1st flamingo back from the POA Repo Cruise

[stacybnca]

Many of the crew are from Hawaii, however, there are a lot from other American cities, also. We talked to people from all over, and it was fun to hear from the Hawaiians as we got close to thier home.

 

Marilyn, we all love you and are praying for you. Hang in there.

 

Stacy,

 

Glad to be a Flamingo

[cnmiranda]

Thanks Stacy :D:D:D

[Cruise Mama]

Don't worry too much about Marilyn - she has her Ohana (flamingo and all) to watch over her!

 

MANY of the crew are native Hawaiian - their name badges indicate the city and island! They were more than helpful when asked what not to miss. It was also fun to see their faces light up as we shared with them our plans and asked about their "homes".

 

As promised - here's a few of the things that we did on the islands:

 

Hilo - rented car (shuttle to airport provided by Alamo) Drove first to Akaka Falls - beautiful drive and nice hike and breathtaking view of two waterfalls. On the way out stopped at Mr. Ed's Bakery. (you know not enough food on the ship) baked goods, ice cream and a couple opportunities for shopping - out of the busy hustle bustle. From there we drove to Volcanoes National Park - paid car entry fee ($10 I think) and stopped first at the visitors center then began our trip through the park We didn't take the hike down - as we had 6 children under 12 but we saw many people who did. We hiked down to the Thurston Lava Tube (don't forget your flashlights to go into the "undeveloped" section) visited steam vents, several old lava flows, didn't make the desolation - it was fun to drive and decide to stop when we wanted to - using the map from the center. All this and we managed to get back to the ship and return the rental car in time for sail away.

 

Kona - tendered here so we didn't rent a car. Walked the Kona walking tour and visited the 1st church in the islands, the palace, shopped along the pier, ate breakfast at a small family owned restaurant (great abundant meal) and finally parked it on the "only sand beach in Kona" in front of the King Kamehameha (sp) Hotel. $10 rented chairs and an umbrella for the day. They loaned beach mats for free. From here we split into two groups to Parasail with UFO Parasailing (two for one coupon in the Entertainment book) The Guys were GREAT! Everyone got "dipped" by special request. Ended up going across the street to eat late lunch before getting on the tender back to the ship. Sat upstairs across from the pier and watched the Kona rain drench all those waiting for the tender.

 

Maui - Rented a car here too (Alamo shuttle to the airport again) Day 1 We drove across to Lahaina and shopped a little before heading to MaaLaea Harbor for the FourWinds II afternoon snorkel tour (Molokini Crater or Coral Gardens - based on weather - we went to Coral Gardens and it was great - they say mornings it is more likely the seas will be calm enough for Molokini) The trip included ALL beverages, and lunch. (Booked though TomsBarefoot - many other trips available there too.) We stayed in Lahaina sat on the sea wall and watched the sunset (the best in Hawaii) and walked back to Forest Gumps for dinner (put your name on the list - it's a wait otherwise). Great service and food.

Day 2 - we did a quick visit up Haleakala (Wayne worked there and wanted to make sure that he showed the kids where he was for 7 months a few years ago) Then we got lucky! Drove over to Lahaina again and the kids got a surfing lesson from Dukes Surf School (Front Street) We visited the banyan tree - WOW - had shave ice and made it back to the ship.

 

Kauai - MY FAVORITE!!!! We split up this day - Steph and I took 6 children on the Kipu Falls Safari - 2.5 mi kayak on the river by the mangrove trees and with a lot of story telling along the way. Stopped for a hike to a swimming hole with a rope swing - remember lean back when swinging - a little further hike throught the coffe and banana trees - a beautiful rain forest - and then we boarded a tractor drawn wagon for the ride through the Rice ranch (where they filmed Jurasic Park - I kept thinking we were going to see dinosaurs) We spoke to wild pigs, peacocks, and an obnoxious goose! We took on a short hike to the waterfalls where we zipped and had lunch. Another little ride on the wagon and we made our much awaited hike to the swimming hole with the "big" rope swing and jumping off the waterfalls. My 6 year old nephew surprised everyone (but me) and boldly jumped off the waterfalls. Then a hike and ride back to the river where we boarded the boat that would take us back to our starting point. We had a little snag when the prop tangled in some crab nets - but we did make it back to the shack. WOW - what an incredible full day trip. This tour was arranged on our own - but it does exist with NCL - just no kayaking.

 

The other half of our group did the Backcountry Zipline a fairly new trip and truly enjoyed themselves. Zipped 7 times through the rainforest stopped for lunch and swimming. This tour was only about 4 hours long.

 

Day 2 we shopped and took it easy since we were leaving :( Kauai at 1 pm.

We did do the scenic cruising past the Napali Coast - which only confirmed that I have to go back to Kauai so I can do it all.

 

In Honolulu - we barely had enough time to get our bags, get on the last shuttle, make it through (extensive) security and board the airplane about 10 minutes before we pushed back and took off.

 

Suggestion - make sure if you are flying on the last day - go exchange your bag tags for an earlier time!!! We had absolutely no time for anything in HNL.

 

Oh well - I guess that means we need to go back! :D

[shoreguy]

Here's a concern of mine - what if someone else simply took our bag by mistake? Remember the old days when you had to show a baggage claim check at the airport to claim your luggage? Well - there was none of that at the pier of course - nor at the airport even though we were given baggage claim tickets. :confused:

 

(

 

 

That happened to us when we returned from a long trip in Europe. We waited until no more bags could be found. One of the unclaimed bags looked like ours. We got the contact info of that bag and called the owner who in fact had our bag.

 

When you call NCL see if another bag was found that is similar to yours. A quick call by them may surface yours. If they don't ask the others may be too embarrassed or figure it is too much trouble to return the wrong luggage.

 

Good luck

[Cruise Mama]

Okay - as I promised - Here's the word

I got a call from "Marty" in HNL - he found the bag - among MANY that were left at the pier. It has finished its July 4th vacation in HNL and is on its way FedEx to me. I had to by it a ticket (about $50.) but it will be worth it once I see all my belongings returned to me.

 

I hope everything is in there!

 

Funny we originally planned on staying on Oahu for 3 days post-cruise - I guess the bag didn't get the memo! :D

 

What a great story to share!

 

Tammy

[stacybnca]

Tammy, you are cracking me up!! Glad you are getting your bag back!

 

We stayed 2 hurried days in Oahu...the kids just wanted to come home by then!

 

We did manage to go snokeling and drive around the island. By the way, the Dole plantation is a waste of time....very boring!

 

Back to the job of just being at home!

 

Stacy

[Another ship trip]

Too funny Tammy. Glad your bag had an extended vacation. Maybe it rolled on over to the laundromat and washed all the contents too. Now if only your lost photo software and pics will surface....

Lisa

[rcrj762]

Welcome back CRUISE MAMA. Thanks for the great reviews keep the info coming. We will be sailing on Aug.29 with our two children. I wanted to ask if you had to make reservations for parasailing and if any of your children did it?

We have bought the Entertainment book also, are their any other coupons you used that were good? We were also thinking of going to Backcountry, did you book the tour with NCL or on your own ?

Thanks,

CHERI

[Traveler39]

Thanks Cruise Mama.... I got more info from your post that days of reading others... Thanks for the info on the car rentals and the sightseeing...

[Cruise Mama]

NCL got our cruise money - and if we had any spare time and were in a desperate bind - maybe we would have booked excursions through them. But alas even the last minute surfing lessons (all the kids 6 and up took them) were only $39.00 and that idea I got out of the book that they gave us as we disembarked in Maui. Pretty good add on since we were sure we'd have to pay over $100 each.

 

We booked all excursions on our own - way before going to Hawaii. Mahalo to SweetEmi and all those on the Hawaii Board.

 

Tom's Barefoot was a great resource - a couple trips we booked direct (or at least thought we would) The Kipu trip was a 3yo, 6yo, 9yo, 9yo, 11yo, 11yo, 20yo and me. We paired up in the Kayaks (the 9yo's went with the two guides and the 2 11 yo's split up to be with adults that became new friends.

 

15 of us went on the Snorkel cruise - and we shared the trip with about 20 other people.

 

Parasailing was available tandem - so only the (then) 2 yo and the 20 yo (she doesn't like going up) didn't go along. They only have a weight limit for "flying" alone. Having the 2 for 1 coupon from the entertainment book made it very affordable.

 

Many of the Flamingos ended up on the Body Glove snorkle cruise (also two for one from the Entertainment Book - but also booked with the shore excursions so hurry and make your ressies)

 

No offense to NCL - but I want to make the most of my cruise $ so I will pay them for superior accomodations and ask that they leave me to make the excursion arrangements myself.

 

Also - got a PROPER massage today ! :D Now I really feel like I have been on vacation. Sorry I expected resort treatment at the Mandara spa - now I know - they were very nice - but ..........

 

Now I've got to make my plans for that Thanksgiving trip down Galveston way!!!!!!

 

Tammy

[livermorenancy]

Hi all and Aloha Flock! I have started this post on another separate thread so skip this if you've read the other site. Here goes...really...long.....

 

Now that the laundry is totally done, I am ready to post more on our Pride of Aloha June 20th sailing. Be prepared this post is really, really long! Let me try to answer some of the questions that were asked:

 

Laundry facilities-no passenger washer/dryer areas or pressing rooms. If you want laundry done, there are bags in room and laundry slips similar to those at hotels. I had mine done once. I had heard that the facilities were not consistent so it might be returned the next day, but not to count on it. I opted for the same day (the usual double the price as you find everywhere) and everything was returned that evening after dinner. A white sweater which I had gotten a makeup stains on the collar was returned covered with a blue ring. I suppose it was the cleaner they used to remove the makeup stains. They rewashed it and it was returned perfect and the charge was removed without me even asking for one. No $20 bag of laundry available for this cruise. Maybe in the future but not sure so bring your woollite or laundry soap and be prepared to wash things in the sink. There was no laundry lines in the inside cabins but a flamingo friend stopped at a hardware store the 2nd day of the cruise and “creatively” solved the problem. Not sure if the ocean views or balcony cabins had them. I was in an Owner’s Suite and there was one over the tub.

Cruise Critic Members Treatment- someone asked if we were treated differently than other passengers- my guess is probably. Email them ahead of time or inform them as soon as you are settled onboard to set up a cruise critic meeting. They were very accommodating. Plus it was so much fun meeting everyone you had met on the boards. You do need to know their cabin numbers so invitations can be send out. I know there were a couple people on the message boards who were left out of the gathering because I had never received word from them with their room numbers. The ship and staff were very interested in our opinions- what we liked and what we thought needed more work.

AlexMD-I had the suite right under yours. When I get finished with my pics of the room I’ll try to email them to you. Owner’s suite gets 3 bottles of liquor, waters and sodas. The fridge was always stocked with our preferred sodas. All were included and no extra charges for them but only available to Owner’s Suites. Other rooms and suites had to pay extra for them. I think your balcony is a little smaller and so is the hot tub. Markandrews had the Owner’s Suite on your deck so he might be able to answer that question. Always ate breakfast in the room. Suite breakfast menu is good and if you don’t see what you want, just ask. Hubby liked eggs over easy and grapefruit so I just wrote them in and sure enough they came. There is a DVD player in the living room; no VCRs. TV in bedroom has front connections if you need to attach anything

Photo Package- the 12day package was $199. I’d bet 7 days are less. Some photographers seemed to be new crewmembers (not for sure) and learning the equipment, so they were constantly taking our pictures. The package came out the about the 3 day of our trip. Not sure if once it is fine-tuned they might put a limit on the number of photos. Being a member of our newly formed flamingo flock, we always wanted our pictures taken. Everywhere we saw a camera we jumped right in. Well worth the money and as Tammy stated, I’m sure we had a thousand dollars worth of pictures.

Food- As you have read from many, they thought the buffet was pretty bad. I am a gravy lover so I had no problem. I also like fish and pasta salads. My husband liked the pizza too. If you like a special low calorie dressing for your salads, I’d suggest bring it and store it in your fridge. We did prefer eating in the main dining rooms for lunch. We never had much of a wait. Deck BBQ was great (but not everyday-only available a couple times). Dining Room Dinner service was usually pretty good and so was the food. Eat there for breakfast, lunch and dinner the first days and find your favorite servers. Then always ask for them or call ahead to the dining room and try to request a time. The 3 specialty restaurants were great!!!! We ate at the Pacific Heights twice, Kahili once, and Royal Palm Bistro twice. Even ordered from the Bistro menu for the room-of course, we still had to pay. All places were well worth the extra 12.50 to 15.00 dollars. Make reservations early because they quickly fill up.

Kids Crew and Teen Zone- Sorry, no kids with us so can’t say much but several other members of the Flamingo families used them. Since you are having so many shore days, most of the future cruisers won’t have many opportunities to use the Kid’s Club except in the evenings unless you want to pay the extra money for Port Play 9AM-5PM while in port and nights from 10PM-1AM- $5 per hr. first child, $3 for each additional child in same family. You must also sign them up by for Port Play Days by 10 PM the preceding evening.

General Room Info -If you like bar soap, bring your own (except suites). Rooms have the liquid soap and shampoo dispensers. I like my own brand of bar soap so I brought one with me. All rooms had a small fridge, hairdryer, and coffee maker. If not there, just ask. I couldn’t find a hairdryer and it appeared as soon as I asked for one. It seems some of the rooms were opened for tours a head of time and what wasn’t nailed down, mysteriously disappeared.

Activities- WOW-way too many to chose from!!!! There were dance classes, Hawaiian arts and crafts, Hula dancing lessons- which culminated in a Hula Show/ Hawaiian Wedding Vow Renewal Ceremony-hopefully the tape doesn’t find it’s way to Americas Funniest Home Videos- we were pretty bad, basketball tournaments, ping pong, golf putting contests, poolside games, Not so Newlywed Game, Who Wants to Be a Millionaire, Name That Tune, Battle of the Sexes, Country Music Night (aka Paniolo Night) Talent Shows, karaoke, art auctions, lecture series, 70s Disco Night, New Year’s Eve Party, 80s Night, Sock Hop, wine tasting seminar, various trivia games…etc. Lots of socials- Legal Eagles, Friends of Bill W., Friends of Dorothy, Teachers, Red Hat Society, grandmothers group, and many more. Giant kudos goes out to Cruise Director, Patti Honacki, and her staff- hard workers and such fun to be around. You have to hear Patti sing. I can’t say enough good things about this group!!!!! Again, most of you have port days, so there may not be as many morning and afternoon activities scheduled like the 12-day crossing.

Enterainment- Jean Ann Ryan Company- the best!!!!! Saw 3 of their shows. Sea Legs Cirque is a MUST of theirs! You will regret missing it. “Runnin’ Wild” and “Hey, Mr. Producer” with the Jean Ann Ryan Company were also top-notch performances (the later is not really for children- excerpts from Miss Saigon and a scene from Carousal shocked a couple parents, but not having my son with me- I loved them). Comedian, Kermit, was great! As was the Tihati Productions, a Polynesian group. I tried to catch as many shows as possible and only disliked one. 6 different lounges had various entertainment from piano to jazz.

Internet Access- I had read that there was in-room internet connections- not working this cruise and not sure when it will be back up and running. Connections were very slow, so with all the activities and tours, I never got to fully use the internet package I had bought. Live and learn. The internet staff was always ready to help me when I hit a snag. Accessibility for wireless connections are centered around the middle of the ship on decks 6-8 (I think those are the numbers) and on the pool deck.

[livermorenancy]

Part 2 from Nancy:

I’m sorry to see someone has already posted this cruise as The Cruise from Hell… I had nothing but the opposite views. Sure there are still several things that need refined and “tweaked” before everything is seamless. NCLA (NCLAmerica) is now separate from the NCL that most of you know. The whole industry is watching NCLA and waiting to see if it can be profitable. Hotels, airlines, bus transfers, NCLA offices at some hotels- are all in the “learning” stages. Sure, they are making mistakes, but they are leaning from them. I never realized just how many “hoops they had to jump through” to get to be an American Flagged ship. Staff and crew are trying very hard- remember this ship has to be almost all American staff. As a stated earlier in my posts- a Hi, a compliment, a “How are you doing?” and a big smile goes a long way. If you future Pride of Aloha cruisers have the attitude that our Flamingo group had, you will LOVE the cruise. The ports of call and tours are awesome.

Overall- having survived the Pride of America rebooking and making so many Cruise Critic friends since the “sinking” I had a wonderful cruise and cannot say enough good things about the staff. Patti was awesome- even wore her PJs on the morning show of disembarkation- with a pink flamingo beanie baby in her pocket. She named it CC (clever). If I had to run around from show to show and be in 2 places at once like she had to be most days, I never would survive. I really enjoyed her and her staff. James Deering, Hotel Director, again I had heard so many good things about him before the cruise, and they were all true. He was always asking our impressions and was sincerely interested in what we all had to say. He is extremely knowledgeable about wine and gave one of the best wine seminars my husband and I have ever attended. Unlike other tastings we have attended on other ships, they used the large crystal glasses, which were appropriately shaped for the various wines we were tasting. Al Almazan, the Concierge, was very helpful in setting up our CC meeting, making reservations, getting tender tickets...etc. Anyone booked in rooms with Concierge service included, will be pleased with his attentiveness. Butlers Ryan and Chris were so nice and again kept our fridge stocked with our preferred sodas. There are just the 2 of them for all 14 suites- 6 on one end of the ship and 8 on the other end and the ship’s halls are long. Not sure how they did it, but they were usually there when we needed something. When something in our room was broken- maintenance was there and fixed it- and reception gave a followup call to see if we were satisfied. Now, Tracey’s lop-sided table- that is another story. Never did work without tipping even though several people worked on it. Our room stewards, Katherine and Nathan were superb! Katherine made the cutest towel animals for me. Linens and towels were always fresh and place was clean.

 

Hopefully, between all us Flamingoes, we will be able to answer your questions and alleviate your worries. Remember no 2 experiences will be the same- one reviewer will see a movie and love it and another will hate it. So it’s up to you- set the right attitude and you will have it made!

 

I will try to figure out how to post pics and link them to this site when I have time. ALOHA!!!!!

My favorite excursions-

Hilo- definitely walk on the volcano, or new land and visit the lava tubes at Volcano Nat. Park. It’s a long walk out there- wear comfy shoes, pair of gloves wouldn’t be bad incase you slip and fall (lava rocks can be very sharp) and lots of water.

***Captain Dana Wirkala gave everyone breathtaking views of the volcano activity around 10:30 at night. WOW! Watched right from our balcony. He turned the ship so both sides if the ship had perfect viewing.

Kona- We took a 2-hour airplane ride using a coupon from the Entertainment Guide. ($149. per person for 2 HRS. and a video!) There was only the pilot, my husband and myself. It was the best experience EVER! He flew around the ship a couple times for me to take pics of our room, we went by so many waterfalls and he always waited or circled back for me to take photos, he circled the volcanoes….it was great. We each had headphones with microphones so we could talk and ask questions. Not like some helicopter tours where you are part of a group of 6 with only headphones/ without microphones. I had a digital camera with changeable lens so I could zoom right in on the ship and volcanic activities. Best investment I could have made. If you have the coupon book, you will know the name of the airplane company. I had never flown in a small Cessna before, but I would definitely do it again- the flight was very smooth and comfortable.

Maui- Of course, Road to Hana. If you rent a car, ask them if they have the cassette or CD Guided Drive Tour. It was really helpful. We also did the Old Lahaina Luau. It was wonderful. Several people went to one from the ship’s shore excursions and liked it as well. We also drove up Mt. Haleakela and the views are not to be missed.

Kauai- We did a Movie Tour van- It showed clips from movies and then paused it while you stopped at the filming locations from the movie. It was about 5 hrs. long and I loved it. We then took a helicopter tour of the island. I was spoiled by the personal airplane ride on Kona and this was same price and held 6 passengers. I was in the middle of the back so my photo opts were not as good as those that got the front seats and the windows. It’s the chance you have to take and it all has to do with weight distribution. No video was included but they did sell a personalized DVD for 50 dollars of your takeoff with generic footage added from pervious tours. (Of course, I bought it.)

Honolulu- Post-Cruise- We did the Sea Life Park Adventure. I swam with the dolphins and a wholphin (half whale/ half dolphin- only one known to be born in captivity, maybe some in the wild). My husband said you couldn’t pry my grin off my face- I was so excited. We also did the Sea Trek Adventure there too- Helmet with Air tubes sort of like Snuba. I t was just OK. We also went for the Ambassador Package at the Polynesian Cultural Center. My husband and I had our own personal guide for the entire day, front row reserved seating at all the shows, sit down restaurant dinner with leis, front row center seating for the evening spectacular show, 2 videos, show program, a calendar, roundtrip transportation from our hotel- well worth the $189. we each paid. Even if you don’t do the Ambassador VIP package, do go to the Polynesian Cultural Center. Of course, don’t miss going to Pearl Harbor and the Arizona and all the other beautiful spots on Oahu.

[livermorenancy]

Tammy-you crack me up!!!! Hope you luggage has a safe, uneventful flight home. Wonder if it will be "strip searched" too????????

Naeki/Nancy :)

[JaneW]

Hi to all,

We just got home after leaving Honolulu at 9:30 last night. Have unpacked the four duffles filled with dirty clothes and the 5th we had to buy at costco yesterday to fit all the extra tshirts, macademia nuts and coffee we acquired during the 3 weeks we've been gone!

All the traveling, embarkation, disembarkation, rental cars, etc. went so smoothly until we got to the airport last night. The porter was very strict with the 50 pound weight limit per bag. All 5 of ours were 4-8 pounds over. We had to pull out dirty laundry, toiletry bags,shoes, etc. and search for those NCL canvas bag prizes from trivia wins to fill them up as carry ons to avoid the 25.00per bag charge. The porter and everyone else watching thought we were nuts. After each bag was reweighed we were allowed to go through security. We proudly carried our NCL bags filled with dirty clothes onto the plane. Lets say we carried the smell of Hawaii home to Atlanta!

 

Have tried to read all thats being posted and agree with so much of it. We certainly had a fantastic time, and will write more with thoughts on the cruise and details of our great time in the ports and our last few days on Oahu. Will get regrouped and try to write later if I can stay awake.

 

Jane

[cnmiranda]

Thank you so much Cruise Mama for also responding to my question.

 

I am taking notes on all of this great info provided by Cruise Mama, Livermorenancy, and JaneW. Again, thanks for keeping all of us awaiting our cruise well informed! I can't wait! :D:p:D

 

Re: luggage, we also had an experience of someone else taking our luggage in Europe- I was starting to fill out the missing bag report when I saw a gentleman set my bag back down by the luggage carriage after taking it outside. Thank goodness he realized the bag wasn't his before he went home or even worse-kept it. I had 2 weeks worth of clothes in my bag. I find that most airports where I travel don't check baggage tags at all.

[Markandrews]

That is so funny about the luggage. Tony and I were close to 20 pounds over in one bag and had to repack at the airport. It was not pretty. Would love to have some of those AA cabin pics. I forgot to take for myself. Can I get some please?? You guys were great!!

[Jeconk]

To CruiseOne 2003:

 

I too received coupon books from my TA, who said she got them from her NCL rep. First, there are already a lot of restrictions on the coupons in the book. We tried to use one for a discount on shore excursions and were told that "the coupon books are only good on NCL ships, not NCL America ships." We walked away and my mother noticed that the NCL America logo was on the back of the coupon book right next to the NCL logo. So we tried again. This time a different person told us that the coupons were only good "on NCL ships in the Carribean." We then asked why they had coupons in the book that could only be used on the "Star or Dawn." The Star never has done the Carribean and is not scheduled to the carribean before the coupons expire in December. We also asked if the coupons would be valid on an Alaska cruise. She then went back in the back and talked to the shore excursion manager who came out and told us that although the Star coupons were in the book, he has been told by NCL directly that they are not to be excepted anyplace outside of the carribean and certainly not on NCL America ships. (the shore excursion coupon is one of the most restrictive coupons in the book, only giving a discount on the second day of shore excursions IN THE SAME PORT....how many ships outside of the POA spend more than one day in ports?) They went on to tell us that all of the coupons in the book were worthless on the Pride of Aloha. Since were were told that by one of the Directors on the ship, we never tried to use any of the other coupons on the ship....could this be another lie told by NCL Management??

 

I would love to hear others experiences with the coupon books. My full review...mostly positive by the way....of the June 20 cruise will be out by the weekend.......hopefully. But from what Cruise Mama, Tracey and the other flamingos are saying on this thread and what Mark Andrews has said in his review...we are all pretty much on the same page. (I fall somewhere between Cruise Mama and Tracey on the buffet issue as you will see)

[MOMofONE]

Hi Mingos- We're Back!

 

Well of course you all have me rolling here with your mini reviews - Tammy leading the flock as usual = strip searched!? bag left vacationing in Oahu!? ROFL!!

Someone please email me link to the "old roll call" and the other threads I missed when we left early pre-cruise (the 500 thread?) - remember I missed the last 500 posts before embarking! Too tired to delve into navigating the "new" boards -guess that became available after we left too.

 

Got back about 5 hours ago - everything without a hitch - YES! Our luggage made 3 flights out and 2 flights back with us!!

Guess no getting out of laundry now.

We planned to mail our souvenirs but everything closed July 5th for Holiday so I found a thrift store open in Kailua and bought a second hand suitcase for $7 - the nice lady at the airport waived the $40 fee for the extra bag!!

 

BTW : We did V.I.P. disembarking, took taxi to hotel to drop luggage, and was on Lanikai beach with our rental car by 10 AM !!!

Will be dropping off the 17 rolls of film for developing tomorrow so after weekend will start posting some pics on family site.

BIG BIG Mahalo to Mingo Nancy for transfering my digital pics to disc - feel free to use any of my images on your hard drive for your cruise slide show - I would love to view that - you and John must have ZILLIONS of Mingo moments megabytes!!

 

Big Hug to Stacey, Tracey, Tammy, Marilyn, Jane and Nancy.

Have Deb and Laura posted since they have returned? Did not find anything but with only 2 hours of sleep on red-eye flight perhaps I missed it?

 

Jane - you MUST share your fish story with the CCers!!! And I want to see a pic too!!

OK - going to post a quickie review then guess I should attempt to get on East Coast time - yes, Billy IS going to work tomorrow, usual early commute - told him I'd trade if he stayed home to do laundry - no luck. :)

Tina

[Sthronds]

I am so glad your flock had a nice time. Marilyn, I am so sorry to hear about your brother. You will be in my prayers. I leave in 4 days! I am so nervous already! I have laid out my clothes and now have to shove them in the suitcase and pray it doesn't weigh more than 50 lbs. Thats not going to be easy! I just want to say welcome back! You were missed on these boards and I am so glad to read some positive things! Enjoy your memories!

Susan

[A Wannabe Cruiser]

Good Morning from Baja! I was waiting to hear one of you about how the cruisers weathered the trip. I knew that you would all need time to get your sea/land legs back. I have IM'd with Flamingo Eddie and Amanda but I totally forgot I could find you here on the Cruise Critics boards. I feel better now I got to hear a little more than what Amanda had to say. I wonder if we could hear from some more of the younger Flamingo's. All in all it sounds like you had a good sailing but there are lots of things to learn and look for before I go on My cruise.

 

I will continue to watch for more postings here as you all arrive back to your beginnings. I still have tears in my eyes for not being able to share the experience with all of you. I guess I should have communicated with Frank while you were gone. We could have cried in our Beer/Soda together.

 

Looking forward to hearing the continuing tales of FLAMINGO'S AT SEA!

[MOMofONE]

HI Cruise Mama's Mama!

So happy you have joined the flock - what a shame I did not meet you with your lovely family - quite a diverse group; you have alot to be proud of there!

I have encouraged my 11 year old to write a review - she started, but I will have to push her to complete as we have already jumped back into the fast paced East Coast life. I have been writing my review on WORD and am up to Part 4 - hope to post by end of weekend - I'll note a link here when it's up.

Perhaps we will meet on another cruise? We are already considering doing a land based Hawaii vacation in the future - first time whe had the desire to go back anywhere; so much more to see & do.

Keep posting!

Tina

[BillandLaura]

Well, we are finally back (actually got back on the 6th, but today is the first time I have actually been able to get to the computer!) Laundry is mostly caught up, and I'm back at work! (ugh!)

 

As all the others have said, we had a wonderful cruise! The only "smudge" was the food service, and that was not all bad. There are some wonderful servers in those dining rooms....all the others just have to catch up! I thought the food quality was great! We only really did the buffet for breakfast, and it was fine for us for that meal.

 

Our room stewards (Heidi & Kristen) were also wonderful. They were always there with a smile, and quick to comply if we needed anything.

 

Others that deserve kudos (some of whom I will probably miss - sorry!) Are Patti (cruise director) and her staff. They worked so hard! Each and every one of them was always ready with a smile. Hats off to Patti, Shona, Rochelle, and Brandon! Also, the photography staff was so accomodating! We loved them - Heather, Heather, Ashley, Ben, Dmitri - so personable and friendly. The picture package was definitely worth it! The photo staff was also very helpful when DH wanted to put his digital photos on CD.

 

We loved the shows, especially the Jean Ann Ryan productions, and comedians Kermit Apio and Chris Alpine.

 

And, of course, the Flamingos! What a wonderful group of people! It was really wonderful going onto the cruise knowing a whole group of people. There was always a flamingo nearby, no matter where we were! One night, we went to the Bistro for dinner, and there were at least 8 other flamingo couples there as well - at the same time! We have found a whole new group of friends. I'm sure we will be in touch with some of these people for many years to come! We even kept meeting up in Waikiki after the cruise! I miss you all!

 

More later, as I get time. I really should start paying attention to all the work piled up on my desk....

[BillandLaura]

Sorry about that Icon, I thought it would appear after my comment about work, not on my whole reply!!!!

[BillandLaura]

Todd: How funny about the luggage! We had one bag that was 9 pounds over...and also had to do some repacking in the middle of the airport! Luckily, 4.5 pounds of that was my "cruise folder" all of my paperwork, computer printouts, island folders, etc. that I prepared prior to the cruise. I just took that out and carried it on...

[Cruise Mama]

The luggage saga - finale I hope!

 

The luggage arrived today! It doesn't look too worse for the extra 5 days in Hawaii (like my honeymoon it took the trip instead of me - another long story for another time flamingos :D)

 

All was safely contained inside. Now I can start to distribute the souveniers I purchased on the trip. YAY.

 

On another note - Ed called me late the other night - He asked, "Someone returned the lava to Madame Pele?" I had forgotten to tell him that I had heard from HNL and said - oh yeah my bag is on its way home. He responded with "No" - I asked if they found the game boy that Michelle had "lost" somewhere IN the car on the ride from SFO to Morgan Hill. He said, No ..... I was totally confused at this point until he announced "The DVDs" (my DVD binder with 30 DVDs and the computer disks for both of our cameras) I couldn't believe it - we had checked with the hotel already twice.

 

You see the DVDs were "lost" before we ever went on the cruise - we waited until we got back from the cruise to the parked cars to see if they were there - of course they weren't - we had the hotel look - and we even called them again - no DVDs - until of course Ed got the call day before yesterday! Unfortunately - he will be the one to drive up to the city to get them and then I will have to get them from him (unless I can convince him to bring them down to me - I think his kids might come with the DVDs)

 

YAY - I think Madame Pele realized that it wasn't us that took the lava.

 

Now if we can just find Michelle's game boy!

 

Okay - I think this will be the last post to the "flamingos are home" threads - time to decide where to go next. I'll see you all over on the family site!

 

Once again - it was fun - no "perks" ever overshadowed what you have all given me that will last a lifetime - your friendship!

 

Love to All

Tammy

 

PS - do you think we should ask NCL to host Friends of Flamingos meetings on all their ships! I hear it is a popular group!