A group of 9 left the cool midwest for Hawaii. We had planned this trip for 11 months. We flew through Chicago, to Honolulu, arriving the day before. We stayed at the Ohana Melia and was impressed with the service and quality of the hotel. Saturday morning we took a tour of Pearl Harbor through Roberts Hawaii. We arranged our own transportation to/from the airport and the port. We arrived at the port about 3pm and everything was very smooth and found our rooms. In Hilo we rented a large van from Harper. They picked up the driver at the pier and he came back and got the rest of us. We spent the day exploring and some some beautiful scenery. (Akaka falls is gorgeous! and went to volcano national park)That evening we saw the flowing lava from the ship. We had two days at sea to Fanning Island. Was a good time to relax. Fanning Island was an eye opener. As the briefing before we arrived stated, it is a fifth world country. Unfortunately, someone became ill and we had to proceed further south to Christmas Island instead of going back to Maui. So we had 3 days at sea instead of two. This was the third cruise for my husband and I, the first for our adult son and another couple. The two other couples had cruised before also. I was looking forward to sea days to relax, but five was definitely to many. If we do another cruise, will do one, or two at the most. We had been to Hawaii before and were looking forward to Maui the most, so were very disappointed when the stop was canceled. We arrived at Kona and snorkeled there, (had planned on snorkeling in Maui also). We did the Body Glove Snorkel. Was GREAT!!! We have snorkeled in several places in the caribbean, and this was one of the very best. Easy and saw lots of fish and turtles. We explored Kona on foot until we returned to the ship. At Kauai we rented a car and five of us explored the island. We were able to see a good part of the island and beautiful scenery. We were in port over night. The next morning we just walked to the beach by the Marriott and did a little shopping at a nearby mall. That afternoon we sat on deck and enjoyed the Napali coast. Magnificent! Wednesday we arrived back in Honolulu. We heard a lot of complaining about missing Maui. We too were very disappointed, but there is not much that could have been done differently. I do feel there could have been something extra done for the day at sea. The "free" drinks for an hour by the pool were some type of frozen punch, and really kind of a joke. The staff on board was very good. They were friendly, attentive and always helpful. Anne, our cabin steward was wonderful. Anyone who complains about the service, etc should get over themselves! They aren't quite as important as they think they are. The average age of the people on board seemed to be well over 60. Maybe that had something to do with the attitude that they needed to be waited on hand and foot. We ate at two of the specialty restaurants and was excellent. Ran out of time to do the final one. Crossings was good. We were never able to get into the other one. Overall cruise was okay. We all felt that we would prefer a scheduled time to eat. Free style really did not work for us. If you made a reservation that was fine, but if no reservation wait time was 20-45 minutes. And if you wanted a time before 8p.m. you had to call the day before. On vacation, we don't plan that far ahead. We would call in the morning for a reservation, and never got anything earlier then 8pm and usually 8:30pm.

Shore excursions through Roberts Hawaii are about 25-35% cheaper for the same tour. When we disembarked, we spent two nights at the Outrigger Waikiki. BEAUTIFUL! It is in the process of renovation, but the pool is open, beach is gorgeous, and the new rooms are beautiful. Staff is great and the Shorebird had good food and entertainment. We flew out Friday night through Denver. Overall, a great trip. Hopefully we can go back sooner then 24 years, and visit Maui!