We are a couple in our late 50's with a passion to travel and tick things off our "bucket list". We are looking for value for our travelling dollar. We usually travel to Las Vegas with friends for thanksgiving but the $1.35 exchange rate made me look for other options. We got a deal from a local TA that included airfare and one night in Waikiki before the cruise. Paying for the trip in Canadian dollars allowed us to buy OBC at $1.11 exchange rate. I bought enough to cover, gratuities, specialty meals, Cruise Next credits and a few dollars to spare.

We took "SpeediShuttle" to the Ohana Waikiki East because we arrived late at 10:30pm and the taxi line was long. They offered a return trip to the hotel for $58.81 per couple and said that we could use the return leg from the hotel to the POA. We made an appointment for an 11:30am pick-up at the hotel and we were set. I figure cab fare would of been $50 to Waikiki and another $20 to the pier as it was $30 from the pier to my airport car rental at cruise end.

We arrived at the ship by noon and were onboard quickly as there was no one in the latitudes line-up. (this was to be a trend) We had a sirloin strip lunch in the MDR and it was surprisingly good. We set out to explore the ship and found everything to be in very good shape. I knew the POA was going for a refurbish in March so I was concerned but actually found the ship to be in better shape than the Grand Princess after her refurbish. The dining areas, gym, theater, lounge areas, and deck areas were all good and did not take away from the enjoyment of the cruise. Read more