earlbird

Traditional.

These are my personal thoughts and I didn't start this thread to start arguments because I realize there are strong emotions on both sides and I realize that these hospital workers made sacrifices to help others and they ought to be commemorated for that.

 

1. Ground flights from West Africa. There are virtually no direct flights from West Africa to the US -- they almost always connect in Europe, so we need to work with the EU to quarantine any suspected cases.

 

2. We need to close our borders, particularly the southern border until the last Ebola case has played itself out. Ebola would be easy to spread if there were cases in South and Central America.

 

3. Enforce quarantines of suspected cases and have a third party monitor hospital workers instead of this self-monitoring which could go terribly wrong if someone is in denial about the disease.

 

4. Set up large isolation units in local hospitals, gather a group of doctors and nurses who are willing to work in the quarantine ward and therefore be quarantined themselves. An SOP for all hospitals needs to be created and enforced.

 

5. Finally we should continue to send aid and assistance to West Africa, utilizing chartered flights to minimize the impact of Ebola on the population when the aid workers return.

 

Some of these things may seem extreme and would undoubtedly interfere with our cruise addictions but these measures may become necessary if they aren't necessary already.

 

Thoughts? Rebuttals? I am open to hearing others' opinions and invite a dialogue.

These five points all sound great, and I completely agree - especially with #1 and #2.

Too bad. Dukes is great.

We toured with Mary Lou's tours last month.

Mary Lou was great. Kyle was O.K.

We did Wings Over Kauai last month, and it was great. Pilot Josh and the office personnel were very personable.

Yes, they are all window seats. A great flight with amazing scenery.

July.

Our B6 balcony cabin also had two chairs, two loungers, and a table.

I normally frequent the Royal boards since my recent cruises have been with them. But, my first cruise was on the Pride of Aloha (NCLA) back in 2006 for our 20th wedding anniversary. I am now looking at a repeat in 2016 on the Pride of America for our 30th.

 

I'm hoping the NCL boards are as helpful as the Royal boards. I did some forum searching which answered a lot of my questions, but here are some outstanding ones.

 

1. I want a balcony cabin, and I see a cat B7 "large balcony" listed. It claims to have a 50% larger balcony. - Can anyone give me their thoughts on this category?

 

2. The "perfect 10" deal on right now is nice, but I've been watching prices on/off for the past 8-10 months for hawaiian cruises in July-Aug. They've normally been in the $2,200-$2,400 per person for a balcony. Now, I see they are $2,980 pp. Sure.. I get $298 as an OBC.. but really? what am I missing? $2,900 pp seems awfully high - yes, I know it's supply/demand and it's hawaii, but like i said.. even for Hawaii - it's high?

 

3. Any little known balcony categories on the America which are great locations/good value?

 

Thanks!

We were recently in a B6 large balcony on deck 11, and we really enjoyed the location and the balcony size.

We paid less than that for the cruise/tour which was three nights in Waikiki, with tours included, and the seven day cruise.

There was no lobster in the main dining rooms on our recent POA cruise.

The best Luau on all the islands is Smith Family Luau in Kauai.

Agree. We just did it three weeks ago.

That is good to hear as I read there are no porters and you have to take your bags through the scanner yourself.

 

What are your thoughts on the Marriott? Did you have a city view or ocean view room? We'll be coming a day before the cruisetour begins and would like to stay there although the rooms are very pricey. I need to make sure we would get a room and not have to move once we begin the cruisetour. I have been reading some reviews on Tripadvisor they haven't been the best but I know how that goes. Mostly they comment that the hotel is dated and the pool area is not the greatest. Is it very convenient to get to the beach across the street not that I'm sure we would use it.

The Marriott was fine. It was not super fancy, but is was clean. All we did was sleep there, as we were always on the go. We did have an ocean view room. Actually, we never saw the pool. Beach is right across the street - nice area.

Was your luggage delivered directly to your stateroom from the bus or did you have to retrieve it and take it through security yourselves?

Luggage was delivered directly to our room.

This was certainly a nice perk, not having to handle our luggage at all.

I'm reading them on a daily basis;). Since we have the 11 day cruisetour booked I couldn't find much information on that, earlbird has given some great information and I'm feeling much better about the cruisetour portion.

Don't worry. You will love it!! Sit back and leave the driving to someone else.

The amount of information that you will receive from your driver (at least from Cody) was unbelievable. He was definitely a wealth of knowledge, and made everything very interesting.

People who book through Casinos at Sea board right after Suite & VIP's.

 

 

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Thank you. I just booked my first through Casinos at Sea.

Early is no problem. You will have to wait for check in to begin however.

There is a refreshment stand and vending machines. Hot dog cart outside (not sure he is there very early).

Boarding begins about 11:30 for most passengers. Casino people and weddings are on first.

Have fun!

http://www.nycruise.com/manhattan-terminal/

 

 

~Robin

Every Day at Sea is a Great Day

"Casino people are on first".

Can you please explain. Thank you.

Does the ship dock at all of the ports or do you need to tender? Which ports could you just get off the ship and walk around?

Tender in Kona.

Outside of Kona they are all industrial ports. Nothing to see in the immediate areas. Evidently there are free shuttles to shopping areas, although we did not use them. It is not like the Caribbean.

This information is readily available on NCL's website.

Thank you so much for this info. How much time was spent at the dole plantation? Was there enough time to go through the maze?

 

I am feeling so much better about this trip now. We will have our 10 year old son with us. He's grown up going to museums and more adult tours, so hopefully he will enjoy this trip.

 

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Dole.

Thank you so much for this info. How much time was spent at the dole plantation? Was there enough time to go through the maze?

 

I am feeling so much better about this trip now. We will have our 10 year old son with us. He's grown up going to museums and more adult tours, so hopefully he will enjoy this trip.

 

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As I recall, we probably spent about 45 minutes at Dole. Most of the time was spent at their store. I believe they had some type of tour behind the store, but we elected not to do it.

The three days before the cruise were excellent, also quite tiring with all of the planned activities. Well worth it, though.

I don't know if is is possible to request a particular driver, but try to get Cody.

Did you take snacks, water on the bus with you or were they provided?

Was there more than one bus of cruisetour folks and what was the age demographic.

Did you go to the Dole Plantation on one of your stops with the cruisetour?

Again I really, really appreciate your feedback.:)

We did take water with us, although there were ample stops for refreshments.

Two buses, mostly over 50.

Yes to the Dole plantation. However, they did not give out pineapple samples - kind of strange. On the Big Island we tried white pineapple - delicious.

We will be arriving a day or two before the actual tour begins and most likely will not be renting a car. Is the area around the Marriott walkable to shops, drug store such as Walgreens or CVS or any fast food restaurants?

Did the land portion include a pineapple plantation?

What time were the shows on the ship and what kind were they? If we have dinner at 6pm is that a good time to catch all the shows?

Again thanks again you have been great!:)

There are two ABC stores in the Marriott. They will have everything that you need. There is definitely ample shopping near the hotel. McDonalds, of course, is about a five minute walk. You will be able to find any type of restaurant that you want within walking distance. Our bus driver made suggestions for different kinds of restaurants. Dukes was excellent, but make reservations well in advance.

Yes, we saw pineapples.

I believe that the shows were at 7:00 and 9:00. There was quite a variety. We only made three of them. Dinner at 6:00 will probably not get you to the 7:00 show on time.

If you are looking for tours, I will strongly recommend Marylou's Tours on the Big Island - especially in Hilo. Inexpensive, maximum of six people, and very personalized. Ask to go with Marylou, although her husband, Ken, also seemed to be excellent.

Thank you so much for responding. Can you give me a little more detail about the land portion. What time did the tours start each day and approx. what time did you return to the hotel, were your evenings all free or were there additional excursions to choose from. What time did you have to check out of the hotel and did you have to have your luggage out by a certain time.

I assume these are 50+ passenger buses did you feel you had to spend too much time on the bus?

Thanks again I am feeling much better about this cruise tour now.:)

Questions answered on Hawaii forum.

Posting here also.

 

Thank you so much for responding. Can you give me a little more detail about the land portion. What time did the tours start each day and approx. what time did you return to the hotel, were your evenings all free or were there additional excursions to choose from. What time did you have to check out of the hotel and did you have to have your luggage out by a certain time.

I assume these are 50+ passenger buses did you feel you had to spend too much time on the bus?

Thanks again I am feeling much better about this cruise tour now.:)

 

Did you fly home on debarkation day if so did you use NCL to drop you at the airport?

Our days started between 8:30-9:00 A.M. and ended between 4:30 - 5:30 P.M.

This was plenty of time to see everything that was scheduled. Our evenings were

free to do as we pleased. By the time that we cleaned up, ate, and walked around Waikiki for a while, we were ready for bed. They were definitely three full days.

On the last day we left our luggage in our room, it was picked up while we were on tour, and delivered to the ship. We had priority boarding when we got to the ship, and boarded very quickly - maybe about 10 minutes.

The buses were 50 passenger buses. Everything was so well organized, however, that we never thought about the bus time. Our driver, Cody, shared much information with us, but was not overbearing. He definitely knew the time schedules of all of the venues, and we were always a step ahead of the crowds.

Definitely the way to do Oahu. We thoroughly enjoyed it and had no complaints.

We also did the NCL shuttle to the airport, and were off the ship in no time at all.

Disembarking is so well organized. We have done 31 cruises, and this was the quickest exit that we have ever experienced.

Earlbird- Would you say this description of the tour was fairly accurate? http://www.breakingtravelnews.com/news/article/norwegian-cruise-line-expands-cruisetours/

 

How much time was allotted for shopping and eating? (I'm hoping not TOO much!) What time were you back at the hotel in the evening?

Sorry, I could not open the link.

Shopping and eating time was minimal - just right.

We were back at thw Waikiki Marriott between 4:30 - 5:00.

I would be interested in this too because we are doing the same thing on Nov. 15th. Would like to have more info on the 3 day tours offered by NCL. We will be staying at then Marriott for 3 nights.

The Marriott Waikiki was very nice. Don't miss their prime rib buffet.

Duke's was also an excellent restaurant.

Fireworks on the beach on Friday night.

See my comments under NCL forum.

It was a great trip.

Feel free to ask specific questions here.