POA - Arrival time in Kaua'i?

[TerryAndDoug]

We will be on POA in January and arrival time in Kaua'i is listed on itinerary as 8:00 AM. Does anyone who has been on POA in the past know if this is accurate? I'm hoping to be able to get off the ship a few minutes before then in order to meet an early morning excursion not offered through the ship.

 

I'll also post on the NCL board in case others there may have information.

 

Thanks,

Doug

[Zeno]

Honestly I can't remember for sure - so don't base any decisions on this - but I seem to recollect that by the time we were in the buffet for breakfast the ship was pulling in to port - that would have been around 7:30 AM. You might want to ask the excursion people if they have had people from the POA who were able to make it on time. You should bear in mind that the voyage from the Big Island to Kauai IS the longest inter-island trip on this cruise - so I don't think that they would get in very early. Good Luck.

[CruiserBruce]

POA does this route every week, and have for a good number of years. Poor crew!

 

I would take their schedule pretty seriously. They know not from estimating, but from actual experience.

[Boytjie]

I looked at my pictures from October 2010 and it seems to show we were approaching the dock at 8:15 am.

[rockabutzer]

I would think that any cruise you book independently of the cruise line would know when your ship docks and would wait for you to debark. I don't think you being a few minutes late would cause them to say, "oh well", and leave. That would be extremely bad for business. So I wouldn't worry about the ship docking at 8 AM, your tour company will be there waiting for you, and any other guests booked with them.

 

 

[Budget Queen]

You need to clear this booking with the VENDOR, were they in agreement with this arrival time? Or are you on your own, if the ship is late? You can NOT depend on "getting off the ship in a few minutes" so if you want the absolutely sure answer, it will be a no.

[jcl410]

In addition, find out your tour company's policy if the ship cannot dock.....

Nawiliwili harbor can be a handful to get into if the wind or seas are too high from the wrong direction.

 

Aloha,

 

John

[Boytjie]

Some excursions like scuba diving need to start early in the morning so they don't run into trade winds. The winds don't wait for cruise ship arrivals. ;)

[born2cruize]

We will be on POA in January and arrival time in Kaua'i is listed on itinerary as 8:00 AM. Does anyone who has been on POA in the past know if this is accurate? I'm hoping to be able to get off the ship a few minutes before then in order to meet an early morning excursion not offered through the ship.

 

I'll also post on the NCL board in case others there may have information.

 

Thanks,

Doug

 

Having done this cruise seven times the simple answer is maybe. Our cruises have been in December through early February. In 2006 we were late (about a half an hour) because of weather on the way and the fact we backed into the port (the ship has to navigate an s-shape around the break waters). The rest of the time we arrived on time or a little early (maybe 15 minutes). As mentioned this is the longest part of the voyage, it's not like Maui were one time we arrived almost an hour early.

 

Even if you get to Kauai on time or even early you can't expect to start your journey as the ship docks. There will be a lot of early birds blocking the stair way before they even open the doors and place the gangway.

[TerryAndDoug]

Thanks for the replies, everyone. We've worked out a schedule where we can do what we want to on the two Kaua'i days without trying to rush on the first morning.

 

Doug