This was our 7th cruise and the 4th on NCL. We looked forward to an exciting destination- Hawaii. After a 10-hour flight, we arrived in Honolulu the day before we were to embark. We stayed at the Waikiki Marriott in a beautiful room overlooking Waikiki beach. It was a good idea to relax and try to get off east coast time before embarking the next day. Honolulu is a fun city with many high-end shops and restaurants. We had a romantic walk along the beach and had dinner at a reasonably priced restaurant; they are easy to find there. The next morning we embarked. Cruising in a suite is really worth it! You get special treatment and rarely have to wait in line. We quickly made it through the process and were taken to a specialty restaurant- the Lazy J for lunch. If you are in a suite, you can eat there for breakfast and lunch. The food there is wonderful, as is the service. On our last cruise we were taken directly to see the concierge, who explains the services for suite dwellers. This time it didn't happen. We had to take our luggage to the room ourselves when they announced over the PA system that the rooms were ready. The suite was smaller than on our last cruise in a suite, and the furniture was really worn out. The balcony was spacious and we looked forward to sailing by the islands while enjoying wine on the balcony. Too bad it was too cold and windy that week to do so. The Free-style paradigm is a good concept, but keep in mind you will often have to wait in line in what appears to be disorganized dining rooms with mediocre food. Often you have to wait a long time for your food. I was certainly glad we had that Lazy J option for breakfast and lunch because dinner was a disappointment. We ate the "East meets West", an specialty Asian restaurant that was superb. Save your money so you can eat the the specialty restaurants for really elegant dining and service. I was also disappointed that on a Hawaiian cruise there was no on-board Luau- you had to pay a large price to go ashore for one. We didn't do it. The shows: All of our other cruises have been to the Caribbean and this cruise didn't have the fabulous shows or service the other cruises had. The Cruise Director does give several "concerts" during the week and he has a fabulous tenor voice. The Tour Director gave one very quick overview of the ports and tours the first night that was confusing and we didn't know what to choose. There are many tour companies courting your business at each port, so there is no need to rush into anything. Overall, Hawaii is beautiful and interesting and this is a way to get a taste of all the islands. The ship is rather old and in need of refurbishing.