This was the first cruise for both myself and my wife. It was just the two of us as we were celebrating our 5th anniversary. We were a little unsure what to expect after reading mixed reviews. After our cruise was over, we both decided we'd better write a review since we aboslutely loved it. The other reason we wanted to write a review is I when I was reading the reviews most had a lot of information on excursions and restaurants, but not about the buffet, drinks and the pool, all things we enjoy.

We flew in on Friday morning and stayed at the Marriott Waikiki Beach. The hotel was beautiful and located right across the street from the beach. Couldn't ask for much more. Of course, for that price, it's what I would expect. Our first recommendation would be for anyone taking the cruise to book a night through the cruise line either at this hotel or another cheaper one. They handle your transfer to the ship, your luggage and you get to bypass the huge line of other people waiting to bored the ship. To us, that made it all worth it even if it was expensive. It made check-in/boarding a breeze.

We ate lunch in the buffet. As many other cruisers have stated, if eating at the buffet, get your food and take it out back to the lanai. For whatever reason, not a lot of people do this until the last day. We ate breakfast and dinner there there everyday and never had a problem finding a seat outside. Plus you have a full bar out there for those interested. The bartender makes one of the best Bloody Mary's I've ever had. For those interested in restaurant reviews, this isn't the one for you. The buffet had everything we wanted and we prefer the laid back atmosphere. We did hear some horror stories from the sit down restaurants, but we never went so can't confirm or deny any of them. For dinner, the specialty main course and sides they serve in the buffet are the exact same ones they serve in the Liberty and Skyline. We were going to go to the Skyline on Wednesday for prime rib until we realized it was the same everywhere. By the way the prime rib was delicious. I think we were only disappointed in the meal at the buffet one nightand even then we just ended up eating pizza which was usually good. The only other place we ate all week on the ship was the Cadillac Diner which had your typical american food and my wife loved the cheesecake. They also had awesome milkshakes that unfortunately you had to pay for. Read more