First time cruiser need infos

[duera]

:) Hello everyone. This is intended mostly to people who have been on the Pride of Hawaii cruise before

My husband and I coming from Australia to join 31 July 06 POH.

We are new to this game? We only booked and paid inclusively the cruise plus tax + gratitutes. So we just wondering about what do people generally do during this cruise. When the ship arrived in each port, will be any transportation that will take us ashore. Or do the POH cruise arranges it for the passenger. We don't want long tour. But just long enough so we can go back to the ship before 5 or 6 pm. Is the POH cruise arrange the people to go ashore and back to the ship (free of charge).?

What do people do if they don't want to go ashore?. Are all the activities on the ship still on.? Will the ship be very quiet then? Are the restaurants or dining room open as usual?

Talking about food ( which it said food inclusive), are the food ok and enough always? Buffet or a la carte? So when we eat we don't have to pay anything, right? (I read many comments about bad and good about this). Don't have to pay the waiter in the free restaurant. BTW which are'nt free and which are free. Sorry about the questions as we Australian, want to get what we paid without hidden cost.

 

Back to the tour again, just wondering if we can join or sharing the car or

limousine on the island (depending the right destination) with people who already arranged their shore excursions.

[garycarla]

Welcome Aboard!

 

To get a really good feel of tours and experiences, you might want to scan back through the postings. There are lots of mini-reviews from people returning from the POH - Pride of Hawaii. They will share their experiences and you will find there are varied opinions from GREAT to POOR.

 

If you look down the main page of the BOARDS you will find ROLL CALLS as well. Find your cruise and join in there to meet other going on your same ship. Great place to find others to share with.

 

There is also a page with cruise reviews that is worth reading.

 

After you have read all that and if you still have questions, ask away. Suggestion though - make your TITLE descriptive so people can help you.

 

Again, I can not stress enough the VALUE and learning available by scanning through the postings from the past month on these boards.

[Mekamax]

Welcome! I have not done the Hawaii cruise through NCL so I can not help there on specific questions. Typically you will dock at the island and can walk off the boat to the pier and you are on your own. Rent a taxi (may want to do in advance as they sell out) or book a ship tour which are generally higher than doing tours on your own. You can also research the net and book through independant contracts. I rented cars at each port with another couple that we met on board - they asked and we agreed since they wanted bigger cars that were twice the money - this way split it was the same price as the economy cars - which are typically sold out. I'm sure all the recent reviews I have seen on this board can give you more insight into this.

 

Typically shore days the ship is deserted of passengers and they offer some activities but not much and so it is a great time to have the ship to yourself and enjoy the pool etc.

 

Most Food is free and tips are added to your on board account at a set per person per day rate. BUT you can pay a per person fee and eat at nicer restuarants on board. We did this on the SUN last year and the sushi and tempura were excellent and well worth my $8 bill. Would have been much more on land and I think it tasted better on the ship.:p

 

Alcohol is not included. Soda is not included. And certain juices ordered through room service (like orange juice) can only be ordered in the morning or there is a charge. They will tell you up front - they did me when I ordered it in the afternoon. Most ships have fridges though so you order what you might want in the morning and keep it for your convienence. If you want to know all the little things read as much reviews as you can and ask the specific questions again on this board.

 

You'll have an excellent time! We love to cruise and have been on many - it is just a little difficult as a first time cruisers which is why many first timers that are friends end up deciding to go with us (and I didnt' even invite them) just because we know about cruising.... :) :) :( Debbie

[duera]

Dear Mekamax. and to other people who have been on the POH cruise recently please answer this questions below. (Also especially intended to NCL Staff)

Thanks for your reply Mekamax,

I wish we know you, so we can join u in your shore excursions with sharing the expenses of course, in a rented car), even on 1 or 2 ports only.

When we looked on the web, we are interested in Big Island Great Circle Tour (bus tour) and Waimean Canyon. Not sure what we can do later when we check in on the ship, either look for people that can come together with us or through the NCL tour which I heard will cost twice the price with other company. As we will arrive 2 days before the POH cruise, do you think we can arrange it with tour company in Honolulu for those tours I mentioned above and hopefully they can adjust with the POH itinerary and the tour company can do the pick up from each port and return us back to the ship in time?

 

Now about the Onboard account? If we don't have the credit card and they want cash as the deposit, any ideas how much is the minimum? Don't want them to ask a lot of money, and we might not have that much money with us and we stick to the budget plan. Altho as you said food are free , but do we still have to pay the tip to people who work at the free restaurant.? BTW which restaurant free which are not? Not sure!!

We already paid (Our travel agency prepaid all our gratituyes eg, daily service charge ($10 per day), do you think they still put the services charge in our Onboard account? How do we know that they put the right charging into our account? Don't we have to know or agree first for any amount they put into our Onboard account? It has to be!! Right? And after the cruise finished is it guarantee they return the balance of our deposit to us correctly? Sorry about the questions. May be I read so many bad comment about the attitudes of NCL POH staff or management. Never happen in Australia ( as we always knows what we have or expected to pay , no sudden hidden costs)

[Mekamax]

The NCL that runs out of Hawaii is different than the other NCL in a sense and I'm not sure about tips. You can prepay the tips and if you did they should not show up on your account (the $10 per person per day) and that is for the day whether you eat at the pay dining or free dining that is a set fee to pay waiters, busboys, cabin steward etc. I would get everything in writing from your T/A - that the tips were prepaid.. I think I read somewhere there may be others tips for NCL AMerica but I'm not sure. Ask the Travel agent. When it comes to spending money I would bring a credit card or at least a debit card - preferably a credit card. When traveling that far from home you could have unforseen things come up and you may need money - the credit card I carry is for emergencies. You just don't ever know. Ask NCL directly or your travel agent for the exact amounts if using cash because this is important and you want the right information. Again I would not recommend only cash - at least bring some travelers checks. Try the ROllcall Board (go to the main page and scroll down to the ROll Call Lists) and see if anyone is going that may want to rent cars that you can meet up with on board and see if you like... :) Debbie

[duera]

Dear Mekamax (Debbie),

 

 

Thanks for your reply re- the above.

Yes, I did have written letter from NCL via our T/A in Australia

about prepaid all the gratitutes. Just hoping the NCL Crew ( Check in encounter) , not that hasty and just quick enough (or stubborn- as usual) to assume that all passengers automatically must put that amount into our Onboard account.(altho have been prepaid) And for the type of Onboaard account, you are right. I might bring and give my traveller cheques as a deposit ( but knowing them -NCL staff, they are greedy enough to charge me with highest fee for the travelller cheques. Or do they have to charge me, altho I haven't cashed the traveller chegue, but just give that to them as a deposit?} My other question, will be the NCL staff will return unused traveller cheques back to me without the fee? They have to, unless they want to be unpopular in the cruise business. Anyway, thanks again for your advise, I intend to enjoy the cruise , don't want this stupid " tips and gratitutes and deposit etc. etc. ruin my holiday! I intend to bring good news back to Australia about this POH (NCL) cruise services. SO NCL please be good and fair!! duera:confused: from down under!:)

[Mekamax]

The more research I did on my last NCL cruise (and first on NCL in 6 years) the more nervous I was! I had an awesome time and the fornt desk couldn't have been nicer. I had a blister on my toe the second day after so much walking and the gift shop was out of bandaids. I asked the pursers desk and sure enough they had some (really good ones too) and gave me as many as I wanted for free- I even came back for more! :) I had a problem getting through on the phone to an alternate (pay) restaurant for 2 days and the second day I went to the fornt desk and sure enough there was a phone problem they didn't know about and they fixed and got me a reservation for right that minute! :) They cash travelers checks for free at the front desk (pursers desk) so there will be no charge. You do have to present a valid ID (picture ID) of course but there is not a problem cashing them and again no fee. Sometimes mistakes happen so that is why I said to have it in writing about the tips and I'm sure if they mistakenly charge you there will be no problem taking the charge off. Just monitor your account - you can always ask the pursers desk for a copy and keep your receipts on board to match up to it - same as I do here at home with my credit card just to be safe. I always have backup in case. If for any reason you don't get the kind of service you want ask for the manager and make sure you get their name and make a record of it. This shouldn't be necessary but it was once on a Carnival cruise for me - and I would sail them again too. You just have to know how to nicely handle problems and they will get fixed. No vacation is perfect though so go with the flow. You'll LOVE HAwaii!!! I'd love to see Australia one day - Hubby is really wanting to go there!! Is it as awesome as I hear? Have you snorkeled or dove at the Great Barrier Reef?? :) Debbie

[duera]

Dear Mekamax( Debbie)

Thanks again for your reply.

It's getting close, one more sleep and we off to Honolulu and spending 2 nights there before we join our POH cruise. So far still haven't decided what to do on shore . May be we just relax the 1st and two days on the ship and play by ear. Just hoping when the ship arrived at each pier of the island, she dock not to far from the shore, Hopefully there will be a few transportation (bus) that can take us to the town or to do sight seeing. We definetely not interested in snorkeling or bike riding or even go on a helicopter. Just want a bus tour (not that long hours tho) . This must be a silly question? How do the passengers go to ashore. Is the ship will provide transportation or ferry to the shore (if the ship dock far from the shore), free of charge?. Well Debbie, you should come to Australia, beaches are beautiful and people are nice and honest. Would you believe , me myself havent been to Great Barrier Reef, but definetely this places is fantastic and breathtaking. And most of all here in Australia no tax, gratituties, tips etc. Every one work and earn themselves without expecting this things from other people especiallly from visitors. Also you should visit Gold Coast (Surfers Paradise), another beautiful beaches in Queensland. We live about an hour drive from this place. And may be you can see us in Brisbane (interesting city - where we live and work ). Also Ayer Rock in Central Queensland is another place to see.

BTW are you from the States or Hawaii?

Well anyways we will try to enjoy our trip and I am sure we will be alright. Thanks again, and keep sending us your input. Emily

[Mekamax]

I'm in Houston, Texas - originally from New York... :)

 

In Honolulu take the public bus (real cheap) with a bus stop right in front of the pier. It takes a while since they stop for everyone but it is great to see the people and culture. We took it to Wikiki - Sheraton and that is right where the International Festival goes on at night - lots of street performers etc. We then walked through the hotel to the beach and you can walk the beach behind the hotels and see the singers etc... :) The next day we hopped the bus - again it takes a while and we switched buses (it was may a $2 a person) to get to Hunama Bay - so beautiful!!!! Awesome beach and now a marine preserve. We took the bus back and then on to Pearl Harbor and visited there and then had to rent a van with another two couple we met on the bus that were on the boat (one was blind..) to get to the ship before it sailed - we pushed it close!!! Cab took us all the way up to the ship!!! We tipped him good!!! : Just some ideas - people are so friendly they will tell you anything you want - talk to people in shops when you get off the boat. The boat should dock at a pier but if not will tender you ashore for free. There were some free buses but they were to Walmart or Kmart - which we took advantage of!! :) Kona is a great place to walk around and shop. Lots of galleries... You'll have a great time!!! Debbie

[Treven]

Keep in mind though that Hawaii IS part of The States just like Alaska is; just not a part of the "Continental US". I realize of course that you ozzies probably don't have much reason to keep up with the changing geography in the Northern part of the world. ;-)

 

I'm sure you'll have a great time in Hawaii, I sure did in 2004 and I'm going back next year.