After reading the reviews I had almost talked myself into not going and was so worried I had wasted my money. I am a first time cruiser, but a many, many time all inclusive user all over the Caribbean. I was totally surprised by how much that you should only take parts of critiques and that you can't please all of the people all of the time. This cruise provides an excellent means of transportation between islands, not a high end cruise. We didn't even have time to go in the pool we had so many activities planned, we were there to see Hawaii, not a boat. Not a big party boat, if you are looking for that go on a Caribbean cruise, our floating hotel was more than sufficient and better than dragging suitcases to airport to visit all the islands. Average age was probably around 60, so by 10:00 it is a pretty quiet ship. Being in our late 50's, it certainly met our expectations. LADIES BRING A SWEATER, LONG PANTS, fancy not required especially if you plan on being on deck in the evenings or in the shows (air conditioned). Previously to leaving we booked all our car rentals, Oahu, Maui and Kaui through www.DiscountHawaiiCarRental.com and they provided excellent locations for cruisers. Our Alamo Car Rental was 2 blocks away from our Aqua Palms Hotel, instead of from the airport. December 30, we rented a car and drove around Oahu, and then booked the Historical Pearl Harbour tour with www.discoverHawaiiTours.com, professional booking and the best tour guide Kanoelani. We had booked the shuttle through NCL which turned out to be an excellent decision as anyone that had just booked another shuttle or tax had to wait outside in the hot sun with their suitcases in line. We were whisked from the bus, our luggage taken in separately, and checked right in. Yes you pay double the price, but certainly worth it. We were there around 1:00 and got into our 9th floor room at :00. Enjoyed a bite to eat and a beer on the Aloha deck while waiting. If you have a lanyard with a plastic coating, it pays to bring it. Our tour operator provided them, and it was handy for constant use of your ship card.The Room: - Are you there to spend the whole time in your room? The rooms are not huge, but we were still very pleasantly surprised based on others reviews, remembering this is our first cruise. The shower area is small, and if you are an overweight person you will indeed have a problem. We found the shelving, closet space very sufficient, lots of hangers, suitcases go under the bed, hairdryer, safe, we left everything in the fridge and just put our own pop in. We loved making our own coffee, (decaffeinated also provided), and sitting on the balcony. The room was clean. The only thing we had to ask for that was missing, if you book a balcony room, you get robes to use, but these were brought to us with 15 minutes of asking for them. The TV choices were very limited and could not even find the news. Buy a newspaper in the ports if you want to know what is going on in the world.

The Food: - Have you been to an all inclusive in the Caribbean? No comparison to the food on this ship. After reading the review I thought perhaps I would lose weight on this cruise, we never lacked for food anytime of day, I had salmon for dinner, scallops and my husband who is a meat and potatoes guy, had super roast beef. The breakfasts provided anything you wanted from yogurt, fresh fruit to eggs Benedict. I had no complaints at all. We did not use the pay restaurants at all, the cookies in the Aloha Cafe are to die for. I am not an overly critical person, and this food was the same you would get in any restaurant, if you are looking for the highest quality food, go on a highest quality cruise. We also brought Ziplocs, made sandwiches from the turkey breast, bread, rolls in the morning, picked up a few muffins and took everything in a small collapsible cooler we had brought with us, sure saves stopping for lunches. During our week, there was some kind of outbreak, and the ship personnel took quick action, all the buffets were wrapped in plastic, and you had to ask for anything you wanted on your plate, spray your hands when entering the eating areas, and the silverware was handed to you. A little inconvenient at times, but better than the flu spreading. I would rather they go overboard on cleanliness, than ignore the problem. They were wiping everything down all the time. The food in the Skyline and Liberty are exactly the same menu, one the men can wear open toe shoes, the other they can't, no big deal. We ate at the Aloha Cafe, in the restaurant or on the back deck. No problem getting seating anywhere and the ship was full. We did not find the announcements annoying, just informative.

The Staff was in general very friendly, a few exceptions, the bartenders for the most part we found, thought they were better than they actually were and have attitude. We were sitting at the Key West Grill and a lady dropped her drink just after the bartender handed it to her, it spilled on the bar, on the seats and on the floor. Unless my husband had said something about the bar, the bartender turned a blind eye, wiped the top of the bar, gave the cloth to the lady to wipe the seat, and ignored the floor. Another thinks he is a juggler, he isn't. Read more