Review of our September 10, 2011 cruise on the POA

[brunolvr]

Time for our 40-minute tram ride around the 60-acre working plantation. It was fun and very informative.

 

Tram ride

 

Taro fields

 

Riding along in the tram enjoying the scenery

 

Pineapple plants

 

Demonstration on coconut husking

 

Coffee bean plants

[brunolvr]

Continuing on our tram ride around the Maui Tropical Plantation

 

Rows and rows of beautiful flowers

 

Banana trees

 

Avocado trees

 

Beautiful scenery

 

After our tram tour, it was time for lunch. It was a salad & sandwich buffet along with minestrone soup and a fresh fruit cup and ice tea or water to drink.

Lunch was included on our tour of the Maui Tropical Plantation

And it was very good!

 

About 12:30 we were all back on the bus headed to our final destination of the Maui Ocean Center.

[brunolvr]

What a great review and terrific pictures. Waiting for more entries. One question about your suite 12502. Did you have any noise issues from the rest rooms, bars and auditorium on deck 13?

 

We will be on the POA the week of Dec 10th in a Penthouse Suite 10516. The larger Penhouse Suites, and the Owner's Suites are all booked - too bad. I'm sure we'll enjoy the PH suite thought.

 

Eager to hear more about your cruise. It sounds like you had a wonderful time.

 

Thanks for sharing. ;) :D

 

Kruz Guys

Stephen and Tom

 

Hi, Kruz Guys! Our suite was very quiet but we did hear some noise from above when we were out on our balcony -- not all the time but when they were moving chairs around up on Deck 13 or if someone was running or being "heavy footed" in their walking.

 

But once we turned on our hot tub, you couldn't hear a thing! Those "bubbles" make a lot of noise -- I hope we didn't disturb our next door neighbors!:rolleyes:

[brunolvr]

I don't want this review to ever end!!!!!! Thank you for the fabulous photos and descriptions. I love Hawaii and have not really been tempted to cruise the islands until now. You have me ready to sign on the dotted line for an owners suite. Mahalo, Cherie

 

Thanks, Cherie! If you get the chance, sign on the dotted line for an owner's suite -- you won't regret it!;)

 

We should have booked "back to back" cruises so we would have had more time to enjoy the POA and the "suite life"!:D

[brunolvr]

Wow, I feel like I've just been to Hawaii vicariously through you. What great photos! When you're in the Owner's Suite Cherie, we'll come visit you.:D

 

Thanks, Aruba! I believe pictures can speak louder than words.;) And I love taking pictures when there is so much beauty to be seen.:)

[mydreamvacation]

We are two weeks from final payment now I can show my husband it was worth the money

[jonbgd]

Here was the form in our suite when we got there:

Were these the little airplane shooters or a 750ml botlle of each

[brunolvr]

Were these the little airplane shooters or a 750ml botlle of each

 

No, not the little airline bottles -- full size bottles:)!

[sue402001]

Hey Sandy, this has nothing to do with Hawaii but . . . . .

 

On your many travels to Alaska, have you ever done a land / cruise package? We're thinking of doing one in the next couple of years.

 

Thanks, Sue

 

I am enjoying your review by the way, it makes me wish I was back in HI once again.

[mydreamvacation]

If you recall my 18 (almost 19) year old son was up in the air about joining us for my 50th birthday and because of my gushing over your review he committed to come today (yes! all a mom wants is to have one last time with their kid before he ventures off in life)

 

thank you so much- where did you find those pagodas? He would love to see them, he took AP Asian Civ in his senior year and I think that is what turned him- closest he is getting to Asia on my buck lol

[brunolvr]

Hey Sandy, this has nothing to do with Hawaii but . . . . .

 

On your many travels to Alaska, have you ever done a land / cruise package? We're thinking of doing one in the next couple of years.

 

Thanks, Sue

 

I am enjoying your review by the way, it makes me wish I was back in HI once again.

 

Hi, Sue! No, sorry we've talked about doing a land/cruise package to Alaska but haven't done it yet. We've just cruised Seattle to Alaska RT on NCL.:)

[brunolvr]

If you recall my 18 (almost 19) year old son was up in the air about joining us for my 50th birthday and because of my gushing over your review he committed to come today (yes! all a mom wants is to have one last time with their kid before he ventures off in life)

 

thank you so much- where did you find those pagodas? He would love to see them, he took AP Asian Civ in his senior year and I think that is what turned him- closest he is getting to Asia on my buck lol

 

Hi, mydreamvacation. Yes, our children grow up way too fast, so enjoy the time you have with your son before he leaves home. I'm glad your son has decided to join you on the cruise. I'm sure he'll have a great time and there's a lot of Asian influence in Hawaii so he can do some research and find different places to go that would interest him.

 

Here's the place we went to:

http://www.hawaiiweb.com/maui/html/sites/kepaniwai_park_heritage_gardens.html

It was less than 30 minutes away from where the POA docked and was on the way to the Iao Needle State Park (less than 10 minutes apart).

[brunolvr]

By 12:45 PM we were at the Ocean Center. This is a beautiful aquarium with more than 60 exhibits, both inside and outside, showing the natural habitat of Hawaii’s marine life. There is a 54’ long acrylic tunnel that goes right through the 750,000 gallon main tank, which is very neat as you see the fish swimming all around you. There are several places to eat at the Ocean Center and they have a huge gift shop.

 

Outdoor pool of colorful fish

 

Inside tank of colorful fish

 

Is this a shrimp?

 

Unicorn Fish

 

Can you find the two orange fish in the tank? Also you can see at least one dark-colored one on the left. They are frogfish, a species with incredible camouflage and an even more amazing ability to engulf prey in less than 10 milliseconds. Frogfish have the fastest 'gape and suck' of any fish, and possibly the fastest prey capture in the animal kingdom.

 

Acrylic Tunnel

 

About 2:30 PM, we loaded back on the bus for our short ride back to the Pride of America. We had a great day, but were very hot and tired. We were looking forward to spending some time relaxing in our hot tub!

 

Tonight was the Latitudes gathering at 5:00 PM and we had dinner reservations at Teppanyaki for 7:30 PM.

[kwbound]

Sandy - Your review and photos are wonderful. You have given me a new goal in life...to book the owners' suite on POA. I'm looking forward to the rest of your review.

 

Donna

[brunolvr]

Sandy - Your review and photos are wonderful. You have given me a new goal in life...to book the owners' suite on POA. I'm looking forward to the rest of your review.

 

Donna

 

 

I like your goal, Donna!;) Go for it!:)

[brunolvr]

When we got back to our suite, we were greeted by another towel animal -- a cute dog wearing my sunglasses. We liked the fact that our room stewardess surprised us with the towel animals after making up our suite in the morning so we had the whole day to enjoy them. On all of our other cruises, we always got the towel animals at night when we were going to bed so we didn’t get to enjoy them as long.

Towel animal on our bed

 

After relaxing in our hot tub for a while, we got ready for the Latitudes gathering which was at 5:00 PM. It was very well attended and the Captain gave a nice talk. About 5:45 PM, we made an early exit as we wanted to watch our sail-away from Maui at 6:00 PM. The gangplank was already down and most of the ropes were untied from the pier and a little before 6:00 PM, we were pulling away from the dock.

Leaving Maui

 

Good-bye Kahului, Maui

 

We watched as we left Kahului, Maui behind in our wake, then we got ready for our 7:30 PM dinner at Teppanyaki. We had a great dinner with 6 other guests at our table. The chef was very entertaining and the food was delicious!

POA’s wake

 

Sunset over Maui

 

We decided to skip the show again tonight, “Rock-a Hula Luau” and relax in our suite. All the activity from the past few days was starting to get to us and we made the decision to cancel our excursion with Ricky’s Tours for Tuesday to give ourselves a chance to rest and recuperate.

 

Both of us are in our mid-60’s and aren’t as active since we retired a few years ago. We weren’t used to being constantly on the go and our bodies were telling us to slow down a little since we weren’t used to the heat and humidity. We were really looking forward to Ricky’s Tours, but we both thought it would be for the best to call and cancel.

Good-night! Next stop, Hilo!

[Pinkleanne]

Thank you for your fantastic review and wonderful photos. My husband and I leave for Hawaii tomorrow from Australia and we will be on board POA from 8th October. Unfortunately we won't be enjoying the Owner's Suite as you did but hopefully our room will be just as nice in it's own way!! I look forward to reading more of your review and possibly writing my own when I get home. Leanne:)

[brunolvr]

Thank you for your fantastic review and wonderful photos. My husband and I leave for Hawaii tomorrow from Australia and we will be on board POA from 8th October. Unfortunately we won't be enjoying the Owner's Suite as you did but hopefully our room will be just as nice in it's own way!! I look forward to reading more of your review and possibly writing my own when I get home. Leanne:)

 

I hope you have a safe trip, Leanne, and a wonderful cruise! A positive attitude can make all the difference in the world!:)

BON VOYAGE!!!

[brunolvr]

TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 13, 2011

 

Once again I awoke early in the morning to a beautiful sunrise.

5:45 AM, Tuesday

 

6:15 AM Tuesday

 

7:00 AM Tuesday with Hilo in the distance

 

I was rather sad that we were going to miss Ricky’s Tours with Volcano National Park, Akatsuka Orchid Garden, plus numerous other stops on the agenda, but I knew it was for the best. Today would be a slower-paced day for us starting with a light breakfast in our suite. We were due to dock in Hilo at 8:00 AM, but by around 7:30 AM the Pride of America appeared to be docked and ready for passengers to disembark.

7:30 AM Tuesday at the Hilo pier

 

About 9:30 AM we got off the ship to see what was close-by. Once on the pier, we decided to take the free shuttle to Historic Downtown Hilo. It was a short ride with a drop-off at the Farmer’s Market. We walked through the Market then down the main street stopping at the Hilo Discovery Center and several shops along the way. The Discovery Center was constructed to interpret the natural science, culture, and history of the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands and the surrounding marine environment. After about an hour, we walked back to the Farmer’s Market and got the shuttle back to the ship.

Historic downtown Hilo

 

Turtle exhibit in the Hilo Discovery Center

[brunolvr]

A cute pig towel animal was sitting on our bed to greet us when we got back to our suite.

 

 

We spent some time exploring the ship then went to lunch at Lazy J Steakhouse. Lunch was so good – their luncheon steak is very tender and so tasty! After lunch we walked around a bit, taking lots of pictures, then we went back to our suite, rested a while, and spent some time in the hot tub.

 

The Grand Staircase

 

Glass elevators

 

Reception area and lounge

 

Shore Excursion area

 

East Meets West Restaurant

[brunolvr]

Skyline Restaurant

 

Liberty Restaurant

 

Kumu Cultural Center

 

Lazy J Steakhouse

 

Sail-away from Hilo was at 6:00 PM so we were on our balcony to watch. When they tell you to be back on the ship by a certain time, don’t be late. They are very prompt in taking down the gangplank and the ship is ready to go right on time (and sometimes a little ahead of schedule).

6:05 PM, time to leave Hilo

 

Good-bye to Hilo

 

Tonight was the “Dine with Officers” night and we were selected to dine with the Hotel Director, Cary Turecamo, and the System’s Analyst, Dave West. We were to meet at John Adams Coffee Bar at 6:45 PM, where we were offered a complimentary drink, then around 7:00 PM, we were escorted to the Liberty Restaurant. Two of our Cruise Critic friends (Lynne & Blair) along with 2 sisters from New York, were at our table. It was great fun and the food and service was exceptional! Make sure you sign up early for this fun event!

 

We were a few minutes late arriving at the 9:15 PM show, The Magic of Matt Marcy, but still got good seats and enjoyed the show. After the show we went back to our suite and got ready for bed. This slower-paced day did us some good as we were both feeling much better and looking forward to tomorrow with Marylou’s Big Island Tours in Kona.

[coconutmonkey]

Hi Sandy. I'm interested in visiting the Maui Ocean Center and was wondering how you dealt with transportation to get there? Did you take a shore excursion, taxi or private tour? My ship is offering a shore excursion for $79 which offers 2 hours at the center. Is this enough time? The price seems like a lot considering admission is only $25. Your thoughts? Thanks so much.

[brunolvr]

Hi Sandy. I'm interested in visiting the Maui Ocean Center and was wondering how you dealt with transportation to get there? Did you take a shore excursion, taxi or private tour? My ship is offering a shore excursion for $79 which offers 2 hours at the center. Is this enough time? The price seems like a lot considering admission is only $25. Your thoughts? Thanks so much.

 

Hi, coconutmonkey! We booked an excursion through NCL that included the Heritage Gardens, Iao Valley State Park, Maui Tropical Plantation (including tram ride and lunch) and the Maui Ocean Center for $109 pp. We thought it was a pretty good deal since my husband didn't want to do any driving.

 

Yes, 2 hours should be plenty of time at the Ocean Center (unless you plan on eating lunch there). Maybe you could rent a car? or check to see if Roberts Hawaii Shore Excursions offers something cheaper than your ship's excursion. (their website is http://gorabbitgo.com/index.php)

[coconutmonkey]

Sandy, thanks for the quick reply! Roberts tours does not offer this so I'll just keep looking. Like you, we prefer not to drive on this vacation. Good to know 2 hours is enough time. Regards.

[wilfros]

I read in an earlier post that you attended the Smith Family Luau, while our visit will be during the day on our cruise in February 2012.

I am hoping/wondering if you are going to post on photos of this evert?

 

While we have got lots of information about the event but can't seem to find and real photos taken by cruisers like yourself.

 

I would love to see them, even more than the food shots you insist I view just before I get my Kraft Dinner!

 

I am really enjoying your review.