Party of 8 – Our Hawaiian Adventure on the POA (with pics)

[punkincc]

Thanks for the review! We are currently planning our August cruise on the POA. Just wondering what time you arrived at the cruise port. I have heard others mention long lines and would like to avoid that. Is it maybe better to arrive after 2:00 pm?

[Scott D]

Great review ! Can't wait till our 16 day Hawaiian cruise in oct.

[silvercrikhix]

Soooo happy to have a POA review!

There seem to be so few of them.

Thank you for documenting your cruise & sharing it on CC!

Your girls are so cute & look like they are having a lot of fun!

Looking forward to more of your adventure :D

[greatlakesgirl]

Thank you so much for the review so far. We are going on April 5th and I am pretty excited. It is our first cruise.

You're more than welcome!

 

I'm excited for you! :D

Thanks for the review! We are currently planning our August cruise on the POA. Just wondering what time you arrived at the cruise port. I have heard others mention long lines and would like to avoid that. Is it maybe better to arrive after 2:00 pm?

My pleasure! We arrived around 12:45ish and It. Was. A. Zoo. So don't arrive then! If I could do that part over I'd try to be there by 11:00AM or after 2:30-3:00PM.

 

I hope you love your cruise!

[greatlakesgirl]

Great review ! Can't wait till our 16 day Hawaiian cruise in oct.

Thank you! Enjoy! Hawaii is wonderful. :)

Soooo happy to have a POA review!

There seem to be so few of them.

Thank you for documenting your cruise & sharing it on CC!

Your girls are so cute & look like they are having a lot of fun!

Looking forward to more of your adventure :D

I know, I tried to find as many as I could before we went.

 

Our girls and nephew had so much fun and it was such a good learning experience for them, too. All of their teachers were thrilled that they were going to have this opportunity.

 

Thanks for your kind words!

[greatlakesgirl]

Monday and The Pacific Whale Foundation

 

So far, our weather had been amazing, with only a little rain that hadn’t spoiled anything. Today was only slightly different. We woke up to a brisk wind out of the northwest. We didn’t think much of it.

 

We made our way off the ship and to the dock and boarded the bus that took us down to Ma’alaea Harbor where the Pacific Whale Foundation docks their boats. I don't know if they're also in Lahaina. We were on the Ocean Intrigue.

 

 

I'm not sure how many people were with us, maybe 50, but I know the boat can hold a lot more, so we had plenty of room to spread out. You can sit out on the bow, too.

 

The crew puts out a continental breakfast, which includes several different breads: banana, cinnamon swirl, and another that I can’t think of at the moment. Also, fresh fruit, juices, coffee and water. We had breakfast on board the ship before heading out, so we weren’t that hungry, but we did each try a piece of bread and had some fruit. The cinnamon bread was pretty good!

 

We left the harbor and the captain announced that, due to the strong north wind, the Molokini Crater was filled with waves and would be too rough to snorkel in. Instead, we would go to another spot, Olowalu, along the shore of Maui, and stay there the entire time. Olowalu is the second spot they go to after leaving Molokini, otherwise known as “Turtle Town” or “Turtle Arches”. Sounded good by us! We were kind of disappointed that we weren’t going out to Molokini, but hey, the captain knows best, and it was definitely windy and getting choppy. Also, in the end, I thought it was nice to not have to spend valuable snorkel time motoring from Molokini to Olowalu.

 

We weren’t even out of Ma’alaea Bay and the captain cut the engines. Whales off the starboard bow! And close! A mother and her calf, and the calf was very playful, breaching several times. I was so excited! Oh, yeah, the kids were, too.

 

Here is the baby breaching

 

 

An adult tail

 

These were only the first of many we would see that morning and into the afternoon.

 

Our crew had never snorkeled before. Well, Mom had down in the Caribbean, but none of the rest of had. I was surprised at how easy it was. Instead of just sticking my head in the water and trying to breathe through the snorkel, I practiced first with my head above water and kind of got a good breathing rhythm going, then slowly lowered my head down into the water. They will do a Snorkeling 101 course on the back deck for anyone that wants a lesson, but it really isn’t that hard as long as you remember to control your breathing. And make sure your snorkel is clear of water beforehand!

 

Amazing! The kids absolutely loved this. We saw so much. Tons of fish, urchins, and turtles. My husband and older daughter saw an eel, a turtle and a reef shark. Not a huge one or anything, but it was big enough that hubby thought they should slowly get out of the area. So amazing. This trip was definitely up there in the “highlights of our lives” category. Just outstanding. I know I’m rambling, but honestly, it was awesome. The water clarity was great. I don’t know if it was as good as Molokini, but I do know we were moored in about 40 feet of water and we could see the fish swimming around even while we were up on the boat.

 

A PFW naturalist will be in the water with everyone. She paddled around in a kayak, checking up on us. Please, don’t hesitate to ask them for help if you’re having trouble with your snorkel or your mask, or anything else. They are there to help you and to ensure you have a good experience. My younger daughter’s mask wasn’t feeling right and with two quick adjustments by the naturalist, it was perfect.

 

Here are the kids just swimming around having fun. They took off their fins. Note the pink floaty noodles. You have your choice of those or a floatation belt. Or both, if you really think you need it. We all took noodles; they are very helpful.

 

 

The boat also has a slide, which the kids and my SIL loved! This is my younger daughter. The pic makes it look like she's just sitting there, but I caught it just right as she was about to plunge in.

 

 

This one shows you how you enter and exit the boat.

 

 

The younger daughter and I were getting cold, even with our rented wetsuit tops on. Btw, if you get cold in the water easily like I do, I highly recommend either bringing your own or renting one of PWF’s for ten bucks. We are from Michigan and are used to the cooler lake waters, and while I didn’t think the ocean water was especially cold, it does start to feel that way after an hour or so, just like Lake Michigan does.

 

Anyway, we decided to get out and dry off. We warmed ourselves in the sun and watched the others having fun. One by one, our crew got out of the water, talking excitedly about everything they had seen.

 

Meanwhile, Brian, a PWF employee had fired up the BBQ and was starting to grill our lunch. We were getting hungry! He grilled up hot dogs (decent sized ones), veggie burgers and chicken breasts. There was cold cucumber salad, pasta salad, chips and cookies. To drink there was punch and water. It wasn't gourmet by any stretch, but it was decent and filling.

 

The last 20 minutes were spent on a reef tour, led by a PWF guide. My older daughter and SIL went out on this while the rest of the family stayed on board. They came back and said it was really fun, and they saw at least 8 turtles at a “cleaning station”. Really cool.

 

We took off after that on a slow cruise back to Ma’alaea Harbor. Lunch was ready and so we spent a leisurely ride back eating and watching more whales. The captain had to stop the boat several times due to the close proximity of them. They are not allowed within 100 yards. However, that doesn’t stop the whales from approaching the boats.

 

This excursion was probably the highlight of the entire trip. It became as much of a whale watching trip as it did a snorkel trip. It seemed like the best of both worlds to us, a two-for-the-price-of-one. Simply outstanding.

Edited March 26, 2014 by greatlakesgirl

[greatlakesgirl]

Back to the ship after stopping at the PWF’s store for our free poster.

 

Haleakala from the Ocean Intrigue. I had wanted to include this in my previous post, but had exceeded my limit. Such a majestic sight!

 

We arrived back on board at around 2:30. I remember asking Puddles during her review of the POA what time they made it back after their snorkel excursion and she said 2:30. Spot on!

 

Though we’d just spend several hours in the water, the kids apparently wanted more, so off to the pool deck for some swimming. A lot of people were still off the ship so it wasn’t very busy. Nice! The adults sat nearby and indulged in a couple beers and drinks.

 

We went up on deck for sailaway. I just love this picture my SIL took.

 

It was dark soon after, so off we went for dinner. The nightly routine was now evident: dinner, kids off for some ping pong while we finished up, then pool and hot tubbing for the kids, and sometimes the adults. We never made it to any shows; we were just too darn tired!

 

That night's towel animal

[gmazz]

Really enjoying your review! We actually got on the POA as you were leaving. Seems that you had much better weather than we did in Maui.

 

I must agree that we to found it odd to have the pool bar closed so early, not only on days in port but days we were traveling to another island.

 

Your snorkeling trip looks awesome. We did Captain Zodiac in Kona and that was the favorite of our family to. We didn't see to many kids either, more babies than anything and I think I saw less than 6 that looked older than elementary school age. That is probably why my daughter got picked in the Hawaiian show on board to go up and learn the hula with according to my 2 girls the "hot one". ;)

[lcumpire]

Did you go to Volcano National Park - if you are waiting to write about that day I can wait LOL - did you have any trouble getting rental cars at any of the ports?

 

Thanx

 

 

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[greatlakesgirl]

Really enjoying your review! We actually got on the POA as you were leaving. Seems that you had much better weather than we did in Maui.

 

I must agree that we to found it odd to have the pool bar closed so early, not only on days in port but days we were traveling to another island.

 

Your snorkeling trip looks awesome. We did Captain Zodiac in Kona and that was the favorite of our family to. We didn't see to many kids either, more babies than anything and I think I saw less than 6 that looked older than elementary school age. That is probably why my daughter got picked in the Hawaiian show on board to go up and learn the hula with according to my 2 girls the "hot one". ;)

I'd heard that the weather before we were there was really bad. Someone at the Aston mentioned it to us. And Gordon, our room attendant, said the same thing.

 

We also heard while we were in Kona that the Captain Zodiac excursion had to be cancelled. We had wonderful weather the entire time, but we did experience a lot of wind. I'm glad you were able to go.

 

Funny about your daughter! My younger one was persuaded to do the Iron Man competition on the pool deck against three grown men while we were in Kona. I'll write about that soon. :D

Did you go to Volcano National Park - if you are waiting to write about that day I can wait LOL - did you have any trouble getting rental cars at any of the ports?

 

Thanx

 

 

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We did! I've finished my Hilo day and that's up next.

 

Nope, no problems at all. We reserved ahead of time via Discount Hawaii Car Rentals. http://www.discounthawaiicarrental.com/?gclid=CJ7t0o37sL0CFa5DMgodcEkAHg

 

Highly recommend doing this. If you don't reserve ahead of time you may not get a car. If you decide to go this route, just click on the banner at the top of the website that says "Pier pickup for cruise ship arrivals" and go from there.

[greatlakesgirl]

Tuesday and Hilo

 

Coming into Hilo Bay you get a good view of the volcanoes, Mauna Kea on the right and Mauna Loa on the left. You can remember which is which by noting that Mauna Kea’s summit has peaks and Mauna Loa is very rounded. It’s hard to believe by looking at the pictures that they are both over 13,000 feet high.

 

Mauna Kea

 

Mauna Loa

 

We went to retrieve our rentals after breakfast, Budget this time. They only allowed the drivers to go on the shuttle. I don’t know if that’s the case with the other car rental companies or not, but it was with Budget. No big deal. BIL, hubby, and I went to get our cars and then just drove back to the port for the rest of our family. I went along because the rental was in my name, but I was putting my husband on as an additional driver. I think most rental companies allow you to add another driver for free. At least Thrifty and Budget did. Anyway, Hilo was the only port where all of us couldn’t go get the cars.

 

So, we all wanted to go to Volcanoes National Park. I also wanted to see a black sand beach, and chose Punalu’u. It’s about a half hour past VNP on the same highway. This also sounded good to MIL, SIL and her family, so we decided to head to Punalu’u first. It was worth the long drive, which in and of itself is stunning. You start out in tropical, rainy Hilo (dry when we were there), then as you climb in elevation you begin to see the old lava flows. Really cool. Eventually, as you start to descend and get closer to Punalu’u, it greens up until finally it’s back to lushness.

 

Punalu'u

 

It is so beautiful there. Also, there are restrooms.

 

We’d been hoping to see some turtles there, and we were in luck! I know it looks like we are really close to him, but we weren't. The camera has a good zoom.

 

The kids had a great time inspecting the wave pools for critters. They saw lots of crabs and sea urchins. Mister Turtle in the above pic was hanging out in that big wave pool off on the right of this pic.

 

We were there at least an hour. It was very warm, especially when the sun came out. That black sand really got hot!

 

On to VNP!

[greatlakesgirl]

Volcanoes National Park

 

We stopped at the Kilauea crater overlook first and went through Thomas Jagger Museum. From there we headed to the steam vents and the crater trail. The whole area is full of steam vents. It’s such an impressive area, and if you are there at night, which we were not, you can see the glow from the lava that is down in the lake at the bottom of the crater. To actually go out to where the lava is flowing is a six mile hike to Pu’u O’o crater. Our nephew was disappointed that we wouldn’t be making that hike. Are you kidding?

 

Steam vent

 

View of crater from the trail

 

View of crater from Jagger Museum

 

Field of wild orchids with steam vents in the background

 

We wanted to walk through the lava tube before heading back to Hilo, so we did that last on our way out. It’s very cool. Watch your step! It’s pretty wet down in there with puddles of standing water here and there.

 

All aboard was five-thirty and we want to have the rentals back by 4:30, so after VNP it was time to head back to Hilo. I had originally wanted to include Akaka Falls State Park in our day, but there just wasn’t time. We were thrilled with our day, though. I would love to go back to Hawaii Island and really spend a good amount of time there. A guide was telling us that all of the other islands could fit inside Hawaii Island and there would still be room leftover. That’s one big island!

 

As no lava is currently flowing into the sea, we went north around the big island instead of south. I hope it starts up again so that some of you that are planning your cruises get to see it.

 

Let’s see, for the evening, well…you all know the drill by now.

 

Our towel animal of the day

[lcumpire]

Thanks for the Hilo write-up - we are so ready to go in May.

 

 

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[js4rq]

Missing Hawaii already..... looking forward to more!! :D

[cougaraz]

 

 

 

You actually captured something very interesting in this picture and might not even know it. The ship just left of MISSOURI is the Canadian Navy oiler HMCS PROTECTEUR. On February 27th, she suffered a catastrophic fire in an engine room while operating in the waters near Hawaii. This photo would have been taken just before that fire.

 

http://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/hmcs-protecteur-crew-fought-engine-fire-for-11-hours-1.2586636

[greatlakesgirl]

Thanks for the Hilo write-up - we are so ready to go in May.

 

 

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You are welcome. I know you'll have a great time!

Missing Hawaii already..... looking forward to more!! :D

Thank you so much!:)

 

We miss it too, and talk about our trip a lot. MIL just picked up my batch of pictures at Costco for me.

 

I'll post our day at Kailua-Kona this afternoon.

Edited March 27, 2014 by greatlakesgirl

[greatlakesgirl]

You actually captured something very interesting in this picture and might not even know it. The ship just left of MISSOURI is the Canadian Navy oiler HMCS PROTECTEUR. On February 27th, she suffered a catastrophic fire in an engine room while operating in the waters near Hawaii. This photo would have been taken just before that fire.

 

http://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/hmcs-protecteur-crew-fought-engine-fire-for-11-hours-1.2586636

Oh my goodness, I didn't know that! Thank you for pointing it out. We were at Pearl Harbor Feb 21.

[greatlakesgirl]

Kona

 

We decided this would be our day to take it easy. We didn’t plan anything other than taking the tender into Kailua-Kona and walking around to do some shopping. Our younger daughter has allergies and she’d taken her last Claritin in Hilo so we were anxious to find a drugstore. I checked the shops on-board but they didn’t have anything for children.

 

My SIL is a shopper. But not any old average shopper. No, she is Shopper Extraordinaire and was looking forward to hitting the shops in town. Hard. She was in her glory in Waikiki and we had to drag her, kicking and screaming, out of the ABC shops. I’m the opposite, I hate it unless I have something very specific I am looking for. She can spend hours at it and I break out into hives at the thought of it. My goal was Kona coffee. And I found it, too, at Donkey Balls. Love the name. They buy it from a small family farm called Oka Family Farms outside of town. I bought a bag for me and my husband and one for my parents. So expensive, but so worth it.

 

The tender process was easy. We headed down around ten for our tickets. We just missed out on the group that was boarding, but only had to wait another ten minutes or so for the next one. They use the ship’s lifeboats, so that was pretty neat.

 

To the left of the pier is a small, but very nice beach in front of the King Kam Hotel. Anyone can use it. Also, there is a Hawaiian Heritage site right there too called Kamakahonu, that’s very interesting. It’s a restored heiau.

 

As always, you don’t have to look far to spot an ABC store, and this is true in Kona, as well. We tried in there for the Claritin, but they didn’t have it. Hubby and I were standing out on the street waiting for the rest of our group and talking about trying to find a drugstore when a local man overheard us and volunteered that there was a Long’s Drugstore just up the hill. Two lights up on the right. We thanked him profusely! Lots of Aloha there.

 

So that was our plan for the moment. Mom and SIL were going to catch the free shuttle to Hilo Hattie’s, BIL and nephew were going to walk around downtown and hubby, the girls and I were heading up the hill to Long’s. We agreed to meet back at the ABC store at 1PM to figure out lunch.

 

We found the Claritin! Had some shave ice up there too at a little stand. Not as good as Aloha General in Hale’iwa, but still, after that hike up the hill, it hit the spot.

 

We headed back down to start the Kona coffee quest. We meandered down Ali’i Drive, the main drag through town, poking into shops along the way. There are some really great, funky shops and I have to admit that I really enjoyed myself.

 

After our purchases we headed back towards the ABC store, as it was nearing 1PM. The rest of our group showed up right on time. My family and I were done with shopping, and so was MIL, but SIL hadn’t had enough. We five decided to head back to the ship for lunch and SIL and her family went to find something to eat in town, and then continue with the shopping.

 

We went up to the Key West Bar and Grill for lunch, then Mom wanted to arrange our transfers to the airport through RobertsHawaii for Saturday so she went off to make her calls. She missed all the fun on the pool deck!

 

Somehow one of the cruise director’s assistants roped our younger daughter into competing in the Iron Man competition. It was her and three guys. One at a time they had to walk around the entire pool while balancing a tennis ball on a small tennis racket, then don a referee shirt and jump into the pool and swim the entire length. THEN they had to get out, strip out of the shirt and hula hoop ten times (nearly impossible for the guys but our daughter killed it). Then, after the assistant asked them who they were, they were supposed to yell into the microphone, “I am IRON MAN!” It was hilarious. Whoever got the most applause won. As you can imagine, everyone was yelling and cheering for the little kid. At the end, she didn’t yell I am IRON WOMAN! When the assistant asked her who she was, she yelled “I’m a GIRL”! It was great.

 

I think this is a good time to include a few pics of the pool deck. We loved it out there. They had a band every afternoon and they were decent! I don’t remember exactly when each pic was taken. I think this was in Maui right before sail away

Part of me now wishes that we had done something other than just walk around the port, but I have to remind myself that we really needed some down time where we didn’t have to set the alarm, didn’t have to hurry off the ship to get our car rentals, just didn’t have to be anywhere at any specific time. And that was really nice. It was also a fun afternoon on the pool deck and I know we’ll remember the Iron Man competition for a very long time. Our daughter received a gift bag in our stateroom that evening that contained a t-shirt, water bottle, Frisbee, lanyard, key chain, and a couple other things I’m forgetting, with the NCL logo on it. There was also a t-shirt for our older daughter, which I thought was a very nice touch.

 

Our cruise out to Kauai was a rough one that night. Nothing major or anything like that, in fact, we all loved the motion of the ship. Even though I spent my summers growing up on a boat I still suffer from sea sickness if I am down inside and not able to see out. Our older daughter is the same way so she and I started taking one Bonine tablet each every evening before bed, starting the night before the cruise. Our BIL gets sick easily, too, and his drug of choice was non-drowsy Dramamine. None of us had any issues at all with the motion of the ship, I am happy to report!

[greatlakesgirl]

Our friend for the night

[MarilynCA]

Thank you so much for your amazing cruise report. We are taking this cruise in May and you are just being so helpful. Looking forward to the rest. Great pictures and your girls are darling. BTW, DH is also a Michigander.

[lcumpire]

Thank you very much for your trip report - had a great time reading it and looking at the pictures. We are also taking the 10:39 Roberts shuttle to the airport - how was the transfer - we have a 3:45 flight - is there anything to do and/or eat at the airport?

 

Thanx

 

 

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[greatlakesgirl]

Thank you so much for your amazing cruise report. We are taking this cruise in May and you are just being so helpful. Looking forward to the rest. Great pictures and your girls are darling. BTW, DH is also a Michigander.

You are so welcome, it's a pleasure. I hope you have a great time. Thanks for the kind comment about the kids. They also had a blast! :)

 

Tell your DH winter has been particularly brutal this year.:eek:

Thank you very much for your trip report - had a great time reading it and looking at the pictures. We are also taking the 10:39 Roberts shuttle to the airport - how was the transfer - we have a 3:45 flight - is there anything to do and/or eat at the airport?

 

Thanx

 

 

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Yes, I think that's the one we had, also. The transfer was just fine, didn't take very long as the port and the airport aren't too far apart. We had a 1:50 departure. Are you flying United?

 

There's food there, we ate at Quiznos. Pizza Hut was right next to it. Mind you, these were by our departure gate and I don't know where yours will be.

 

When it's time to choose your disembarkation time, try to get the latest time available. You can stay on the ship as late as 9:30AM, as I recall. We left at 9:00 and pretty much walked right off, found our bags and then had to wait around for a bit for the shuttle. It was really easy, probably took ten minutes, tops.

 

Hope your time in Hawaii is as wonderful as ours was!:)

[lcumpire]

Thanx - that eases my mind a little - Roberts has a great reputation but it is nice to hear it from someone directly. We are flying United direct to Washington Dulles at 3:45pm. How was your flights - i heard that they do not feed you.

 

 

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Edited March 28, 2014 by lcumpire

[greatlakesgirl]

Thanx - that eases my mind a little - Roberts has a great reputation but it is nice to hear it from someone directly. We are flying United direct to Washington Dulles at 3:45pm. How was your flights - i heard that they do not feed you.

 

 

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They have food you can buy in-flight, but yes, the days of complimentary food service is over. We flew United from Grand Rapids, MI to Chicago, to San Francisco. Our layover in SF was forty minutes and we had to hot-foot it to our connection, so we ended up having to purchase some food en route to Honolulu.

[lcumpire]

Thanx for the info - glad you made it home in a piece. Take care.

 

 

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