We are a family group of eleven (ranging in age from 5 to 65) from California. I wanted my kids to see Hawaii, and a cruise is really the best way. The POA was a no-brainer since it is the only one that cruises Hawaii in seven days over the summer, and Honolulu is a direct five-hour flight away for us. Overall, we really enjoyed the POA, and especially the crew. The ship is charming and easy to navigate. Never had a problem finding a spot by the pool, and the live bands playing out there are great. Food in the main dining rooms were hit or miss; and always good in the buffet. Our kids loved the variety in the buffet, and with pizza, hot dogs, and fries available there every day you can't go wrong with picky eaters. We splurged on dinner in Cagney's (well worth the money), La Cucina (good food but served family style, so no choice on the appetizers or dessert - tough with the kiddos - although they did go get them cheese pizza and buttered Penne from the main dining room for us), and Jefferson's Bistro (great service and beautiful dining room, but I only liked the desserts there).

As for our cabins, my family of five had one SF penthouse connected to a B6 balcony cabin, and the rest of the group had a B6 and a family balcony room for four. For those interested, the family balcony room had the fourth (child) on a bunk bed that came down from the ceiling. I loved our penthouse, and who wouldn't - we had a huge balcony, walkin closet, lighted vanity area, fancy coffee machine, a tub (part of a tub/shower combo), and a butler who brought us treats in the evening and whatever else we needed during the cruise. I requested just sweet treats, and the kids were thrilled with cookies, brownies, chocolate-covered strawberries, or candy each day. We swapped our sparkling wine for bottled waters, which we bought more of as needed. Luckily we don't like soda because those were two dollars a can. The adjoining B6 large balcony cabin was plenty of space for two people. You can't connect your balconies, so we just leaned over the side to chat. No problem anyway since the rooms connected with a door in the middle.

We did use the Cagney's breakfast each day for penthouse passengers, and this was one of the best experiences on the ship. We had the same waiter each morning, the charming Samuel, and he bent over backwards to get anything we wanted - for example, my youngest wanted chocolate chip pancakes, and he found chocolate chips to add the regular pancakes for her.The concierge, James, was there each morning also and always had answers to our questions about the ports, along with helpful tips. He set up our restaurant reservations for us there too - including main dining room reservations for our whole group of 11. Read more