POH review - 8/13

[NORMAN8]

We just came back from POH and it was a mixed feeling of fun, frustration, disappointment, etc. I better write them before I forget.

 

My wife and two little kids woke up early in the morning and got to the airport around 6:45 AM. Hawaiian Airlines had a longer line for cruise people. Afterwards around 7:30 AM, we waited in another line which stretched like a block to security check. We raced to the plane around 8:20 AM before our flight left around 8:30 AM.

 

By the way, Hawaiian Airlines gave a Hilo Hattie coupon with the food dish. Its the best Hilo Hattie coupon giving you two free mugs with any purchase (no minimum purchase). My wife didn't care and threw away her coupon. Kona Hilo Hattie said they ran out of the mugs and would give a calendar. I liked the mugs.

 

Anyway, when we got off the plane, I thought it was confusing and far to get to baggage claim. I waited with the crowd in getting the luggages. Then we waited with a crowd of people boarding onto a big Polynesian Tour (NCL owns) bus which got us to port around noon.

 

Then, we waited in long line to check in to the ship. For Lattitude members or the Marriott guests, there were no lines.

 

Since we were at the ship so early, my initial plan was to visit my sister's family who happened to be visiting Honolulu at the same time. Because we were tired and our rooms weren't ready until like 3 PM, we decided to stay on the ship. Our luggage did not arrive until we called receptionist at 8 PM and finally came around 8:30 PM.

 

Reading prior posts on room clean up, I was expecting minimal room maintenance. I found a old razor on the floor near the bed. No big deal I just threw it away in trash can. Since I had kids, I did hoped at least animal towels and a mint was given each night. Can't spoil the kids too much. Oh, I have to mention the beds. They were uncomfortable. For a ship less than 2 years old, the mattress sinks. And I thought the bedsheets were cleaned ones every night. I do like the smell of clean fresh bedsheets.

 

The cloud forecast appears gloom and I sense a storm was coming. That night the waves were terrible and my wife got seasick. For dinner, we ate at Grand Pacific which has good decor with high ceilings. We ate around 5:45 AM which was not crowded. The food was below average compared to other cruiselines but service was surprisingly excellent.

 

The next morning, an announcement was made that due to the Hurricane Flossie, the port of Hilo was closed. Even if it wasn't closed, I knew a big storm was heading toward the Big Island and I couldn't believe POH was going to Hilo. Maybe they thought the Hurricane would turn. Instead the ship headed back to Honolulu direction but to bypass the island of Molokai which was beautiful to see from ship. I though it looked better than Na Pali coastline.

 

The only updated news on Hurricane was watching CNN or Fox network. I didn't trust NCL because no updates or direction Hurrican Flossie was going. That day I smelled a stench of vomit in main lobby. Other guests must have gotten seasick from the rough waves the previous night.

 

As a compensation I guess, a little more onboard activities were added to that day. Also, for lunch Jasmine Garden waived its coverage charge for lunch between noon and 2 PM but it was first come first serve. There was a long line waiting but we got in.

 

I thought this was typical American style Chinese food but I was impress. The presentation and food was excellent. Compared to last night's dinner, the food was surprisingly delicious. My wife and kids like the decor and the food but the service was slow. I notice the waiter was busy and good thing I had a big breakfast. It took us about two hours to finish the meal.

 

Unknown to me at tat time, this was the only specialty restaurant we ate on ship. With the kids, it was easiest to eat at the buffets and several dinners at Grand Pacific and Alizar. The service was excellent at those two restaurants I thought but maybe it was the dark (romantic) atmosphere which somehow made my kids sleepy. Alizar is located in the middle of ship and my wife notice less rocking there.

 

My kids loved the kids club but is limited between 9- Noon and 7 -10 PM. I had to force the kids to go ashore. Not willing to pay the high NCL shore excursions, I took Roberts land tours in Maui and Kauai. Since we didn't have reservations, Robert Hawaii accomodated us on another shuttle.

On Kona, there's a small beach for kids within the pier. If you walk along the shopping strip you get nice pictures of you and the ship. Also in Kauai port, you can take shuttle to Anchor Cove Shopping to a beach near the Marriott. The waves were rough so the kids ended up playing near the mouth of the river ending at the ocean which is calmer.

 

The passengers on the ship were nice and friendly, consisting a mixture of families, honeymooners, seniors, and foreigners of all countries. There wasn't much of a nightlife with the ship quiet by 10 PM. We usually retire in by 9 PM since our kids still hadn't adjusted to the 3 hour difference from West Coast time.

 

Throughout the cruise, I did not like the layout of the ship compared to other cruise lines. POH aft elevator ended only at Deck 6. POH is the largest ship I've been and its a long walk from one end to the other. However, the shopping store is the largest I seen. Still our favorite ship is still the Disney ship's layout and activities.

 

We took advantage of the EasyFly luggage program since we had a redeye flight and no weight limit on bags. Our large bag weighed 60 pounds.

 

On day of disembarkment, we ate our breakfast at our own time but when it was time for everyone to leave at 10 AM, there was a large crowd packed along the stairs to Deck 7. That was an unpleasant experience we'll always remember.

 

On the last day, my kids had the greatest time at Waikiki beach. My wife and I were tired and were happy to be going home.

 

Overall, the trip was memorable with a hurricane and a tsunami scare from Peru earthquake. Next time to Hilo, I just got to find those lava rocks somewhere in the house.

[judyf]

Thanks for the review, sorry you didn't have a better time.

[CC Help Michell]

Thanks for taking the time to post your review, especially since you cruised during Flossie and the (thankfully) brief tsunami warning. As I read your review, I couldn't help wishing you'd found us at some point before your cruise -- the tradeoff for the late disembarkation NCL offers (you didn't leave until 10:00 AM) is that sometimes you have to wait a while for your cabin to be ready when you embark. At that you did better than us by about 1/2 hour on cabin readiness (3:45 PM for us) and on luggage delivery (9:00 PM for us).

 

I was happy to read that they offered increased activities and some concessions for the unplanned sea days, such as surcharge-free lunches (normally no lunches from specialty restaurants are offered in Hawaii) at specialty restaurants, and the Molokai Sailby. I'm really jealous of that, in fact! :)

 

I did have one question -- you said "For a ship less than 2 years old, the mattress sinks. And I thought the bedsheets were cleaned ones every night. I do like the smell of clean fresh bedsheets." I'm just wondering, have you sailed a line that changes the bedsheets every day? I've never found one -- and since at home I'm happy if I strip/wash/change once per week, I've never found occasion to ask on a cruise or land-based vacation! :)

 

On the rocks at your home -- return them as soon as you can! :) Madame Pele considers them her children, and her bad mojo has a long eye! ;)

 

Again, thanks for the review and input.

[NORMAN8]

Don't get me wrong. With some problems with the trip, it turn out better than I expected. During the trip I was able to go and see places without renting a car. Your right about the bedsheets. My wife said all the ships we went to, no bedsheets were replaced new. I only complained about it because one night I was so itchy and uncomfortable feeling the sinking mattress and some sand. I think the kids were jumping up and down on the bed and dropping sand. Ughh.

 

I do like the freestyle dining because I get to eat where and when. Problem is the popular time like 6:30 PM, the dining areas get crowded and a pager is given so it makes a sound when a table is ready.

 

Thursday was Lobster and Prime Rib night and I was disappointed. I'm used to eating fresh Boston Lobster but the ship's Lobster I believe is from the Pacific which tastes saltier. Do Pacific Lobsters suppose to taste salty? As for the Prime Rib, I'm used to good Prime Rib melting in my mouth. The ship's Lobster cooked medium rare was kind of chewy and tough. There was one night at the buffet where I remembered the beef tasted softer and more delicious.

 

I've been to Hilo so missing the port was no problem with me but I prefered to be ported back in Honolulu or Maui rather than stuck at sea. One of the reasons I chose this cruise because I didn't want to be stuck on sea. My recent cruise with Holland America, HAL compensated each passenger with $50 on board credit because of couple hours earlier departation from port due to their engine problem. I got spoiled and thought NCL should somehow give on board credit. That's why I didn't sign up for another cruise on NCL.

[ACCagent]

I've been to Hilo so missing the port was no problem with me but I prefered to be ported back in Honolulu or Maui rather than stuck at sea. One of the reasons I chose this cruise because I didn't want to be stuck on sea. My recent cruise with Holland America, HAL compensated each passenger with $50 on board credit because of couple hours earlier departation from port due to their engine problem. I got spoiled and thought NCL should somehow give on board credit. That's why I didn't sign up for another cruise on NCL.

 

Maybe you have the answer right in your report. On your HAl cruise the fault was with their ship and on this one the weather is not controlled by NCLA.

[NORMAN8]

I'm interested with other cruisers on the 8/13 trip. Did you feel disappointed with the Sea day? There wasn't much to do. I had to kill time by watching a Casino Royal movie. I thought NCL should have provided more activities.

[judyf]

I'm interested with other cruisers on the 8/13 trip. Did you feel disappointed with the Sea day? There wasn't much to do. I had to kill time by watching a Casino Royal movie. I thought NCL should have provided more activities.

 

Especially meaning there's no casino!!!

[Bigmonty69]

I too was on the 8/13 cruise and, although I was initally disappointed by the day at sea, the ship made every effort to put stuff on for you to do. The wife and I went and got some VIP private Spa treatment, which was good when once we figured out what to do!

 

The sail by Molokai was amazing, I would say it was better than the Napali coast although I could see no water falls. There was a double rainbow off the side of the boat however.

 

I will write my own review when I get time but I will say this. I was initally apprehensive about NCL America cruises after reading reviews on here about bad service etc. I saw virtually none of this when I was on the boat. Everyone was very nice, the ship was in great condition (I loved the fact the we were second on the ship and got to roam around exploring with nobody else on it).

 

I put down a fair bit of the previous bad reviews to you Americans who wrote the reviews being far too fusy. I saw a fair few Americans on the boat moaning and complaining about anything they could think instead of just trying to enjoy themselves. All in all we had a great time even though we didn't get to go to Hilo or see the lava!

 

P.S try Captain Zodiac's snorkel trip, this was one of the highlights of our cruise!

[karen2cruz]

I've been to Hilo so missing the port was no problem with me but I prefered to be ported back in Honolulu or Maui rather than stuck at sea. .

 

Port authroities have their ports scheduled at least a year in advance. The cruiseline cant just show up at a port. I am sure if they could have taken you to another port they would have. This was weather related change of itinerary, sothe cruiseline owed you nothing more than any port fees as a refund, if applicable.

[Don Haynes]

Of the five ports of call NCLA visits in Hawaii, remember NCLA has three ships operating pretty much the same itinerary. Therefore, with only one dock availablle at each port of call, and with three ships operating the same itinerary starting on three different consecutive days, its practically impossible to go to another port in this storm. Surely, the other ports have another ship in port.