1. Overall Ship Experience This was our third cruise. I found that the POAm is not a great looker from the outside. But I found the interior of the ship to be well-appointed, tastefully decorated and easy to navigate. The rooms, while small, were very nice and offered adequate storage. We stayed in an inside stateroom on the 11th deck (pool deck) near the front of the ship. We did encounter rough seas during our trip (see more about weather below) and being in the front certainly made you feel the motion of the ship quite a bit more. I'm not prone to sea-sickness, but several of our family and friends traveling with us who were staying in the same area had some problems. Our experience with the staff of the POAm was excellent. Our stateroom steward was excellent and was always nearby to provide whatever we needed. We always received different towel animals at night. When passing any crew member, we were always greeted with a hello and a smile. If we had any questions regarding excursions, ship activities or other matters, we always found someone willing to help. We did talk to some other passengers sailing with us and they were not nearly as impressed with the level of service. One couple told us their stateroom did not get made for 2 straight days. So, while we had a great experience with the staff and service, it may be that this is not consistent throughout the entire ship and perhaps NCL is still struggling to get that consistent service it demands. This is not a ship built for days at sea and there is not a lot of on-board activities planned. Obviously, you are in Hawaii and NCL banks on you spending your days exploring the islands. We saw one of the production shows and a few of the musicians. They were entertaining, but nothing special. The magician was not that good and the comedian kind of hot and cold. I think the average age on this particular cruise is quite a bit older. We are in our 30's, but found that the far majority of our fellow passengers were retired and/or in their 50's/60's. Perhaps this is due to the time of year and this changes during the summer months. However, with the older age of the passengers, the bars and clubs were basically empty at night after 9pm. Certainly not much of a party atmosphere on board. Also note to self -- never get in the way of an elderly group attacking the buffet line like its the last supper....they will throw elbows! 2. Dining We ate in the main dining rooms (Liberty and Skyline) on three occasions. The service is very slow in all the dining areas. So if you are in a rush, go to the Aloha Cafe (the buffet) for that particular meal. Most of our dinner outings lasted anywhere from 1 1/2 hours to 2 hours. There just aren't enough servers in the dining rooms and/or cooks. However, we found the food in the main dining rooms to be pretty good. I remember reading lots of reviews about NCL dining and all the complaints about the quality of food. I don't know if the people who complain are just picky eaters or only eat at 5-star restaurants. You are not going to find 5-star cuisine on the PofAm. But frankly, you're not paying for it either. We ate at Lazy J's Steakhouse and found that to be our favorite meal. Great food and it was the best service we encountered. Little Italy was our worst experience, as we found the pasta overcooked and the service dreadfully slow (meal took 2 1/2 hours). Cadillac Diner was a great surprise, as they offer excellent burgers, fries, milkshakes and do not leave until you try the onion rings. We ate all of our breakfasts at the Aloha Cafe, as well as one of our dinners and I certainly can't complain about the quality of food. There is a lot of selection and, even if you don't like the main dishes they are serving on that particular day, there is always plenty of great salads, an awesome fruit bar and standard fare to choose from. We enjoyed free-style dining. We made reservations a few times. However, on a couple of occasions, we just walked into the main dining room and were seated within 10 minutes. Actually, we found that the Aloha Cafe was more crowded than the dining rooms (maybe all the retiree's on board?) 3. Ports of Call I will initially note that we did not have the greatest weather during our trip. We were told that Hawaii is having its worst weather in 8-10 years this winter. There is a lot of rain and wind. The open seas are rough and certain staff members told us that the seas on our trip were some of the worst they had seen. So keep in mind, if you are visiting Hawaii during winter, you could have great, 80 degree weather -- or it could be 65 and raining all day. Just be prepared. Some people got really annoyed by the weather. However, it was still a heck of a lot warmer than the 11 degrees I had when we left home! Hilo: CANCELED. In what I was told was a rare event, we did not make it to port in Hilo. We were told that the winds were too rough, making it dangerous for the ship to attempt to dock in Hilo. It was very cloudy and rainy that morning as well. Thus, we had a day at sea. It actually wasn't too bad. The clouds cleared by about noon, and we spent the day relaxing on the sunny pool deck. The ship headed to Maui early so we could get some whale watching in. By about 3pm, we were in the channel across from Lahaina and saw tons of whales, some of which came right up next to the ship. So we missed our excursion for Hilo (Volcano Hike) and I was pretty disappointed about that. But you're on vacation -- make lemonade out of lemons!! We just relaxed and enjoyed some needed R&R. Maui (day one): We rented a car from Thrifty to explore the Island on our own. We had our car quickly (become a Blue Chip Member) and were off and running. I think it's hard to get lost on any of these islands. Even if you didn't have a map, there are signs pointing everywhere, directing where you want to go. We headed to Lahaina early in the morning. After stopping by and taking in this beautiful village-town, we went to Kaanapali Beach. There is a beautiful resort area there, with lots of great hotels, restaurants and shopping. The beach was great and the weather sunny. We ate at a great place called the Aloha Grill, which had an outdoor dining area facing the beach. We then traveled to the south part of the island to check out Big Beach. This was our favorite beach we discovered, with very warm water, great white sand and excellent surf for swimming and body surfing. If you walk up a hill just north of the beach, you will discover Little Beach, a clothing optional beach....you know, if you just want to be wild and free on your vacation (we do not judge ). Maui (day two): We booked an excursion through NCL to go snorkeling at Molokini Crater. We were excited for this trip, because my wife and I love to snorkel and this is supposed to be one of the top spots. We never made it out there. It was a very windy day and the tour operator should have canceled. However, in an act of greed, the operator told us when we boarded the boat that it would be a great day for snorkeling and we would love Molokini. About 90 of us boarded the boat (the Pacific Whale Foundation runs the Molokini tours you book through NCL). What followed was a harrowing experience. As soon as we pulled out of the harbor, the captain told us that weather would not permit us to go to Molokini (so we had been lied to only 5 minutes before). Than, when turning the boat to go around the island to an alternate location, the skipper turned the boat incorrectly into a wave. The boat shuttered and people flew everywhere. Water started flooding into the main cabin of the boat, as the front of the boat dove under the water. The few people sitting on the bow were tossed around, nearly thrown off of the boat and a few people sustained various injuries. Luckily, though the boat started to list, it righted itself and the water, which had reached up to above our knees in a matter of seconds, started to drain. Needless to say, the boat turned around and headed back to shore. We were refunded our tour package. We did complain to NCL about the incident and actually received a letter of apology from NCL in our stateroom the very next day, acknowledging that what happened on our excursion was wrong. We spent the rest of the day finding alternative activities. We spent a few hours at the Maui Ocean Center, which, while expensive, was actually quite cool and fun to visit. A must see if you bring kids with you. We then drove down to Kihei, did some shopping, stopped off at a few beaches along that way and enjoyed the rest of our visit to Maui. Kona: We booked a car through Thrifty and picked it up at the King Kam Hotel, which is located literally right where the tenders bring you in to Kona. Be prepared for a lot of traffic in Kona. There is construction ongoing on the main highway, right in town. We headed north toward what we were told were some of the most beautiful beaches in Hawaii. And it certainly met the hype. We started out at what is known as A-Bay, a beautiful beach area that you can reach through an absolutely amazing Marriott Resort Hotel. Pay for the valet parking and you get use of the pools at the resort, as well as beach chairs and activities on the beach. While there we did some snorkeling. I had a sea turtle swim about 2 feet away from me and we saw an awesome variety of fish. The weather was great and the scenery of this beach was pretty cool. We finished the day by visiting Hapuna Beach, which is rated as one of the best. The waves here are great for boogie boarding. Kauai: This was by far our favorite island (in fact, when we come next, we are splitting our stay between Kona and Kauai). We rented our car through Thrifty. Literally, from the time we got off the boat until the time we were driving out of Thrifty's parking lot was 10 minutes. We headed north to Anahola to get massages at Angeline's Lomi Lomi. You have to try this if you want to do something relaxing, while taking in some Hawaiian culture. This is a two person massage at an absolutely stunning location. They do native chants and song while performing the massages and it all is really a cool experience. My wife and I then split off. My father-in-law and I did a helicopter tour through Island Helicopters (we booked on our own through their website). This was a lot of fun. The weather was good, for the most part. However, since the island had been getting so much rain lately, there were tons of waterfalls that we were told don't normally flow at such high levels. So we got to see some great scenery. This is the best way to view the Na Pali coast, which is just an amazing location. Our guide/pilot was a native, so he was able to tell us the history of the island, show us some great sites and provide some interesting and funny stories about the island. My wife took the rest of our party and did the Tubing the Ditch excursion (they booked on their own, not through NCL). My wife noted that she was not particularly excited about this excursion, but ended up really enjoying it. She said the scenery was beautiful, the guides funny and entertaining and the ride was fun. They were given a great lunch and otherwise really enjoyed the trip. Kauai (day two): We booked the Canopy Zipline Adventure through NCL. This was, by far, our favorite activity of our vacation. It's run through Backcountry Adventures. Even if you are a little iffy with heights, this excursion is a lot of fun. The guides make you feel safe, there are a lot of laughs and a good measure of adrenaline. Nothing like zipping 300 feet above a raging river at about 30 miles an hour in some of the most beautiful scenery you will find. 4. Other Notes and Observations Get to Honolulu a couple days before your cruise if you can. We found it helpful to adjusting to the time change and getting into "vacation mode" before you board the ship. We visited the Polynesian Cultural Center and had a fun day at Waikiki Beach before we did the cruise and we really enjoyed both activities. You can board the ship as early as noon. We got on at about 2pm. Check-in is a breeze. We explored the ship and ate lunch in Aloha Cafe. One annoyance I will share is the fact that there is no late-night meal options available to you on PofAm. Even the buffet at Aloha Cafe closes at 9pm. This is vastly different from our 2 prior cruises, where you could get food 24-hours a day! Use the Easy-Fly program they offer on board, which allows you to check your bags and get your boarding passes for your airline before you even get off the ship. We were able to spend another full day in Oahu without worrying about our bags. We went to Pearl Harbor the last day (get there early), did some last minute shopping (there is literally a mall on every corner in the Honolulu/Waikiki area) and visited one last sunset on the beach before heading to the airport. Overall, certainly some things did not go as planned on our trip. But you have to relax, roll with the punches and not get flustered. Our advise would be to remain flexible and have a mindset that you will enjoy your vacation no matter what. We met some people who did not enjoy this particular cruise -- even a few who noted they would never sail NCL again. But, as with anything in life, your vacation is what you make it. We had a great experience, didn't take anything too seriously and didn't have expectations of being treated as royalty.