We chose this cruise because we only had two weeks for a holiday this year (coming from Australia) and I have always wanted to see Hawaii. We did hear a few negative reviews about the Pride of America cruise but we thought it was such an easy way to see a variety of life in Hawaii, we went ahead and thoroughly enjoyed it. We have sailed with Norwegian before so knew about Freestyle dining and the more casual dressing (compared to, say, Princess) and didn't have a problem with it. Maui was slightly disappointing in that the port is in a very industrial area and probably 20 minutes from Lahaina (by car). We did the Segway ship excursion of Lahaina on the first day in port and had such fun. The weather was superb and the trainers took great care to build confidence in the novices. The only drawback would be the bus took us there, but we had to walk back into town, only ten minutes or so, but if you had any sort of problem walking it could be a problem. The second day we did a non-ship excursion with Pride of Maui snorkelling to Morkelini. Great day out - one tip, do take a towel! They didn't tell us to bring one and we simply didn't think (first day on the water for a few months!) A nice bbq lunch and open bar on the return trip was included. Then we went to Hilo where we did Eco-Adventures Ziplining (again thoroughly recommended - pickup cost extra from the dock) then to Kona where we had booked for the Captain Zodiac snorkelling to the Captain Cook Monument. That was great fun although quite disorganised on the pier prior to leaving. Then to Nawiliwili (the second overnight port) on Kauai. That's a very well organised stop, with constant shuttles to the various shopping centres (if that's what you want) and a sandy beach only a few minutes walk from the ship. We booked a helicopter tour there and it was a highlight of the holiday (as it should be, it's not a cheap excursion). The views we saw of the entire island were magnificent and surpassed anything we expected. There appear to be quite a few companies doing it (we were with Island helicopters). Then back to Honolulu arriving on the Saturday morning. We originally thought the cruise was expensive but after boarding realised the extra wages bill Norwegian must be paying due to at least 75% of the crew needing to be of USA nationality. We had good food every night apart from one in the Liberty restaurant where the entire order was mislaid or forgotten! The comedian was very good; the magician very good; not so keen on the ship's singers and dancers but most people thought they were wonderful. Wouldn't do this cruise again but it enabled us to see more than just Waikiki without the hassle of flights between islands.