Just Back from Pride of Hawaii June 5th

[Greg in GA]

Thank you HollyM, I really appreciate the detailed review! We are booked on the November 6th sailing of the POH. I can only hope some of the bugs will be worked out by then.

I have a couple of questions for any of you guys who have already sailed the POH.

 

I am booked in cabin 10142 starboard side and was wondering if you could give me some idea of which side is best for viewing the islands while at sea. Should I change to a port side cabin?

 

Also, do we get to see a volcano at night while at sea? If so what side is best to view it?

 

Thank you all again for posing your reviews and opinions.

 

Greg

[loLA123]

Holly is cracking me up! I think the NCL decorator put all of that red velvet in the Penthouse just for Holly to match her red convertible. Anytime my kids saw a convertible on any island they'd say, "Hey, Holly's here too!" Anyway, I wanted to mention a couple of fun ship activities I stumbled upon. There are hula lessons on a few afternoons taught by Kamana'o, the Hawaiian Ambassador. All of the ladies really liked him, and a couple of guys in the class did a pretty mean hula. On Sunday night, you can earn a Hula Master Certificate, which authorizes you to perform the Hawaiian hula at your own risk. Another fun thing to do is make a "Dance Head" video. Groups of three people lip-synch a song while their heads are superimposed on professional dancers' bodies with an animated background. We had just been to the bar, so ours is really funny. I think it was $20 for a copy. As others have said, you won't be on the ship too much, but I just wanted to mention these two things that I'm glad I did. More later!

[DrivesLikeMario]

Both things sound like fun. The video sounds like a riot! Sure wouldn't mind my face on some young skinny Hawaiian girl's body, but I think DH's face on one of them would be hilarious with his moustache. :D

[saydiver]

Hi Sue,

 

it's sad to hear that not everything matched your expectantions, and since you're so experienced I'll have so much to learn about what should I expect.

 

I imagine that food is really becoming a matter since there are so many different opinions about that.:confused:

 

On the other end I'm really happy to read that you enjoyed your romance suite, since I'm gonig on the 10666 in August ;) if you have some photos of your room I'll love to see them.

 

And also You made me courious about the coffee machine, you mean that is an espresso machine that works with fresh coffee? I'm already dreaming of bringing it from Italy:o :D

 

Ciaoo

 

I forgot to take pictures, but our cabin looked exactly like the cabin in these photos.

http://www219.pair.com/swansonr/pride_of_hawaii/pride_of_hawaii_suite_js.html#2

 

To get a cup of coffee from the espresso machine, you turn the dial higher, which just adds more water.

 

We had a great time on this cruise in spite of the food issues. We went diving in Maui on the 2nd day with Ed Robinson's and with Jack's Diving Locker in Kona. The first day in Maui we drove up to the top of the volcano in a PT cruiser convertible, which was a blast! We rented a car and drove around in Hilo and Kauai too. Because of the food issues, I didn't gain any weight last week, which is always good news. :)

 

Sue

[hollym]

Oh Lisa, now I am sooooo mad I didn't discover those hula lessons. I'm certain I'm a natural!:D

 

Sue, like you I also returned without having gained a pound. How interesting!:rolleyes:

 

Here are a few things I discovered about the Saeco Cappucino maker which Mr. Concierge won't tell you about (because he doesn't know):

 

The dial on the front is round (because most dials are) and there are little dots around that dial (like Sue was saying) varying from very tiny to very large. You would think this would mean tiny equals weak and big equals strong, or less fill or more, but NO. The size of the dot signifies the size of the grind (oh, I get it!) so, little means espresso and big means weak and watery.

 

There is also another adjustment on the spigot. That adjusts the amount of coffee/espresso that is dispensed. They have two sizes of cups, technically one for cappucino and one for espresso. If they give you the little cups and the spigot adjustment thingy is set for more fill, you are going to have a big mess which is what I think housekeeping did in our suite when I discovered all those stains on our carpet.

 

Also, Mr. Concierge said the machine did not need to be 'primed'. I beg to differ. Most espresso machines do. I did it by opening the steam vent and at first water will come out. When it turns to steam, shut off the steamer and now it is time for either steaming cream, which you can do in a spare cup, or making coffee.

 

Housekeeping doesn't get this part yet. The machine will stop working and a red light will blink on the front of it if the used grounds are not removed on a regular basis. To do that, the door on the lower front of the machine opens from left to right and you can slide the entire drawer out which contains the spent grounds and water, so be careful. Dump the grounds by removing the square container and take the tray carefully into the bathroom and dump out the water. Or, you can call the butler and make her do it. There is a steel receptacle in one of the lower bar cabinets. I couldn't figure out what on earth it was for so I used it for empty cream containers. I don't think our lovely housekeeper knew it was there because it didn't get emptied all week and smelled quite succulent by week's end, but I think its really there for you to dump coffee grounds into. :o

 

The directions for those machines were removed from the suites. Now how stupid was that? They need to make copies and post them in a plasticized cover and leave it in the bar area. Espresso machines are all very finicky and although I do not typically follow directions, I'm comforted by having them around. Now, all of you potential POH cappucino drinkers, please follow my directions...:p

 

Did y'all know that you're only allowed five of those funny faces per post? I just went back and counted mine. I couldn't post something the other day and I got a prompt to remove funny faces. Now how sad is that? Sorry, I'm already at my funny face quota or I'd throw one in here too.

Oh, did I say I'm from Seattle?

 

Cheers!

Holly

[Zeno]

The directions for those machines were removed from the suites. Now how stupid was that? They need to make copies and post them in a plasticized cover and leave it in the bar area. Espresso machines are all very finicky and although I do not typically follow directions, I'm comforted by having them around. Now, all of you potential POH cappucino drinkers, please follow my directions...:p [/b]

 

 

I agree with you completely - I wonder why they did not leave instructions - it just makes sense when dealing with equipment not familiar to everyone.

[Valentino Rossi]

Holly and Sue thanks for infos,

 

by the way Saeco is an Italian coffee machine maker, a popular one, and the operating instruction you provide sounds really normal for us...

was kind of explaining the rewind play and fast forward on a stereo...:D

 

How are we supposed to express ourself without smilies :p

[DebraDot]

I am so glad that we are finally hearing about the PoH in its Hawaii sail. I am on the PoH in August and anxious to learn more. I hope more veteran passengers will come here to give their impressions.

 

Do you have to make a reservation for the buffet eating areas? This may be a goofy question, but I am new at this.:confused:

[TikiMeekie]

Thanks so much for the detailed review Holly! It really helps to know what kinds of things you had problems with as many of those probably won't be issues for me.

I've never been on a cruise before though, so missing a lot of the extra service probably won't bother me. :)

And the warning about the upgrade is very valuable. Thanks again!

[Shiraz]

Hi Holly & all! So the review should be posted on this thread? I wasn't going to do a formal one with the scale rating on everything on the "review link", just this "essay-style" kind (kids taking SATs!!! LOL).

 

If anyone has specific things to address in more detail here are our particulars:

 

Cabin was: balcony on 8th floor port side -- we saw Na Pali & starboard did not. Both sides saw lava.

 

Ate at: Grand Pacific (not very good food, service was great), Le Bistro (Turbot=yuck but the plates were gorgeous -- heard they were Versace -- nice French label haha, and service was wonderful and attentive), Cagney's (steak had delicious flavor but was a little chewy), Aloha Nui for breakfast every day (I WILL MISS THOSE LITTLE POTATO CAKES, YUMM!!!), room service for dinner (hawaiian pizza, salad & chocolate thing were all scrumptious), Papa's (more hawaiian pizza, salad, no room for dessert -- delicious) and Paniolo (I had a "take-out" chicken quesadilla which was wonderful). We missed Alizar (took me forever to even FIND it because it's BETWEEN floors on a "mezzanine"), Asian (no loss, we don't care for it too much). We pressed our noses against the window to watch the Teppanyaki once and thought it looked cool but not $$ cool.

 

Excursions -- look on my posting on the recent thread where Lady of the Canyon (close??) asked about shore excursions because I answered her pretty thoroughly there as to: POH's VNP tour, Molokini snorkel, ship luau, Road to Hana, and Grand Finale. I have no true complaints except that after the ship's luau there was only one security station open -- what was THAT all about???? It wasn't uncomfortable or hot, but it was just the concept that hundreds of people would have to wait over 30 minutes to have their bags searched after being under ship's custody for the previous several hours. What on earth could we have picked up, a tiki torch??? We had a car for Day 1 in Kauai & free shopping shuttles on Day 2. The line at the excursion desk on the first day was pretty unreal. That was easily 1/2 hour. Hubby stood there while I went to meet the other CC'ers @ Bali Hai. He wanted to be inside in the air conditioning anyway and he doesn't drink so that was an okay arrangement. We ran into Lynn & Steve several times afterward so they were probably the only ones who met my hubby!!!

 

Embark -- fast but we looked like drowned rats and didn't pose for the photo op -- we had just flown in for like, 7 hours, and looked like it had been twice that long!!!

 

Disembark -- kind of confusing cause we were going on the shore excursion. We didn't get cuts in line because we missed the group gathering at Stardust but no one came looking for us even though we were presumably holding everyone up. Some of folks who were booked on this tour got lost and had to join us via the next tour coming to PH. Various reasons -- mostly because POH lost their luggage (one guys' golf stuff) or directed them to the wrong line and they didn't know we had already left. The best part of the group tour was at the airport because everyone got a a friendly send-off from everyone on the bus!!! Thanks!!! It was a warm way to leave.

 

CAbin & service -- all we could ask for -- extra towels when requested, chrome shined every time we returned to our room, turn down service was a treat (hubby doesn't know there was chocolate on the pillow -- don't tell!!! Yum). We were on a stairwell so it could have potentially been noisy but we didn't notice anything. We decorated the door (sorry it was a bit tacky for those who saw the Party City plastic wall art) but BOY did it save steps. We were constantly going to the wrong door until I hung that up.

 

Well, I need to do the REALLY detailed write-up, which I'll probably do in a Word doc & paste it here so I don't lose it (having been warned above, although all's well that ends well).

 

We've only cruised once before in '84 on NCL in the Caribbean. This was much better and we LOVED the itinerary. Now I see what all the hubbub about Hawaii is -- no one could really put their finger on it when they described it -- mostly moans and gestures. Okay -- it's verdant and oxygen-rich in parts which refreshes -- it's colorful and laid back -- it jams SO MANY different features into such a little package -- waterfalls, beaches, dramatic rock formations, rivers, rain forests, ocean views, lighthouses, unbelievable flora, not much fauna until you go underwater but when you do it will knock your socks off -- etc.!!

 

I sent a bunch of photos off to Costco online and picked up some of the prints -- the faint rainbow off of Na Pali showed up!!!! I couldn't see it in the camera window but it's on the print!!! Well, that was $30 and it was the small batch. I still have to send the 512 mg. card contents over!!!

 

More later . . . Shiraz

[stormy67]

Finally catching up on everything back home, and sleep, so will add a few things about the cruise.

 

We've been on 8 previous cruises, one on NCL, and embarkation on this one was the fastest and easiest yet, maybe because we came on board after 2:00. The ship is nice, and the itinerary is great.

 

We were in cabin 11504, a forward port-side mini suite. (Holly, after reading your review, glad we turned down the upsell!) Cabin and balcony not very large, but adequate. We didn't notice any problems associated with being in a forward cabin, and actually, we liked the location. No problems with noise from other cabins, or from the deck above which has the spa/fitness center. Think Holly mentioned the vibration, and we did at times notice that, more so than any other cruise we've been on. But it wasn't just in the cabin. Our cabin stewardess, Jessica, did a great job, and we had no complaints in that regard during the week.

 

We feel the main problem on the POH is with the food operation. The food wasn't bad, just very average, and we could have dealt with that. We didn't expect gourmet. But throughout the week, the main comment we heard from the wait staff in the main dining rooms was "I'm sorry, I'm sorry for the wait, I'm sorry for it taking so long," etc., etc. They just don't seem to have it together yet between the galley and the dining room. Along with other minor problems, we had really, really long wait times between courses. This happened every evening except for the optional formal night, when they were the busiest I'd seen, but that whole meal went very smoothly. Please understand - we weren't complaining. Staff knew there were problems and continually were apologizing. We ate breakfast at the buffet, which was okay. Didn't plan to do that, but the one time we ate breakfast in the dining room, the food really was not good, and at least we knew what to expect at the buffet.

 

We only went to one show put on by the ship's entertainers, and we felt it was quite an amateur production.

 

NCLA has a new disembarkation feature called "Express Fly." If you are flying American, United, or Delta, you can pay $20 per person and they provide you with airline luggage tags and boarding passes, and when you put your luggage out the last night, you don't have to worry about it until you reach your final destination. We took advantage of this since we had several hours until our flight and didn't want to haul around three pieces of luggage, in addition to our carry-ons. It's a great program in theory, but unfortunately for us, when we reached Miami, only one of our bags had made it. They did find the other two, and delivered them to the house the next day. We were behind another couple at the American baggage service counter who were on the ship and used the program, and one of their bags also was missing, but American already knew where theirs was and when it was coming into Miami. But that's not NCLA's fault, rather American's, I believe.

 

Both DH and I agree we prefer traditional style cruising as opposed to freestyle, with a set time and table, and where you get to know your wait staff, and they get to know you. It was, however, kind of nice being able to dress a little more casually for dinner some of the time.

 

I really like the concept of American-flagged ships. Call me corny, but it did my heart good to see the American flag flying! Hopefully with each cruise NCLA will work out more of the kinks, and turn it into the first-class operation it could be.

 

Mary Lynne

[spleen93]

Oh Lisa, now I am sooooo mad I didn't discover those hula lessons. I'm certain I'm a natural!

 

Sue, like you I also returned without having gained a pound. How interesting!

 

Here are a few things I discovered about the Saeco Cappucino maker which Mr. Concierge won't tell you about (because he doesn't know):

 

The dial on the front is round (because most dials are) and there are little dots around that dial (like Sue was saying) varying from very tiny to very large. You would think this would mean tiny equals weak and big equals strong, or less fill or more, but NO. The size of the dot signifies the size of the grind (oh, I get it!) so, little means espresso and big means weak and watery.

 

There is also another adjustment on the spigot. That adjusts the amount of coffee/espresso that is dispensed. They have two sizes of cups, technically one for cappucino and one for espresso. If they give you the little cups and the spigot adjustment thingy is set for more fill, you are going to have a big mess which is what I think housekeeping did in our suite when I discovered all those stains on our carpet.

 

Also, Mr. Concierge said the machine did not need to be 'primed'. I beg to differ. Most espresso machines do. I did it by opening the steam vent and at first water will come out. When it turns to steam, shut off the steamer and now it is time for either steaming cream, which you can do in a spare cup, or making coffee.

 

Housekeeping doesn't get this part yet. The machine will stop working and a red light will blink on the front of it if the used grounds are not removed on a regular basis. To do that, the door on the lower front of the machine opens from left to right and you can slide the entire drawer out which contains the spent grounds and water, so be careful. Dump the grounds by removing the square container and take the tray carefully into the bathroom and dump out the water. Or, you can call the butler and make her do it. There is a steel receptacle in one of the lower bar cabinets. I couldn't figure out what on earth it was for so I used it for empty cream containers. I don't think our lovely housekeeper knew it was there because it didn't get emptied all week and smelled quite succulent by week's end, but I think its really there for you to dump coffee grounds into.

 

The directions for those machines were removed from the suites. Now how stupid was that? They need to make copies and post them in a plasticized cover and leave it in the bar area. Espresso machines are all very finicky and although I do not typically follow directions, I'm comforted by having them around. Now, all of you potential POH cappucino drinkers, please follow my directions...

 

Did y'all know that you're only allowed five of those funny faces per post? I just went back and counted mine. I couldn't post something the other day and I got a prompt to remove funny faces. Now how sad is that? Sorry, I'm already at my funny face quota or I'd throw one in here too.

 

Oh, did I say I'm from Seattle?

 

Cheers!

Holly

 

(Holly's smileys edited out to allow for more pictures in this post :D)

 

Thanks for the review, Holly. Actually, thanks everyone who's posted in this thread so far - great idea of seeing the pros and cons. I'm booked in a Penthouse AB in November so interested in seeing details.

 

Actually, from the photos of the espresso maker I've seen so far, it appears to be a Saeco Incanto Rondo espresso machine.

 

 

Here's the link to WholeLatteLove describing the machine.

 

And from their website, the instructions:

"The key to brewing decadent espresso and coffee is a simple dial and 2-button combination that sits front and center on the machine. Just turn the silver outer ring to select the amount of coffee you’d like to brew – a feat made incredibly simple thanks to volume options that are labeled with the actual number of ounces you’d like to brew – and press either the 1 cup or 2 cup buttons that sit in the center of the ring. You can choose to brew anywhere from 1 to 8oz per brewing cycle, but pressing the 2 cup button causes the Rondo to run 2 full brewing cycles in succession. So at the simple press of a button you get 2 full flavored 8oz cups – or a single full-bodied 16oz cup – every time. To further control the type of brew you get, the Rondo features 7 grind setting options and the SBS brewing system. The grind setting dial has been placed directly in the 10oz bean hopper and allows you to easily switch between brewing espresso and café crema. Just press the grind selection knob down and turn it to the desired setting, just like the childproof cap on your aspirin bottle. Turn it toward the smaller dots for a finer espresso setting or toward the larger dots for café crema. You can even adjust the flow rate – and thereby, the extraction time – of your brew using the SBS knob on the dispensing spouts. All of these brewing controls lead to perfectly extracted, brewed, and flavored espresso.

When brewing’s done and you’re ready to finish your drink, there’s no need for waiting, thanks to the Rapid Steam System provided by the Rondo’s 2 stainless steel-lined boilers. This feature allows you to go right from brewing to steaming and frothing milk with no down time, so you get instant gratification and a delicious cappuccino or latte. If you’re in the mood for an americano instead, just press the hot water button located directly below the drink selector dial and your machine will be ready to dispense as much as you need."

 

So, the main dial in front does NOT control grind but controls how much water is added to your espresso (thereby controlling strength - weak to strong - and increasing volume to some extent). Grind is controlled by the knob in the bean hopper. And because of the double boiler, there should be no additional priming needed - the machine should automatically prime itself when it's turned on. The boiler is separate for making espresso and the steamer.

 

Just to clarify things ... :)

 

Spleen

[hollym]

Yes Spleen. You were right! It was a Saeco Incanto Rondo (I feel sooo Italian when I roll that off my tongue) and I was totally wrong about the adjustments. I just got lucky! I read the WLL directions you posted but was having trouble understanding them so I called them. (They sold me my machine too.) They helped me to understand it - verbal works nearly as well as visual with me. I told you I don't follow directions well! Everyone should disregard my directions and go with Spleen's :o but my cappucinos weren't bad! :D

 

That's two little smiley faces....

 

I think I understand why NCL removed the instructions that came with these machines. WLL says they are very confusing and I am guessing NCL was afraid people would attempt to get in there to change the grind adjustment. It is located in the bean hopper but you are supposed to only adjust it while the machine is grinding (its a peculiarity of burr grinders). Most people would be afraid to put their hands in there when the dern thing is grinding beans but if you do it otherwise you can break the grinding mechanism. See, I told you these machines are finicky. I think they intentionally cover the adjustment knob up with beans. I never saw it. Was it you Mary Lynne who suggested they just put a regular coffee machine in the suites? :rolleyes:

 

Sharon, Mary Lynne and Sue, thanks for doing your mini reviews! I think its really important to have balance by hearing from lots of people who were on the same sailing. Sounds like others got lucky and got good stateroom attendants. Wish we had. I think it is such a good idea to have a thread like this so that people can read reviews right away if they are leaving soon. I just wish everyone who sailed on the same date would post to the same thread. Sometimes it takes a long time for the admins to post the member reviews submitted via 'the proper channels'. Maybe this is an idea CC can implement?

 

Mary Lynne, I read on another thread that this ship has "bow thrusters" and I'm sure that's where the vibrations came from. It was probably more pronounced on deck 9 where we were, than on deck 11 where you were. I agree with you about traditional dining with the same people everynight. We've made great friends that way. And yes, I'm also glad you didn't buy the upsell!

 

I hope someone else will benefit from the following:

 

When my TA called to offer me the upsell, I used the NCL website to get information specific to all the AC Penthouse staterooms while I was on the phone with him. I showed him you can go onto the NCL site and proceed as if you were booking directly. You select a ship and a sailing date and then select the AC category. All of the available AC's will pop up in a new window. If you click on the actual stateroom number (#9500 for me) all the ammenities and features of that particular stateroom will be listed in a small window including but not limited to the dimensions of the suite and the deck. I chose 9500 over the other AC's based on these NCL official website descriptions. The descriptions and dimensions vary from suite number to suite number so I trusted them to be accurate for the purposes of comparison. They were not accurate and no one should accept them as such. Line seven for #9500 says "Floor to ceiling sliding glass door (1)" and of course our suite did not have one. We had a 3.5' wide x 5' high fixed window and a lot of wall space. Also of interest is that they have separated the tub and shower by several lines, giving the impression that the suite has separate bathing and showering facilities, which it does not.:mad: (fourth and frowny face)

 

Please don't anyone make the same mistake I made. I've brought the discrepancy to the attention of management at NCL and hope they will change these descriptions.

 

I neglected to mention in my review that jetlag was a real problem for us on this cruise. Was sleepy at the HI end and am still struggling to get back on schedule. You lucky folks who live in Hawaii don't have to deal with that adjustment. We're on EDT! Where am I and how long have I been here?:eek: (fifth and I'm outta here)

 

Cheers,

Holly

[spleen93]

Holly - I've got a Gaggia from WLL so I relate. :) Good point about not adjusting the grind unless the grinder is operating.

 

Thanks again for the review!

 

Spleen

[saydiver]

Our cabin, 10664, had the instruction manual for the espresso machine. Mr Concierge doesn't know much about the machines, because Mr. Butler is the person who services the machines. :)

 

Sue

[rosiej]

My husband and I are cruising PofH July17th and I've really enjoyed the reviews so far. So informative, and well rounded. Way to go HollyM! Looking forward to more thoughts on this new ship as we prepare to go. Would really love to hear about excursions, particularly the available Luaus. We have heard all kinds of things, but not much consistency. They aren't exactly cheap, so we don't want to spend our money without being well informed. Thanks for filling us in on the nitty gritty! It is our 10th anniversary, so we really want to have a good time, and not be disappointed. :)

[jlaa1]

If you need info on Waikiki, let me know. We live on the island and I *might* be able to help you out. (No guarantee though!)

 

We're set to sail in late September, and I drive past the pier at least once a week and see PoA and PoAm docked (haven't seen PoH yet) and just get so excited!!

 

Susan

 

Do you know if the ship docks or we have to tender in for each island?

We are sailing 8-14. Our first cruise with NCL last March was not all the exciting, so will try Hawaii....surely that lovely state will be awesome, just because.

We are thinking of renting a car on each Island.

Any guidebook for nebees?

[jlaa1]

My husband and I are setting out on the June 26 sailing; just a week and a half away; we are so excited; we have never done NCL; we have sailed 3x on Celebrity and Disney and others...we have an inside cabin to save some $ but have rented cars on the islands to do our own excursions...overall, was it a good sailing? First time with an all American crew...any info would be appreciated....

We are thinking of renting a car on each Island.

Have you found a book for self guided tours?

Any thing of interest you will be doing?

What Luau did you opt for?

[Shiraz]

I have my "review" still in my Word program since it is kind of long and I need to fix a lot of it. So here's the luau stuff I know: Before we left, we tried to make a res. with Old Lahaina on Maui and they were sold out. Then we called Tom Barefoot Cashback and booked the feast at Le Le which is somehow related to OLL but is more upscale. We never did get a car for Kahului so we couldn't get to Lahaina that night without MAJOR expense like taxi so we had to cancel Le Le. With that night open, I really did want to go to the ship's luau (even fully aware that there were many criticisms of it from POA & POAm cruisers). The desk assistant said she had been to it the previous sailing and it was absolutely beautiful. I thought it couldn't be all bad so I begged, and DH relented (this is on the fly at the res. desk -- we were really only cancelling something else and this got added on impulsively)! Also, this luau isn't even really near Lahaina -- it's at Maui Prince in Makena, past Wailea (a pretty ritzy area, so it wasn't a dive by any means). It seems like the OLL is the "measuring stick" everyone uses to rate their experiences but hey, they don't have a Samoan fire dancer (according to research) and the ship's luau did (I saw him)!! He was very exciting!!

 

With cost being a factor -- The prices of independent luaus range from what, upper $60's to over $100 for Le Le. You probably get what you pay for and part of the fee to NCL is for the bus ride over there and I suppose tips for the servers, etc. So, for the cost, I was perfectly happy with the ship's luau. The food was fine, there were as many drinks as you could want. They poured a whole bunch of cups of fruit juice then topped them with rum and ice cubes right before they were served so if you grabbed one right away before the ice melted you got a more concentrated taste. Some folks have said they were "watered down" but I think it was a matter of the ice melting so fast. My other review will have more details on this luau . . .

 

We also researched luaus on Kauai, the other overnight stay. I saw a lot of comments on the Hawaii heading about luaus, including those on Kauai. I also had the Kauai Revealed book which made some recommendations. There were what looked like some pretty great luaus but they were only held one night per week or something (like I think it was Marriott in Poipu had one on only Wednesdays, if memory serves) and not Saturday night, our stay. By the time I found some Saturday luaus a different day of internet searching (something Pacifika and Smith's), I had pretty much given up on looking for one. I was hoping to head north in the car that day and I didn't want to have to be back to Smith's in the sort-of vicinity of the ship by 5 p.m. for a luau. I wanted to allow for finding something cool, like a sunset at Ke'e beach. I didn't want to have to rush back. So I had nixed the idea of luau on Kauai.

 

We had no night times on Oahu or that would have been another choice and perhaps we wouldn't have gone to the ship luau if we were going to one there. We flew in and got right on the ship; then disembarked & went on Grand Finale tour & airport so no time for luau there (although @ PCC we had a "luau" if you want to call it that -- more like a "mini-luau" -- lots of people and food, imu, but scanty on performers -- they save that all for the final show which we missed due to time constraints). So . . . if you have extra time on Oahu, maybe you could catch a luau there like Germaine's, otherwise the ship's luau is fine! It has its plusses and minus, as does everything else on the planet!! If you go to Poly Cult. Ctr. w/NCL or on your own, you can do their luau etc. -- they have package deals which include food. I liked the NCL luau better than PCC's because it was more picturesque by the ocean and the entertainment was more varied at NCL's, not to mention NCL's was the whole evening -- PCC's was just a short part of the day. My hubby says if he would have known we were getting a luau as part of the PCC tour, he wouldn't have agreed to go on the ship's but I'm glad we went on the ships because I liked it better!! Okay, enough already!!

[Shiraz]

Do you know if the ship docks or we have to tender in for each island?

We are sailing 8-14. Our first cruise with NCL last March was not all the exciting, so will try Hawaii....surely that lovely state will be awesome, just because.

We are thinking of renting a car on each Island.

Any guidebook for nebees?

 

The ship tenders at Kona, everywhere else it docks.

 

We got Big Island Revealed @ the library, Kauai (it's a different title but looks the same -- cover is blue) & Maui Revealed @ Barnes & Noble. Also looked at Frommer's, Hawaii for Dummies and Nat'l Geographic's Hawaii books. I tried to stay current because a lot of the stuff at the library was outdated. There was a hurricane in '92 so info had to be after that!

 

If you don't mind finding your own way I would say get a car because it's far more economical than the tours. We did the tours, however, for various reasons -- I don't mind the "herd" mentality, I liked the commentary from the guides, I just want to look out the window and not stress about missing a turn or something. It was our first time to Hawaii and I didn't want it to be a disaster of being mad at each other the whole time. We were also really tired -- like Holly said the adjustment/lag is profound. Being able to just sit on the bus and be able to doze a little was nice plus they take you right up to the door of everything. Now, if we EVER make it back there (???) we would get a car for sure, having gained enough knowlege to make informed choices for destinations, etc. for that.

[hollym]

Only tendered port on this itinerary is in Kona. :D

 

Sharon, a bus driver on a shuttle to a shopping center told our bus passengers that all the buses used to drive passengers for shore excursions are owned by NCLA. Not verified, mind you. By the way, rental cars came rather cheaply. Just suggest you have your itinerary in mind when you rent one. Driving around aimlessly causes male hormones to rage!:mad:

 

Valentino, we used to be neighbors. We lived up the road in Lugano.;)

 

Shoreguy, did you happen to see my remarks at the end of my June 17th posting about the erroneous description posted on the NCL website for our stateroom? You're correct, it doesn't say whirlpool, but the way they separated tub and shower sure makes it look like there is a separate tub and shower. And who wouldn't expect a whirlpool in a penthouse.:rolleyes: We had one in our Sky Suite on Century in 1997!

 

I'm outta here because again, I am out of smileys.:D

Cheers,

Holly

[DebraDot]

HollyM:

I appreciated your information about the stateroom. I was hoping for a call about an upsell, and would have probably just jumped on it before reading your post. Now, I will proceed very carefully.

 

We are in a mini-suite-- 11090.

[Shiraz]

Sharon, a bus driver on a shuttle to a shopping center told our bus passengers that all the buses used to drive passengers for shore excursions are owned by NCLA. Not verified, mind you. By the way, rental cars came rather cheaply. Just suggest you have your itinerary in mind when you rent one. Driving around aimlessly causes male hormones to rage!:mad:

Holly

 

I'm with you on that -- hormone rage for sure. Makes PMS look tame!! :eek: My so-called itinerary was to go up to Ke'e and drive back leisurely. I picked "go north" because I thought Poipu would be warmer & we wanted moderate temps. That original itin. changed immediately when I thought "we better see the waterfalls first or forget it" so we went to Waimea & Opaka (shoot, I've got Hawaiian dyslexia -- something like that, I already forgot the names, the first one was on the navigable river), they were near Lihue -- if someone really needs to know I'll be happy to look it up. I'm soo glad we did because Thrifty TOLD us the last free shuttle back to pier was @ 7:30 so if we didn't want to incur another $20 for a taxi we were motivated to get back then. It wasn't really too early because we were pretty tired & ready to go get a nice shower & have dinner. Oh, our original quote for the price (economy w/free upgrade) was between $28 & $30 but the final bill was over $70. We didn't have time to look for gas on the way back so we had to pay their exhorbitant price but it was cheaper than the alternative at that point, getting a taxi back to the pier. I don't even know all of the misc. fees & crap they put on there.

 

On another pre-trip thread I read that NCL(A) owns Polynesian Adventures, so that's consistent info. Even so, when we had an exceptional guide we tipped (esp. Hana = Jeff).

[Shiraz]

Hi! Okay, here’s the official not-so-short review. Quick background – we’re mid-40’s, reasonably good health, 3 “adult” children – cruise was for our 25th anniversary. Never been to Hawaii; cruised with NCL in ’84 to Caribbean, we live near Phoenix. I hope this isn’t all chopped up – I’ve been working on it for what seems like ever what with all the cutting and pasting . . . sorry it took so long!!!

Pre-Cruise: I did what someone suggested on a “getting-ready-to-cruise” post and assembled a loose-leaf notebook with clear pages containing printouts of itinerary, maps, flight e-ticket info, NCL payments (self-booked w/NCL), Latitudes numbers; shore excursion printouts, car rental confirmation e-mails, coupons, etc. Besides the notebook, I had so much info with regard to each destination that each island had its own large translucent plastic envelope with the string closure. So I was somewhat organized and researched this trip to death!!! This was for us, probably a once-in-a-lifetime trip and I sure wanted to feel prepared!!

I was on cruise critic frequently gathering info; borrowed books, videos & DVDs from the library (all were 10 years old or more); interviewed anyone who had been to the islands, ordered Entertainment book for HI, read Peter Greenberg’s Travel Detective book, and ordered brochures from the form in back of Sunset magazine for each island. The irony of getting ready for this was akin to the old joke – “Help! I’ve lost my glasses and I can’t look for them until I find them!!” (Me: “Help! I’m planning a trip to Hawaii and I can’t figure out where to go until I’ve been there!!”). I felt like I was getting ready for intergalactic travel – I had no idea what to expect! Something I read said it might be cold, wet, hot, humid, windy, cloudy, sunny, sandy, rocky, slippery, temps in the 80’s, 70’s or even 30’s (atop a volcano). In order to be prepared for every contingency, guess we had to pack EVERYTHING!!! Be sure to bring a watch (or phone). It’s nice if you want to have no constraints and be on “island time” but you’ll miss everything including the boat!!

We booked six shore excursions online 2 weeks before we went because I read/heard that you can cancel them up to 24 hours prior but that it was really tough to get excursions once you were aboard due to sell-outs. I think it’s worth mentioning that we were pretty tired by the second day in Maui. We were a bit run-down from getting ready for the trip with packing and getting the stay-at-homes situated, then the 6-hour plane ride (yes, I know, that’s probably a short one compared to most), and the enormous adjustment required to move to new quarters for a week. I admit we still got lost on the ship up to the very end. Every morning I had to do some serious thought to where I needed to go (Deck 12, Aloha Nui!!!). Then at disembarkation each day – what floor again?? Is it right or left once you reach the corridor??? It was definitely a brain workout for us and sometimes we even stumped the crew (hey, they’re only human).[/size]

We decided to get trip insurance through AAA as opposed to the NCL insurance to cover the entire trip vs. just the cruise. It was cheaper than the NCL one. Happily we did not have to put it to the test! I called our car insurance (also AAA) and made sure rentals were covered, etc.

We had paid NCL the whole balance by the end of March so it was onward and upward from there! We saw that there was some sort of perk for being a repeat customer (“Latitudes”) but couldn’t really pin down exactly what that was from checking the web site and asking the phone reps. Evidently there are different levels of qualification based on # of cruises you’ve racked up. We’re Bronze – only cruised with NCL once before. Of course we’re as loyal as can be, batting .1000 with this line – wonder if they’d take that into consideration?? Couldn’t hurt to ask??!! Anyway, the NCL web page has some vague descriptions of perks like special check-in at selected ports (any of them in Hawaii??), membership card (now that’s what I call a perk!!), and the members-only cocktail reception with the Captain (that one actually being worth writing home about – that was a really nice reception Friday night as we sailed into the setting sun out the window of Spinnaker and scarfed hors’ d’ouvres (sp?), wine & “rum punch”). That was easily the best perk. Our MasterCard discount book had better discounts (i.e., the ones we used were one for one dinner at a pay/specialty restaurant and 10 percent off $100 min. at the Galleria shops – I had to have souvenir DVDs of pretty much everything). Oh, here’s a tip: On board buy stuff when you’re out at sea and there’s no tax!!! If you’re in port when you ring up a purchase they have to charge 4.x % tax.

Rental Car was booked pre-cruise. It was a simple matter to register for Thrifty’s Blue Chip and it gives you priority check in and they upgraded without the Sam’s Club coupon. We wound up renting only once after all was said and done – first day in Kauai.

Embarkation: We arrived in HNL around 2 p.m. or so and caught a taxi ($20+tip). There is a little booth outside the terminal where the attendant calls you a taxi so it’s quite simple. I had the directions to the port but you just have to tell them “Aloha Tower.” It was probably 30 min. from leaving the plane to getting the taxi; then maybe a 10 or 15 min. ride. I had already almost passed out from excitement when I could see an island from the plane window and now I could see Diamond Head and then the actual Ship!!! Very exciting!!!

We couldn’t see a clear entrance at the pier where the taxi left us off, so we dragged our luggage toward the building and the folks were pretty helpful pointing us to the correct entrance door & checked our baggage. There was a separate Latitudes check-in desk but there wasn’t a line at the regular check in so we just went there. Then there was obviously the security check. We got our key cards at check in.

We found the room & parked our carry-ons, then I needed to eat something. It was going on 4 p.m. by then and the sign had said that Blue Lagoon would be closing at 4 but they still served us and didn’t mention closing. I ordered chicken & fries – the chicken was very hot although tough & gamey tasting, but I wouldn’t know if that’s the norm. The fries were fine and the water was actually quite good. I found out that the iced tea is from a concentrate (first I could tell by tasting it then I saw them making it in one of the mixer/dispensers at Aloha Nui). The plain water is better than the tea. The tea can be remedied by diluting it and adding lemon and sweetener.

If you like larger portions of drinks you will probably want to bring your own tankard (i.e., something with a handle because you won’t have a tray)!! The juice cups, coffee mugs and tea glasses are all doll-size. I think the tea glass is probably about 6 oz. at the most. The footed water glasses hold enough – maybe 8 or 10 oz. I wound up swiping the water glasses (with permission of course) from meals so I could finish the nice ice water. I wouldn’t bother bringing drinking water on board but something to carry water in on the side trips is a must. Whatever ingenuity you can employ to carry drinks – go for it. We had a wide-mouthed Lexan bottle with carabiner clip & lanyard. I took it to breakfast and used the ice & water dispenser there to fill it (go to the furthest one so people don’t think you’re depriving them by emptying the ice maker). PLEASE be sanitary if you use the shared dispensers – I saw people putting their used water bottles right up touching the water nozzle – ew, yucky. I put ice in a cup first then poured it into the bottle and there was clearance under the nozzle so my bottle didn’t touch. Some posters on cc said they asked their steward for ice in the morning – that’s another approach. We never saw our steward in the morning. I wouldn’t advocate helping yourself from the ice chest in the corridor due to sanitation concerns.

[Shiraz]

Our room was perfect for us! We were on 8th floor, forward, port side with a balcony. Opinions regarding balconies vary but it was something that we really liked having. The first thing is the ability to get fresh (moist) air. The recycled air in the cabin was sometimes a little dry. We had 2 chairs and a little table – the railing was wood but the “wall” was clear acrylic so the view was good. When we were sailing it was neat to go out and watch the moon (full that week) and its reflection on the water, the rush of the water as the ship moved forward, and feel the breeze! There weren’t any bugs flying around out at sea (a couple of flies came in at port). Having a balcony added a nice dimension to the entire experience if it’s in the budget. The ship moves so smoothly you almost don’t even feel it, so a room in an “outside” location is not much different motion-wise than an “inside” room. Also, hubby (hereinafter “DH” for “Dear Husband”) awoke very early and was able to go out and sit and read his novel and watch us pull into the ports most mornings. Another function the balcony served was a clothesline (after snorkeling there was a BOATLOAD of wet stuff). I’m sure if you don’t attach things correctly they would blow away, but I had clothespins and tacked things to the back of the chairs so they could flap in the breeze. I also tied our water shoes to the railing because they were extremely wet and smelly. The breeze and sun dried them (eventually). Yes, there’s a short (4’maybe) clothesline in the shower but stuff dries so slowly in the humidity, we needed to hang the bathmat somewhere, and it was in the way because we needed the shower a lot.

In the cabin, there was a little loveseat that presumably converted into a bed. It was like another table for us – we were short on horizontal surfaces! The bed might have been hard but I was so tired every night I didn’t feel any discomfort at all! There were plenty of pillows for two and the duvets are very cozy. I had to check them out – they have removable covers like pillowcases so I guess they’re the same standard of sanitary as your pillows, more or less. They drape over you and enfold you so snugly it just puts you right to sleep!! I had to smile inside – the double bed we were in was obviously two twins pushed together and as a result DH and I both had our OWN duvet!! No stealing the covers!!!

Apparently you are supposed to be able to interact with the tv via the remote keyboard. We messed around with it a little bit and had no luck. I suppose if we had persisted maybe we could have gotten it to work but we were too lazy and tired to mess with it.

There’s an outlet at the desk so we unplugged the coffee maker and put the night light there (didn’t really need a night light; just leave the curtain a little open) and another outlet at the vanity desk. There probably is one somewhere they had the blow dryer plugged in to but I didn’t root around there under the table to look. BTW, that’s a hefty Wigo blow dryer. Maybe they have it hardwired to the ship so people don’t classify it as a “souvenir.” Oh, I hope you like to look at yourself because there are mirrors EVERYWHERE.

In the closet are those big serious wooden hangers that have knobs on the tops (like hotels have). I had brought one hanger from home which was handy if I wanted to hang something in the bathroom to steam out wrinkles. I also had a travel size Febreze & sprayed the travel clothes and hung them up so they were quite fresh when I needed them again to fly home in. There’s room under the bed for your luggage.

Our steward, Tomas, introduced himself the second day and we chatted a little bit. He gave us just the right amount of attention and I wish I could stow him away in my luggage to come home with me and get all the spots off the chrome every time I leave the bathroom! He had to have been in the room at least twice a day – do turn the dial on your room number display so the steward knows what is expected that day. He wiped everything down & made the bed each day when we were gone, and if we asked for turn-down service he did that too. (I joked on some thread that my DH didn’t know there were chocolates on the pillows, hehe, yum). My only special request was for an additional bath towel for my hair, which was easily accomplished.

We needed to adjust our shore excursions @ desk, having made some last-minute decisions on the way over to HI, so DH stood in that line while I went to the Bali Hai bar to meet the other Ccers. That shorex line was probably the worst one onboard we had to face but DH wanted to make sure we cancelled Warren & Annabelles early enough. Also for some reason the Volcano tour we had was not the one I thought we signed up for. At any rate, when we got our turn it was easy to get the VNP tour changed to add the Rainbow Falls, Nani Mau Botanical Garden and cancel W&A. We were just going to hang out that Maui night because previous posters had REALLY panned the ship’s luau badly but the desk clerk said that she had been able to attend it last sailing and highly recommended it – said it was just beautiful!! Well, I begged and we got to go!!

Gift Shop – there’s a little gift shop by the atrium/registration area but the forward-located Galleria was a nice surprise. I expected a little hospital or hotel size gift shop and this thing is at least the size of the Walgreen’s drug store!! They have really pricey jewelry, NCL stuff, golf stuff, souvenirs and lots of DVDs. I was definitely impressed with the floor space and the selection. If you go out the starboard side by the golf stuff there’s the internet café and art gallery. The most useful thing they sell is a POH lanyard to put your key card into so you can wear it as jewelry.

MEALS:

Breakfasts @ Aloha Nui – I can see many good reasons from the ship’s point of view to not provide trays here (less wasted food from eyes being bigger than stomachs, more things to wash and sanitize, more things to round up from all over the ship, etc.) but sheesh! If you don’t want fruit in your scrambled eggs you need a separate plate. That leaves no extra hand for your drinks (that would be juice and cappuccino of course)! If you have pockets, that works well for silverware. Otherwise put the silverware in your husband’s pockets and make him walk funny!! My powdered (previous poster said?) eggs with cheese were great!! I will sorely miss those cute little potato cakes. They’re addictive. The islanders can keep their Spam, though!! We took our food out the automatic door and ate out by the pool, which was “mahvelous!!!” Who doesn’t love al fresco dining with an ocean view. Kodak moment. I did keep have to keep running back inside for refills & provisions for midday take-along snacks. Oh, don’t have your heart set on having toast unless you want to stand around for 10 minutes cooking it one side at a time in the carousel. I only did that once. I could have eaten my entire breakfast in the time it took to make toast. And the butter is nowhere within 25 feet of the toaster. You must plan ahead – there is much strategy involved in the toast maneuver. I had a made-to-order omelet one day, which was delicious. I forgot to bring a plate so after he started cooking my omelet, I went off in search of a plate. There was another omelet station where I got my plate (look for the largest plates, they’re by the free-standing omelet stations – my omelet was at the back wall station), and that chef still had mushrooms. I asked him to put some on the unused plate and took them over to my omelet and had my chef put the mushrooms on my omelet. When they run out of ingredients apparently they don’t restock, so check out all of the stations. Another guy had brought bacon over and crumbled it so the chef put that in his omelet (sanitary?).

If you’re really on the ball you packed Ziploc bags and you can grab a muffin, pb+bagel, apple, raisins & trail mix from the oatmeal toppings, etc. for sustenance later on during the day.

Breakfast @ Room Service - We ordered room service because the Road to Hana trip was meeting @ 6:45 for 7 a.m. departure the second day (so we could be back in time for all aboard). The food didn’t get to us in time, so we wound up with no breakfast. Room service starts at 6:30, so had it been “on the dot,” we would have had no problem.

Lunch @ Aloha Nui - One time we had lunch on board at the buffet. I had carved pork which was very tender and tasty. Salads, rice, etc. and iced tea. Nothing to complain about.

Dinner @ Cagney’s – we went over to Cagney’s and made an 8:30 p.m. reservation for dinner but it didn’t seem like the prior times were all booked up. We were hungry earlier than that so we put on our nice clothes and went over to see if we could get in any earlier, which they kindly accommodated!!!! We had strip steak and prime rib – DH said he didn’t like the prime rib that much – said it had no taste. My steak tasted wonderful but it was a bit chewy. The wedge salad was good and the strawberry cheesecake was great.

Dinner @ Le Bistro – The best thing was that we asked if we could sit by the window and they let us. (Window seats not only have a great view, they have a little bench you can set your camera etc. on). We were able to watch the sail-away and sunset off Maui’s coast. Breathtakingly beautiful & I took some great photos. The plates were also quite eye-catching (found out later they were Versace) but I wasn’t happy with my Turbot. It was too fishy (old, or just a turbot thing). We both had the French Onion Soup, which I can fix about the same as theirs.

Dinner @ Grand Pacific – We were seated immediately without a reservation at normal dinnertime (somewhere 6-ish). I asked if it was usually that “empty” and they said “no” and they weren’t sure why it wasn’t very busy. I had turkey consommé (okay, nothing special), hula chicken which had an “off” taste I couldn’t identify, almost like frozen dinners; and DH had pork with applesauce & raisins which was okay. The dessert was something chocolate baked in a ramekin and it was wonderful – I ate every last drop/crumb.

Dinner w/Room Service - I ordered salad with strawberries, Hawaiian pizza and chocolate something – maybe mousse. All was surprisingly wonderful and I ate every scrap except I couldn’t fit the dessert so we tasted it & saved it in the fridge.

Dinner @ Papa’s - Our reservation was for 9:30 p.m. one of the last nights on board and DH was really feeling worse for the wear so I went by myself to dinner. I had Hawaiian pizza (a little different than room services’ but not significantly), and salad. Both were quite wonderful and the olive oil/balsamic dipping sauce is delish. I wound up dipping the pizza crusts in it and finishing them up. I hoped to get a glass of Chianti but apparently you have to buy it by the bottle so I got some Icewine from the dessert menu. It was quite good. It’s a port so it’s sweet, and it complemented the pineapple on the pizza.

Dinner from Paniolo - One night I was hungry and DH wasn’t, so I wound up at Paniolo asking the host if I could get something “to-go.” He said I could so I ordered a chicken quesadilla and sat there while he took the order into the cook and later brought it back to me. I was quite pleased with the taste of the food, and surprised by how good the guacamole was!!! If we’d have had more dinner ops on board I would have definitely gone there for a sit-down meal.