CruisinChills
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After lunch we headed to Entourage teen club to register my daughter, who thinks she’ll still have plenty of time to go there on this port-intensive cruise (we’ll see).
Then headed to the spa to check out the Thermal Spa, in the event we need a day pass for showers [emoji6]. They still had not called our floor but it was just after 2 so we headed to our cabin and found the hallway open and the room ready.
The suite (12000) is beautiful! A few pictures follow.
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Just realized I didn’t even introduce our group in the first post. I’m traveling with my husband, celebrating our 25th wedding anniversary, my 13-year-old daughter, and my 24-year-old niece. We’re from the northeast (Massachusetts and Maine) and it’s the first visit to Hawaii for all of us!
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Lunch in Cagney’s was very good. Of course I need to include the first food pics!
Caesar:
Seafood Fritto Misto:
Diver scallops:
Banana tart:
Carrot cake:
Espresso brownies/macadamia nut ice cream:
Everything was a winner with the exception of the Cobb salad, which my niece did not care for (and I didn’t include a picture).
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Very quick and easy check-in! Arrived at the pier around 11:15, no line at security, and straight up the escalator to the suites check-in. We received our key cards and the first group was ready to be taken onboard by the concierge. We boarded the ship at 11:45.
He brought us up to the lounge outside Cagney’s, where we were offered champagne. We waited about 10 minutes (with a visit from the spa rep), and were shown in to a table for lunch.
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Not sure exactly how “live” it will be, it will probably depend on the cell service and how tired I am every day. [emoji6]
That said, just boarded the first shuttle bus from Marriott Waikiki Beach to the pier. Left our bags in the room as directed which felt so wrong, but I’m assured they’ve “never” had an incident of the bags not making it.
Happy to answer questions about the ship and reasonable requests (I’m not going to go knock on doors to view individual cabins). Also we spent 4 nights at Turtle Bay before our two nights here, so if you have questions about the North Shore I can try to answer those as well.
Aloha! [emoji475]*♀️
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Haven’t been yet but will be boarding Saturday and will post again. We’ve been on Oahu since Sunday and even though the pilot mentioned vog here, I haven’t noticed it.
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Just got a copy of an email chain saying POA will resume both ports.
Major development…! we have been instructed from the very top to reinstate to original itinerary (Hilo & Kona) with immediate effect starting next cruise, if possible. Please check if the ports are available accordingly & revert.
Thanks,
Capt. Bjorn Ove Hansen | Vice President Nautical & Port Operations
From: Razeto, Luigi
Sent: Thursday, June 07, 2018 2:50 PM
To: Hansen, Bjorn Ove
Cc: Lindsay, Robin
Subject: PRIDE OF AMERICA
BJORN
please review the current situation regarding any berthing conflict and if possible convert to the original itinerary of the POA possibly starting this coming Saturday.
Please confirm once everything is aligned in order to issue the general notification once again. this to include the reinstatement of Hilo and Kona.
I will send a separate message to the Captain in order to confirm the modus operandi going forward with respect to the safety of the vessel and guests and crew
thanks and best regards
gigi
Capt. Luigi Razeto | Senior Vice President Marine Operations |DPA
There’s no way that’s a real email.
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The unspooling of your review over the last few weeks and the timing of its conclusion has been perfect prep as we are about to start packing for our week pre-cruise on Oahu. The review has given me some great insight into the ship and what to expect, even though we will no longer be visiting the big island at all [emoji22]. I guess that gives me a reason (as if I’d need one) to try to go back someday!
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we each get a bag of laundry for free which helps immensely. that said, i still overpack despite this benefit and despite having a checklist.
we are determined to go carry on only for our trip this september. so much that i actually bought airline tix that dont include a checked bag.
Holy mackerel, I'm impressed ... I do carry-on only when I go to FL to visit my parents for anywhere from 4-7 days but have never even considered the possibility of doing it for a cruise! We pack SO MUCH STUFF. I am still in the habit (from old days of cruising) of wearing different clothes at night than during the day. I don't pack the gowns anymore, especially on NCL, but for sure something "other" than what I wore during the day. So that's like 14 outfits right there. LOL
My husband and I are both platinum, does that mean we BOTH get a bag of laundry around day 3 or 4? (Of course we're spending a week on Oahu pre-cruise so that will already be 10+ days into our vacation by then, so hard to reduce to carry-on for this one ...)
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I'm sure I've seen similar posts in the past but when I just searched I didn't find exactly what I was looking for. So I was wondering what people use for their "must-have" packing list. I usually start with a base list and then modify as necessary, but as my upcoming trip is a little longer than usual (cruising for just 7 days but traveling for 14), I'm curious about what everyone else uses to start packing. Links or suggestions welcome!
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Does anyone know why they would not go to Maui as usual on Sunday & Monday?
To save money on fuel by avoiding a sea day later in the week and then returning to Maui.
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Can you share where you're finding this info about current schedule changes? We're on the 6/23 as well and I'd like to keep up with what's likely to be going on. Not that we'll have any control over it, just setting expectations.
Thanks
It was on the POA FB thread. A cruiser boarding today posted the itinerary change they were given by NCL.
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I have been following all of this with interest as we'll be sailing on the POA on 6/23. I just read elsewhere that this week's cruise will also be skipping Hawaii, and I completely understand why they would make that choice (I get all the debates upthread about whether they should do it or not, but I do understand they are trying to limit liability from people getting themselves into dangerous situations). I know everyone picks this cruise to have no sea days, but I was OK with making do (or just recovering from touring) on a sea day and then the day in Lahaina would be a nice treat as we weren't going to make it there in the 2 days on Maui.
However, the schedule announced for this week I am very unhappy about and hope they do not continue it further! Apparently they are adding a day in Oahu (so still boarding today, but not departing until tomorrow night), and then arriving a day late to Maui for the the 2 scheduled port days, and then going to Lahaina for a 3rd Maui day, then back on schedule for Kauai. To me, this shows blatant disregard for people who have booked private tours for the 2 days on Maui and is a) a way to get more people booked on NCL tours, and b) a way to save a few $$ by sailing less miles (i.e., not going to Maui, going out to sea, then going back to Maui). So, on the off chance anyone from NCL is reading these boards, I urge them to reconsider this particular revised itinerary going forward! I have been on many cruises with many itinerary changes, and I roll with it. But this particular change rubs me the wrong way for the reasons I stated. I'd rather deal with a sea day than have no tours (or be forced onto a big NCL tour), and everything else stays the same.
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Could you share that post? We are on the POA June 14th and have heard nothing from NCL. I just logged into the website and do not see anything posted there either. Seems like they could do a better job of keeping customers informed.
It seems to me as though this will be a week-by-week decision at this point. We are on PoA 6/23 and I fully expect to not know if we will make Hilo or Kona until we are already onboard. I’m sure that NCL will make every effort to maintain the original itinerary unless conditions dictate otherwise.
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We are on the June 16 cruise. How about you?
Missing you by a week ... we board June 23. Happy anniversary!
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We are planning a visit to Pearl Harbor the day before our POA cruise next month. I am fully aware that the USS Arizona Memorial tickets are "free" and can be reserved in advance; however, let me just say that the recreation.gov website advertising the day they are available as 60-days prior is actually inaccurate, as I discovered when I logged in at promptly 7am HST on that day only to discover they were already sold out! (Official response when called: "It's really more like 61 days I guess." Grrr.)
Anyway, this is an important part of our trip, but I really don't want to fork out hundreds of $$$ for the 4 of us to do a tour guide tour just to be assured of a timed Arizona ticket. There are supposed to be 1,300 same-day tickets issued starting at 7am. What I'm wondering is what other people have experienced when purchasing same-day tickets. If we are there at 7am, are we more or less assured of getting in? Or even at that hour, will there be people who arrived to stand in line well ahead of time?
Any first-hand knowledge would be much appreciated.
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Loving your review! We are booked on this cruise in June for our 25th anniversary. I’m looking forward to reading more.
We are too! Which sailing are you on?
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You can reserve tickets for Pearl Harbor 60 days in advance at https://www.recreation.gov/showPage.do?name=landing&landing=/htm/pearlharbor/home.jsp&contractCode=NRSO&parkId=72369
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Up the elevators we went to the buffet. Only this time...we noticed something...
All the elevators said "Monday" on them. Hmmm. The day before they said "Sunday" and the hubby even ask me if that might have been the previous name to the ship. LOL So now we know. They actually change them daily to say what day it is. How neat is that!
I feel like such an idiot.
[\QUOTE]
We did a transatlantic on the Jewel 10 years ago (my then-3-year-old’s very first cruise, in fact!). I’d forgotten how beautiful the ship was, but I’ve NEVER forgotten those glass elevators with the ocean view and the days of the week! My daughter LOVED those. (And more than one staff member joked during the cruise that “they change them on every floor”.).
Enjoying the review!
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Also, don't over pack.:)
However, DO pack everything you will want/need onboard those first few hours in your carry-on bag, including swimsuits if you're inclined to hang out by the pool the first day. The bags are usually pretty timely but sometimes things happen and they take a little longer, and it's a bummer if you left anything important in those checked bags!
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There is no “normal” weather in Boston, lol! Our first Dawn to Bermuda in late June departed Boston in cool, foggy, raw conditions — like Alaska conditions. But it had been 80 and sunny the day before! The good news is they are very good at getting you into the warmer zone quickly — the next day we were off the coast of the Carolinas and it was balmy. If you don’t live in/near Boston and can’t decide on your departure clothes the day of (which we were able to do), you should probably include a light jacket/raincoat, and a pair of long pants just in case.
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Our daughter’s first-ever cruise was a TA when she was just 3 years old! (And boy, did I have some sleepless nights wondering if THAT was a wise idea.) She is a kid who does/did enjoy most of the programs offered at the kids club, and also enjoyed the pool whenever it was available (which was not much in the mid-Atlantic in September). I worried for nothing — it was a great experience for all of us and turned her into a cruiser for life. I should mention that trip was NOT on Disney, and had it been I’d have been even less concerned. I never understood watching a movie on a cruise until our Star Wars DCL Cruise last year and then discovered those opportunities to enjoy a late-night showing in a nice theater was great! So that where we ended up rather than the casino after dinner. Enjoy!! Sadly I think our TA days are done until DD is in college — the days of elementary school and yanking her out for a couple of weeks are over! [emoji24]
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My daughter was definitely more than happy on our two trips on the Dawn to Bermuda (she was 6 and 8 at the time). The little kids pool on the back of the ship plus the kids club were more than enough to keep her entertained. That said, it’s a small pool area and no slides. The -away class ships don’t have huge pools either but with the ropes course, slides, etc, the kids don’t care as much if they can’t hang out on the pool due to overcrowding. Now that she’s 12 she definitely prefers the ships with more activities so we probably will have to stick with the bigger ships for a little while.
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POA Live(-ish): 6/23/18-6/30/18
in Norwegian Cruise Line
Posted
Lifeboat drill was at 4:45. No one likes a lifeboat drill, but I do appreciate that NCL does them in lounges or theaters — no standing on deck in tight lines passing out in the sun.
Hiked up 7 flights of stairs afterwards to avoid the elevators. After Diamond Head, 7 flights didn’t seem so bad!
Visited the Key West Bar and Grill for my first cocktail (not counting the champagne at lunch), but forgot to take pics! Drink of the Day was a Daydreamers Daiquiri.
Booked this suite specifically for the hot tub on the balcony and my daughter and husband wasted no time trying it out. They were in there until sailaway, which happened promptly at 7pm.
Heading to East Meets West for dinner.
Nice double rainbow while waiting for sailaway! Got hit with a little raincloud but it was quick and very localized!
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