sailing from march 8-15. we flew in from sacramento day of embarkation. we went to chinatown in honolulu, it is supposed to be americas oldest of its type. don't bother to go unless you need sunglasses, umbrellas or hats as it is dirty than we expected and the local police were less than friendly when we couldn't find a taxi. this was the first of two encounters that were not cordial. now to the ship we go. we embarked quickly went our room and had no luggage so we went the buffet for a bite. we found the buffet so delightful, we only ate at two other places onboard. dining room once for breakfast and the diner for lunch, both times the wait for food was atrocious and they were not busy.the buffet food was the same as the dining rooms, why wait? returned to cabin and put the luggage away. behind your room number plaque is a wheel that spins: make up, do not disturb, and turn down. if you want the towel animals, spin the wheel. overall we found the ship very nice, we sailed once before on royal c and thought this ship felt very new. every crew member was more than friendly and if you want or need something, just ask. our steward forgot the coffee packs one day, i called down for a few and after that i had extra coffee everyday. cleanliness was well enough for me. my wife and i feel that we went to see hawaii, not hang out with strangers on a boat. so here is what we did on land. HILO: we rested from the flight and went to downtown hilo on the bus. it was empty being sunday and all, back to pier we went and then to hilo hatties. a souvenir shop. they are expensive we found out, and on all the islands. MAUI: zipline was awesome and the guides were great; rental car that afternoon and a drive to lahaina for some shopping. day two we drove to ka'anapali for a rhino ride-ATV- not animal! at kahoma ranch. sights and excitement we got so dirty i threw my clothes away, brought extras. KONA: walked around town and on the beach and finally went on the historic kona tour. it ended at pu'uhonua o honaunau say poo oo ho now now... a state park under construction in spots. went to the water to see turtles and found the rangers rescuing one from fishing line. they are endangered and this was a site! KAUAI: tubing the ditch. if you are claustrophobic avoid this. if not it is as relaxing as it gets. in the caves there is a lichen that is gold! pure beauty, relaxation, and nature. that night we went to the kalamaku luau and train ride. skip the train ride but don't miss the luau. the fire dancer was unreal! day two sets sail at 2pm for the na pali coast. prior we walked to the beach and bummed around. the coast sail by was something else. i don't know what to say about it. way back to honolulu we had a dolphin outside the room. from our balcony we saw him jump three times. i said look a dolphin. wife scrambled for the camera. she missed him on film. in closing i say this was not as ritzy as you may think. if you are going to see the islands and enjoy hawaii its the only way to go. two suggestions: one bring binoculars, two, get a balcony room.