After reading all of the somewhat negative reviews of this ship, I was a bit skeptical that this was going to be my first Christmas away from home. I must honestly say, we were presently surprised by the fabulous service and care we received from each and every crew member. I have taken several cruises in the past and although the freestyle dining may not appeal to everyone, it has its pros and cons. The itinerary for the cruise made the freestyle dining work, in my opinion. There were two times when the ship was docked in Maui and Kauai for two days each. Having the freedom to eat when you wanted was a positive for us. I did not encounter any rude crew members but what I did encounter was some rude passengers. One day while getting breakfast in the Aloha Cafe, a large man pushed me out of the way while I waited on a short line to get hot tea. He was incredibly rude and pushy. On the flip side of that, I actually had a crew member follow me back to my seat because I had already brought tea to my table and went back for a creamer to put in my tea. They were using the large containers for the cream so without even asking, this crew member accommodated me by following me to my table with the cream in hand. I didn't even know he was behind me.

Getting on the ship was very easy. The stateroom we had (a balcony) was in a great location and our housekeeping person (Arturo) went out of his way to meet our every need.

Excursions - I made two reservations on my own in Maui. We rented a car and attended the luau at the Marriott Wailea which was spectacular. Food was also great! The next day in Maui I had reserved snorkeling for us through Maui Adventures.com on the Four Winds II to Molokini. That was excellent. I would highly recommend that. For our luau I paid extra for premium seating and it was well worth it as we had front row seats for the show. The other excursions we took from the ship were the Wailua River Cruise in Kauai. The Fern Grotto is closed temporarily due to weather. I had previously visited the Fern Grotto so it wasn't too much of a disappointment. In Hilo, we went to the Botanical Gardens. That was very pretty also. In Kona, we just went into town and walked around because we had been on the go the first several days on the ship. Read more