My 18 year old graduated from high school and we decided to take him to Hawaii. He invited a friend and both sets of grandparents came along. In total, there were eight of us. We have cruised with Carnival previously and really enjoyed it. NCL was the only cruise line in Hawaii during the time we wanted to go. Unfortunately, I did not know about Cruise Critic until well after I made my reservations and paid for the cruise.

TRANSPORTATION FROM AIRPORT: We took a "limo style" taxi from the airport which was $23.00 for the four of us (the grandparents came in on different flights.) This was cheaper than the shuttles who charge between $8.00-$10.00 per person and you have to wait for them. The pier is not too far from the airport.

EMBARKATION: The embarkation process was very well laid out and very efficient. We arrived at the ship around 12:30 p.m., so we may have missed the crowd, I don't know. Upon boarding, we were greeted with glasses of champagne or orange juice, which was a nice touch. They had a desk set up for the purchase of soft drink cards. Read more