My daughter chose Hawaii as her cruise location choice for her high school graduation trip. I was happy to oblige as I wanted to sample what the various islands have to offer. I figured this would allow me to pick which island I would like to visit if I return. (My pick is Kauai, and hers is Maui.)

That being said, it is kind of an expensive way to find out. This cruise is not one you can get at a bargain price, so I doubt many people do this as a repeat cruise. Just my opinion. Being an NCL junkie, I was fine with paying more than I usually do for a cruise this time. I'll make it up on the next one, which I have already booked for a screamin' deal.

We had a balcony cabin, which was fine as cabins go for the three of us. Her BF also graduated and I think he enjoyed his first cruise. I slept on the convertible sofa, which was just OK. Not really comfy, but I'm sure it could have been much worse. We had adequate space to place our clothes in the closet and drawers. Balcony was of course tiny, but great when we sailed by the lava flow and the Na Pali coast. We were on the starboard side, which is the only side where you can watch the lava flow from your balcony. For the Na Pali coast, the ship does turn around so it can be seen from both sides from your balcony if you wish, with the majority of time spent viewing it from the port side. Read more