Rented a car from Hertz.  The guys took the Road to Hana excursion which they loved, but would not suggest for the faint of heart, the easily nauseated, or for driving on your own.  The girls drove to Lahaina and enjoyed the leisurely day on a beautiful island.  On the way we stopped at the Maui Plantation and took a fun tour.  We stopped along the way to take photos at one gorgeous beach after another.  And in Lahaina, we shopped for gifts to take home!  We met up with the husbands back at the ship to share experiences.
One caveat about parking the rental car.  Since the ship stays overnight in Maui, you can keep the car for two days.  But, parking is limited in the industrial area where the port is located.
The following day the four of us drove around the island, going in the opposite direction of Lahaina.  We saw some gorgeous resorts and beautiful beaches, stopping to wade in the waves and walk in the sand.  We had wanted to swim, but delayed until it was really too late to get the car back to the rental agency and then on board the ship.  All in all, it was a really relaxing afternoon.

Maui

In Hilo the main attraction is the Volcanoes National Park.  All four of us were exceptionally interested in this park.  Warning:  take a jacket.  It was COLD and drizzly while we were up there.  We were freezing.  Of course, our jackets were on the ship!  After the major earthquake in Japan this year, the lava flow on the island has stopped, but we still see the "smoke" from the craters, walked through lava tubes. Since we were driving our own car, we traveled for miles through lava fields to the sea where incredible waves crashed on lava that flowed hundreds of year ago.  Don't miss this drive!  Seeing this natural geological area was amazing for all of us.

We stopped at the macadamia nut "factory" (really, just a tourist trip that sells all kinds of nuts), but it was ok.  If you don't have time, don't worry about it.  

We also visited an orchid "farm."  Again, lots of orchids.  Since my husband is very interested in horticulture, he was really enjoying this stop and bought some orchids to bring home with us.  
Nice, but Not a must see unless you really love orchids.

Hilo

By this time, we were getting tired of black landscape.  We took our rental car and headed out to find  a famous church, some historical landmarks, etc.  However, this morning was a bomb.  Our rental car map was not very detailed, the GPS couldn't help us, and road signs pointing to the tourist sights were non-existent, so we ended up driving by all three and not even realizing it.  Irritable spouses....We stopped at a beach  to swim.  That was fun!  the waves were small but mighty, and ended up knocking us down over and over.  One young man came over to warn us about the danger of the waves (obviously he could see we were tourists).  And another man told my friend that he and his wife were enjoying watching us!  We were a funny sight, but we didn't care.  We laughed too!
Then, we drove up the coast to some luxury resorts (a Hilton primarily) that our friends had heard about.  Wow!  Beautiful location and what a great resort.  Now, that would be a great place to stay next time!  Of course, you'll need to open your pocket book to stay there! 

This port was hard to access for the rental car.  We had to wait a while for the shuttle bus, then drive for 30 minutes to the Kona airport.  Returning to the pier entailed another long bus ride, but Hertz only transported people to the pier at 2:30, 3:30, and 4:00, so we had to wait for their convenience to return to the ship.  So, wasted a lot of time waiting for our bus and car.  
This cut into our time in Kona.
The day in Kona was probably our worst day on the cruise.

Kona (Kailua Bay)

Our favorite port.  After seeing two days of black landscape, this lush island was a treat.  We drove to the "grand canyon of the Pacific" which was billed as so beautiful.  I would skip this next time.  It's a nice canyon, but that's all it is.  A Canyon.  The beaches along the drive were perfect, so we stopped an played for a while.  This day was our luau day, we we returned the car early to get back to the ship to prepare for our luau.  The Roberts bus picked us up and we had a beautiful drive to the Fern grotto.  After the river trip, we landed at the location for the Luau.  The Smith family entertained us on the trip and during the luau.
Luau dinner was delicious, they provided an open bar during dinner, and the show afterwards really entertained the audience.  After the show, we boarded our bus and were whisked back to the ship.
What more could we ask for?
The next morning, our last day, we actually relaxed.  We strolled around the pier area, looking at tourist shops and strolling through the fabulous Marriott hotel in the area.  
This was the day of the Napali sail by, so we left the port at 2 pm.  The skill of our captain was displayed this day.  How he navigated the huge ship through the narrow entrance of the port was incredible! Good job, Captain!!

The rugged Napali sail by was beautiful.  The weather was a bit hazy, but the scenery was great and the narrator provided some interesting details about movies which had been filmed there, etc.  --South Pacific, Jurassic Park, and so on!

Kauai

We had a balcony on the 10th level.  The room was a typical cruise stateroom.  Small, but comfortable.  Closet was adequate.  I would stay in this type of room again.

None of us had been to Hawaii before, so we were excited about seeing a variety of sites in a short period of time.The staterooms were ready when we boarded, so there was no down time while waiting.

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