This was a bucket list trip for my mom and me. Neither of us had ever cruised or been to Hawaii before so it was all new to us. We had such a good time! We had a medical issue the night before so were not our best on embarkation day, but it went pretty smoothly. We did have to wait for our cabin to be ready, but we expected that. We got something to eat and looked around a bit. Our cabin was quite spacious. Plenty of storage space and quiet. We ate in the Liberty Dining Room, Skyline Dining Room, East Meets West and Cadillac Diner for our evening meals. The food was pretty good. The selection in the main dining rooms could use a little more variation and the service was slow at times, but we mostly enjoyed our food. For breakfast and lunch, we ate in the Aloha Cafe buffet and always found something tasty to eat. Lots of variety and fresh fruit with every meal. We did not partake in any of the entertainment shows or onboard activities. Mom used the library and I tried to use the Internet Cafe. She liked the library. The internet was very slow (remember dialup?) so I gave up after a few tries. The ship was clean and easy to get around. We felt that the service was quite good. There was always someone to answer our questions and point us in the right direction. Access to the Liberty Dining Room is something of a mystery - we were not the only ones who were confused the first night.

On Maui, I did the Molokini Crater Snorkeling excursion. I have never snorkeled before and am not a great swimmer, but they helped me and I managed to snorkel! It was so much fun and I would do it again in a heartbeat! I also did the tour of Haleakala Crater, which was fun. The crater was covered in clouds so we couldn't see much at the top. The bus ride was educational and entertaining. Most people seem to do excursions in pairs and we did most ours as singles - something to be aware of. Mom did the Pineapple Experience and really enjoyed learning about pineapple.

In Hilo, we both did the Volcano and Tastes of Hawaii excursion. This was the best day ever!!! Our tour guide was Amanda with Nui Pohaku tours and she was fantastic. We started at Hilo Coffee Mill learning about how coffee is produced. Then into the park. It was magical. There are just no words - simply magical. Lots of stops, much to see - I must go back and do it again and again. Lunch was at Volcano Garden Arts, a lovely little art gallery/cafe with local artisans. Then we went to Big Island Candies for treats. Mmmm That night on the ship, we went by the area where the lava is flowing into the ocean and we got to see it. Most excellent! Best day ever!! Read more