Review of our September 10, 2011 cruise on the POA

[coilover88]

Wonderful style of review Sandy! What's the right word for being homesick for the suite life on the POA? Sip....ahhhhhhhh..............

[brunolvr]

Have enjoyed your reviewand Pictures so much--we are 5 seniors who are leaving on the Pride of America on Dec 3-and so looking forward to it!! Did you book the Smith family Lau through Robert's tours?

 

Yes, we did the Smith Family Luau through Roberts Hawaii Shore Excursions.

 

However, we booked the tour "Wailua River, Fern Grotto & Smith Family Luau". It was a nice relaxed excursion with a boat ride up the Wailua River, then we got out of the boat for a short walk to the Fern Grotto enjoying the beautiful flowers, plants and trees. We were at the Fern Grotto for a just a short while and were entertained there with some Hawaiian music.

 

Then we went back to the boat and on the boat ride back we enjoyed some more Hawaiian music and dance and also had a chance to learn the hula. Then we got back on the bus and they took us to the Luau location.

 

Once we got to the Luau location, we boarded a tram and enjoyed a ride around the beautiful gardens and grounds. Then it was almost time for the Imu Ceremony (digging up of the traditional pig). After that we walked over to the building for the delicious buffet dinner and entertainment during dinner.

 

The show began at 8:00 PM and lasted about an hour. Then we got on a mini-bus for the ride back to the ship. It was probably about 9:45 PM by the time we got back to our room.

 

It was a very enjoyable afternoon and evening, even though it was extremely hot and humid that day.

[brunolvr]

Desk area with large window behind

 

Yes, there was a laptop computer but you had to buy the minutes if you wanted to use it. Also there was a pair of binoculars in one of the desk drawers.

 

Brand new sofa in living room -- very light tan leather -- very nice!

 

and it does make into a bed. It was comfortable for one but I can't see two adults sleeping on it.

 

Maybe they don't have the right bedding for it yet, as the bedding just sits on top and by morning, it's pretty well torn apart.

[ohsoblessed]

Have enjoyed your reviewand Pictures so much--we are 5 seniors who are leaving on the Pride of America on Dec 3-and so looking forward to it!! Did you book the Smith family Lau through Robert's tours?

 

Whynotnana,

 

Smith Family Luau doesn't have their luau during December. I was so disappointed to find out this news. We also wanted to book through Roberts but this excursion doesn't show up available for us :(. If you find out I have wrong information please let me know.

 

Sheila

[brunolvr]

Whynotnana,

 

Smith Family Luau doesn't have their luau during December. I was so disappointed to find out this news. We also wanted to book through Roberts but this excursion doesn't show up available for us :(. If you find out I have wrong information please let me know.

 

Sheila

 

According to the Smith Family Luau website this is their schedule:

 

Luaus begin at 4:45pm November - February

 

5pm March - October

[ohsoblessed]

Wailua River, Fern Grotto & Smith Family Luau

 

This doesn't show as an excursion on gorabbitgo for our Dec 3rd cruise. I thought gorabbitgo was Robert's Tour Excursion website. Is there another website you booked this through?

[brunolvr]

Wailua River, Fern Grotto & Smith Family Luau

 

This doesn't show as an excursion on gorabbitgo for our Dec 3rd cruise. I thought gorabbitgo was Robert's Tour Excursion website. Is there another website you booked this through?

 

Yes, you're correct, ohsoblessed. We did book it through gorabbitgo and it is Roberts Hawaii Tour Excursions. You might try giving them a call and find out why they're not doing this excursion in December since the Smith Family is having their Luau at that time.:confused:

[brunolvr]

Looking from the bedroom into the bathroom. The dressing room/closet is just on the right before the robes.

 

View of the bedroom with the curtains open.

 

View of the bedroom with the curtains closed.

View of nightstand on left side of bed -- bring a travel as there is no clock and no time shown on any of the TV stations. The button on the very right turns on a nightlight below the nightstand and also turns on a light in the toilet area and the entrance to the bathroom so you can see at night.

 

There's also a button on the right side of the bed that also turns on (and off) the nightlights.

 

Sliding glass door in bedroom leading to balcony and hot tub.

[clsee1515]

Oh my! I can see that this is probably very different from what will be our little oceanview room on deck 4. Oh well, any room on a cruise is a good one! :p We'll be there soon!

[KirkNC]

Thanks for the review and congrats on 43 years together.

 

Kirk

[albertamom]

Oh my!!! The OS is so beautiful! Everything looks so sparkly, shiny and clean. Your pictures are absolutely fantastic. Thank you so much for including pictures of the sofa bed made down. That will be absolutely perfect for one of our kids. It looks like there will be plenty of room for a rollaway bed for the other kiddo.

 

Since you met the captain and some senior staff at the M & G, did you still think it was worth going to the VIP Captain's party? We are not sure if we will be back on the ship by 7:00 that first night in Maui, but would hate to miss a good time.:)

[PCWalton1]

The pictures of the suite are nice, did you take any off the ship or am I just being too impatient? :o

 

Thanks

Bill

[jack300s]

The pictures of the suite are nice, did you take any off the ship or am I just being too impatient? :o

 

Thanks

Bill

 

Looks like they spent all their time in the suite (lol).

[brunolvr]

Oh my!!! The OS is so beautiful! Everything looks so sparkly, shiny and clean. Your pictures are absolutely fantastic. Thank you so much for including pictures of the sofa bed made down. That will be absolutely perfect for one of our kids. It looks like there will be plenty of room for a rollaway bed for the other kiddo.

 

Since you met the captain and some senior staff at the M & G, did you still think it was worth going to the VIP Captain's party? We are not sure if we will be back on the ship by 7:00 that first night in Maui, but would hate to miss a good time.:)

 

Yes, the Owner's Suite was beautiful and very clean. Of all the suites we've been lucky enough to cruise in, this was probably our favorite.:)

 

I really don't know if there would be much room for a rollaway bed, though. When the sofa is extended into a bed, it does take up a lot of room. Our room stewardess moved the coffee table behind the dining room table so we would have some room to walk around. I don't know where a rollaway bed would go?:confused:

 

Yes, we enjoyed the VIP Captain's party also, but I think it's for adults only. You get your picture taken with the captain and other officers and have a chance to visit with other cruisers.

[brunolvr]

The pictures of the suite are nice, did you take any off the ship or am I just being too impatient? :o

 

Thanks

Bill

 

Oh, yes, we did make it off the ship quite a bit.:p

But by about Tuesday, we were starting to feel a little under the weather because we had been on the go so much and the heat and humidity were getting to us. That's when we decided to slow down a little and enjoy our Suite, hot tub, and the POA!:D

I just wanted to get all the pictures of the Owner's Suite posted for those who have been waiting to see them.

[brunolvr]

Looks like they spent all their time in the suite (lol).

 

We did very much enjoy the time we spent in our suite and on our balcony.;)

We had been to Maui many years ago and had done the "Road to Hana" and had visited "Haleakala" and seen pretty much everything.

I read something someone had posted and I thought it was very good. It went something like this:

“Don’t try to do too much. Hawaii is slow paced and you should visit Hawaii to savor its beauty. There are a ton of things to do, pick what works for you but choose wisely and sparingly.

Give yourself a chance to relax.”

[brunolvr]

1/2 bathroom off of entry-way with tiny sink

 

Main bathroom with whirlpool tub and double sinks.

 

Shower door on the left and toilet room door on the right

 

Television in bathroom with complimentary slippers on hamper. Small door leads to entryway.

 

Elemis shampoo, conditioner, lotion, shower gel, lip revive, instant refreshing gel, and eyes-awake recovery gel. Replaced as we used them. Oh and also a bar of Zest cleansing soap and shower cap (I had already removed them).

[brunolvr]

And of course hidden under the bathroom sink, some scales so you can weigh your luggage before you fly home!;)

 

Extra towel storage in bathroom with robes. Closet and dressing room is on the left before you enter the bedroom.

 

Dressing room area and storage -- rather dark in there even with the lights.

 

another view of closet & dressing room with lots of storage.

 

Safe with storage shelves above and drawers down below

[jonbgd]

Wailua River, Fern Grotto & Smith Family Luau

 

This doesn't show as an excursion on gorabbitgo for our Dec 3rd cruise. I thought gorabbitgo was Robert's Tour Excursion website. Is there another website you booked this through?

 

Yes, you're correct, ohsoblessed. We did book it through gorabbitgo and it is Roberts Hawaii Tour Excursions. You might try giving them a call and find out why they're not doing this excursion in December since the Smith Family is having their Luau at that time.:confused:

Smiths family luau does not happen on thursday nights during the winter months of Nov-Feb???? Thats why it is not bookable

[brunolvr]

Our balcony

 

The other half of our balcony

 

View looking to the front from our balcony

 

View looking to the back of the ship from our balcony

 

 

Enjoying a beautiful sunset from our balcony

[brunolvr]

A delicious breakfast in our suite.

 

 

Another delicious breakfast in our suite

 

 

And another great breakfast in our suite -- even got some eggs benedict!

 

 

Delicious cookies delivered by our butler

 

When we told our butler how much we liked the macadamia nut cookies, he brought us a whole plate of them!

[brunolvr]

Some delicious appetizers

 

 

and some great chocolates!

 

 

love those chocolate-covered strawberries!

 

All kinds of little appetizers!

 

 

This was a great plate the butler brought while we were viewing the Na Pali coastline.

[russianmom]

Excellent review and pictures!!

 

Any idea how to make the calendar speed up to April 2013?????:D

[albertamom]

 

I really don't know if there would be much room for a rollaway bed, though. When the sofa is extended into a bed, it does take up a lot of room. Our room stewardess moved the coffee table behind the dining room table so we would have some room to walk around. I don't know where a rollaway bed would go?:confused:

 

We'll make it work somehow! We've squeezed a rollaway into some very tiny hotel rooms, and are fine with climbing over and around things if necessary.:)

 

The snacks look so yummy, and breakfast in that beautiful suite sounds like the perfect way to start the day. Are all the room service requests done through the butler? Did you make good use of the jacuzzi?

 

How cool to have a direct view of the bridge!

 

If kids aren't welcome at the VIP party, we'll be thrilled with the chance to meet the captain and some of the crew at our M & G, and plan to stay on the island of Maui through dinner that day.

 

Thank you again for all the time and effort it is taking to post these beautiful pictures. I am positively bursting with excitement!:D

[brunolvr]

We'll make it work somehow! We've squeezed a rollaway into some very tiny hotel rooms, and are fine with climbing over and around things if necessary.:)

 

The snacks look so yummy, and breakfast in that beautiful suite sounds like the perfect way to start the day. Are all the room service requests done through the butler? Did you make good use of the jacuzzi?

 

How cool to have a direct view of the bridge!

 

If kids aren't welcome at the VIP party, we'll be thrilled with the chance to meet the captain and some of the crew at our M & G, and plan to stay on the island of Maui through dinner that day.

 

Thank you again for all the time and effort it is taking to post these beautiful pictures. I am positively bursting with excitement!:D

 

Yes, the butler will take care of any food requests you have. We never did have time for the whirlpool tub in the bathroom but we did enjoy the hot tub on our balcony!:D