WAY to Kauai and then have 2 full days in Kauai.

 

Please check your own docs or reservation because there is a lot of confusion about this and I would hate for anyone to book a shore excursion, pay for it and then miss it because their itinerary is different.

[mitsguy2001]

If you are cutting it close, best to schedule the excursion thru the ship as they will make sure you connect.

 

I guess that excursion won't be available on the April 30 cruise? Are there any good snorkeling excursions that will be available on the April 30 cruise?

[lomillerin]

Now it says arrive in Kauai at 7:00am and leave next day at 2:00pm. This is a change.

[PhillyEagle]

Now it says arrive in Kauai at 7:00am and leave next day at 2:00pm. This is a change.

 

Thanks for the update! Now we have confirmation of the change to the itinerary that everyone who has sailed the past few weeks has talked about.

[kabookie]

Where exactly is everyone finding the itineraries on the NCL website? :confused: When I go to http://www.ncl.com/itinerary/it_poh.htm#, it shows the ship arriving Kauai at 7am on Saturday, and leaving at 2pm on Sunday. If the schedules are listed somewhere else, I am confused at the contradiction.

[lomillerin]

Where exactly is everyone finding the itineraries on the NCL website? :confused: When I go to http://www.ncl.com/itinerary/it_poh.htm#, it shows the ship arriving Kauai at 7am on Saturday, and leaving at 2pm on Sunday. If the schedules are listed somewhere else, I am confused at the contradiction.

 

That is the official NCL itineraries. Previously, it had said for the next several sailings that arrival was at 10:00 am in Kauai and departure was at 6:00pm, but it is now changed to the 7:00 am and 2:00pm. This was not the original itinerary.

 

I actually like this better because we are renting a car on day one and are doing a helicopter ride in the morning of day 2 and were planning on spending the afternoon on the ship. This gives us more time on day one....

[bonvoyagie]

All of the cruise brochures for the 2005-2006 season shown the coast cruising in the AM of the first day. I also thought that was the case until I started looking at the shore ex docs and found that they all started early on day one - I then checked the website and discovered that they had changed things. I found out more by reading posts here. Having worked in a customer service center, the answers you get will vary depending on where the agent gets thier information. IF it comes from the brochure then it will be wrong. Website information is usually the most up to date - however it often takes longer to look it up than it does to grab the brochure - been there done that.

[sandyneck]

I checked the website last week and the departure time for Kauai was 6pm. Luckily, I checked again this week before making my shore excursion plans after checking this board. The NCL website now lists departure for Kauai at 2pm. I figure they are fine tuning their schedule now that they have made the run a few times.