This was our 8th or 9th cruise on various cruise lines but the first on NCL since the early 1980s.  We always wanted to go to Hawaii and thought cruising was the perfect way to see the islands. We were not dissapointed.We arrived in Honolulu five days before the cruise and stayed at the JW Marriot Ihilani Resort in Ko Olina which is about 12 miles west of Honolulu. Beautiful resort. We rented a car and spent the five days scouring every nook and cranny of the island. This included Pearl Harbor, Diamondhead, the Polynesian Cultural Center and every coast, beach and small town.  Tip- Visit one of  the shrimp shack/trailers  along the north coast. Awesome shrimp dinners. A note about the west coast north of Ko Olina. Lots of homeless people living on the beaches.Embarkation on the ship was typical. Everyone showed up the first couple hours to get on board (including us) and there was a wait. We went to the Aloha Cafe, ate and waited for about an hour for our cabin to be ready.  Once in our balcony cabin on deck 10 we found lots of storage space. The cabin and bed proved to be very comfortable, the shower small but usable. We met our cabin steward that evening and saw her every day after that. She granted every request we had (extra towels, extra pillows etc)Since many people have given reviews on this ship I will only briefly give our opinion on various things.Food-Was better than the last two Carnival Cruises and Royal Carribean we were on. We enjoyed the Aloha Cafe particularly on prime rib night though the food was very good throughout. It was very efficient in getting food, much better than either CC or RCL. The only time we had to wait was the first day and the last day.  We also ate in the Liberty and Skyline dining rooms as well as the Cadilac Diner. We found the service much better and faster in the Liberty dining room than the Skyline though the food was the same. The Liberty was the more formal of the two. We liked the Cadilac Diner in that there was no extra charge and they had wait service.  A nice place to go for a late lunch if you get back after an afternoon ashore. For those who complained about the "surf and turf" dinner in the Libery/Skyline.  Order a couple lobster tails and a steak. Tell them to put it on one plate. It makes a great substitute entre.  We did not try any of the specialty resturants (except the free Cadilac Diner).  First experience with "Freestyle" cruising and we generally liked it.Service and Friendliness-Overall, we found the service very good and the crew very friendly.Entertainment- We liked the comedian and the magician. The variety shows were decent and the Second City comedy troupe was first class. The Jimmy Buffet and Beatles tributes by Toby Beau were a good time. Grab some beers and sing along.Alcohol- We are very moderate drinkers but found the progressive happy hours to be a decent deal.   They did have a bar crawl one night which we did not partake in because we were too tired but it seemed like a good deal and fun. We did bring a bottle of wine on board in our luggage and had our own little wine and cheese party on the fantail one evening.Shipboard Activities-We didn't particpate in any other activities so I can't really comment on them. We ran ourselves ragged most days and were simply too pooped to participate.Ship-We found the ship to be very nice and clean. Took awhile to get used to the layout since our last cruises had been on Carnival and RCL.Shore Excursions- We did not book anything through the ship. We rented a car most of the time and toured every nook and crany of the islands by ourselves using the various guidebooks. We drove to the volcano on Maui, and Volcano National Park. We visited the canyon on Kuai and the rest of the island on the first day. Very neat. A tip or two on excursions. In Kona, walk across the street from the pier and get the beach shuttle to Turtle Beach. Cost is $10/person round trip (or $20 if you need snorkle gear). Snorking at Turtle beach is excellent. When you get back, walk two blocks up and one block over to the Kona Brewery for free fresh beer samples.  Best shore excursion you can do.  On Kuai, we booked an ATV/UTV trip at Kipu Ranch. Great views and a fun ride on an historical Hawaiian ranch. Scenes from Jurasic Park and Indiana Jones were filmed there and you can swim in the river and a waterfall. Kipu Ranch is about a 15 minute taxi ride from the ship and is a good choice on the second day before you leave.Overall we had a great time on a great ship in a great location.