My wife and I celebrated our 25th wedding anniversary on this cruise and based on the Cruise Critic Review we thought we were prepared for the cruise. So instead of rehashing what others have said here are things we recommend or don't recommend that haven't already been stated.
We recommend, especially if you are coming into Hawaii after a long flight(s), coming a day early, so you can rest up and adjust to the time change. We stayed at the Marriott Waikiki Beach Resort, which has the NCL Office in the lobby. When you arrive not only do you check into the Resort, but also onto the boat. Thus on Saturday, the Marriott guests had their own verification check-in and security line, by passing everybody including the Latitude members. We left the Resort at 11:45 and were eating lunch in the Gold Rush Saloon by 12:30 PM! We also stayed three nights post-cruise at the Marriott, rented a car so we could explore the island, and people we talked too wish they had also booked some post-cruise time. But if you get a room number that ends in 61 (example 3261)ask the front desk to see if they can change your room as those rooms are next to the elevator shaft and it is very noisy all night. Dining: We use the Aloha Cafe only once due to an early tour, as the food was not keep hot. We had hot breakfasts at the Skyline and Cadillac Diner, which will seat you outside is you wish. We did eat at the Jefferson's Bistro, which everybody raved about and with good reason. We also had very good meals (the menu doesn't change all week) at the Liberty (no shorts)and Skyline (shorts allowed), and the Cadillac Diner (must try the brownie. We also ate late (7:30 pm on the average) so the staff was not rushed servicing us and were very attentive, as was all the staff we ran into, from housekeeping on up.
We rented a convertible from Thrifty Car Rental on both Maui and Kauai with very good results. We booked three NCL Tours, the Volcano & Rainbow Falls Deluxe (very popular and worth it), the National Tropical Botanical Gardens on Kauai since we like plants and the tour got back to the boat by 1:30 PM on Friday, and the Eruption of Favor. The tour brochure and web site states the Eruption of Favor is a five-course gourmet lunch at The Hawaiian Vanilla Company, which it is NOT. It is a gourmet lunch with a chicken sandwich, taro chips, salad (all on one plate), vanilla lemonade (very good), and a scoop of vanilla ice cream with vanilla beans in it (Breyers Ice Cream is better. Which is a shame, because the other stops at the Kona Coffee Estate and The Original Hawaiian Chocolate Factory were well worth it. Word of caution, our tour bus broke down on the way back to the ship from the The Hawaiian Vanilla Company, which is an hour away from the boat. By being on a NCL Tour the boat waited !!! (we were over an hour away from the dock and it took that long to get a rescue bus to us and for us to get back to the dock)If we were NOT on a NCL Tour, the boat would of left us, so the NCL Tours could be pricey compared to other tours, but it is cheaper then trying to catch back up to the boat. Also, if you have a problem with a NCL Tour or the NCL Tour is canceled due to weather like the all the flight tours in Hilo,etc. it is easy to get an adjustment.
We had a room with baloney on the very back of the boat. Our baloney was twice the size of the rooms with balconies on the side of the boat. We had plenty of room for a chair, table, and a full size lounge chair. You also get longer views of leaving the islands, the volcano lava flows, and the Na Pali Coast. Well, worth getting, even with some engine noise (sounds like a wave machine).