Arrived in Honolulu on Tuesday before the cruise. Roberts Hawaii runs shuttles from the airport to the hotels in Waikiki. A reservation is not required. Just look for the yellow t-shirts. Stayed at the Ohana Malia which was fine for us. Didn't rent a car, instead used the public bus system to get around. It worked well. Found that if you ask for a transfer when you get on, you can use it again within 3 hours to go home again .... providing you don't really have to transfer. In Honolulu we took the bus to Pearl Harbour, where we really enjoyed touring the USS Missouri Battleship. We toured Iolani Palace and learned about the Hawaiian Royalty. Hiked up Diamond Head (make sure you have on good walking shoes) and loved the view of Waikiki and Honolulu from the top. We took a snorkel tour to Hanauma Bay. Also took a tour to the Polynesian Cultural Center. There was so much to see, that we almost forgot to sit on a beach and relax.

Saturday, arranged for a shuttle to the cruise ship with Roberts Hawaii and arrived at the cruise ship at 2:30 pm. There are some tours of restaurants and bars at 2:00pm, so we missed those. Wish we would have checked in earlier. Had a balcony room on the right side of the ship (sorry ... not nautical). Plenty of storage space even though it appeared small.

On arriving we booked one 'specialty' restaurant, the Italian. We didn't like having to pay extra for dinner, and enjoyed the Skyline and Liberty restaurants. The portions where not huge ... but you can always ask for multiple appetizers or main courses if you desire. Since my husband and I were alone, one night we asked to start a 'share', so the next couple that came for dinner was asked if they wanted to join us. We had a very nice evening and had a chance to meet some new people. Found that the staff does not 'dote' on you like they do on other cruises. Had to wait a long time to get a second cup of coffee. The staff was always in a rush. Breakfasts we always had at the Aloha Cafe --- they had everything. You need to get there before 7am, or you have trouble finding a seat. After breakfast we would always make ourselves a sandwich, grab some fruit and a turnover and throw them in some zip lock bags we picked up at an ABC store to have for lunch. Read more