Stayed overnight at the Hilton Island Garden Hotel downtown San Diego. Very comfortable hotel located a short distance from the Port. They have a coffee shop with good food and service. However, the hotel is so new that they don't yet have shuttle service. Taxis are not expensive though and are readily available.

Rented a car and took in the Volcano National Park which is an hours drive from the port. Awesome. Remember to bring a jacket and umbrella as it is 25 degrees cooler at altitude and rains on and off. At the Service Plaza in the park they have excellent facilities including clean restrooms and also maps and directions. Really well run.

Rented a car and drove to Waimea Canyon and Lookout. Took a lot longer than I thought as it is mostly up the mountain with a multi curving two lane road. Possibly 1.5 hours to get there from the port. Spectacular views. Once again, bring a jacket and umbrella as it is actually cold and rainy at the lookout stop. Basic restroom facilities are available at every stop. Be very careful when driving as people speed around curves on that road. Kauai is a gorgeous island and nothing like the other islands. They seem to be more prosperous with better homes and facilities.

We decided, due to limited time in port and having to tender back and forth, to just go into town and walk around. We are not beach and water people so really there is little else to do in Kona. As we were walking around the port area we happened upon the Kona Trolley and got on. $2 to ride. The trolley does an excellent excursion of Kona and the outlying areas that is really nice. The excursion lasts about an hour or more and you actually see all of the communities. There is so much more to Kona than just the Port area. The Trolley is not a guided tour. Only does a planned route out and back with driver. I recommend, if you are not into swimming and snorkeling, take the trolley and be amazed at how many modern communities that Kona has.

Took the private shuttle from the port to downtown Ensenada. A 5 minute ride for $3 and $1 to return. Strolled around for about 2 hours or so. Actually Ensenada is a lot nicer than most of the Mexican cities I have been to. It looks pretty safe, at least in the daytime, and there are many shops and restaurants to please everyone. However nothing really interested us and we returned to the ship after a short while.

Our stop in Honolulu was changed from one day to two days due to cancellation of the Maui port stop. This was good for us as one of those days was on Thanksgiving where everything was closed. It allowed us to not only rent a car and drive around the entire island of Oahu, talking in Waimea Bay, the Banzai Pipeline, and Dole Plantation, but we got to visit Pearl Harbor and took a tour of the battleship Missouri. Being ex Navy I of course was in 7th heaven actually spending 3 hours or so getting to comb every space of this incredible warship. Just a fascinating ship. A word to the wise. Get your tickets in advance for the Big Mo, the Submarine, the Arizona Memorial, and the Museum. We waited in long lines just for tickets to the Big Mo. Also, the tickets are expensive. $27 per person for each event. Luckily I got a veteran's discount of $7 per person. The Ms Amsterdam ran a Shuttle from the port to Pearl Harbor and return for a few dollars, which is worth it as Pearl Harbor is quite a distance from the port.