POA Virtual Cruise - what do you think?

[gardencat]

The Cruise Critic virtual POA cruise report is now complete. Any comments from those who have read it?

[COASTERBOB]

I felt that it was fairly balanced, and was glad to see that NCL SAYS it is now implementing changes to improve the dining situation. We shall see if that is the case during the next cruise or two. We sail on 9/5/2004, and have an open mind about it. We're gonna have fun! Bob

[zguyturbo]

I felt that it was well balanced. The service issue problems was mentioned and concured with most postings from previous posters. We are not sailing until 11/28/04 so we feel that everything should be running smoothly when we board the ship. I still am not too happy with all these extra fees that could have been included in the price, then tipping if the service warrants it. I have been to Hawaii many times over the years and am looking forward to this experience.

[cnmiranda]

I wish there were more comments regarding the food. Desserts, to be exact. I love to hear about dinner selections. Cruising is my time to splurge since I spend most of my time dieting at home. I think much of the report dealt with the excursions, very helpful by the way, but I also like to hear more about the shows, on-board attractions, and in room television choices. Do I sound like a homebody?lol

 

In general a very good review. :D

[Traveler39]

I enjoyed a lot of the comments and felt that it was an honest report but would like to see more reporting on the ship itself... A cruise is all about the ship... To cruise is to be on the ship and all it has to offer... I am afraid that in this case the cruise and the ship is not near as important as the location..

[elephant98]

Traveler39 and Cnmiranda,

 

I completely agree with your posts. The virtual cruise was a good general review of the ship, but was lacking in some of the detail I was hoping for. I was still quite pleased overall.

 

Ironically, because the cruise critic reviewer avoided being on the ship at all during lunch to avoid problems in the buffet (and for excursions), there is little discussion on any onboard activities while in port (not that I would stay on the ship; I'd be on an excursion; but, I'm still interested to know what goes on, if anything). Not to mention that the reviewer didn't explore the ship's Kumu Cultural Center, which replaced the casino. I may just be nitpicky, but I found it quite odd that, considering part of the purpose of taking the cruise was to review the ship, that the reviewer failed to see everything onboard.

 

That being said, I was quite interested to read some of the morsels contained therein that were surprising to me, both bad (i.e.,the YMCA-like spa, torn and dirty shower curtains on a newly refurbished ship, hard beds, the rarely seen cabin steward, the buffet problems, no eggs benedict or omelletes in the main dining room for breakfast, no information t.v. channel giving the ship's sailing route and weather conditions . . . are you kidding me?), and good (the availability of a soft mattress topper, the barbecue buffet, beef wellington at the Pacific Heights restaurant, coffee maker in the stateroom, the piano bar, the wonderful array of NCL offered shore excursions).

[The Scotsman]

I thought the virtual cruise was well written, full of good information and, more than anything else, was a factual account of the way things were.

 

It is a while since I posted on the boards, to tell the truth I became disenchanted with the bickering and snide remarks being banded around. It all became too personal. I too perhaps became embroiled in some of the situations.

 

The past 4 months have been quite eventful for NCL, I have no need to go into detail that has already been well and truly dissected. However it is good to hear things are it appears on the way up. Yes there are improvements still to be made. Lets hope these happen quickly and future cruisers can have the experience they so rightly deserve.

 

I remember the Sky from 2001 (I think that is the right year) which was our best cruise to date. This year on the Sky was not so good. Had a great time met lots of lovely new friends and were treated well by the staff and crew. I would love to sail the POA especially in Hawaii. However for us in the UK the trip is huge. 11hours to the west coast of the US and am I right in thinking another 9 or 10 hours to Hawaii. I will just have to rely on the experiences of fellow CCr's reporting back from their trips.

 

Thanks for the virtual review, I thoroughly enjoyed it. I Look forward to hearing all the reviews of future cruisers be they good, bad or somewhere in between.