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Just Returned: Any Questions?

TyrnaD

By TyrnaD,
in Hawaii

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TyrnaD

TyrnaD

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We arrived home last night from PofA cruise, 1 night before at Outrigger Waikiki Beach and 1 night after at Hilton Hawaiian Village.

 

Review to follow once I get time to compose it, but does anyone have any questions?

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JessLCH

JessLCH

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We arrived home last night from PofA cruise, 1 night before at Outrigger Waikiki Beach and 1 night after at Hilton Hawaiian Village.

 

Review to follow once I get time to compose it, but does anyone have any questions?

 

How did you enjoy the cruise?

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CC Help Michell Great Review Rare

CC Help Michell

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We arrived home last night from PofA cruise, 1 night before at Outrigger Waikiki Beach and 1 night after at Hilton Hawaiian Village.

 

Review to follow once I get time to compose it, but does anyone have any questions?

 

Did you have fun? Did you love Hawaii? :)

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brettsmom2004

brettsmom2004

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We were in Cabin 9132 AFT it was a great room, a little small but they all are unless you get a suite. We loved having the balcony, was an extention of the room, had a good breeze all the time, and the sound of the waves can put you to sleep. I will never book again without getting a balcony room...I got spoiled this trip...lol....

 

What would I have done differently?..Well I probably would fly in a day early and leave a day later. For us our plane landed at 5 pm on sailing day, we had to hurry to get to the ship, good thing they had a shuttle waiting for us. Would have loved to see Pearl Harbor, but we didn't have but a couple of hours before our flight after we got off the ship.

 

We had a blast on and off ship, always something to do, or do nothing but lounge around. Food and beverages available 24/7. Found out that ordering drinks in our room was cheaper than ordering from the bars. Room service was excellent.

 

Yes, we loved Hawaii, but too little time on each island to see alot..lol....the overnight Islands were the best...We rented a car on Kauai and got to see alot the first day, the second day we just hung around offship and had breakfast and went to the little flea market right onshore, then got back on the boat....

 

Hawaii is great!...I'm sure you will enjoy it as much as we did....

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TyrnaD

TyrnaD

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We did not have any discounts for the restaurants while on board, perhaps due to the economy and the onboard credit specials they have been running so frequently?

 

I think both hotels were nice and it depends on what you are looking for:

 

Outrigger Waikiki on the Beach is in the heart of Waikiki, across from the International Marketplace (which has shopping, a couple places to eat, some kiosks). It is also on the beach and within walking distance to a lot of shopping and restaurants. Duke's is downstairs in the lobby area of the hotel, but being a guest didn't seem to make a difference in terms of reservations or location. The rooms were fine, our city view room actually was on the alley side instead of the street side so we had a partial view of the beach and the ocean which was neat. I thought the room was ok, nothing special and not as new or clean as some other rooms I have stayed in, but by no means was it below average either. Bathroom was very dark for my taste, I had to climb onto the counter towards the mirror to get enough light to do my makeup ;) My biggest complaint was that we chose to stay their because the internet was free and I wanted to make sure we had access to firm up any last minute cruise plans before we sailed, but they didn't have wireless access in the rooms and the cable was broken. I requested a new cable and it did come quickly, but when the internet still didn't work I called the front desk and they transferred me to their outsourced company that manages their network. After a lot of basic troubleshooting with someone in India he determined that he couldn't help me and to just "try back later". I found out later that night that their entire network was down and it was not up when we checked out around 10am the next day.

All-in-all an ok hotel, and if you want something semi-small and in the middle of everything it is a good choice.

 

HHV:

We didn't have much time to spend here, but I think if you are looking for a more all-inclusive, resort type atmosphere this would be up your alley. It is right next to the Wailana Coffee House (24 hrs, cheap, great breakfast). There is also some shopping, a few pools, restaurants, Lappert's Ice Cream Shop, and isn't a terrible walk to Waikiki if you are up for it. The beach is nice, and more private than when we were at Outrigger because of the location. The rooms were nicer IMO than Outrigger, and the city view was nicer as well. If I were to go back and stay in the area, I would stay here for a few days to have the mix of relaxing and things to do nearby/onsite. Parking is $24 a day,so if you have a car add that in to the rate you get. Also the resort is large, so dragging your luggage around on your own gets cumbersome and things are a bit spread out.

 

We paid $166 for Outrigger Waikiki Beach, $188 for HHV (both Saturday stays), and I did not find a price difference between the online booking sites and booking direct, so I chose direct for convenience.

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TyrnaD

TyrnaD

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We were in cabin 9062. I thought the location was awesome, the balcony was above the lifeboats which made me feel a little more comfortable being out there while sailing because the water was not right below. The cabin to the left of ours was a larger balcony and came out a bit, so it created a little wall on one side. I struggled for a long time with booking inside or balcony, and am SO glad we splurged for it because it made the trip much more relaxing and memorable. We got to see the lava and Napali Coast sail-by from our balcony, it was wonderful.

 

The rooms are small compared to a hotel room, but I have no other cruise experience for comparison. I was worried about feeling cramped, but the room had so much storage I was able to unpack 2 suitcases and I didn't even use the drawers. There is space under the bed for lots of things, and is high enough that we put the smaller suitcase inside the larger one and slid it under the bed. I hung all my sundresses, sweaters, and DH's dinner clothes in the closet, and put all our clothes on the closet shelves. There are 3 small shelves under the coffee and ice bucket, so all my sundries and snacks went there. Also small shelves above the coffee for more snacks, drinks, and misc. We took the drinks out of the mini-fridge and put them in a drawer underneath, and just left a post-it on the fridge asking to keep the fridge empty for the soda and juice we brought. Bathroom is small (think enlarged airplane bathroom w/ a shower), but I found it easy to adjust and even the small shower wasn't a pain for me. Bathroom also has a medicine cabinet behind the mirror, which I didn't realize was there until the maid opened it for me the first day and put all my lotions and hairspray inside =]

 

I thought the bed was very comfy, and did not notice that it was 2 put together as I thought I would.

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TyrnaD

TyrnaD

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bronxite - We did the following excursions:

 

Maui Day 1 - Molokini Express Snorkel w/ Blue Water Rafting. Was AMAZING. The company is friendly, the boat was fun because we were not packed in with a ton of other people, and it was cheaper than any others. We rented a car and drove to the boat ramp, after the tour we drove to Lahaina for lunch and walking around before returning the car and back to the ship in the afternoon.

 

Maui Day 2 - Haleakala Bike Tour w/ Mountain Riders. Company was ok, they picked us up from the ship (but they cannot go inside the gates so walk out to the edge to wait for them). We felt it was overpriced and over-hyped for what it was. We did not like having to brake the entire way down because the people in our group were scared of going too fast. We ended up pedaling up the small hills because they were going too slow. If you're looking for adventurous riding, this isn't for you. If you want a leisurely ride down the mountain you may enjoy it.

 

Big Island: Hilo - Rented a car and drove to Volcanoes National Park. Very fun and so interesting. Glad we did it on our own, the drive is easy and is a straight shot from the Hilo Airport rental cars. We also brought a flashlight and walked through the Thurston Lava Tube to the end. This was so cool and I was glad I read on here to bring a flashlight.

 

Big Island: Kona - Rented a car with Enterprise, not the airport location, which has a shuttle to the ship. Drove to Place of Refuge and Painted Church, and stopped at Greenwell Farms for a coffee tasting and tour. This was also very fun and was glad we went on our own. We returned the car early and then the shuttle dropped us off at Kona Brewery for lunch: YUM!! Pizza was amazing, rootbeer was good, and the staff is very friendly. Walked around Kona and was going to get shaved ice but we were stuffed!

 

Kauai Day 1 - This was the only day we did an NCL excursion, Jungle Falls Kayak. 2 vans picked up 28 of us and drove us just next door to the kayak shop. They gave us dry bags for all of our things and a bottle of water, then we loaded in the 2-person kayaks and went 2.5 miles up the river past Indiana Jones taping sites and other neat places. Got out of the kayaks for a small hike through a fruit farm and some jungle to the vans, for another short trip to a nice picture and lunch spot with a beautiful overlook. Hiked down steep "steps" to a small and then a larger waterfall where we could swim. Hiked back up to the top and had lunch before the vans took us back to the ship. This was a great tour and I would recommend booking through NCL because it was so easy and not much cheaper than any other the other tours. Also this one has to be a certain size, so you arent herded around on tour buses ;)

 

Kauai Day 2 - No plans, we took the Hilo Hattie free shuttle for some shopping and Walmart is right behind so we walked over to grab a few things there also. You can walk from the Nawiliwili Harbor dock to some small shops, restaurants, Duke's, and a beach. There is also a scooter rental ( $59 per day per scooter, 1 rider only), surf lessons, and some other beach activities.

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TyrnaD

TyrnaD

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Louise45 - They tried to take our picture at most ports getting off the ship, also we were approached 2-3 times at dinner. It wasn't too bad, and after the first day I would just hurry past the photographer on our way to our tours or shuttles to avoid having them waste paper on a photo we did not want.

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HCruisers

HCruisers

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Are there any formal nights on the POA cruise?

 

With all of the time in port I wondered if that was something that they would bother with. (and I also have read that Hawaii cruises are more relaxed than many others)

 

Thanks so much for your cruise review - it sounds wonderful!

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TyrnaD

TyrnaD

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There is a formal night 1 night on the cruise, we did not see many people dressed up, though. Although we may have eaten in one of the casual places late that night so we would have missed most of the people who dressed up. The dress was very beachy, even at night, although a lot of people were dressier than slacks and sundresses at night. (Cocktail dresses, suits, etc). It really depends what suits your style, and when/where you are eating.

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TyrnaD

TyrnaD

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"Just Returned: Any Questions?"

 

Yes, how did you adjust to coming back to reality??? ;)

 

I haven't!! Especially since we left Honolulu on Sunday morning and arrived home at 9pm PST, and then went to work the next morning! Now I am trying to relive the vaca by posting here and organizing my pics and reviews =]

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kas37

kas37

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We arrived home last night from PofA cruise, 1 night before at Outrigger Waikiki Beach and 1 night after at Hilton Hawaiian Village.

 

Review to follow once I get time to compose it, but does anyone have any questions?

 

your Maui Day 1 - Molokini Express Snorkel w/ Blue Water Rafting, did you get to see turtles or just fish? was there many on the tour? We are thinking of doing this since its 11:30 start time and not o-dark thirty in the morning as well as its just a couple of hours not half of a day, I just didnt know if youd get to see as much?

 

thanks for the info, sounds like you have a GREAT time!!!

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TyrnaD

TyrnaD

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your Maui Day 1 - Molokini Express Snorkel w/ Blue Water Rafting, did you get to see turtles or just fish? was there many on the tour? We are thinking of doing this since its 11:30 start time and not o-dark thirty in the morning as well as its just a couple of hours not half of a day, I just didnt know if youd get to see as much?

 

thanks for the info, sounds like you have a GREAT time!!!

 

We chose this trip so we were able to snorkel and see Lahaina on our own the same day, and then bike Haleakala the next day. Non of the other snorkel or bike tours we found allowed us this itinerary because of the times we arrived and departed port.

 

We saw a lot of fish, there was 1 captain and 1 other couple with us. Because it had rained that morning we snorkeled Molokini with NO other boats out there. There were only 4 of us in the water, and we got the entire place to our selves so we could venture anywhere we wanted. It was amazing! I can't guarantee that with the company, it had to do with the weather and the circumstances that particular day, but I highly rec. the company for their price, equipment, etc. We did not see any turtles, but we saw whales and even a monk seal. We saw turtles at Place of Refuge, South of Kona.

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