POA Dec. 31-Jan. 7 Trip Report

[Teddy Boo]

Love your posts - patiently waiting for your next day of adventure - no pressure:)

[lacyspring]

We enjoyed the Jade but probably wouldn't do the Barcelona - Canary Islands itinerary again. The Jade from Venice to the greek isles would be a wonderful itinerary. I'd probably book a mini suite on deck 11. They are a bigger than a balcony cabin and NCL often has special offers at good rates. From what I've read the suites with all the suite perks are the way to travel on NCL so we are trying one of the new family suites on the Dawn this Fall.

 

Can't wait for the rest of your review!

 

Thanks for the info! I've been researching European cruises the last couple of weeks, and we finally found "the one"--Venice to Barcelona via Greek islands and Turkey on NCL Spirit.

 

Enjoying your review so much...thanks for being so detailed. Love your pictures from Maui and you video....wow that was something...

 

Thanks! Yeah, we were fortunate nothing caught on fire, so now we just have a great story (and video) to show for it!

 

Thank you soooo much for your wonderful reviews, my husband and I are celebrating our 30th wedding anniverary and are flying to Hawaii from New Jersey in May, boarding the Pride of America on the 19th. Your posts have been wonderful, both informative and entertaining, keep them coming.

 

You guys will have a wonderful time! The whole trip was almost perfect from beginning to end. I think it's pretty much impossible to have a bad time in Hawai'i.

[lacyspring]

Thanks so much for your review/bog. Enjoying it immensely! We likeNCL a lot but prefer Princess. I would consider that for Europe......service, food, all superior, price might be higher though.

 

We'll be on POA 6/2......Maui is my problem island concerning tour, awaiting not so patiently for your next installment.:D

 

Thanks for the tip! I'm a little nervous about going with NCL again, but we just found the PERFECT European itinerary (for us) on NCL Spirit, so we are booking for May 2013. Can't wait! I'm in planning mode already...

 

The review is great! Thank you for taking the time to write about your trip and post the pictures. DH and I will be doing this cruise in April 2014. What can I say..I'm a bit of an 'over planner'. I'm a little hesitant to do NCL, but it is the itinerary that I'm going for and 5 days at sea just doesn't seem all that appealing to me. However, I will be in Hawaii and on a cruise so really how bad will it be?? Thank you again for providing all of us with your entertaining review...look forward to reading more.

 

P.S. Being a microbiologist...I can definitely tell you that I'm a bit of a germaphobe as well:D

 

Thanks! I'm right there with you when it comes to over planning--or, as I tell DH, you can never over plan. It's always better to be ready with a backup to your backup plan than be without any plan at all, I say.

 

We booked NCL for the exact same reason. We get really bored on sea days. We had two in a row when we went to Panama, and I was about ready to jump ship! I know that five would do me in. So even though the cruising experience itself wasn't the best on NCL, we weren't really on the ship enough for that to matter.

 

Love your posts - patiently waiting for your next day of adventure - no pressure:)

 

Thanks, the next post will be up tonight--promise! It's completely done except for one picture, which is of course on my home computer and I'm at work right now. I will post it as soon as I get home. Thanks for your patience! :)

[lacyspring]

Sorry it took so long, but I FINALLY finished my Maui Day 2 blog. I got a bit distracted the last week or so because we finally chose our Europe cruise (May 2013 on NCL Spirit!) and I'm so excited about the itinerary I couldn't resist starting a planning journal. ;) So I've been working on that and falling behind on my Hawaii blogging, BUT I promise it won't take me so long to post the next one. Until then, I hope you enjoy this latest installment!

 

Maui Day Two

[Teddy Boo]

Wow! It was worth the wait. We aren't going until July 2013 NCL and I can't wait. Thank you for sharing your experiences. :D

[lacyspring]

Wow! It was worth the wait. We aren't going until July 2013 NCL and I can't wait. Thank you for sharing your experiences. :D

 

Thanks! I'm working on the Hilo post now, so it should be up this weekend. If you have any questions about anything we did (or wish we had done), don't hesitate to ask!

[Tyskie]

Sorry it took so long, but I FINALLY finished my Maui Day 2 blog. I got a bit distracted the last week or so because we finally chose our Europe cruise (May 2013 on NCL Spirit!) and I'm so excited about the itinerary I couldn't resist starting a planning journal. ;)

 

I'm sure you'll enjoy the Spirit. We were actually going to do a repo cruise on her this fall...............but just couldn't resist the opportunity to do Hawaii.

 

Loving your blog............Thanks !

[lacyspring]

I'm sure you'll enjoy the Spirit. We were actually going to do a repo cruise on her this fall...............but just couldn't resist the opportunity to do Hawaii.

 

Loving your blog............Thanks !

 

I can certainly understand that, especially if you haven't done a Hawaiian cruise before but have done the repo cruises. Our Hawaiian vacation was by far the most expensive vacation we've ever taken (and that includes me living in England for much of last summer and several other European vacations we've gone on), so there's no way we could have done the European cruise this year too, but Hawaii was our honeymoon so we decided to go big (lots of expensive excursions). I would say it was worth every penny, and I wouldn't trade the experiences we had in Hawaii for anything.

[soxfan1495]

Thanks for posting your great photos! I have not seen such nice pictures on any other trip report, and now it is a bit easier to contemplate getting up early to see the sunrise on day 2 of our POA cruise in June. Do you remember the settings you used to take your photos?

[Annie Morehead]

I'm enjoying your review! We're going on the POA in April.

 

We've already booked two cruises next April...the NCL Jade from Rome to Venice, the reboarding the Jade the same day and doing a round trip including some of the Greek Islands.

 

The price was very good! Also, I really wanted my husband to see Rome (we'll go a few days) earlier. I had been to Rome with my daughter when her friend was doing a summer program in Florence.

[JZenkow]

Looking at doing this cruise in Jan. and was wondering about your air travel plans, as we are in NJ also

[Just4You]

I just found the info. The Pride of Aloha was the Sky and is now the Sky again.

 

I wonder if it still has the giant Elvis statue.

[lacyspring]

Thanks for posting your great photos! I have not seen such nice pictures on any other trip report, and now it is a bit easier to contemplate getting up early to see the sunrise on day 2 of our POA cruise in June. Do you remember the settings you used to take your photos?

 

Glad you liked them! I would definitely say it is worth getting up for, though we happened to have been there on a very clear day. Some days it's really cloudy and the views aren't good.

 

We have a Canon T3i, and I think having the tripod really helped get clear, crisp shots. We got the tripod specifically for this trip, and it's great for travelling--very lightweight and compact, tall enough to see over most railings, and only about $17 at Target. We have really nice tripods that are just too difficult to travel with, so I'm really happy we got this one and I'm sure we will travel with it from now on.

 

We were just using a regular UV filter because our circular polarizer wasn't working (more on that in the Kona post). DH did use some of the camera's special settings, but I will have to check with him to see exactly which ones they were.

 

I'm enjoying your review! We're going on the POA in April.

 

We've already booked two cruises next April...the NCL Jade from Rome to Venice, the reboarding the Jade the same day and doing a round trip including some of the Greek Islands.

 

The price was very good! Also, I really wanted my husband to see Rome (we'll go a few days) earlier. I had been to Rome with my daughter when her friend was doing a summer program in Florence.

 

Thanks, Daisy! That sounds like a fantastic itinerary! We have never been to Rome before, so I wish we were doing an itinerary that ended or began there so we'd have more time, but the Venice to Barcelona itinerary (with one day in Rome) was just too good to pass up--hits all the major places we want to see (other than Egypt).

 

Looking at doing this cruise in Jan. and was wondering about your air travel plans, as we are in NJ also

 

We're in central PA, so we flew out of Pittsburgh. It was really expensive--by far the most expensive flight we've ever booked. (Over a grand apiece.) We booked about eight months out, though, so if I had to do it over again I think I would wait until just a few months out. That's what we usually do. Booking so far out meant that Delta changed our itinerary several times--but always for the better. We ended up flying Pittsburgh-Atlanta-Honolulu, and the same way back. The earlier flights we looked at had two layovers (LAX and Minneapolis, I think), so we liked this itinerary a lot better. The flight from ATL to Honolulu is over ten hours, but we just watched lots of free movies and slept, and it wasn't bad at all. We flew all day on the way there (getting in around 4:00 p.m.) and overnight on the way back.

[lacyspring]

Day 6 is now up on the blog!

 

Our day in Hilo

[Troodles1970]

Just wondering what time you left Volcano Park, and how long of a drive was it to the falls. Your trip report is so interesting to follow! We will be on the POA this Saturday...can't wait!

[lacyspring]

Just wondering what time you left Volcano Park, and how long of a drive was it to the falls. Your trip report is so interesting to follow! We will be on the POA this Saturday...can't wait!

 

I would budget 45 minutes to get to and from Volcanoes National Park, and 30 minutes to get to Akaka Falls. Each trip is actually a little less than that, but I would plan for that just to be safe. Akaka Falls is about eleven miles north of Hilo, so if you go straight there and don't take the "scenic" way or get turned around by your GPS (like we did), it actually takes closer to 20 minutes (depending on your starting point). I know that we left Akaka between 4:15 and 4:20, stopped for gas in Hilo, went to the airport and then the correct Thrifty drop-off, and still made it to Thrifty by 4:55 (five minutes to spare!). I think we left Volcanoes around 2:30 and reached the Hilo McDonald's a little after 3:00.

 

You guys will have a blast! It's snowing here, so I'm jealous of anyone headed to Hawaii right now!

[Tyskie]

Hi.........waiting not so patiently for your Kona & Kaui review ::D

Question re Hilo........we're considering a tour instead of renting a car. The only difference I see is Rainbow falls vs Akaka falls. So many choices !!! Any thoughts? Everything else is pretty much is on our list "to see". Even includes the beautiful orchids!

[Teacher_91]

Loving your trip review and pictures! More please! :)

[planningdiva]

Thanks for the great review!! Thanks to you I have convinced my DH to do the early wake up (well he'll have to dragg me out of bed as I'm NOT an early riser) and do the bike ride in maui!! I can't wait for the rest of your review!!:D

[Freckles_51]

Thanks for the great review!! Thanks to you I have convinced my DH to do the early wake up (well he'll have to dragg me out of bed as I'm NOT an early riser) and do the bike ride in maui!! I can't wait for the rest of your review!!:D

 

Hey planningdiva, are you going to join our roll call? ;)

It's a bit dead right now but hopefully will liven up as we get closer to the sail date :)

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1509294

[Teddy Boo]

Love reading your review and can't wait until the next post. What are your thoughts on renting a car versus the excursions the ship provides. My husband likes to explore on his own but I like planned, structured activities. I want to be more flexible but don't want to miss things we might miss if we are busy driving, etc. I guess it's all about balance, is there any island you would suggest ships excursions over renting a car and exploring ourselves. Thank you.

[welly world]

Even though we aren't planning this trip for 3 more years, I am anxiously awaiting you next update! I wish we could go sooner... you have made this trip so real for us! Thank you!

[lacyspring]

Hi.........waiting not so patiently for your Kona & Kaui review ::D

Question re Hilo........we're considering a tour instead of renting a car. The only difference I see is Rainbow falls vs Akaka falls. So many choices !!! Any thoughts? Everything else is pretty much is on our list "to see". Even includes the beautiful orchids!

 

Sorry for the disappearance! I was going through some things in my personal life that made finishing my trip report a low priority, but I'm hoping to have the Kona blog finished in the next day or so. I just have to finish uploading the pictures to my blog. I will try to finish the rest as quickly as possible, too. Kauai was my favorite island, so those blogs should be fun to write.

 

Car vs. tour: entirely your call, of course, but it would just depend on priorities I think. Akaka Falls was my favorite part of the day, so I really wouldn't want to miss it. But if you aren't a huge waterfall person and think they're pretty much all the same, it might not be as big a deal to you. I will say Hilo is one of the easiest places to drive around (other than that bizarre detour we took). I don't think I would want to do Volcanoes with a tour, either, because I like to look at places at my leisure, which sometimes means spending a long time at once place that tour company might treat as only a photo stop or even skip, and sometimes skipping or taking a photo stop at some place a tour company might expect you to spend some time. For example, when we were at Waimea Canyon in Kauai, we stopped at overlook where there were several buses. We got out, used the restroom, took our time photographing all the different angles, and still were back in the car and gone before the buses left. There were a lot of people on the tour just sitting around on the sidewalk, bored, waiting for the buses to leave. So that's the kind of thing DH and I try to avoid, and the reason why we always rent a car over take a tour when we feel it's possible.

 

Loving your trip review and pictures! More please! :)

 

Thanks! Kona will be up soon!

 

Thanks for the great review!! Thanks to you I have convinced my DH to do the early wake up (well he'll have to dragg me out of bed as I'm NOT an early riser) and do the bike ride in maui!! I can't wait for the rest of your review!!:D

 

I hope you guys love it! I'm not a morning person either, but the time difference helped, I think, and I was up early almost every day of the cruise. It's a lot easier for me to get up when I know there are exciting things to be seen!

[lacyspring]

Love reading your review and can't wait until the next post. What are your thoughts on renting a car versus the excursions the ship provides. My husband likes to explore on his own but I like planned, structured activities. I want to be more flexible but don't want to miss things we might miss if we are busy driving, etc. I guess it's all about balance, is there any island you would suggest ships excursions over renting a car and exploring ourselves. Thank you.

 

We rented cars nearly every day (except Kona and second day in Kauai) and didn't do any ship excursions. We almost never do ship excursions; even in the Caribbean, we book with local tour companies. Driving in Hawaii is like driving anywhere else in the U.S., though--good roads, easily navigable with a GPS. The traffic was never bad, and we never had issues with things like parking. Our days were still highly structured--thanks to my planning--but we could do activities at our own pace, and skip those ones the tour companies might think are important but that we don't care about, or add those that were important to us but maybe not to most people.

 

The only private excursions we did were things we couldn't do on our own--the mountain biking, swimming with sharks, and snorkeling in Kona, for instance. It's slightly more difficult to rent a car in Kona (though not nearly as difficult as I thought), so if I were going to do a shore excursion with the cruise ship, that's probably where I'd do it. We wanted to do a different snorkeling tour than they offered, though, so we booked a different company.

 

Even though we aren't planning this trip for 3 more years, I am anxiously awaiting you next update! I wish we could go sooner... you have made this trip so real for us! Thank you!

 

Glad you're enjoying! Feel free to ask me any questions as you are planning. You guys will have a great time!

[Teddy Boo]

Thank you for your quick responce-all of your imput is helpful.