We were an extended family of 6 (ages 12-68) cruising to Hawaii for the first time. We have been on several cruises and the grandparents are frequent cruisers. We spent two nights at the Waikiki Marriot and thought the location was super and the beds tremendous to sleep in. We spent the time there doing excursions on our own (Pearl Harbor, Waikiki, Aloha Swap Meet).

We had heard from our TA that by staying at the Marriott we could pre-book our dinner reservations at the specialty restaurants early. That was not the case. They would only make a request from the hotel NCL office and then we would still have to follow-up once we got on board. We elected to just wait until we boarded the ship as the personnel had made some minor mistakes with checking us in as it was.

Embarkation was very easy. We were the 12:45 bus and we were on the ship within an hour. No real lines to speak of at all. The cabins weren't quite ready but that allowed me time to make dinner reservations for the week (more about that later). The cabins were small but clean. The crew member in charge of our rooms always met our requests and the cabin was always clean when we came to and from the room. We did request top sheets and they were on our bed that first night. Read more