Oahu (precruise):

Stayed 4 nights on the north shore in a cottage just south of Sunset Beach.  LOVED IT.  biked to Teds Bakery to get their famed chocolate haupia pie, walked to our "secret" beach and to Sharkes Cove for some great snokeling.  Short drive to Waimea bay, Turtle Beach (not its official name but there are a lot of turtles that live here) and Haleiwa city (Killer Taco was pretty good, matsumoto shave ice overrated in my opinion-its just a sno-cone...).  Easy entry to the Arizonal memorial at Pearl Harbor on wednesday at 11am (weekends may be busier?).  We rented a car from Hertz who has a pier shuttle and dropped us off at the ship on Sat.

Embarkation:Showed up around 3pm.  Slight line to get our cards but only a couple mins.  Were entertained by some hula dancers and given freshly shaved coconut.  Hands were spray sanitinzed right before walking the gangplank onto the ship.  Then it was champagne in hand and let the good times roll. Read more