Back from 8/15 - 8/22 POA

Aloha,
I just finished a cc review and posted under community but received a notice that their is a backlog of postings so it may be a while until it is posted. In the meantime, I have to say that the embarkation, shore excursions, staff friendliness, ship cleanliness, and general shipboard life was fine. It only took about 15 minutes to go thru the embarkation process and we were in our stateroom ( balcony) by 1ish. Room was clean and luggage was delivered by 6. We did hear many complaints about unclean rooms and late luggage delivery but such was not our case. We had a cc reception although no one from the ship attended by the time I left around 3 on Tuesday. They provided beverages and pastries. Thank you MareT for your hard work and all my fellow cc's it was great to meet you. I have to commend cc for providing such insight which prepared us for our trip. Without cc, people were going blindly on this trip and I think that the many disgruntled passengers were the ones who had no idea what to expect. The dining was the issue. We ate in the specialty restuarants 4 times and had a luau one night so only ate in the freebies twice. No buffet dinners for us because we were not pleased with the selections. The dining room is short staffed so waits were unreasonable. In NYC, we will wait up to an hour for some restaurants but on this ship it easily exceeded that. This made many people miserable for the entire trip.
I think NCL did try to accomodate with a resort fee credit and future cruise credits but I think if they tell people in advance what to expect, the anger may be reduced. There is a lot to write but we just came home so I wanted to put this out for my fellow cc's. I will be happy to answer questions but for now, I am goign to sleep and will check in on tuesday!
All the best to my new friends, MareT and her H (great people), Sydsmom also (and Syd!), R4cents and Elaine who did a great hula!!! The ship does have a lot going for it and if you can get past the dining room issue you will have a great time. We did and I know many others did too.
All the best

THANK YOU for your positive review! I remember sailing on the Independence and my first impression was "I've made a mistake". However, that lasted only as long as it took to look around me...beyond the ship...to the beautiful landscape! This is a "destination" cruise. The focus should be on Hawaii, and not so much on the vessel.

[quote name='LouChamp']Aloha,
I just finished a cc review and posted under community but received a notice that their is a backlog of postings so it may be a while until it is posted. In the meantime, I have to say that the embarkation, shore excursions, staff friendliness, ship cleanliness, and general shipboard life was fine. It only took about 15 minutes to go thru the embarkation process and we were in our stateroom ( balcony) by 1ish. Room was clean and luggage was delivered by 6. We did hear many complaints about unclean rooms and late luggage delivery but such was not our case. We had a cc reception although no one from the ship attended by the time I left around 3 on Tuesday. They provided beverages and pastries. Thank you MareT for your hard work and all my fellow cc's it was great to meet you. I have to commend cc for providing such insight which prepared us for our trip. Without cc, people were going blindly on this trip and I think that the many disgruntled passengers were the ones who had no idea what to expect. The dining was the issue. We ate in the specialty restuarants 4 times and had a luau one night so only ate in the freebies twice. No buffet dinners for us because we were not pleased with the selections. The dining room is short staffed so waits were unreasonable. In NYC, we will wait up to an hour for some restaurants but on this ship it easily exceeded that. This made many people miserable for the entire trip.
I think NCL did try to accomodate with a resort fee credit and future cruise credits but I think if they tell people in advance what to expect, the anger may be reduced. There is a lot to write but we just came home so I wanted to put this out for my fellow cc's. I will be happy to answer questions but for now, I am goign to sleep and will check in on tuesday!
All the best to my new friends, MareT and her H (great people), Sydsmom also (and Syd!), R4cents and Elaine who did a great hula!!! The ship does have a lot going for it and if you can get past the dining room issue you will have a great time. We did and I know many others did too.
All the best[/QUOTE]

A postive attitude goes a looong way, and that's what we are taking to the 9/5/04 sailing of the POA. Can you tell us did the ship dock at the posted times? Especially in Maui, as we have a independent excursion booked. Bob & Debbie

9/5/04 POA

Welcome home. I am glad you had a good trip even though the dining issues still exist. Being prepared can make a HUGE difference. I can't wait to re-book this trip in the spring:)

Thanks again and I look forward to reading your entire review.

Sandy

Could you tell how the luau went and which one did you go too. It sounds like the cruise is improving.

The ship docked on schedule or within minutes of the posted times. We did leave Maui 1 hour late on Saturday night but we docked in Honolulu on time Sunday morning. We went to the Old Lahaina Luau in Maui which is regularly rated very high. We enjoyed it very much. They book early and the earlier you book determines where you sit. The taxi fare from the pier to the luau and back is about 50 - 60 dollars each way so we rented an Avis car for $50 and had a car for 24 hours. We took a tour Fri am and then rented the car (they shuttle you for free to the aiport pickup which is just a few minutes away and drop you back off). And drove to Lahaina and the luau and the next day to Wailoa (which has fabulous hotels). The ship docks in an industrial port so if you don't take two days of tours, there is nothing to do.
The am tour, car rental, Lahaina visit (with great atmoshphere ala Key West, Nassau, BErmuda etc) and the luau was a good sequence to follow to enjoy the islands.
All the best.

Sorry...typo. Last line meant to say island (of maui)!

Hey LouChamp...you can post your review here too. It's great that you officially submitted it for CC but feel free to post it here as well so future POA'ers can benefit from your wisdom. :)

Cecilia,
Thanks, I will try to post it on this board as soon as possible.

It was interesting to hear you say you only ate at the freebies twice, when in fact you paid for them in your cruise fare :D

LouChamp:
Thank you for your information; I eagerly await your review. So many emotional ups and downs in preparing for this cruise (we sail 10/3). I swing between "everything will be fine..we'll have a good time" to "ohmygosh, what have we gotten into..it's looking like a nightmare!". So your information really helps. Of course, we have questions:
1. Our plan is to also take advantage of the specialty restaurants. Any strategy needed to get reservations? What is the lastest time you can have a reservation (9pm? 9:30p). Were they all open for your cruise? Any dishes you would recommend trying? Avoiding? Which did you like best?
2. How was room service? Food? Service? Timeliness?
3. What bars seemed to have the best service (ie, where you were likely to get served within 10-20 minutes)?
4. Did you hear of anyone's experience with using the Marriot early check-in program in Honolulu?
5. And finally, what information do you think helped you make the most of your time aboard? Is there anything you wish you had known beforehand? Any tips or tricks to working within the challenges they're having on board?
Again, thank you for your information. We are seeking any and all specific information to help make this trip a good one.
Sincerely, Laura

:o Thank you LouChamp for the Laua information. Did you book the Laua on your own or did you book through the Ship?

Casheew, you are right but if you were on the POA, you would understand. I used to joke with my wife that in the am I would forage for food for us. Also, unlike other ships, the gift shop sold a large quantity of candy!
Lbryant, you had to line up at 8am to make res for specialty restaurants. The phone was "busy" However, some tours left at 7:30, 7:45 etc. They would accept res for that day and the next but of course, that days res were filled the day before so you really could only make res for the next day.
We ddi not use room service but I heard mixed reports but could not verify.
Haad no problems with bar service. There were ample servers at the pools also. We stayed at the Hilton but visited the Marriott to check it out. People seemed pleased but again, no way to confirm.
To answer your question about otehr tips I would say take shore excursions. We used NCL but others went on their own and had a great time also. NCL was more expensive but I felt comfortable with them and they were flawless. We rented a car in Maui, great idea because of the expense of taking a taxi or other transportation to the "main" town of Lahaina. The port of Kahului is very industrial and very little around. The ride to Lahaina is very beautiful and there are public beaches off the highway so grab a towel (avail on the ship) and jump in!
I will answer any questions you have with pleasure. I consider us all pioneers and anything I can do to help you is what these boards are all about.

Did you have somewhere to park your car overnight at the port in Kahului, Maui?

Yes, parking is within walking distance of the ship. And it has security.

Notcied someone had said they were glad to read LouChamp's review, but I can't find it anywhere...is it up yet?

Angus

lbryant,
We checked in after 4:00 and it only took us 10 minutes to get into our stateroom. We heard that it wasn't that pleasant earlier in the afternoon. Can't give you any comment on room service quality as we ordered it four times and it never arrived, although they did say they were sorry for the inconvenience. We only tried the specialty restaurant one time as it was difficult to get those reservations during the times that they took them. We were off the ship each day for shore excursions and by the time we returned, all were booked. We went to dinner each night at 5:30 and stood in line until they opened at 6:00. We always got a great table and enjoyed the same waiter each night. There were problems on this sailing but it was a great time for us in Hawaii.

I [I]really don't[/I] want to open a can of worms here, and certainly do not wish to discuss service charges (Lord knows, that has been done to death!), but I have a question about tipping in the "pay" restaurants. How is it done? Do you leave cash on the table? On your shipboard account?

Thanks in advance!

[quote name='TWA4Ever']I have a question about tipping in the "pay" restaurants. How is it done? Do you leave cash on the table? On your shipboard account?[/QUOTE]
When you sign for the cover charge there is a place where you can add a tip.

Thank you, Palmist!

[quote name='AngusKY']Notcied someone had said they were glad to read LouChamp's review, but I can't find it anywhere...is it up yet?

Angus[/QUOTE]
I think it was me that said that, Angus. I meant that I had read LouChamp's message on another thread (help me out, folks, where is it?) that he posted yesterday. It is not the entire review, which appears elsewhere on the web site. Where, I don't know....guess I need more help, folks. Somebody will jump in and help out this pitiful newbie, I am sure.