Tips for experienced cruiser on the Pride for first NCL cruise?

[Cubechick]

Thanks Mcmommy and everyone else! Lots to think about!

 

The kids and I like to zipline and I've done it from cruises were we can do something with dad in the morning and an afternoon zipline session thru cruiseship with just the kids and I (dad will not zip). Zip & Dip sounded nice but pretty long to leave dad hanging out in rental car playing with his phone. Are there any that are pretty efficient about getting you up and zipping and done in 2 hours?

 

I remember when booking helicopter ride in Alaska, I came up with good "backup" plans if it was canceled. Are there good "backup" plans for either a tour in Kauai or Kona (volcano)? Backup plan needs to be something I could book last minute I guess.

 

I think I want to book many of the "fee" meals. Are they something that needs to get booked way in advance? Will this open up to do online after I make final payment?

 

Yes, you will be able to book restaurants 45 days out online. But as another poster stated, only Teppanyaki fills up due to limited seating.

[roosterx4]

I concur on the car rental recommendations above. Book your own, it was half of what the ship excursion desk charges. Most of the car rental companies send shuttles to the port so it is the easiest way to see Hawaii.

 

One word of caution: choose your rental car company wisely. Find out who the ship is using. When we went, they were using Alamo. I rented directly through National. When we arrived in port it was a mob scene trying to board the National/Alamo shuttle. Meanwhile the Thrifty and Avis shuttles were just sitting there empty waiting. Check with the ship and find out who they use, be sure NOT to rent with the same company or one of their sister companies.

[chengkp75]

As others have noted, and unfortunately as NCL does not stress in their marketing, the ship is really designed as a floating hotel. There are not as many attractions or things to do onboard as other ships, the destination is the attraction.

 

As for the volcano, when I was working on the Aloha back in 04-08, the Captain would stop the ship, and use the thrusters to swing it 360 degrees, so that everyone got a good view. I don't know how the flow is now, but back in 07 I think, it changed direction, and we actually cancelled the stop and swing because there wasn't anything to see. I've seen photos from recent cruises, but I don't think it's as spectacular as it once was. Port side cabins are best for viewing the NaPali coast sailby.

 

You might want to check out the thread I started "PoA, some realities", that detail some clarifications about the US operations, and what you might find different from other cruises.

[Sauer-kraut]

You might want to check out the thread I started "PoA, some realities", that detail some clarifications about the US operations, and what you might find different from other cruises.

 

Here is the link to the thread referenced above:

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1798201

[sonarboy]

Do not do the "Eat With The Sharks!" excursion. I wouldn't mind being towed behind the boat if they would give you a tube or something. And I didn't appreciate the Captain calling me Chum Boy.

[spacepotatoes]

I remember when booking helicopter ride in Alaska, I came up with good "backup" plans if it was canceled. Are there good "backup" plans for either a tour in Kauai or Kona (volcano)? Backup plan needs to be something I could book last minute I guess.

 

In Kauai, we rented a car for the two days and drove around pretty much all of the island that you could get to by car. The Waimea Canyon is fantastic. There's also the Spouting Horn blow hole, the Kilauea Lighthouse and Wildlife Preserve, and quite a few beaches along the north shore.

 

I wouldn't recommend doing the volcano from Kona since you'd have to drive across the Big Island for that. Much better to do it from Hilo. We decided to make Kona our beach day since we were exhausted from the previous ports by that point. We did the beach break excursion through NCL. It was a nice day. I'm sure there are other great options in Kona, too, that's just what we did.

[spacepotatoes]

Hello, all! Research tells me that starboard is best for balcony viewing of volcano on Big Island; however, mapping tells me differently (even a call to NCL said "starboard").

 

experienced/veteran POA cruisers input, please... Mahalo~ (sailing 01.18.14)

 

I wouldn't choose the balcony based on the volcano. That sailby is pretty short (maybe 45 mins) and there is no guarantee anymore that you will actually be able to see anything. The earthquake in Japan closed the vent that the ship was sailing by previously. A new one opened not too long ago but reviews seem to indicate that whether or not the viewing is good from one sailing to the next is a crap shoot. If you do get to see it, just go up to one of the open decks.

 

The Na Pali coast is best viewed from the port side and that is very much worth booking a balcony for!

[NJGeorge]

I was just on the POA 2 weeks ago. The lava was running but to be honest it was not as dramatic of a flow as I have seen on TV.

 

The Napali coast in my opinion is best viewed from the Waikiki bar deck 13 aft. The Mai Tais are $3.95 each from 5:30 to 6:30.;)

 

[Sauer-kraut]

That is a great picture!

[Spago11]

MissMet,

 

I'm booked for POA in May of 2014. Question I have is if I want to rent a car for two days on the Island of Maui is there a parking lot near the ship that I can park my car for the night so I can have it for the second day ??

 

 

Hawaii as a whole has a much more relaxed feel when it comes to dress code. Usually on NCL there is one formal night, it's optional & it's held in one of the two main dining rooms. So if you don't want to take part, eat in the other main dining room or the many specialty restaurants. When in NCL, I always go to the specialty restaurants. At 45 days out you can pre-book the restaurants & they offer a deal if you book three of them you save something like $15 per person. You will have to pay the service charge at time of booking, the same goes for booking excursions- you must pay when you book. You can also choose to pre-pay your tips, which I like to do.

 

DCL & NCL are polar opposites (also my two favorite lines). I don't think I remember seeing a single person in "DCL style" formal wear on the POA. On the other NCL ships I've sailed, yes, but still very few in comparison to DCL. You will be fine in "dressy jeans" in any of the restaurants. The french restaurant is the most formal & you can wear jeans in there as well.

 

As for excursions. I would rent a car at each port. When I did the POA the first time I did all excursions & it definitely is a waste of time & money.

www.discounthawaiicarrental.com/index.shtml - very popular, established website that will save you a lot. If renting a car is out, we used Roberts for all our excursions. They offer all the same excursions as NCL but almost half the price. They are very well known, so much so that POA blocks their website onboard. http://www.gorabbitgo.com The Revealed books are also very good for planning, especially if you're going at it on your own.

 

We are heading to Hawaii & the POA in May. We've rented cars on each Island except one, where we'll be doing a snorkeling excursion.

 

Just keep in mind that a cruise on the POA is VERY different from any other cruise you'll ever go on. It's more a floating hotel. With the east coast jetlag & port intensive itinerary, you'll be in bed by 9pm every night. That's what happened to us & we spent a week on Oahu beforehand to get used to the time change. Didn't matter. :)

 

Hope that helped a little. :) I'm posting a pre-trip report on my blog with all our plans if you'd like to get some ideas. I usually read everyone's trip reports to see what we'd want to do & that's what helps me. Try searching POA trip reports on the NCL & Hawaii boards.

[MissMet]

MissMet,

 

I'm booked for POA in May of 2014. Question I have is if I want to rent a car for two days on the Island of Maui is there a parking lot near the ship that I can park my car for the night so I can have it for the second day ??

 

Yes, there is free parking in Maui. We are doing that in Maui this May. :) Kauai has a smaller lot with a small fee that fills up quick. I've read that if you arrive at Kauai's parking & it's full the attendants will direct you where to park.

[uncletr21]

 

I wouldn't recommend doing the volcano from Kona since you'd have to drive across the Big Island for that. Much better to do it from Hilo. We decided to make Kona our beach day since we were exhausted from the previous ports by that point. We did the beach break excursion through NCL. It was a nice day. I'm sure there are other great options in Kona, too, that's just what we did.

 

I thought there were some volcano tours that flew out of Kona? I thought maybe there are other volcanos besides the ones in VNP over there? I'm guessing really. I know more tours happen in Hilo but there I was planning on renting a car and seeing a lot of stuff in the amount of time, including VNP. Wouldn't helicopter ride there be too much?

 

Since Kona is a short day, especially with tender hassles, I thought it might be a good day to skip renting a car and do a helicopter tour - preferably that would pick up at the port. But, yes, I'm only wanting a short ride to where the helicopter would lift off from, would NOT want to drive back to Hilo!

 

If winds canceled the helicopter tour it wouldn't be a big deal since saw volcano stuff at VNP the day before and could try to do some beach snorkeling in Kona on the fly as a backup plan.

 

I guess Kona isn't great for volcano helicopter tours and that's the piece I'm missing? If I want to do it I need to incorporate it into a rental car day in Hilo?

 

Thanks for the advice everybody.

[bambilin]

Hi there!! We sailed the POA in August of 2011, booked it in early 2009 and got a GREAT rate. Sailed with my husband and two boys then 4 and 6. We had a fantastic time!!!!

 

We did not do car rentals, and wish we had! We booked a Luau on our own, very reasonable and had a great time but it was a real trek to get there and the local bus companies only run up to a certain hour. Sane situation when we booked a surfing lesson for my 6 year old son with the Kauai Surf school. Surfing lesson was awesome (they even got my 4 year old up on the board for a bit!) but what cab fare! ;0)

 

We had an awesome time, I posted a review if you want to check it out.

 

Oh, and about being in bed really early, I think we made it up until around 11 most nights but we (and the boys are night owls) and I would agree the ship was pretty quiet after 9!

 

Have a wonderful time and any questions, woudl be happy to reply if I can!

[DaisyGoldberg]

One thing about the Road to Hana, if you're considering driving yourself. Sure, people warn you that the driver won't have much fun, that people will bicker over the safety of whoever's driving, etc.

 

It's true -- a large part of it is hairpin turns on a narrow road. But I would caution that even if you're completely confident in your driving, don't count on other people being equally confident. There can be real bottlenecks when people are rubbernecking and/or terrified to go more than at a snail's pace. Tour companies can't do much about that except hope the people eventually see the areas for slow traffic to pull over.

 

But one situation cropped up on our trip that made me very happy not to be driving.

 

In a portion where you're headed downhill on a winding road with a huge drop to your left and a rock wall to your right, people coming up the hill (on the drop side) panicked and just stopped. They were supposed to yield the right of way because it wasn't really safe for two cars or a car and van to cross side by side, but they panicked and stopped and they sure as heck weren't going to back up.

 

So our driver had to back up pretty much blind, hugging the rock wall until we were far enough back that the car could get away from the edge and pass safely.

 

Not something I would want to attempt. I just took a deep breath and waited for her to get us out of the predicament -- quite enough excitement for me!

[uncletr21]

One thing about the Road to Hana, if you're considering driving yourself. Sure, people warn you that the driver won't have much fun, that people will bicker over the safety of whoever's driving, etc.

 

It's true -- a large part of it is hairpin turns on a narrow road. But I would caution that even if you're completely confident in your driving, don't count on other people being equally confident. There can be real bottlenecks when people are rubbernecking and/or terrified to go more than at a snail's pace. Tour companies can't do much about that except hope the people eventually see the areas for slow traffic to pull over.

 

But one situation cropped up on our trip that made me very happy not to be driving.

 

In a portion where you're headed downhill on a winding road with a huge drop to your left and a rock wall to your right, people coming up the hill (on the drop side) panicked and just stopped. They were supposed to yield the right of way because it wasn't really safe for two cars or a car and van to cross side by side, but they panicked and stopped and they sure as heck weren't going to back up.

 

So our driver had to back up pretty much blind, hugging the rock wall until we were far enough back that the car could get away from the edge and pass safely.

 

Not something I would want to attempt. I just took a deep breath and waited for her to get us out of the predicament -- quite enough excitement for me!

 

I think the kids and I might get motion sick in a bus ride so we might just need to cross any way of doing Road to Hana off the list.

 

Any other places we can explore with rental car for two days w/o doing Road to Hana or going to a Luau (family just not interested in the food or dancers)? DH would like to see a black sand. Are there any black sand beaches or nice waterfalls to see w/o going on the Road to Hana?

[Sauer-kraut]

Black sand on the big island somewhere. Maui is the most beautiful island, so drive around it, don't worry about going through the middle. Depending on when you go (March) is great whale watching in Lahina. Go on over to the Hawwai ports of call board and get ideas what others have done on the islands. They are so diverse you won't have a problem finding things to do.

[UPGrandma]

Definately arrive at least 1 day ahead of the cruise as jet lag will get you + you will have time to explore Ohau. I would suggest 3 day minimum. July we arrive Wed 5:30 & cruise Sat. Coming from Michigan it's a long way.

 

Take a good look before booking return flight to determine if you need to stay a night when you disembark vs taking a "red eye" flight home.

[spacepotatoes]

I thought there were some volcano tours that flew out of Kona? I thought maybe there are other volcanos besides the ones in VNP over there? I'm guessing really. I know more tours happen in Hilo but there I was planning on renting a car and seeing a lot of stuff in the amount of time, including VNP. Wouldn't helicopter ride there be too much?

 

Since Kona is a short day, especially with tender hassles, I thought it might be a good day to skip renting a car and do a helicopter tour - preferably that would pick up at the port. But, yes, I'm only wanting a short ride to where the helicopter would lift off from, would NOT want to drive back to Hilo!

 

If winds canceled the helicopter tour it wouldn't be a big deal since saw volcano stuff at VNP the day before and could try to do some beach snorkeling in Kona on the fly as a backup plan.

 

I guess Kona isn't great for volcano helicopter tours and that's the piece I'm missing? If I want to do it I need to incorporate it into a rental car day in Hilo?

 

Thanks for the advice everybody.

 

Sorry, uncletr21, I missed that you intended a helicopter tour of VNP from Kona. If you're doing it that way, then don't worry about my comment. That was just referring to driving from Kona to Hilo.

 

As for what to do with a car on Maui, I'd recommend driving up Haleakala, and also checking out Lahaina and the Iao Valley State Park.