We treated ourselves to celebrate our 30th wedding anniversary. We had always dreamed of going to Hawaii, and I just can't express how beautiful it is there. The cruise was an excellent way to see an overview of the islands. (This is only our 2nd cruise ever.) We agree that the food was wonderful. The Aloha buffet has a huge and varied selection, and we could always find plenty to eat that we enjoyed. To address other reviews, we didn't find it short on meat at all - unless you pretty much only want meat. Another concern about which I had read was that the omelet station was crowded. There are 4 omelet stations. All are open at the busiest times. The first morning it was shortly after 10:00 AM and only one station was open, so we had to wait a bit. But learning the way it worked, we got our omelets faster after that. One day we were in a big hurry so we chose other hot foods, but it didn't bother us because there was plenty to choose from. We ate at the Aloha mostly, as it was almost always serving when we were ready to eat. We also enjoyed the other included restaurants - they are great for when you have more time.

The captain made a point to alert us when we passed the lava flowing into the ocean at night, so that anyone who wished could see it. Also, when we passed the Napoli coast - WOW! Again, we were all alerted to see this amazing sight. Lots of history and information is given to explain each.

We did lots of excursions: a 5-pack bundle from Roberts Hawaii because it was so affordable, and one of the Norwegian ones because it was the only way we researched to get to walk on the lava fields and look for molten lava. We highly recommend Roberts Hawaii - nice buses, nice guides, great information...just one guide who wasn't the friendliest. The one ship excursion, Kiluea lava field expedition, was excellent though a long, hot hike. Ashley was our excellent guide.