This was our first trip to Hawaii and we couldn't choose which islands to visit so we decided to start and finish the vacation with stays on different parts of Oahu (Spent a week on Waikiki Beach at the Hilton before the cruise and then a week at Disney Aulani after the cruise) and visit the other three islands on the cruise. This was our third cruise and we thought the ship was beautiful, clean and very well-maintained. All the crew we encountered were friendly, pleasant and upbeat. Our cabin steward was so great - we barely saw her! We always returned to a clean and freshened-up cabin after a day ashore and turn-down was always done while we were at dinner/drinks. Clean towels, full ice bucket, new glasses, clever towel animals, and the next day's port information laid out on the bed was so nice to return to. The cabin itself was tight but aren't they all? It was just two of us so it was all we needed, plus we had a balcony so we spent a lot of time on it.

As far as the meals go, we ate at the Aloha Cafe, Cagney's, Skyline Dining Room, Cadillac Diner and the Key West Bar. Aloha Cafe was basic and bland, but there were lots of choices and seemed to be something there for everyone - I only ate there once and I was done, but my husband had a quick breakfast and coffee there each morning before we went ashore. The Skyline DR was also pretty basic but a step up from the Aloha Cafe - We ate dinner there once. Cagney's is in another category. We ate dinner there three times and the food was really great! We had Filet Mignon or Fish each time and they offer many side dishes which were also really good. We had one meal in the Cadillac Diner - salads and burgers, but they were also really good. We went to Key West Bar a few times as it was nearest to our stateroom, and were amazed that we'd be the only ones there. Maybe everyone was tired from the day and in bed - but we never encountered anyone else in that bar until the sail-away from Kauai - it was packed that day. We had a port-side balcony but wanted to sit in the bar until we reached the Na Pali coastline. Having a private balcony to view the coast was worth every penny - INCREDIBLE!!

As far as our itinerary at each port - we left the ship everyday and we do our own thing. We rented a car at every port and intended to see as much as possible. Read more