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

[greatlakesgirl]

Thank you for the wonderful review and all the amazing pictures. We are riding Rhapsody of the Seas over to the island and I can't wait.

 

We are spending time at the Aston Waikiki Beach Hotel after the cruise so glad to hear you enjoyed it. I also liked that it is down towards the end of the beach and less of a crowd.

 

Thanks again.

Thanks for the compliment, I appreciate that. :) Your review was one that I read back in my planning stage, so thank YOU.

 

I hope you enjoy the Aston, I know we did. Have a wonderful trip!

[Greetings!]

What a wonderful and well-written review!! Thanks for sharing this with us greatlakesgirl!

[greatlakesgirl]

What a wonderful and well-written review!! Thanks for sharing this with us greatlakesgirl!

Thank you for the kind words, and you are more than welcome! :)

[puddles99]

Oh what memories you brought back - thanks so much for an enjoyable review. I'm so glad to read you had a wonderful Hawaiian adventure!

 

 

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[greatlakesgirl]

Oh what memories you brought back - thanks so much for an enjoyable review. I'm so glad to read you had a wonderful Hawaiian adventure!

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Forums

Thank you, Puddles! And thanks for reading! :)

[CimW]

Great review!

Gave me some ideas for our cruise.

Thanks!

[greatlakesgirl]

Great review!

Gave me some ideas for our cruise.

Thanks!

I'm so glad the review was helpful! Have a great cruise! :)

[mcomo1027]

Excellent review! We sail her on May 17th. I think I read every post out loud to my husband tonight! Your pictures are beautiful and the narrative was great. Thank you!

 

Three of us are also going on May 17th. Bobbie, Charlene and I. Hoping for a great cruise!! We are from South Louisiana, Cajun country.:)

 

Marlene

[greatlakesgirl]

Three of us are also going on May 17th. Bobbie, Charlene and I. Hoping for a great cruise!! We are from South Louisiana, Cajun country.:)

 

Marlene

Hope you have a wonderful time! :)

[Halehuaka_i]

I just wanted to compliment you on a great review. We locals sometimes wonder if a visitor can see enough on a 7-day cruise around the islands, and you seemed to have hit a home run! :D Your pictures and comments make me proud to host a POA (or any) cruiser.

We are new cruisers going to Alaska in August, and I gained some valuable advice from your Hawaii adventure. We are DIY travelers and the way you did your shore "excursions" is exactly how we intend to do it!

BTW, last year's vacation was in Michigan's UP!

Thanks again!

 

Lei

[greatlakesgirl]

I just wanted to compliment you on a great review. We locals sometimes wonder if a visitor can see enough on a 7-day cruise around the islands, and you seemed to have hit a home run! :D Your pictures and comments make me proud to host a POA (or any) cruiser.

We are new cruisers going to Alaska in August, and I gained some valuable advice from your Hawaii adventure. We are DIY travelers and the way you did your shore "excursions" is exactly how we intend to do it!

BTW, last year's vacation was in Michigan's UP!

Thanks again!

 

Lei

Thank you so much for your wonderful comments, I really do appreciate them. I hope you love Alaska. Mom says that's where she's taking us next, in a few years. We love the UP, too, and vacation up there every few years. Did you enjoy it, I hope?

[meags9]

Your view was extremely helpful. It helped me plan to not plan so much on our honeymoon, if that makes any sense. Had you heard anything about Mauna Kea when you were on the ship? Do you know from your travels if it's a place that's doable in a day or without an excursion?

 

You've inspired me to do a review of my own after our trip in August from a honeymoon perspective!

[greatlakesgirl]

Your view was extremely helpful. It helped me plan to not plan so much on our honeymoon, if that makes any sense. Had you heard anything about Mauna Kea when you were on the ship? Do you know from your travels if it's a place that's doable in a day or without an excursion?

 

You've inspired me to do a review of my own after our trip in August from a honeymoon perspective!

Thank you so much for reading and I'm glad the review has helped you! I read quite a few while we were in the planning stages and they were so helpful, so I wanted to do one of my own in order to give back. :)

 

I wish I could answer your question about Mauna Kea, but I can't. I've heard they don't recommend taking the rental cars on the Saddle Road, which is the road that traverses between Mauna Kea and Mauna Loa, but I honestly can't say for sure. Maybe start a new thread on this board and ask? :)

 

I would love to read it, and I know many others would too. Best wishes on your upcoming nuptials and I hope you love Hawaii and the Pride of America!

[Halehuaka_i]

Your view was extremely helpful. It helped me plan to not plan so much on our honeymoon, if that makes any sense. Had you heard anything about Mauna Kea when you were on the ship? Do you know from your travels if it's a place that's doable in a day or without an excursion?

 

You've inspired me to do a review of my own after our trip in August from a honeymoon perspective!

You can drive to the top of Mauna Kea. Because of the high altitude, you are required to stop at the visitor center for 30 minutes to acclimate. The visitor center is 35 miles from Hilo, but nearly a one hour drive. Google visit Mauna Kea for information.

You can also drive the Saddle Road, it has been completely repaved in the last five years. The road takes you from rain forest to mountain pastureland to lava desert. But a better experience would be to drive around Volcanoes National Park to see all those climates and more.

Lei

[greatlakesgirl]

You can drive to the top of Mauna Kea. Because of the high altitude, you are required to stop at the visitor center for 30 minutes to acclimate. The visitor center is 35 miles from Hilo, but nearly a one hour drive. Google visit Mauna Kea for information.

You can also drive the Saddle Road, it has been completely repaved in the last five years. The road takes you from rain forest to mountain pastureland to lava desert. But a better experience would be to drive around Volcanoes National Park to see all those climates and more.

Lei

Thanks for answering the question, I appreciate that very much and I'm sure meagas9 does, too. :)

[chiapet]

Absolutely LOVED your review and the pics :)

 

And your attitude and outlook re: the ship/crew and entire ship/tours is so refreshing and welcomed ;)

 

Thank you so much for putting together a great pre-view of what is to come for us in August ... we can't wat :p

[greatlakesgirl]

Absolutely LOVED your review and the pics :)

 

And your attitude and outlook re: the ship/crew and entire ship/tours is so refreshing and welcomed ;)

 

Thank you so much for putting together a great pre-view of what is to come for us in August ... we can't wat :p

I'm so glad you enjoyed it and found it helpful! Hawaii is so amazing, and we really enjoyed our time on board.

 

I really don't understand the fuss about the crew; they were great! They are just regular people, away from their families, and they miss them a lot, especially the younger kids. They respond wonderfully to positive comments, just like we all do! I wish more people would remember that.

 

Have fun! Hope you love it as much as we did! :)

Edited May 23, 2014 by greatlakesgirl

[tctcat]

Your review was so helpful! 6 of us are going to Hawaii on POA . We are gathering tonight to begin our planning. I'm taking your comments with me. Your pictures are excellent also. Thank you for taking the time to help us. BTW, we are all originally from Michigan. We will be traveling in October.

[greatlakesgirl]

Your review was so helpful! 6 of us are going to Hawaii on POA . We are gathering tonight to begin our planning. I'm taking your comments with me. Your pictures are excellent also. Thank you for taking the time to help us. BTW, we are all originally from Michigan. We will be traveling in October.

Excellent! I am so glad you found my review helpful! I so hope you have as much fun as we did in Hawaii and on board the POA. :)

[young50]

How was room 7556? We have that room in October 2014.

[young50]

Thanks for the pics. I saw them later in the thread. Thanks for the awesome review as well. Now I need to rethink my itinerary. :) We're sailing Oct 11, 2014.

[greatlakesgirl]

Thanks for the pics. I saw them later in the thread. Thanks for the awesome review as well. Now I need to rethink my itinerary. :) We're sailing Oct 11, 2014.

These rooms were small, for sure, but we only slept in them, so not a problem.

 

Thanks, glad you enjoyed the review! Hope you have an amazing time in Hawaii and enjoy the Pride of America as much as we did. Please let me know if you have any questions or whatever. :)

[cw2go]

Thank you so much for your wonderful comments, I really do appreciate them. I hope you love Alaska. Mom says that's where she's taking us next, in a few years. We love the UP, too, and vacation up there every few years. Did you enjoy it, I hope?

 

 

You did a fantastic job with your review. After reading your posts and many others we've decided a land tour is more suitable for us but I can say I gathered tons of port info I will be implementing on our vacation from you. So for that Thank YOU!

 

Wanted to mention ALASKA will blow your mind! It's an incredible adventure...Start reading and reading and reading...For some reason although a part of the US the planning can be over whelming. Your kids will love it!

 

Patty

[greatlakesgirl]

You did a fantastic job with your review. After reading your posts and many others we've decided a land tour is more suitable for us but I can say I gathered tons of port info I will be implementing on our vacation from you. So for that Thank YOU!

 

Wanted to mention ALASKA will blow your mind! It's an incredible adventure...Start reading and reading and reading...For some reason although a part of the US the planning can be over whelming. Your kids will love it!

 

Patty

Patty, again, thank you. I know you won't regret your decision to do a land-based trip to Hawaii. I spent a week on Maui with my parents when I was 18 and we were able to do and see so much. That said, the cruise was a great way for the 8 of us to see lots of Hawaii in a limited amount of time. Now that I've seen Kauai and the Big Island I know I'd love to go back and spend at least a week on each one.

 

I have started looking at the Alaska board already and we haven't even made any plans yet. lol!

 

Mary

[tlw3184]

Thank you so much for your review. I just booked a cruise on the POA in April 2015 and can't wait. Your review and pictures were very helpful. Thanks again!