I saw a great price come up for this cruise, so decided to go despite reading some shocking reviews about this ship. We embarked late in the day at around 5:00pm. Living about 2 miles from the cruise ship terminal in Honolulu, we didn't have any hassles with airlines/baggage/transfers etc. It seemed that most other people had already checked in as there wasn't anyone else at the check in counter when we arrived - check in took around 10 minutes.

I purchased the cheapest inside cabin available when I booked, and was upgraded to a larger inside cabin prior to departure. At check in it turned out we'd been upgraded again to an outside cabin with an oceanview. The cabin was tidy and well maintained, everything seemed to work properly and there were no problems with plumbing or cleanliness during the cruise. Apparently there was a mandatory life boat drill, and a make up drill the following day for people who missed the first drill. I missed both of them and no one said anything, so I wouldn't be too concerned about being on board for this.

After getting settled we made reservations for meals at each of the 3 specialty restaurants. The specialty restaurants were really good, as were the regular dining rooms and the buffet. The room service menu could use a little more variety. We never had more than a 2-3 minute wait for any dining room. The drinks on board are similarly priced to a high end restaurant or cocktail lounge on shore. We bought some alcohol on board with us, so that helped us keep the bar bill down somewhat. Over the course of the cruise we watched two comedians, a magician, and the on board "American Idol" competition. All shows were very entertaining. Read more