kjcombs89

More on the ship:

We ate in the two main dining rooms, Skyline and Liberty. They have fairly similar menus every day, and we thought the food was good. It was not amazing or over the top, but it was tasty! The swordfish was especially good. I am gluten intolerant and I was able to find things to eat every night without having to request special foods. The service there was fine; some servers were better than others.

We also ate in the Cadillac Diner, which was fun...burgers and fries. I had my burger prepared "protein style" and they accommodated that without problem.

We ate at the Aloha Cafe every morning for breakfast. Their selection was pretty much the same every single day, which is fine b/c there was bacon and that makes it all good. :) There was an omelette station, basic pastries and such. I only ate the scrambled eggs, bacon and sausage pretty much every day. There was also plenty of fresh pineapple and papaya all the time, which was delicious. At breakfast time, there was a sandwich making area set up with bread, peanut butter and jelly and there were deli meats and cheese too. We did make some lunch stuff up on two occasions and took it with us in our insulated backpack (http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B003I7E6N4/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o01_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1). There were also yogurt cups, cartons of milk and apples/bananas in bowls. That worked really well on the days that we knew we might be off the beaten path.

We visited the art gallery area just to look, and some of the bar areas. The Aloha Cafe had soft serve ice cream most of the time, and the Gold Rush Saloon had popcorn out most of the time.

We used the main pool two or three times; always crowded in the afternoons when the ship was pulling out of port (which is when we used it too). There are hot tubs out by the main pool and another smaller pool with one hot tub on deck 12 back by the Spa. We did not use the Spa, the Gym or any of the children's areas.

We went to three different shows, all of which were really good. The NewlyWed or NOT Game was hilarious! Silas, the cruise director, is a really nice guy and very much out and about among the passengers. We met him on the first day at our CC Meet and Greet, and he remembered us all week as we saw him around.

To disembark while in port, you go down to Deck 3. I believe embarkation was on Deck 5.

Our cabin was on the starboard side.

-Leaving Honolulu, our cabin was facing the land (east).

-Pulling into Maui, we were facing land (west), leaving Maui, we were facing land (west).

-Pulling into Hilo, we were facing land (west), leaving Hilo we were facing water (east). The ship does NOT do a lava sailby at this time, so you go over the north side of Hawaii to get to Kona.

-Pulling into Kona, seemed like we came in and turned around but I wasn't paying attention. I just remember the noise of the tenders being taken down. :) Pulling out of Kona we were facing land (east).

-Pulling into Kauai, we were facing the water, and the amazing sunrise (east). The Napali Coast Sailby would be best for port side cabins, but we stayed out on the deck for that.

Our Cabin

We were on deck 9, in stateroom 9142, which is a balcony cabin. We had booked an 'obstructed ocean view' cabin originally, and got this upgrade about a month before sailing through our travel agent! It is an adjoining cabin, so there was a door at the foot of the bed that adjoined to the cabin next door. We could hear people talking on occasion, but it was not a big deal.

The cabin was small, but totally fine for the two of us. There is plenty of closet space, with hangers, shelves and baskets inside the closet. There were also hooks inside the closet doors, which was nice. Outside the closet there are drawers for holding more clothing and a few small shelves with a coffee maker and ice bucket. There are two beside tables, a small coffee table and love seat, and a desk area. The desk area had more storage, a hair dryer, flat screen TV, mini fridge and safe for valuables. There was also a chair there for extra seating.

The balcony had two chairs and a small table. The bathroom is tiny, and the shower is even tinier. For larger sized people, this might be rough. There is only a curtain on the shower, no door. The shower head is adjustable and removable. There is shampoo and body wash in the shower in dispensers (no conditioner; if you need it bring your own). The sink also had a soap dispenser. There is more storage behind one of the mirrors, and a small shelf under the sink. There were hooks on the inside of the bathroom door as well and a tiny towel shelf and towel rack.

Some things we brought that were great for the cabin:

1. A hanging cosmetic bag...great b/c there's not much bathroom counter space.

2. Clips with hanger tops. We used these EVERY day to clip our wet swimsuits to the balcony chairs, and to hang things up in the closet. We ordered these from Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00NBRRTZI/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o00_s03?ie=UTF8&psc=1

3. Post It Notes...we used these to leave Karl, our room steward, messages and that worked out really well!

4. Extension cord and power strip for extra plugin power!

5. Ziploc bags (b/c yes we DID take our lunch off the ship on two occasions...more on that later).

Hello all! I found SO much helpful information on this board when I was planning for our wonderful trip, so I wanted to share our experience here as well. I hope it might help others!

We flew from Oakland, CA to Honolulu on Friday, 10/24 (the day before embarkation). This was our very first trip to Hawaii (my husband and I went to celebrate our 25th anniversary), and I did so much planning beforehand. I might have been just a LITTLE bit obsessed. But anyway, we arrived in Honolulu right around noon, local time. We had pre-arranged a taxi with Johnny Cab (https://johnnycabhi.com/). I had arranged this about 6 weeks in advance. John texted us right after our flight landed, and was there to pick us up right after we got our luggage. He was super nice, and I think it was $30 (plus tip) to our hotel in Waikiki.

We stayed at the Outrigger Reef at the Beach, which we really enjoyed. We booked that several months in advance as well, and they upgraded us from a 'city view' to an 'ocean view' room, which was fantastic! I attached a photo of the view from our balcony. We were on the 9th floor. We ate lunch at Shorebird, which is inside the Outrigger Reef. We also watched the amazing sunset from the beach, watched the fireworks that Hilton Hawaiian Village does every Friday and visited the ABC store.

Day ONE - Embarkation Day

We woke up super early, watched the sunrise from our balcony and prepared for our Diamond Head hike. We had decided that we wanted to do Diamond Head on embarkation day because we were so close, well why not? We reserved a "tour" through Veltra (http://www.hawaiiactivities.com/en/hawaii/oahu/a/15841) and paid (I believe) $16/person. This was basically for a shuttle ride to Diamond Head and a bottle of water. Yes, you can do this in a less expensive manner either by just grabbing a taxi, the Bus or walking it, but we chose to do this and it was very convenient. The bus picked us up from our hotel doorstep, plus two other couples from two other hotels (one couple was already in the van, and the third couple was picked up after us). The driver took us all to the parking lot at Diamond Head. That fee also included our entrance fee (I think it's a dollar per person) and a bottle of water. We started at about 8:30am, and the hike itself up to the very top took us maybe a half hour, it was very crowded up there at the top and going up...steady stream of people. We are in our late 40's, we exercise somewhat regularly but we are not super athletes, and the hike was not as hard as we thought it would be. Sure, we were sweaty...but those views are so worth the effort. All in all, we were there for about 2 hours and the driver picked us up at 10:30am, we were back to our hotel before 11am with plenty of time to shower and check out by noon.

We had again arranged with Johnny Cab to pick us up at the Outrigger at 12:15pm to take us to the pier ($25 plus tip). He was again, right on time and a pleasure. We would highly recommend him to anyone who wants to reserve their transportation.

We arrived at the pier at about 12:30-12:40, and saw the LINE. Yeah, I had read the warnings about going too early, and the lines there, but hey, we were excited. So it was about 2pm before we actually got on board the ship. While in line, they give you a lei (ladies get flowers, men get shells), they take your embarkation photo, they'll give you water, they have a little entertainment...it was pleasant and we enjoyed talking to the people in line around us. :)

Once we boarded, there wasn't really anyone there to tell you where to go or what to do, so we wandered around feeling lost for a few minutes. We went up to the 9th deck (where our cabin was) to find that they were still working and we couldn't get in. So, we went up to the Key West Bar and Grill on deck 12, above the pool. They were serving some food up there (burgers, hot dogs, salad, fruit...stuff like that) at a buffet, so we ate lunch there and had our first festive cocktail. I think it was about 3pm when they made the announcement that the cabins were all ready.

Waimea Canyon is a place not to be missed.

Some people say you don't have to go all the way to the top. IMO the most beautiful view was in Kokee SP - the Kalalau Lookout. You can see the Pali Coast & Valley - it was awesome. Later when you are the ship cruising the Pali Coast, you will see that spot from the sea level view.

 

IMO, I would go to Waimea Canyon on day 1 since you don't have an all aboard. We stopped at the Sprouting Horn (another spot I would recommend), then Wailua Falls. It was around 3pm by then, traffic was starting to pick up so we decided to return the rental car and go back to the ship and relax in the hot tub.

 

We considered driving to Hanalei but we had had enough driving for one day.

 

Day 2, we took the Anchor Mall shuttle, walked around the shops, and went swimming at the beach.

Thank you for all of the replies! :) So, now that we are back from our trip, I'll share what we actually DID! On our first day we went north, all the way to Ke'e Beach, turned around and drove back...went to the dry caves across from Tunnels beach, the lighthouse, a little shopping in Kapa'a...and then all the way down to Poipu. It was raining off and on all day, and the waters were too choppy to swim or snorkel, but we saw amazing things and saw the Spouting Horn in Poipu too!

On our second half day, we left the ship early and went up to the top of Waimea Canyon. However it was raining and we couldn't ever see anything. I was bummed, but we did get a little bit of a view on the way back down at the lowest viewpoint. We also stopped at Kauai Coffee on the way back to drop off the car at the airport.

Sooo...my point here? That YES, it is totally doable to go up to Waimea Canyon on the second day. We were off the ship and in our car by 7:15 or 7:30am, and made it to the very top lookout easily by 9am.

I need to write up a review...just haven't found the time yet! :rolleyes:

We will be on the Star Princess next week. What is the best way for a family of 7 to get to waikiki. Also we will need transportation to the Hilton Village in the evening for a luau.

You can prearrange a taxi...try Johnny Cab. He has vans that would accommodate your family and he can give you a quote via email. He may be booked up though.

https://johnnycabhi.com/

We used him on our recent trip, and he was great!

Thanks everyone's input and suggestion.

 

Thanks kjcombs89, we'll board the POA on 29th November and will follow your instructions :D.

 

You drove up to Waimea Canyon on second day, how was the traffic and travel time? Did you have to rush to meet the 2pm departure?

 

This is my first cruise on NCL, what is the minimal time be on board for each port departure? Someone told me is 30 minutes, is that true?

 

Regards

Michael

I believe 30 minutes is correct. We always allowed at least an hour b/c you have to go through a security area at every port to re-board the ship, almost like going through airport security. You have to have your ship card AND a photo ID to board every time.

And we did drive up to the very top of Waimea Canyon on the second day. Plenty of time, no traffic at all going up. We left Anchor Cove Mall by 7:30am, and we were at the top by 9am. BUT...disappointment...it was raining and we couldn't see a thing. We were pretty bummed and we actually sat IN the car in the rain, waiting for about an HOUR...hoping that the rain would let up. It never did. That was the only bummer of the whole trip b/c I so wanted to see Waimea Canyon! Anyway, we headed back down and went to Kauai Coffee Company for a little bit and then went back to the ship. There is a Costco nearby (cheapest gas), and traffic was thick around Costco and getting back to the airport but we had no trouble getting back in time.

So, lesson learned...if it's raining don't drive all the way up unless it is spotty showers. :(

Any recommended affordable shuttle service for two person from cruise ship terminal to Honolulu airport on disembarkment day?

One other thing...if you WANT to reserve a shuttle, use Johnny Cab. We used him from the airport to our hotel the day before embarkation, and then from hotel to pier on embarkation day. He was great, super friendly and right on time. I think it was $30 plus tip from airport to hotel and $25 plus tip from hotel to pier. We tried to reserve him for the pier to the airport for disembarkation, but he was already booked up for that day. I don't know what his rate would have been, but he was the one who told us that we'd have no trouble finding a taxi...and he was right. :)

Any recommended affordable shuttle service for two person from cruise ship terminal to Honolulu airport on disembarkment day?

 

Does anyone know of a safe and fairly close place to park rental cars overnight at the piers in Kahului (Maui) and Nawiliwili (Kauai)?

 

There are older threads here, but prefer the latest information. Any suggestion would be helpful.

 

Regards

Michael

We just returned, and rented cars in both Maui and Kauai and kept them overnight.

Maui...like others have said, there's a small lot right at the pier but it fills up early. We returned to the ship at around 8pm and it was full. The guard at the guard shack directed us to the overflow lot, which was nearby. Another guard there, well lit lot and a well lit, fenced walkway to the ship. Easy.

Kauai...there is no pier parking there. We parked at the Anchor Cove Mall, and it's $20 to park overnight. There is a shuttle that runs from the Mall to the ship (free...unless you want to tip a dollar or two). That ran after dark b/c we came back around dusk. However it does not start up until 8am the next morning, so we walked back to the car b/c we wanted to leave earlier than that to drive up to Waimea Canyon on our second day. We left the ship at about 7am, and it was only about a 10 minute walk to the Mall. The parking at Anchor Cove was also well lit, and when you pay to park they give you a paper to put on your dash saying that you paid to park there overnight.

Honolulu...we were able to easily walk off the ship with our luggage and get a taxi. They were all lined up outside the gangway. It was about $25 plus tip to the car rental place at the airport. :)

we are booked to cruise on POA in January

I would like to hike to the top of diamond head the day we embark

Our tsf to the ship is included from holiday inn beachcomber ( upgrade ?)

Would we have time to go to diamond head before tsf or should we do our own tsf or skip diamond head ?

Thanks

We just came back from our POA cruise, and we did Diamond Head on embarkation day. We pre-reserved through this company:

http://www.hawaiiactivities.com/en/hawaii/oahu/a/15841

They picked us up right outside our hotel (Outrigger Reef) at 8:15am and drove us to the Diamond Head entrance gate. We had about 2 hours there and then the same driver picked us up at 10:30 and took us back to the hotel. We had a little over an hour to shower, pack up and check out at noon. It was great...fun hike, although crowded. We wanted to do the earlier time (at 6:30am) but by the time I booked it that time slot was full. It was pretty crowded at the top, and getting hot, so the earlier you can go, the better!

Renting a car in Hilo, what time can I expect to be on the road to VNP. Thinking about doing a hiking tour and need to be there by 10am. We dock at 8am

We just got back from the POA cruise (awesome!) and we rented a car in Hilo. They are pretty quick to start letting passengers off the ship. We actually waited until about 8:30am to disembark, AFTER the crowds. We got on a shuttle without any problems, and were in our car by 9am. You can easily get to VNP by 10am by renting a car.

And like others have said, go through Discount Hawaii Car Rentals. Easy, fast and cheapest rates around. We went through Budget in Maui, Hilo and Kauai and Thrifty on Oahu...all through Discount Hawaii Car rentals.

The rental counters in Hilo are tiny little desks right outside the airport. The shuttle will pick you up outside the cruise ship and drop you right by the desks. Since we waited until 8:30am, we didn't have to wait in line at the desk either!

Beautiful photos! We will be there tomorrow, and planning to hike Diamond Head before embarkation on Saturday morning. I'm glad to see others have done it that day too!

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I wouldn't recommend it... the road on the east side of the island, I think it is rte 56, is, for the most part a 2-lane road, and can be VERY busy between Lihue and Kapaa, especially during what goes for runs hour there

 

I would use the full day to go to the North Shore. Don't forget to visit the Kilauea Point lighthouse, still one of my favorite places. I have a poster hanging on my wall

Okay, thanks. That's what we wondered about (traffic). Is the traffic just as bad coming back from the south end to Lihue? And that lighthouse is also on our list of things we hope to see!

We'll just have to play that second day by how early we get up. :)

OR...we'll have to go back to Kauai soon to see what we miss. Yeah, that's a good plan. ;)

I would allow 2 hours of driving each way to get to the furthest lookout point, although you could turn back sooner if you were concerned about time or if traffic is moving slower than you'd hoped (there are lookouts along the way, so even if you don't get to the furthest point, you'd still have some amazing views.)

 

Sunrise is around 6:40 a.m., so if you got started then, it gives you almost 5.5 hours. It doesn't leave much leeway in case of traffic delays though.

 

Is there any way to fit it in on day 1? It's definitely worth seeing!

 

Enjoy your cruise:)

Thanks Susan! We could go up on the first day, but we also want to see the north side of the island and don't want to try to do too much in one day.

We had also thought about doing Waimea Canyon on the 1st day, and getting up early to go to the north side on the morning of the second day.

From your experience, do you think that might be better?

Hi there,

We are going to be on POA 10/25-11/1 and have reserved cars for all of the ports.

For Kauai, we did reserve our car for both days, even though the second day is a half day.

My question: If we leave the ship on the second day (the half day) early, would we have time to drive up to Waimea Canyon and be back to drop off the car around noon? Is that even possible?

About how much time does one need to get from the pier to Waimea Canyon (the top lookout spot) and back?

There is so much we want to see in Kauai, and so little time!

Thank you in advance for any help! :p

I had this same experience, emailed Johnny and got an quick response (months in advance). We would highly recommend JohnnyCab!

Thanks! I emailed JohnnyCab and John got back to me within an hour!

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Book ahead with Hawaii23 ($23 flat fare) or Johnnycab ($25). We used Johnny as Hawaii23 was not available. Metered taxis will cost more. We went to the port and post cruise to the airport on the meter. To the airport he added a fee for our 2 large bags - driver from hotel did not. The rest depends on the traffic.

We are going at the end of October. I emailed Hawaii23 about two weeks ago, but have never gotten a reply. Maybe I emailed them too soon?

How far in advance did you make your reservations?

Thanks!:p

 

Let us know how they perform and have an excellent cruise!

We got these binoculars last week, just in time for a weekend day trip to Angel Island. They worked great...just what we were looking for! Perfect for daytime sightseeing. Thanks again for the suggestion!:)

Whatever you are most comfortable with in the end is the important thing. ;)

Thank you again for all of the great descriptions; very helpful! We went ahead and ordered the Vortex Vanquish that you recommended and we are anxious to try them out! :)

I'd started a thread about this that you might want to check out:

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showt...php?p=43661906

 

I'm happy to answer any questions. But if you want compact (I recommend these for about $120.

Thank you so much!! I've been looking in the "under $100" range, and have been considering these: Bushnell

I don't know what the difference is...is it the roof vs. porro prism?

Thanks again for your help and for posting the link to your other thread. Very helpful. :)

It's difficult to suggest what would be "mo bettah" for you. :p

 

I would not drive to Waimea & backtrack to Hanalei which would be too much driving for me. I prefer less driving & more time to fully enjoy each place that I visit.

 

During our most recent day in port we drove to the north end of the road at Ke'e Beach with a detour into Wailua Canyon. We briefly saw Princeville, Hanalei & Lumahi Beach (South Pacific was filmed there) but skipped the lighthouse because it was pouring buckets of rain. It rained quite a bit & why it's called the Garden Isle.

 

But for my 1st Kauai vacation we enjoyed sunny Poipu Beach & drove Waimea Canyon up into the cooler tree lined edge of the forest. The Spouting Horn blowhole & cruise on the Wailua River (only navigable Hawaiian river) were also interesting so for me the south end would be preferable.

Thanks for the insight. Now we are considering keeping our rental car for the final half day in Kauai and heading out super early to see the North part of the island. I also think we're going to be pretty tired after our week of ports, so it may be on the better part of wisdom to stay near the port on that last day. Decisions, decisions... :rolleyes:

That would be a lot of driving in one day. Keep in mind it the highway running up the east side of the island can get really slow. And with your route you will be driving it several times.

I would recommend sticking with either the north or the south.

Thanks PC, for your thoughts! It's hard to know what to do with our short and precious time there. :)

Keep the suggestions coming!

Notion...I didn't mean to hijack your thread, but your post was something I've been thinking about as well. :D

If you could see all of Kauai in a day you'd be driving your car the whole time which to me is not a reasonable thing to do. ;)

 

Due to the Na Nali coast there's no road that circles the island. You're options would be to drive to the north shore or to head southwest to places like Poipu Beach or Waimea Canyon.

Thanks Astro...we were hoping (dreaming?) to head to Waimea first thing in the morning, and then after lunch head to the Lighthouse and then Hanalei Bay.

Is that just totally unreasonable to try to attempt? Too much driving?

And if so, which would you suggest?

Guess we're going to just have to go BACK, right? ;-)

 

Kauai

Day 1: Torn between riding to the Waimea Canyon and Poipu or North Shore... Can the entire island be covered in one day?

 

Day 2: Kalapaki Beach

Jumping on your thread b/c I'd like to know if the entire island of Kauai can be reasonably covered in one day as well. We are on POA in October, and are still debating about our time in Kauai b/c it's so short! (Guess we'll HAVE to go back!)

Thank you!!! I appreciate you taking the time to post the links!

That was perfect...now to decide. :)

Hello all,

Hope this is the right forum for this question. We are looking for a decent pair of compact binoculars for our upcoming cruise to Hawaii this Oct/Nov. There are so many choose from, with such a huge price range!

We don't want to spend too much, but we don't want the cheapest ones either. We're looking for something to view birds, stuff at Volcanoes Nat'l Park, Napali coastline from the ship and hopefully whales!

Any tips or suggestions for compact binoculars that work for you?

Thank you in advance! :rolleyes: