Pre cruise we spent four days at the Marriott Waikiki. We flew from Halifax via Montreal, Newark and then Honolulu. In Montreal there was a last minute change when our UA Washington connection was changed to Newark. Luckily we were one of few passengers to get on the Newark flight which connected to a Honolulu flight with only an hour delay. Luggage also made the connection although luggage for fellow travelers did not. By being an hour late, we missed meeting up with two cruise critic friends who were to meet us at the airport for a quick dinner before getting back on board their cruise on the Golden Princess which was in Honolulu that day.

Our taxi which had been booked from Royal Hawaiian Taxi were there to meet us at arrivals and we were off to the Marriott in 30 minutes. After checking in we decided to have a quick bite and found a great Italian Restaurant near the Marriott. A ceasar salad and pizza hit the spot after a long day. Hawaii is a wonderful destination but getting there and returning is a long trip for east coasters. We were up for 26 hours before finally seeing a comfortable bed. The first day in Honolulu had us up at 3am and anxious to get going.

The first day included a morning getting reconnected with the city and a city bus ride out to the Aloha Stadium for the Swap Meet. Picked up a few souvenirs and some Aloha wear at prices a bit better than Waikiki. The bus trip out was about 90 minutes so decided to spring for a shuttle back for $5 and got dropped off at our hotel. Read more