This was our 10th cruise, 5th with Norwegian, which has rapidly become our favorite cruise line -- though we'll certainly go on others when the itinerary, timing, price, etc., warrants. There were 14 of us who went on this cruise: our honeymooning daughter and her husband (married the morning of the cruise on Waimanalo Beach), our other daughter and her husband, my sister-in-law and her husband, their adult daughter and his 89-year old father, four grandkids (17, 5, 3, 3) and the two of us. One of our daughters and her family actually live in Mililani on Oahu, having moved their six months ago.
Prior to the wedding and cruise, we stayed two nights at the Hotel Mirimar on Waikiki. It was a decent hotel. Pretty good location though not "on" the beach. I'd stay there again if I was doing a pre-cruise stay. I probably would not stay in Waikik/Honolulu otherwise.
Because of the wedding, we were all transported to the port in a limousine. Our embarkation was very smooth but three of the four staterooms were suites so we got even more preferential treatment than we'd normally get as gold Latitudes members. It was pretty painless and we were escorted up to our suites area pretty quickly.
Nice setup for a family. Two separate rooms. One with queen and sleeper sofa. One with twins and two pull-downs. Two bathrooms. Plenty of closet and drawer space. We fit 8 but that included three small children. No balcony. Somewhat obstructed view due to lifeboats.