POA/Hawaii review - 12/24/16

Figured I'd post this here also since I hit upon some items that people ask about on this board! Will answer any/all questions that I can.

Just got back from POA 12/24-12/31. Traveled with dh58, dd25, dd28. Had 2 large balcony cabins - 8528/8530.

- Took Hawaiian Airlines direct from JFK to Oahu on 12/22. 1 hour delay going. Stayed at Holiday Inn Beachcomber Waikiki - 2 rooms - nice hotel for pre-cruise. Close to everything, good price. Clean.

- Used JohnnyCab for all travel on Oahu. Pickup at airport to hotel, hotel to Pearl Harbor on 12/23, Pearl Harbor back to hotel, hotel to port on 12/24, and from port did island tour for 5 hours on 12/31 before flight back to JFK. Cannot say enough about Johnny and his number one driver Mark!! Prompt, good prices, great attitude, friendly.

-Boarding POA - got to ship at 11:30. Dropped luggage off (no porters - did it ourselves) checked in, got boarding pass - group C. Waited only about 15 minutes, and were then onboard. We grabbed a quick lunch at buffet, then dropped our carry-ons at East meets West. They will store them for you until 2:30. If you are back after 2:30 you can pick up your stuff at Guest Services. Walked to King K's statue, and looked at Ioni Palace. Back on board explored ship until cabins were ready. They "release" the cabins deck by deck, and not in deck order. Our cabins was ready around 2:40 - later than on other NCL cruises we have taken. Got our luggage about 1 hour later.

- cabins were adjoining. Steward introduced himself. Would NOT open balcony doors for us. (we had read some reviews that said some would, some wouldn't) Cabin was adequate for our needs, though I found bathroom storage limited. Also didn't like the "cage" shelves in closet - held less than regular shelves on other ships. But again - we made do!

- Food/drink - ate at Cagneys, Moderno, La Cuchina and Jefferson's Bistro as part of dining plan. Cagneys was good - others were meh - especially seafood at Jefferson's. Buffet was - well, buffet. Always found something to eat. Cadillac diner was okay - I prefer O'Sheehans. Didn't order room service. Did not get drink plan. We did get wine package for first time - 4 bottles for $105 I think it was. Not being able to bring water on was a pain. They were VERY strict - even making everyone throw out bottles of drink bought in port. (which we knew they would do from reading cc before we went.) Went through backpacks very thoroughly if they saw something at screening entering ship at all ports. Ended up getting water for cabin at gift shop and excursions- 5 bottles for $10 - not bad. (or $2.50 per bottle if bought singly) Also got good use out of soda plan I bought on board.

- Shows - I had all intentions of seeing every show. However, we were so tired after our excursions we were in bed early each evening, and saw no shows except lava flow by Mother Nature!

- Excursions - Here, I could have killed dh. After months of researching, I picked out the excursions I wanted, using private companies. Comes time to book them, dh decides he wanted mostly NCL excursions!! I explained, complained, yelled, etc. that they were more expensive for same excursions, but couldn't change his mind. We were traveling with dd28, who is special needs, so I could see part of his point, but happy husband = happy marriage, so he "won."

-Honolulu - pre-cruise - Pearl Harbor on our own and laua, then island tour at end of cruise. Pearl Harbor is amazing. Were there at 8:10 a.m. when they played the Star Spangled Banner to commemorate the time PH was attacked. Very touching - dh had tears in his eyes he was so moved. We walked to the Laua at the aquarium. Was fine. For the price we paid (groupon) couldn't beat it.

-Maui - Molokini Crater snorkel (NCL) and Rainforest hike/waterfalls. (NCL) both pretty good. There were people on the Molokini Crater snorket boat that booked directly through Pacific Whale Foundation. While they paid less than us, they had to get their own transportation to and from the PWF boat, and they were seated in the small top (very windy) section of the PWF boat. NCL people got seated in the bottom (covered, if you wanted) section, and got their gear and food first.

-Hilo - Marylou tour (private van) with Ken as driver. Volcano National Park, museum, waterfalls, black sand beach, macademia nut factory, saw sea turtles. Relaxing. Ken very flexible. At at local food place Ken recommended. Good tour.

- Kona - Captain Zodiac snorkel thru NCL - fantastic!! Saw 2 kinds of dolphins, humpback whales, hammerhead sharks, and good snorkeling. Thanks, Captain Chris! Tendering back from Kona was a pain - over a 30 minute line for tender. Also saw lava flow at 9:45 pm from ship.

- Kaui - Helicopter tour with Jack Harter Helicopters. Fantastic. Then Surf lessons (private) on beach near ship. Kanapali coast sailby 5:15 at night. Our cabins were port side, so we stayed there to watch. Can turn tv on loud and you can hear the commentary by naturalist (China) that is heard on deck 11/12.

Back in Oahu - debark sooo easy. Island tour with Johnnycab - Mark as driver. Went to Leonards bakery for malafadas, beaches, blowhole, diamondhead, etc. Dropped us off at airport at 2, where we had a 1 hour delay for flight back to NY. Celebrated NYE twice on plane - once in "NY" time, and once in "HI" time!

All in all, we had a great cruise. Every crew member we met was great. Saw none of the "attitude" we heard about on this ship due to American crew. Crew worked hard to keep ship clean. Band at pool was waaay too loud for us - we found quiet places on deck to enjoy instead. Dining plan restaurants slightly disappointing. Bought 4 more future cruise certificates on board. We now need a vacation from our vacation! Will be glad to try to answer any questions. Happy New Year to all!

___

Thanks for posting this review. We are looking forward to our Feb. cruise. We have a port side balcony room. So we should be able to see the Coastline without tall people in front of us.--I'm short and will enjoy the fact that we can hear the narration from the tv in our room. Thanks again for posting.

Thanks for posting this review. We are looking forward to our Feb. cruise. We have a port side balcony room. So we should be able to see the Coastline without tall people in front of us.--I'm short and will enjoy the fact that we can hear the narration from the tv in our room. Thanks again for posting.

Port side balcony is definitely better for you. We sat and enjoyed the coastline and sunset without fighting the crowds. I hope you enjoy the cruise and islands as much as we did!

Thanks for the review.

Did I understand you correctly? You boarded, ate, then dropped luggage at East meets west & got back off the ship to explore the island some more?

We will be there for 4 days before boarding so I'm kind of envisioning embarkation day as a relax by the whirlwind of the ports. Does that seem reasonable?

Why did you chose JohnnyCab over Uber/Lyft?

Thanks for the review.

 

Did I understand you correctly? You boarded, ate, then dropped luggage at East meets west & got back off the ship to explore the island some more?

 

We will be there for 4 days before boarding so I'm kind of envisioning embarkation day as a relax by the whirlwind of the ports. Does that seem reasonable?

 

Why did you chose JohnnyCab over Uber/Lyft?

Will uber/Lyft do "Island Tours"? This is what Johnny Cab provided for them, with airport drop off at the end.

As far as what you do on embark day, it really depends on the person, and how long they have been in Waikiki. Some people only flew in the day before, and may never visit Hawaii again. The ship does not leave port until 7:00 pm, so why not spend the day touring under these circumstances. If you've had a few days to see the sights, then you may want to follow your plan and board as early as possible and spend the day relaxing. There is plenty to do on board.

The ship does not leave port until 7:00 pm, so why not spend the day touring under these circumstances.

That's the piece I was missing. I was mistakenly thinking this was a "standard" 4 p.m. departure.

Thanks for this review! It does answer some questions and very glad to hear the port side comments. Patty...we're also going in February but probably not your trip. Should be awesome, then, though!

Thanks for the review.

 

Did I understand you correctly? You boarded, ate, then dropped luggage at East meets west & got back off the ship to explore the island some more?

 

We will be there for 4 days before boarding so I'm kind of envisioning embarkation day as a relax by the whirlwind of the ports. Does that seem reasonable?

 

Why did you chose JohnnyCab over Uber/Lyft?

Yes - we dropped luggage off in terminal, checked in, boarded, ate lunch, then left the ship for 1 hour. East meets West will hold your carryons.

If you are spending 4 days in Oahu pre-cruise I would definitely relax before the cruise begins. We were exhausted by the end of the cruise!

I have never used Uber, even though dd25 has the app on her phone. I just felt more comfortable with Johnnycab. I had emailed him literally 6 months before to go over my pick-up/drop-offs. I am a planner, and like having everything set before my cruises. He always got back to me the same day (I would email him 6 a.m. NY time, which is 1 a.m. Hawaii time - by 2 pm NY time I would get a response.) Once in Hawaii we worked by phone texts.

Just another comment about Johnnycab: taxis are all over the place in Oahu. We were traveling with 4 adults, 4 large suitcases, 4 backpacks. Many cabs were smaller, and would not have fit us. If you are only traveling with 2, I would probably Uber/Lyft it, or just grab a cab. We had a very comfortable large van that would fit 6-8 people for the same price as a cab.

Thank you for the review. We sail end of Feb. too and this is very helpful. Couple of questions.

1. The steward wouldn't open the balcony door - Does that mean the door wouldn't open at all or just that you personally had to open it ? What is the reasoning behind him not opening it ?

2. Water on ship - Do they not have water faucets in the dining room where we can refill our water bottles ?

Thank you for the review. We sail end of Feb. too and this is very helpful. Couple of questions.

 

1. The steward wouldn't open the balcony door - Does that mean the door wouldn't open at all or just that you personally had to open it ? What is the reasoning behind him not opening it ?

 

2. Water on ship - Do they not have water faucets in the dining room where we can refill our water bottles ?

1. The door between balconies has to be open with a special kind of "key." He said he couldn't open it due to fire safety restrictions. Yet, I had read other POA reviews where the steward had opened it. The door between our adjoining cabins also had to be initially unlocked by the steward, cause not everyone has family in the adjoining cabin. He unlocked it immediately upon verifying we wanted it unlocked.

2. There are no water faucets in the dining room/restaurants to refill water bottles. However, there are spigots in the buffet where you can use a cup (there are signs up not to fill H20 bottles directly from the spigot because of the spread of germs- though people do it all the time) to fill your bottles. Or use the faucet in your cabin - it is the same water coming from all spigots/faucets on the ship!!

1. The door between balconies has to be open with a special kind of "key." He said he couldn't open it due to fire safety restrictions. Yet, I had read other POA reviews where the steward had opened it. The door between our adjoining cabins also had to be initially unlocked by the steward, cause not everyone has family in the adjoining cabin. He unlocked it immediately upon verifying we wanted it unlocked.

 

2. There are no water faucets in the dining room/restaurants to refill water bottles. However, there are spigots in the buffet where you can use a cup (there are signs up not to fill H20 bottles directly from the spigot because of the spread of germs- though people do it all the time) to fill your bottles. Or use the faucet in your cabin - it is the same water coming from all spigots/faucets on the ship!!

Thank you. I missed the part that it was the balcony door between the 2 adjoining suites lol. Too early in the morning for me

Did you use Johnny Cab for tours only, or did they take you to Pearl Harbor and then pick you up when you were through. Thank you.

Did you use Johnny Cab for tours only, or did they take you to Pearl Harbor and then pick you up when you were through. Thank you.

We used them for all our Oahu transportation - airport to hotel, hotel to Pearl Harbor, Pearl Harbor back to hotel, hotel to cruise ship, then off cruise ship for 5 hour island tour with airport drop-off at end. So all in all, 5 trips. When we were close to finishing Pearl Harbor we called JC, and they were waiting to pick us up when we left the facility. (JC wanted us to call them instead of setting an exact pick-up time, cause people spend all different amounts of time at PH, depending on what tickets they got, how long they are at the exhibits, crowds, etc.)

POA has 2 main dining rooms - Skyline & Liberty. Are the menus identical?

Men's shorts are allowed in Skyline, but not Liberty - is the food the same?

Thanks,

Terry

POA has 2 main dining rooms - Skyline & Liberty. Are the menus identical?

Men's shorts are allowed in Skyline' date=' but not Liberty - is the food the same?

Thanks,

Terry[/quote']

Liberty is only open for dinner - skyline is open for breakfast, lunch and dinner. The menus are the same for dinner.

My brother in law has a special tool he brings when cruising so he can open the balcony doors himself. I may need to borrow that for our POA cruise in Oct!

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My brother in law has a special tool he brings when cruising so he can open the balcony doors himself. I may need to borrow that for our POA cruise in Oct!

 

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Just curious what kind of tool he uses? :confused:

We were on the POA last March and also asked to have the balcony divider opened between our cabin and our friends'...and were denied. :rolleyes:

When we sailed on Princess they opened the divider with a smile...made for a much more enjoyable cruise when we could spend time on the balcony with our friends.

Just curious what kind of tool he uses? :confused:

 

We were on the POA last March and also asked to have the balcony divider opened between our cabin and our friends'...and were denied. :rolleyes:

 

When we sailed on Princess they opened the divider with a smile...made for a much more enjoyable cruise when we could spend time on the balcony with our friends.

I guess it's just a screwdriver. He said he found that information here on Cruise Critic. He looks it up for each ship.

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My brother in law has a special tool he brings when cruising so he can open the balcony doors himself. I may need to borrow that for our POA cruise in Oct!

I guess it's just a screwdriver. He said he found that information here on Cruise Critic. He looks it up for each ship.

 

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Ha ha! A screwdriver isn't exactly a "special tool"! :) Might have to consider adding one to our packing list!

Ha ha! A screwdriver isn't exactly a "special tool"! :) Might have to consider adding one to our packing list!

Yea, I had to laugh too when he said it was a special tool!

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Thanks for your review. I am sooo looking forward to my 1st trip to Hawaii.

We are also flying from NY. We are stopping At Disneyland on way for 3 nights so flight home will be the LONG one!

I booked Economy Comfort seats. Did you notice these seats, did it appear more roomy? Also did you notice if separate line for checkin.

Also How much time before flight would you say is enough time. Is 2/12 to 3 hrs plenty?

Johnny Cabs sounds good. I will need a taxi from Airport to Aulani and then from Aulani to Marriot hotel in Waikiki.

Do you think they might make a quick stop at grocery for like 15 minutes on way to Aulani?

Thanks

Kerri

Thank you for the review. It's a starting point for me as we are doing this cruise in November. Just a question, is it better to spend 4 days touring before or after the cruise? I see you did it before, just wondering your opinion.

Thank you in advance!

Thank you for the review. It's a starting point for me as we are doing this cruise in November. Just a question, is it better to spend 4 days touring before or after the cruise? I see you did it before, just wondering your opinion.

Thank you in advance!

Just my opinion - but I always prefer pre-cruise touring rather than post-cruise. This itinerary is soooo port intensive - we ran from early morning till we collapsed at night! Getting to Oahu 2 days early gave us an opportunity to see Pearl Harbor while fresh, do a laua, outrigger canoe, etc. Usually the last day of our cruise we are "ready" to go home/back to the "real" world. Others might feel that doing 4 days after the cruise will give you time to relax a bit, unwind, etc. Truly a personal choice - but I know with my family everyone is anxious to get on the plane back to friends, family, pets - but definitely not back to work!

Thanks for your review. I am sooo looking forward to my 1st trip to Hawaii.

 

We are also flying from NY. We are stopping At Disneyland on way for 3 nights so flight home will be the LONG one!

 

I booked Economy Comfort seats. Did you notice these seats, did it appear more roomy? Also did you notice if separate line for checkin.

 

Also How much time before flight would you say is enough time. Is 2/12 to 3 hrs plenty?

 

Johnny Cabs sounds good. I will need a taxi from Airport to Aulani and then from Aulani to Marriot hotel in Waikiki.

 

Do you think they might make a quick stop at grocery for like 15 minutes on way to Aulani?

Thanks

Kerri

Economy comfort seats gave about 4 more inches of space in seat, and more legroom. I would never fly to Hawaii again without one! No separate line for checkin. We were at airport 2 1/2 hours before flight and it was plenty of time.

Our JC driver asked us if we wanted to stop at a store to pick up water, etc. on way to hotel. I can't imagine that would be a problem - but when you make your pickup reservation just note it. John answered all our questions - and we had plenty!