This cruise was a Christmas present (surprise) from my husband. We have cruised two times before but they were both with Royal Caribbean on Freedom of the Seas. I wasn't sure what to expect out of this cruise as I had read the ratings and saw quite a few mixed reviews.
We flew out of Atlanta on May 26th and spent the first night at the Best Western Plaza close to the airport. We knew we were arriving late in the night and would be heading out early the next morning so we didn't want to spend tons of money on a fancy hotel we wouldn't have time to enjoy. The Plaza was very nice and they run free shuttles to the airport so getting to the hotel was very easy.
On Saturday before boarding we knew we wanted to visit Pearl Harbor. I had forgotten to get tickets the recommended two months in advance when the go on sale but I noticed that they release additional tickets at 7 am (Hawaiian time) the day before so I made sure to set my alarm for that time and was able to log on and get the time slot we wanted with no problem. We considered renting a car for that day but it turned out to be more of a hassle so we ended up just using Uber. That was our first experience with it and we loved it. So easy!! Don't forget if you have never used Uber your first ride is free for up to $15 with the promo code. I downloaded the App on mine and my husband's phone so we got two free rides.