POA 10/17-24 review

[bankofdad]

Hi Jillann39,

 

If the ship was short staffed, we sure didn't notice it. Service and attitude was fantastic (don't read too much into my comments on the cruise director, as I had very limited exposure to him, and other passengers confirm that this was NOT the norm).

 

If you take this cruise, you will have an absolutely fantastic time if you go with the laid back atmosphere (after all, isn't this what Hawaii is all about?).

 

Have fun!

[jillann39]

Bankofdad, Thanks...I know we're going to have a good time. We're not seasoned cruisers with super high expectations...the Outback-type service, if friendly and accommodating, is fine by me! I'm just so glad I read your review or we would have bagged the whole thing and gone for a completely different trip, but now I'm excited. I'm taking many of your pre-cruise recommendations and I have a totally new attitude about the whole trip. I've wanted to see Hawaii for a long time and now I feel lucky for winning it instead of dreading going. So, thanks again. :)

[virgenia]

jillann39

 

How lucky were you and your SO to win this cruise. We went on the 9/19 cruise and I agree completely with everything BankofDad has so generously shared. This is absolutely the best way to get a flavor of four of the islands--and they are all different. May I suggest that at least on Maui and Kauai you rent cars and see the islands. They are actually much smaller than you might imagine because the centers of each of the islands is volcanic and there are few if any roads. You can do a circumnavigation of the islands (almost, but not quite all the way around on Kauai--the NaPali cliffs get in the way) and you can stop along the way to swim, do various activities, and do it quite cheaply without worrying about missing the ship sailing. The overnights on these two islands give you a LOT of flexibility.

[jillann39]

virgenia, thanks for the suggestions.... and we are definately planning to rent a car on Maui and stay in a hotel for the overnight and really do some exploring. That's why I haven't been a cruise fanatic up to this point is the lack of time in port. 8-5 is not enough time to see much...but this cruise gives you so much time that I hopt to really get a feel for each island. So you recommend also getting a car for the days in Kauai? I took a recommendation of a few on here and ordered the books on Maui and Kauai. I'm curious about the Entertainment book that some people have mentioned and what it is and how to get it.?? thanks again.:o

[SweetEmi]

http://www.entertainment.com will get you to where you can order a book. *smile* I love mine!!

 

Have a wonderful time,

Emi

[virgenia]

jillann39

 

Renting a car on Kauai (or Maui for that matter) is something you have to decide for yourself. If you like the excursions POA offers, then certainly you don't need to rent a car. We just liked the idea of being able to see the island on our own and the overnight gave us the freedom to do that. We did not keep the car overnight in Kauai because we did a helicopter tour on the 1/2 day there. It was really cheap to rent the car for the day--I am remembering $29 or so. We had another couple with us--left the ship and drove up the west side of the island, came back for lunch, then drove around the island in the other direction as far as we could go. It was a lot of driving and we did not stop at any "sights" other than the caves at the north end of the island. But it was still an interesting and inexpensive way to see the island.

[jillann39]

SweetEmi, thanks for the help with the entainment book. Got it!

Virgenia, thanks again for more info. we are going to rent the car and explore on our own. I'm counting the days and still pinching myself that we actually won this trip!

[travellovervic]

 

We are traveling with a older couple and I think we are going to do mostly the rent a car thing. I love to snorkle but know that I won't be able to go as much as I would like.

 

If you had to choose the "best" snorkling place where would it be? Also, I see lots of folks taking the Body Glove Snorket trip? Did you hear anyone talking about the other snorkling trips offered in Kona?

 

Merg55:

We came back from Hawaii just this week, still suffered from jet lag and back to work blues. We were on the POA Oct 24-31 sailing.

In Kona, we joined the NCL excursion for Kona culture and snorkel. We went to the Place of Refuge Park, and snorkeled from the black volcanic rock area. It was beautiful, lots of fish, water was clear and coral colorful. It may be a good compromise if you are traveling with the elderly. You don't have to take a boat ride from shore. My wife is usually timid about swimming and snorkeling, and she was fine going out from shore on her own. She enjoyed it there even better than Hanauma Bay in Oahu, where the coral is a bit shallow for her liking.

I enjoyed BOD's review very much and agreed with most of the postings above. We recommend the POA from the same perspective, great way to see Hawaii, but don't expect it to be like other traditional cruise experience. I will write my own review soon.

Vic

[RenieRaider]

Bank of Dad.

Great review! Thanks! I will go back and read it again later in the year?

Did I miss it? Did you mention Pearl Harbor? I was told we could NOT pre-book Pearl Harbor tours until on the ship? Is that true? And why? Do you know?

[Ocean Spirit]

Thanks Vic, I'll look into that. Appreciate everyones input

[bankofdad]

Hi RenieRaider,

 

Regarding the Pearl Harbor tour and pre-booking it, unless they have changed something since we went on our trip, you cannot book it until you are on the ship.

 

When we were planning our trip prior to leaving for Hawaii, DW and I had discussed going to Pearl Harbor the day we disembarked (our flight home didn't leave until 5:30PM), and even went so far as to call NCL to try and pre-book the tour. If I recall correctly, the NCL rep told us that the excursion offering for the Pearl Harbor tour might not happen with each cruise. There were some of the early (July-Sept) POA cruises that had a tremendous problem getting a bus going to Pearl Harbor early enough (traffic and organizational problems at the pier) for guests to be able to secure tender tickets to go out to the memorial.

 

I would suggest contacting NCL shore excursions about this question directly, as much of the organizational capabilites associated with this cruise have dramatically improved since July.

 

Have a great trip!

[SA Traveler]

Bankofdad -We'll be on this cruise in June with our 10 year old granddaughter. We are booked in 9276. Are we going to be very crowded with three of us in this cabin? I really appreciate getting all the information your review has provided. We're going to the Panama Canal in December on Celebrity's Galaxy but once we get home we will get started with our plans for Hawaii. Your review will be so helpful! Thank you so much. Lou

[bankofdad]

Hi Lou,

 

I think the three of you will be just fine in this cabin.

 

As has well been documented on the POA subject, the rooms are somewhat smaller than what you might be used to, but the layout of cabin 9276 (I can't speak for other cabins) really isn't that bad.

 

As you enter the stateroom, the closet area is on the immediate right hand side, and the bathroom on the immediate left. The closet is small, as is the bathroom. The closet had three small/medium sized drawers, a bar to hang up your cloths, and a storage shelf over the top of the cloths bar. For us, we did bring extra hangers, but probobly didn't need them. There were twenty of the standard hangers already in the closet. In the bathroom, we had room to place all of our standard toiletries on the counter (toothpaste, razor, shaving cream, lotions, etc.), but I do not recall there being any wall-mounted storage shelves (I could be wrong on this one, but if no one else can offer a more positive answer, I would assume that I'm correct and plan accordingly). The shower had built-in shelves that were large enough for shampoo/conditioner bottles, and bar soap. The dispensers only provide the liquid type soaps and shampoos, so we brought the stuff we like with us.

 

Once your past the bathroom/closet area in your stateroom, the first item you'll bump into is the queen bed. The headbord is on the left wall (as you face the door leading out to the balcony). Just past the bed is the sleeper sofa, which is also located on the left wall. Direcly accross from the sleeper sofa (on the right-hand wall) is the desk/vanity, with a 19" TV suspended from the ceiling. The coffee maker is also sitting on the desk.

 

There is also a small coffee table that sits in front of the sofa sleeper.

 

If you can find something to do with the small coffee table (place it out on the balcony as others have done), you won't have any issues with moving around the cabin with the sleeper sofa unfolded. You would have an clear path for both yourself and your wife as well as your grand-daughter to the bathroom as well as the balcony without having to crawl over one another.

Also, underneath the main bed there is quite a bit of storage space for empty clothing bags and other suitcases. My wife and I are infamous for overpacking, and we each brought a very large suitcase, aand we each brought a larger clothing bag. We were able to hang up all of our cloths from the clothing bags in the closet, store the clothing bags under the bed, and then we used our larger suitcases as our "drawer" during the trip (i.e. we kept it under the bed as well, and simply slid it out when we were in the room and needed something that wouldn't fit in the closet drawers).

 

Regarding the balcony, we were very very satisfied. If you are inside the cabin looking out the sliding balcony doors, it is the right hand door that slides open leading you out on to the balcony . It had two chairs (not loungers) and a small table. If you did put the coffe table (the one that is normally in front of the sleeper sofa) out on the balcony, you could easily shove it into a corner where it would not be in the way at all. Another nice thing about this balcony being on the back of the ship was that you could relax on it and still sun yourself (because the ship is sloped in the back). When we sailed around the NaPali coast, we really enjoyed the time we spent relaxing and enjoying the view and the privacy while soaking up the rays.

 

The location of the cabin within the ship was also ideal for us. Your located very near the aft stairwell and elevators, which made it very convenient to access the buffet and Crossings, as well as several of the specialty restaurants, bars, pool, and show lounge. Getting to the atrium area (mid-ship deck 5) and disembarkation deck (located deck 3 forward) required a little bit of walking, but it really wasn't an issue to us at all when considering all of the other advantages. I don't recall where the kids club programs met at (we left our three children with Grandma on this trip), so I can't tell you much about that. All-in-all, We found the ship very easy to navigate. We spent some time studying the layout and applying CC passenger tips from these boards to the layout before we left, and by the time we got there, we felt like we knew the ship well, and never had to spend the time to "search" for anything onboard.

 

Have a great trip! If I can answer any other questions, please just ask.

[Catmomma]

My cabin (8233) had quite a bit of wall storage in the bathroom. 6 nooks above the sink to put toiletries.

[jealdaka]

Okay, weird question. Do you by any chance remember the names of the butlers even though you didn't use them much? I'm wondering if they were Kevin or Darrin?

[bankofdad]

Ours was a category BA stateroom (not a suite) so I can't help with the butler question. Sorry!

[virgenia]

jealdaka

 

We had (but did not use) butlers on our 9/19 cruise. One was named Chris, can't remember the other, but it was not Kevin or Darren.

 

Virginia

[debiitodd]

Bankofdad ~ Mahalo nui loa (thank-you very much) for your wonderful review. I am leaving for the Hawaiian Islands in 19 days! I have been checking out the Hawaii boards to get ideas of what to do with my teenagers while cruising the islands! Although I am on a different ship, you have given some great ideas for our excursions. We love to snorkel and your advice is very helpful. I will submit a review, upon my return, to return the courtesy that many posters (such as yourself) have given us by posting reviews. Again: Mahalo nui loa for your awesome review! :D

 

Aloha!

Kepi (debi) :cool:

[bankofdad]

Hi Lou,

 

I did confirm with DW that the bathroom in 9276 did not have any storage shelves/nooks. However, as Virginia had posted, hers did (room 8223). From what I had read over these past months, a lot of the rooms may be set up with slight differences. Just something for others reading these posts to keep in mind while planning.

 

Debiitodd - thank you for the kind reply. I'm very happy to help if I can. So many others helped me prior to my trip, and I'm just sharing in the same way that they did.

 

Have a great trip!

[KBC]

Dear Bankofdad

 

If I may add my sincere thanks for your wonderfully informative insight into Hawaii.

 

May I ask a question in relation to the Dolphin Excursions trip which you enjoyed in Oahu. I would simply love to experience 'swimming with dolphins' but have difficulty with the concept of those in captivity.

 

When I read that you had been 'dropped into a pod' I was delighted at the idea of such a natural (well almost!!) opportunity.

 

Did you go on the early (7:30am) tour??

 

Unfortunately our ship (Island Princess) doesn't dock until 8am and I noticed the Dolphin Excursions website details the early morning tour as being the only one which allows the 'dolphin' encounter??

 

Thank you in advance for you kind assistance. :)

[bankofdad]

HI KCB,

 

The tour operator does offer the late morning/early PM tour, but from what the Captain and crew told us, the success rate in being able to entounter the larger pads is over 90% for the early morning tour, while the success rate for the later tour is about 50%. At the time we went, this tour operator was rated by many of the independent agencies as one of the "top 10" things to do in Hawaii, and from the things we did while we were there, I'd agree with that perception.

 

While we were able to participate in the morning tour because of our pre-cruise stay in Waikiki, knowing what I know now, I would definitely take the later tour if that was my only alternative. Obviously, the dolphin "drop" was the highlight, but the tour up the west coast of Oahu (which is remote compared to other areas on the island) was very scenic, and we enjoyed it very much. They also stopped at a nice spot where we were able to swim very close to a number of larger green sea turtles. The boat ride itself was very fun, too.

 

If you decide to go, I hope your tour has great success and you enjoy yourselves very much. Have a great trip!

[SA Traveler]

Bankofdad - I thought I had posted a reply to you about a week ago. I don't know what I did wrong. Anyway - thank you so much for all the detailed information on the cabin. It sounds like we will be fine. We have in the past asked our cabin steward to store some of our luggage for us so I'm assuming we can do that if we need to. Also on the Island Princess in July we had a mini suite and also had the problem with accessing the balcony when the sofa bed was open. My FIL was with us so we had a wheel chair that took up some room. The cabin steward took the table out for us so it wouldn't be in our way. We leave on the 6th for the Panama Canal on the Celebrity Galaxy so once we're home we'll start getting excited about our POA trip in June! Thans again for your great review and the cabin info. Lou

 

(P.S. - I'm the "wife" - Herb is my DH - I should learn that I need to make that clear since it happens all the time!)

[Queen of Adventure]

Hi Queen of Adventure,

 

CC Member 10X (his real name is Denny) posted this link to some underwater photos he had taken on his trip, some of which are from the dolphin excursion (www.dolphinexcursion.com) I chanced upon this information while looking at an unrelated thread on the Hawaii CC board, and it convinced me to try this one.

 

http://albums.photo.epson.com/j/AlbumIndex?u=4074962&a=31166402&f=

 

I hope you try it and have a great time!

Excellent! Thanks for the link:D

[Seaislegal]

BankofDad

 

 

Great Review! Quick question, what was the pricing on some of the excursions (e.g., the Shark Snorkel, the Catamaran trips) and how much did the dinner at the Cabana restaurant run?

 

Thanks!

[bankofdad]

Hi seaislegal,

 

Here's an idea of what we spent, but I can say that I've seen where others have done better on the price:

 

- Cabanas - $120 for the two of us (this includes tip)

- North Shore Shark Adventures - $128 if you get in the cage, $60 if just watching from the deck

- Dolphin Excursion - $110 each (AM tour)

- Holoholo NaPali tour (Kaui - AM tour) - $119 each

- Jack Harter (Kaui - AM tour) 90 minute flight - $249 each (60 minute much less)

- Fair Winds Kona (highlight of our trip) - $93.00 each

- Four Winds Maui AM tour - $86 each

 

We did splurge on this trip but I feel every penny we spent was worth it, IMHO, except for Molokini (and it is probable I just went on a bad day, as others have loved it).

 

I hope this helps, and whatever you chose, I hope you have a trip of a lifetime like we did!