Overview: We had a total of 12 people (all mid-50's to mid-60's except 1 in mid-70's) but we did not stay together. We were in groups of 4 most of the time. Both myself & hubby are not picky people so we can shrug most things off. There are some in our group that are the opposite so I will occasionally provide tidbits of info from their perspective. We are also plain food people, no gourmet for us, so keep this in mind when reading our opinions on the food. Hotel(s): Pre-Cruise Aston Waikiki Beach Hotel, 3 nights City View; Post-Cruise Aston Waikiki Circle Hotel, 1 night Ocean Front. My main concern was for something in a quiet area as my husband cannot sleep with noises around him unless it's the tv (go figure) and if he doesn't get his sleep it's like living with a bear. We are also very conscious of money so I did not want anything too expensive. If I had to rate 1 over the other I would say the Waikiki Beach is nicer than the Waikiki Circle although both have their good points.Aston Waikiki Beach Hotel: This was a very nice property at the far end of the main drag that I would definitely recommend to anyone. Prior to arriving there had been 2 local people who asked where we were staying. Both indicated "oh that's a very nice property". This is what you want to hear and we were very satisfied with it. The 1st morning we were there I was afraid there might be an issue as I heard the garbage trucks in the alley. They were very loud and I had been pre-warned about this from another review but I totally forgot about it. Anyway, it was a Thursday morning and we were already up since we were still on EST. This was the only morning I heard the trash trucks so it was no problem. They do have a continental breakfast included which was nice. Since we're early risers we were always down there when it opened which was a good thing. It became a major feeding frenzy as time went by & more people came down. Just be sure to realize there is a $27/day valet parking fee so it won't take you by surprise which, fortunately, we knew of it in advance so, no problem.Aston Waikiki Circle Hotel: This property is located more to the center of the main drag smack-dab in Waikiki. You couldn't ask for a better view. Although we had reservations for Ocean View they upgraded us to Ocean Front as there were no more Ocean View rooms available (lucky us). I want to STRONGLY encourage anyone that stays here to upgrade to the Ocean Front. It's a breathtaking view and is well worth the few extra dollars. As far as the hotel itself goes the rooms were small (which I was pre-warned about) but not so small you had no room to move. The biggest problem is the noise. It's very noisy from the busy traffic but fortunately, between the window-type AC unit, the tv & the fact that hubby was absolutely exhausted, he was able to sleep right through all the traffic noise.Rental Cars: I booked through hawaiicarrentals.com (use Corporate Discount # HT10229549) & I used Thrifty for all our rentals on the islands. Be sure to sign up as a Blue Chip member (it's free) before booking as it will not only speed up your check-in time at the counter but at all the locations they have a special check-in line for Blue Chip members. When we got off the shuttle from the airport it was filled with people & we were the only Blue Chip members on-board. Everyone else had to go stand in a very long line while we were waited on immediately at the Blue Chip counter. Word of advice: when you sign up for Blue Chip be sure to sign up the person that will be the main driver. I signed myself up rather than my husband & because of this we did have to spend a few extra minutes at the counter having them input his info since he was the main driver. Not a big problem but it could save you a few minutes. I would also STRONGLY suggest you take a GPS & have the addresses pre-programmed in it. I cannot begin to tell you how much time this saved us. We did not find that signage on the islands was very accommodating to us and the GPS was absolutely priceless.OAHU - PRECRUISEDay 1 (Wed)- Arrived @ Honolulu airport at 5 pm (1 am our time).- Got shuttle to Thrifty, we were the only ones at Blue Chip counter (the regular check-in counter was very crowded) & got checked in immediately. We ordered a mid-size car but since they didn't have any available they "upgraded" us to a Jeep Patriot. We had 2 large suitcases & 4 carry-on suitcases and it was a very tight fit.- Drove about ½ hr -45 min to hotel & checked in.- Went to Tiki's Grill & Bar (attached to the hotel) for something to eat. They have indoor & outdoor seating. The indoor seating has a different, more expensive menu. We opted to sit outside & ordered the burger combo which we shared as we saw it was huge. The burger combo, 2 beers & a soda cost us $25 (tip included). Food was good and the outdoor setting was very nice.Day 2 (Thu)Planned Itinerary Pearl Harbor, Aviation Museum, shop, site see and/or relaxWhat Actually Happened- Pearl Harbor: We left our hotel at 7:00 am, arrived at Pearl Harbor at 7:30 am and got tickets for the 9:45 launch to the Memorial. We walked through the exhibit areas & took photos outside before our launch. We were very fortunate as due to high winds ours was the last launch they were letting go out for the day.- Aviation Museum: We had bought ½ price discount tickets in advance through Groupon for a private tour & airplane simulator ride (what we were really interested in was the simulator ride). What we didn't realize is that the private tour was approx. 3 hrs long and the simulator ride was scheduled for 1:30 pm following the tour. By the time we got to the museum after visiting the Arizona Memorial it was about 11:00 am and we were already very hungry. We had a great guide who was very informative and who, it was obvious, loved his job. We spent about 1-1 ½ hrs on the tour before we finally apologized letting him know we were starving & just could not go any longer without eating. He was very understanding & did not seem the least put out that we were cutting the tour short. He gave us our tickets for the simulator but since we weren't scheduled to do it until 1:30 we decided to check it out to see if it was something we really wanted to do. I must admit I was quite disappointed to see that it was really nothing more than an arcade-type simulator so we opted for not doing it and left to go find food.- We met some of our group back at the hotel and went to a small burger joint around the corner from our hotel called "Teddy's Bigger Burgers". They were delicious and it cost about $17 for 2 combo meals. Later in our trip we had a stranger approach us who wanted to recommend this place to us when they heard us trying to figure out where to go eat. If you want a burger I recommend this joint. Then we were off to the International Marketplace for shopping. I would have to say the biggest drawback to our hotel was that we had to walk that much further to get to the center of the action. The blocks here are big so keep that in mind. I'm not a big fan of walking and we even had a person with a cane in our group but we managed our fair share of walking mainly because there is very little parking available so there really isn't the option of driving. After we walked back to our hotel to meet up with the guys it was time to figure out where to go for dinner. Out of all the planning I did for this trip I would have to say the one thing I lacked in was trying to figure out where to eat. I figured we'd just get there and walk into whatever looked interesting. Unfortunately, most of the places I saw on the main drag were burger joints so we ended up walking quite a distance on the road behind the main drag to a place that advertised seafood specials at really good prices. Unfortunately the servings were very small and it really looked like a hole in the wall joint. Not all bad but, in this case, you do get what you pay for. Sorry, I can't find my receipt to let you know what the name of the place was.Overview- Pearl Harbor is not to be missed but be sure to get there early for your tickets. Remember not to take any bags or purses as they are not allowed in. Cameras are allowed, but not the cases. Parking is monitored so no need to worry about vandals here.- Aviation Museum was so-so. If you're a big aviation/history buff it would be worthwhile but since we're not it really wasn't for us.- I was really disappointed that the flight simulator wasn't anything more than an arcade-type ride.Day 3 (Fri)Planned Itinerary Drive ourselves on the Circle the Island Tour (Hanauma Bay, Halona Blowhole, Makapuu Lookout, Waimanalo Beach Park, Nu'uanu Pali Lookout, Kailua Bay, Byodo-In Temple, Chinaman's Hat, Macadamia Nut Farm Outlet Store & Visitor Center, Kuala Ranch, Laie Point, Waimea Bay Beach Park), Eat/Site See/RelaxWhat Actually Happened- I created this tour from an excursion company's tour that I thought fit our interests. One thing I did wrong was not pre-program these stops into the GPS. Since it looked like these stops were located along the main road we would be traveling I just "assumed" there would be good signage to help direct us. This was the case for some stops, but not all. In addition, I was letting our friend who was the front seat passenger read the map. Regardless of the reason we did get off to a rough start and did have some difficulty locating some of the stops due to lack of signage. If there's one thing we learned on all the islands it's "do not expect an over abundance of directional signs to help get you where you want to go".- Hanauma Bay Lookout - I would love to give you a description of this spot but we completely missed it! Drove right by it. Never saw it. Again, pre-program your GPS!- Halona Blowhole - Umm, once again, drove right past it and had to turn around. At least this one we did see, just not until we were past it. It is worth stopping & taking a look.- Makapuu Lookout - Umm, you guessed it. Drove right past it and had to turn around. At this point I took the map from our friend and I was now in control. To be perfectly honest I think part of the problem was that hubby was driving faster than he should have been in order to pull off at the last minute whenever we would see something. Very nice spot for photos.- Waimanalo Beach Park - Guess what? We found it and we didn't have to back-track to get to it. Although this is a very nice beach if you want to go to the beach, it really wasn't anything we needed to see on our sightseeing journey for the day.- Nu'uanu Pali Lookout - We seem to be on the right track now as, once again, we got there without incident. Of course maybe that's because I now have control of the map! Very nice lookout & photo opp. It is extremely windy. When we were in Oahu they were having very high winds compared to normal. This location, even on a calm day, has very high winds. When approaching the Lookout there is a paved path to the right. Some from our group went down this path & said the wind was practically picking them up off their feet. They were quite amazed by the power of the wind. Note: There is a small parking lot that you do need to pay $3 to park at.- Kailua Bay - This is a nice beach but if you're not wanting to go to a beach for the purpose of swimming/tanning this stop could easily be skipped. It did require driving away from the main road through a small town to access the beach.- Byodo-In Temple - This was just a quick stop for us. I was interested in ringing the sacred bell (you do have to pay to enter) but that was about it. It's a beautiful setting but really wasn't what our group was interested in.- Macadamia Nut Farm Outlet - Ok, another site missed! Not sure where this was but I didn't look too hard for it as I knew there would be plenty of opportunities to get Macadamia nuts on the islands.- Chinaman's Hat - Nice photo opp.- Kualao Ranch - We no sooner left from viewing Chinaman's Hat and almost passed right by the ranch as it was so close. I was really looking forward to doing the movie tour here. We did not make reservations as I had no idea how long it would take us to get here while sightseeing. There were a total of 8 of us in our group and we were able to all get on the next scheduled tour bus that would be leaving at 1 pm. Cost was $21 pp for I believe a 2 hr tour (I might be wrong on how long it was). It was about 12:15 when we got there so we grabbed a quick sandwich at their eatery to hold us over until dinner. It was a nice tour, nothing elaborate, but it was fun to see the different movie locations that have been filmed at the ranch.- La'ie Point - One of the best sites we saw all day. Absolutely love it. Great photo opp. And we found it without any problems.- Waimea Bay Beach Park - Again, just another beach. I got out of the car long enough to check it out but it was VERY crowded, parking almost impossible, so we just left. We were able to see some of the big waves while driving along the road so we did not feel we needed to make this a stop.- From here we began our drive back to the hotel in bumper to bumper traffic while on the North Shore. After getting through the traffic it appeared the traffic jam was simply from those parking along the road & pedestrians crossing the road to get to the beach.- After the disappointment over dinner from the last night we decided to locate a nice restaurant away from the hotel that had available parking. We opted for the tried and true Outback which I was able to get call ahead seating at. Being a Friday night and knowing how hubby hates waiting in lines this seemed like a good option. We just plugged it in the GPS and off we go, parking in the deck right behind the restaurant. As we were leaving the restaurant we heard a loud boom & realized just a short block away towards the harbor we could see the fireworks that one of the hotels set off every Friday night. We stopped to watch the fireworks and then headed back to the hotel to call it a night.Overview- Did I mention to pre-program your GPS?- In hindsight I wish we had skipped at least 2 or 3 of the beaches on the list. As you're driving you will see plenty of scenery with the beautiful ocean as your backdrop so stopping at these beaches is really not necessary unless you want to spend time at a beach.- I would like to say that planning a stop at Turtle Beach to see some turtles would have been nice but, truthfully, with the traffic the way it was I don't believe we would have found any parking so it probably would not have worked out anyway.- If you don't like doing too much walking you may want to do your homework on what restaurants there are and where they're located. This is one thing I feel I did not do enough homework on.Day 4 (Sat)Planned Itinerary Check-out of hotel, Aloha Stadium Swap Meet, return car to airport, take shuttle to be at Cruise pier by 11-12 pmWhat Actually Happened- 8:00 am Checked-out of hotel - painless- Aloha Stadium Swap Meet - We had the luggage packed in the Jeep and when we arrived they told us to park in the lot closest to the pay booths. Apparently this part of the lot is monitored so not so bad if you have your luggage with you. Truth be told my husband is not a shopper so I knew he would probably spend more time at the car than at the shopping so I wasn't too concerned about our belongings being in the car. This place is huge. If you're a swap meet shopper you will be in paradise. We're not shoppers but we did want to check the place out and we were done by around 10 am.- Drove to Pier to check-in & drop-off luggage. Once luggage was unloaded there is a parking area you can park temporarily to go check-in. We arrived at the pier about 10:45 am & checked-in. Not crowded at all. If you check-in before noon they will give you a number which indicates which group you will be in when boarding begins. Some from our group had #3, some had #4. While the women waited to board the men went to return the cars to Thrifty & ride the shuttle back to the pier. Boarding began at about 11:30. All is very organized & painless. The women boarded & went to the Aloha Cafe to wait for the men. Returning the car was painless (again Blue Chip so everything was expedited) & they caught the shuttle back to the ship. When they got to the pier at about 12:30-1:00 pm they said the line was horrendous. Prior to leaving they had been told by personnel at the pier that they would not need to go through the line again since they were already checked in. It's a good thing because they said they would have had to wait a long time and hubby does not do good with lines. They indicated to the personnel that they were already checked-in so they were then escorted to the front of the line to go through the metal detectors to get on the ship right away.Overview- Aloha Stadium Swap Meet - Even as a non-shopper I did feel this was worthwhile. I got several clothing items for my daughter. There are good deals but make sure you know prices before you go because you can also get ripped off if you don't know what things are selling for. Since we had been to the Int'l Marketplace we did have an idea of what certain things were selling for. Tidbit: Later in the cruise when discussing shirt prices with someone else from our extended group the shirt I bought for $16 they bought at K-Mart for $11. So, if you want the best deal don't dismiss the K-Mart/Wal Mart. Now I will say I did check out some prices at K-Mart on Macadamia Nuts and prices seemed about the same to me.- Best thing we did was check-in at pier with luggage before dropping car off. This way we did not have to lug the luggage on the shuttle and we also were able to get to the pier before the masses.- I strongly suggest you either check-in at the pier early (10:00-11:00 am) or wait until later in the day. According to the husbands the line at 12:30-1:00 pm was just horribly long.Please note that from this point on I will begin numbering the days according to the days on the ship and not as I previously did according to when we arrived in Hawaii.POA CRUISEReview of Ship: After reading many reviews on CC I knew going into this vacation that this cruise would not be like any others I had been on. As long as you go with this attitude you should not be disappointed. If you plan to spend a lot of time on the ship or would really prefer to have some days at sea then you may feel differently but since I used the ship as transportation to each of the islands & overnight lodging it fit my requirements perfectly. Overall I have no complaints about the ship or the staff and felt it was a very good way to see a variety of the islands without having to island hop.- DEcor was very nice & clean- We, personally, did not have any problems with the staff or their attitude although another in our extended group did. Keep in mind that this particular person is known for insisting on things be her way all the time so I'm not surprised by this at all. To us all the staff was pleasant & more than willing to do their jobs.- They were very conscientious about cleanliness. Do expect to get your hands sprayed when entering the Aloha Cafe. This was not a nuisance; it was helping to keep each of us from catching everyone else's germs & getting sick. Note: My SIL has a big problem with her hands cracking so she brought her own spray that does not contain alcohol. They did not have a problem with her doing this- Aloha Cafe: We ate all our meals here. We were very satisfied with the food. Burgers were great, so was the prime rib. The only night I didn't like the food selection was on Friday night, the last night of the cruise. I do wish I had suggested we go to the Cadillac Diner and have some of their onion rings instead. Desserts are the main thing lacking but I'm not a dessert person anyway so this didn't bother me. I will say that those at our table thought the ice cream was very good.- Picnic Lunches to Take off the Ship: Our plans included several days where we would be making lunches to take off the ship. There was recently a thread about this so I would like to make sure everyone knows what is and is not acceptable where this is concerned. The Aloha Cafe does have sandwich fixings during the breakfast hour which I have been informed is because it is an English breakfast item. Whether this is the case or not really doesn't matter. There is absolutely NO PROBLEM with your making sandwiches and taking them off the ship. I took my baggies and soft-sided cooler up to the Cafe with me so I wasn't the least bit trying to hide what I was doing. The staff acknowledged me & what I was doing and had no problems with it. As a matter a fact the person behind the sandwich counter even talked my husband into making 2 sandwiches for himself instead of just 1. Instead of a regular sandwich I made myself a bagel sandwich with the sliced breakfast ham for myself which I really enjoyed. If you want to fill a large baggie with ice to keep your food/drinks cold I do suggest you go on the back deck of the Aloha Cafe to use the ice machine at this location. Mainly because the Cafe does get crowded and you will be out of peoples way by filling it at this location.- Main Dining Rooms: We are not fans of having to spend 2 hrs sitting over a meal so we didn't even attempt the main dining rooms. Two couples from our group did go to the Skyline dining room on Lobster night and did not like it at all. Please keep in mind that these 2 couples are also the ones that are very hard to please so again, I'm not surprised.- Cadillac Diner: We did not eat any meals here, only dessert on one night. I had the Hot Fudge Brownie Sundae, someone else had the Blueberry Cheesecake & another had the Pound Cake. All were absolutely delicious.- Inside Cabin: We were in cabin #9183 which is an inside cabin. I did not feel we would be in our room enough to utilize a balcony so we opted for the inside cabin. For 2 people it was fine though I would not consider it for more than 2 people. Our steward was Robert and he was great. I had him remove the items from our fridge so we could put our own water/sodas in it which he was more than happy to do. Our bed was made up as a King bed which is how we wanted it, however, the day we were leaving Robert had asked our friends if he could make their bed up early when they left their room for breakfast. They agreed and when they came back the bed had been made into 2 twins for the next guests and they said this made it much better for them to move around in the room. So, if you don't mind sleeping in twins & would prefer more space in your cabin you may want to consider having your steward set your room up like this.- Balcony Cabin: Two of the couples had connecting balcony cabins. They were a little bigger with very small balconies although my SIL said it was supposed to be an extended balcony. Not sure how much smaller you could get if this was an extended. I do know it was not an aft balcony which is definitely much bigger. I don't know if they complained about much but I do know the 1st day they put up a major stink until the balcony divider between their rooms was opened up. The staff did not want to open it but finally relented indicating it was a hazard and the passengers were at their own risk having it open. I have no clue what risk was involved or why it was an issue but apparently the ship does not like opening these dividers. Again, the folks in our group are VERY demanding so I'm not surprised the ship crew caved in.- Entertainment: Unfortunately we were just too tired to see the shows. We did make it to the Variety Show on the last night of the cruise but only stayed for about 15-20 min. Others in our extended group went to The Second City Comedy Show which they thought was very funny.- Photographs: I had read on previous reviews that the photos would go on sale on Friday for ½ price. This was not the case when we were on the ship. I didn't have an interest in purchasing any so this was not a problem for me.- Gratuities: As most folks know this is automatically set-up on your onboard account. In all honesty I thought this included the bartenders & the waiters/waitresses delivering the drinks. According to our disembarkation paperwork this is not the case. It indicates that "beverage service, concierge, butler and youth counselors" are not included in the shared service charge. Keep this in mind when ordering those drinks.- Luggage: I did not receive our luggage until after the muster drill but almost all our travel mates had theirs around 2 or 3 pm.Day 1 (Sat) - OahuPlanned Itinerary Lunch at Aloha Cafe, Explore Ship, 4:30 pm Muster Drill, 5:00 pm Meet CC Friends @ Napa Wine Bar, Eat Dinner, Relax, Watch ShowWhat Actually Happened- See Notes under Day 4 from above regarding our check-in at the port- 1 pm husbands met us in Aloha Cafe for lunch- Relaxed & explored the ship until it was time for the muster drill- Muster Drill: Painless. No need to take life preserver which helps make it easier. We simply met at Skyline Dining Room and were able to sit at the tables and listen to what was said.- Meet CC Friends: Oops! I am sooooo sorry to my CC friends that I was supposed to meet at the Napa Wine bar. I'm afraid I totally forgot.- Dinner was at the Aloha Cafe where we sat on the back deck where we stayed to watch as we sailed away from port.Overview- I would have read my notes so I could have remembered to meet my CC buddies- Had a great day & I don't think I would have done anything different.Day 2 (Sun) - MauiPlanned Itinerary Pick-up Thrifty Rental Car, Sightsee Lahaina, Whale Watch Excursion , Sightsee Lahaina, Old Lahaina LuauWhat Actually Happened- Ate breakfast at the Aloha Cafe- 8:15 am Debarked ship to catch shuttle to pick-up car. Unfortunately, we were held up by several in our group which made us miss the 1st shuttle. Since this was not the 1st time these same folks held us up I was not happy but held my tongue. Instead we had to stand & wait approx. 15-30 min for the next shuttle. We were not in a crunch for time so this wasn't an issue but I did eventually, later in the day, have to let them know they were on their own & we would not be waiting around for them in the future. I had given them all the info, GPS addresses, etc. before leaving home on what we were doing so for us to have to wait around for them was inexcusable and would not happen again. I only waited because they hadn't taken the time to upload the info into their GPS and I didn't want to leave them stranded. - Shuttle to car rental was painless & checking in as Blue Chip members was, once again, a plus. - Drive to Lahaina was painless & took about 30-45 min. We did have to drive around just a little to find a parking lot. BEWARE: When you park look for signs. We were so excited to find parking that we totally DID NOT pay attention to the fact that it was 3 hr parking. We did end up with a $60 parking ticket. This after I had been pre-warned by another CC post indicating they did the same thing. Duh!- Whale Watch Excursion through Pacific Whale Foundation (PWF): Before sightseeing we did want to locate the PWF so we would know exactly where to go & check-in. What should have been an easy find ended up taking forever. Several vendors sent us in the opposite direction. As it turned out their store is on Front St with a big orange awning (just look for the orange awning). As it happens you can also check in at the pier at the PWF booth. This turned out to be a great tour. I had originally wanted to take a whale excursion on the small zodiac boats but since several in our group have bad backs I opted for this one. It ended up being very nice, we saw quite a few whales as well as what they call "false killer whales" (they looked more like dolphins to me). Apparently these false Killer Whales are very extinct (only about 150 in the Hawaiian Islands) and the naturalist on board our boat was super excited as this was the 1st time she's ever seen them. I took a few pics but since my SIL has a super good camera I figured I would rely on her to provide the photos of this excursion. Because of this I now have to wait to get the photos from her. What every sightseer wants to see on a whale excursion is a whale breaching the water. Although we did get to see 1 do this it was VERY far away but better than not at all. We did get to see a whale flap both his pectoral fins quite a few times. My SIL has done several whale watch excursions in other areas and said that this was by-far the best she's seen. She was very excited so I guess we had a pretty good show.- 2:00 pm Lunch @ Captain Jacks: Because it was getting late we just wanted a quick bite to hold us over until the Luau so we all shared meals. We all basically got Club Sandwiches which were huge and delicious. Total for 2 sodas & 1 shared Club Sandwich was $15 (tip included).- Old Lahaina Luau: I cannot say enough about how good this was. The staff treated us like gold, the setting was spectacular at sunset, the seating was great (up front), the food was delicious which I wasn't expecting and it was an open bar. Everyone in our group of 12 went to this and loved every minute of it. Do be sure to have a designated driver. I have been told the cops are very diligent about watching folks who leave this show. We did make sure to leave right away so we could make sure to get parking back at the dock.- Parking at Dock: This was the 1 thing we were nervous about. The main parking lot was full, which we expected, but the secondary lot did not look kosher. It was very dark and there were several groups of young people hanging around (fishing & drinking I believe). It just did not look all that kosher for leaving a rental car & expecting to come back in the morning & not have it damaged in any way. Since hubby can be paranoid about certain things I knew he was not comfortable at all with this. Once we parked and walked to the pier I asked the guard if the lot was monitored & he said yes. This made us feel a little better but who really knows how often they check it out. We ended up having no problems but we sure weren't comfortable with it the night before. Had it been a little better lighted I'm sure we would have felt much more comfortable.Overview- Be cautious of any signs when parking your car. It can be costly if you don't.- The address I had for the dock didn't actually get us directly to the dock so we did have to turn on several streets before finding our way there. Just follow the big ship, it will eventually get you there.Day 3 (Mon) - MauiPlanned Itinerary Road to Hana, Return Rental Car, Relax, Explore Ship, See ShowWhat Actually Happened- 6:00 am breakfast at the Aloha Cafe- Make lunches to take with us off the ship (see note on previous post re: picnic lunches)- 7:00 am Road to Hana: We definitely wanted to get an early start today. I also made sure the rest of our group knew we were all on our own so we would not be waiting for anyone. Truthfully, this felt like it started out like our Circle the Island Tour. I was beginning to think we didn't have a lick of sense as far as directions go. Our main problem with this trip was that HI-36 turns into HI-360. Although we knew this, we thought it turned into HI-360 much sooner than it actually did. This threw us off because we were trying to follow the mile markers and coming up empty. Ex: You will not see The Painted Bark Eucalyptus Trees at MM6 on HI-36. You must wait until the road turns into HI-360 then you will see the Painted Bark Eucalyptus Trees at MM6. DUH! Note: You will drive approx. 16 miles on HI-36 before it turns into HI-360. It is at this point that you want to reset your odometer to 0 so you can locate the sites easily. Below are the sites we stopped at that we thought were worth stopping for: o MM6.7 - Painted Bark Eucalyptus Trees o Note: We did not stop at MM10.5 which is the Garden of Eden Botanical Arboretum although this is something many do like to see. o MM12 - Kaumahina State Wayside Park (restrooms here) o MM13 - Honomanu Lookout o MM14 - Honomanu Bay Lookout o MM17 - Ke'anae Lookout o MM19.5 - Upper Waikani Falls o Note: We did not stop at MM22.5 which is the Pua'a Ka'a State Wayside Park as it was raining & you needed to walk down a trail which we weren't up to at that point. o MM25 - Nahiku Rd & Landing o MM32 - Wai'anapanapa State Wayside Park This was as far as we went. Now a note on what others in our group did. We didn't realize it until back at the ship but the others in our group ended up turning somewhere before HI-36 turned into HI-360 and ended up driving all the way around going in the opposite direction. I am still amazed that they were able to do this and get back to the ship in time (we actually passed them on the way back to the ship). They did indicate that they only looked at sites from the road and did not go to any sites that you had to access from off the main road. According to my SIL the other side of Hana was much more beautiful but she also didn't take the time to drive down to Wai'anapanapa or any of the other beautiful lookout sites. Anyway, just as note it obviously is possible to drive all the way around Hana on the day the ship leaves port as they managed it and it didn't take them much longer than it did us to do just the first part of the road. - 2-3:00 pm Returned rental car and took shuttle back to port- 4:30 pm Kukui Nut Making Class on-board ship- 5:00 pm Dinner in Aloha Cafe- Relaxed & went to bed earlyOverview- Other than getting a little anxious when we couldn't find the sites at the MM before reaching HI-360 everything else about this day was great.Day 4 (Tue) - HiloPlanned Itinerary Akaka Falls, Rainbow Falls, Volcano Nat'l Park, Chain of Craters Rd, Orchid Lei Making on Ship, Lava Sail-ByWhat Actually Happened- 7:00 am breakfast at the Aloha Cafe- Make lunches to take with us off the ship- Shuttle to Thrifty Rental Car painless as always- Akaka Falls: Left about 7:30 for approx. 30 min drive. Before leaving the car rental it was stressed not to leave anything in the car for vandals. The shuttle driver from the pier to the rental agency suggested we take the Scenic Route to the Falls but, as usual, we didn't see the sign until we had passed it so we opted not to do this. Restrooms are available & you must pay for parking. There is a short or longer walkway to get to the falls. I took the longer way which does include many stairs. It is all paved with railings but was not necessarily an easy walk. My goal for this trip was to challenge myself physically which I felt this did. If you have no desire to challenge yourself, do the short walk.- Rainbow Falls: This was about a 30 min drive. We thought we would try to locate the Scenic Route from Akaka Falls to Rainbow Falls so we turned off several side streets but didn't have any luck getting to it so we just skipped it and drove directly to Rainbow Falls. It was very busy at Rainbow Falls. The Falls were nice but I definitely thought Akaka Falls was much more impressive. From previous posts I had been told that viewing the falls was best in the morning which is why I planned these first. Visibility was great at both the Falls but, unfortunately, no rainbow at Rainbow Falls.- Volcano Nat'l Park (VNP): The drive here was approx. 45 min and we went to the Visitor Center first. We would have had to wait approx. 20-25 min for the next movie so we just got a map & listened to a little of what the Rangers had to say. Bad news was there was no visible active lava for our sail-by later that day. I suspected as much but the Rangers just confirmed it. Big Bummer! We started driving Crater Rim Dr towards the Jaggar Museum, making several stops along the way. After viewing the steam & taking our photos we headed back around Crater Rim Dr towards the Visitor Center view the other Lookouts and do the Thurston Lava Tube. Parking is very limited at the Tube but it seems that people leave quite frequently so if you're able to sit & wait a few minutes you should get lucky. It really doesn't take that long to go through the Tube. We were prepared to go through the dark portion of the tube but after seeing the entrance to it & hubby went in to check it out, we opted to pass on doing it. - Chain of Craters Rd - Personally I think I was as amazed by seeing the old lava flows here as I was to see the big hole in the ground with the steam coming out. We are not the naturalist-type people so basically once we've seen something it's off we go to the next not spending a lot of time looking. I spent more time looking at the 1974 lava flow than I did anything else. It was so large it was just amazing. We did not drive down the entire length of Chain of Craters Rd as the scenery was basically the same so we just turned around & headed back to the ship.- Returned car & took shuttle back to ship. We were very surprised that at each of the rental locations they were very uninterested in checking the cars for damage. I guess if you drove in with a major fender bender they would notice it but they didn't seem too concerned with looking for scratches. They did verify that the gas gauge indicated full although they didn't request to look at the gas receipt although they told us to show it when we rented the car.- 4:00 PM Orchid Lei Making Class: The class didn't begin until 4:30 pm but they do recommend you get to this class early. When at the Kukui Nut Making class they told us the orchid class gets filled-up and when the orchids run out that's it. So, we made it a point to get there early and we were by no means the first ones there. Far from it actually. Anyway, it was a wonderful class and we absolutely loved the leis. While we were making our leis there were other folks standing & waiting in line. When someone was done making their lei the folks in line could get their seat but, again, once the orchids ran out, no more leis.- 5:00 PM Dinner in Aloha Cafe, dessert in Cadillac Diner- Lava Flow: Since I had already been told there would be no visible lava I was off to bed. Absolutely exhausted and ended up sleeping 12 hrs straight. Yes, I was very tired.Day 5 (Wed) - KonaPlanned Itinerary Sleep in, Snorkel, Sightsee/ShopWhat Actually Happened- Ate breakfast in Aloha cafe- 10:00 am Tendered to Port: I decided to make a quick stop @ Hilo Hatties so I tendered to shore, got in the Hilo Hatties shuttle & off I went. It's only about a 5 min drive but far enough I wouldn't have wanted to walk it. The shuttle driver said he leaves for the port every 20 min so I did a quick look around & went back on the 1st shuttle back. I didn't have a lot of time as I had to change & get ready for our snorkel excursion but I didn't want to waste time sitting around either. Truthfully I should have gotten off the ship earlier & done a little more shopping but live & learn. I got back on the Tender & just after doing so we heard someone in the water yelling "help". The tender immediately went & picked up a swimmer that was being assisted by others who definitely needed help. We then had to go back to the dock to drop him off with the paramedics who were taking him to the hospital. Thankfully I had some spare time to work with but this did make things a bit more rushed for me. It is for precisely these type of unplanned situations that make me avoid being a procrastinator at all costs.- 12:00 pm Tendered to Port for Snorkel Excursion: As is the way of my life we tendered over to the port early just in case our SeaQuest boat got there early. No such luck but they were right on time so we were good to go. Because we had 6 in our group SeaQuest volunteered to pick us up at the pier in their small 6 passenger boat. They did emphasize that if we had more than 6 they could not provide this service for us. If I'm not mistaken I believe the reason for this is because NCL uses Captain Zodiac for their NCL excursion & they are the ones permitted to pick folks up directly at the pier. Just guessing but I'm pretty sure this is the reason. Anyway, we were picked up right at 12:45 and off we went having a ball. Our guide was great, I was thrilled with the ride on the Zodiac boat (I'm an adventurer) and I believe everyone else on our boat ended up loving it just as much as I did. The snorkeling at Kealakekua Bay is stunning & I just couldn't get over how beautiful the reef & the fish were, not to mention the crystal clear blue water. I was the last one to get back in the boat I loved it so much. We then took off & hugged the coastline checking out the lava tubes & sea caves. We got lucky and also saw wild parrots & dolphins. We had opted for the short, 3 hr trip, and it was plenty long enough for us. Although I have snorkeled once before this is the 1st time I've done it on a beautiful reef & I think I've now fallen in love with snorkeling. I took lots of photos with a cheap underwater camera which are being developed now. I can't wait to see how they turn out. Back to the dock we went and the end of fabulous excursion.- After snorkeling we returned to the ship, cleaned up, ate at the Aloha Cafe & just relaxed for the rest of the evening.Day 6 (Thu) - KauaiPlanned Itinerary Make lunches, Waimea Canyon, Spouting Horn, Poipu Beach, Wailua Falls, Opaekaa Falls, Tubing the DitchWhat Actually Happened- 7:00 am breakfast at the Aloha Cafe. At the last minute we decided on not making lunches as we would just swing by the ship to grab a bite before doing the falls & Tubing the Ditch.- Shuttle to Thrifty Rental Car painless as always. The part that was painful today was me forgetting & leaving the GPS on the ship. Oops! We opted to just try doing it on our own as I had printed "back-up" directions. Ok, just leaving the car rental place to get on the right highway was an issue. We were now really wondering if we should just "try" to make our way to the ship so I could get the GPS. Once we figured out we were on the right road we decided against that as there are really very few turns needed off the main road for what we would be doing.- Waimea Canyon: We were very pleased to find that we were able to make it here without issue without the GPS. It is quite easy and it was well worth the drive. What beautiful scenery. We have been to the Grand Canyon and, although impressed with the overall size, we were much more impressed with Waimea Canyon & it's overall beauty. I almost chose not to do this as I was afraid we wouldn't be overly wowed by it but I'm very glad to say it was well worth the trip.- Spouting Horn: We managed to muddle our way here. Part of our problem, I believe, is that we are impatient & we start doubting ourselves if we don't see signs soon enough. Anyway, we made it & it was nice. I'm not sure that I would have gone very far out of my way to go here but since it was pretty much on the way & Poipu Beach was very nearby & on the list we felt it worth making the stop.- Poipu Beach: A very nice beach with a good view. Not sure it's necessarily worth stopping at though unless you want to spend time at a beach. Leaving from here to get back on the main highway ended up being an issue (again, no GPS with us) but we accidentally managed to get there eventually.- Back to Ship: This is about the only port where you cannot get any parking at the dock. Because we were running late & several of us needed to change for our tubing excursion it was decided that just a couple of us would go on the ship to change & grab sandwiches to bring along. Our main mistake was in not knowing that not only was there no parking at the pier but that they were VERY unaccommodating about letting us be dropped off. I'm assuming their reasoning is that if they let 1 person be dropped off, this would become an issue with lots of other people wanting to be dropped off. Ok, I get it & I even understand & agree with it to a point. Because there was sufficient space that could have been used for this purpose this is what bothered me about it. Anyway, rules are rules so our driver turned around, went back onto the road & dropped us off there. As we walked through security we were scolded for doing this. Ok, I'm in a rush & at this point I really don't care.- 1:30 pm Tubing the Ditch: We made it here with no problems thanks to the GPS I remembered to get once back on the ship. This was a very nice excursion over all however, it was tame to my way of thinking. I like a bit more excitement but since there were several in our group who like much more sedate activities I opted to do this with them. For those wondering if it's too much for them, keep the following in mind: 1) there is just 1 spot where you go down a very tame rapid; and 2) there are several tunnels but I believe you would have to be VERY claustrophobic in order for them to affect you. I may be off the mark here since I'm not claustrophobic but, just my opinion. The water is just 3-4' deep the entire way & it is highly unlikely you will flip over unless someone purposely tries to flip you.- Wailua Falls: We stopped here after tubing & it is very much a worthwhile stop. We were going to go to Opaekaa Falls but while at Wailua Falls we were talking to others who had just been there & they said it wasn't as nice as the Wailua Falls. Because of this we opted to skip it.- Returned car & took shuttle back to ship.Day 7 (Fri) - KauaiPlanned Itinerary Blue Hawaiian Helicopter Tour, ShoppingWhat Actually Happened- 7:00 am Picked up my luggage tags for an 8:15 am debarking (this was the latest tickets I could get; all later times had been taken) & headed to breakfast at the Aloha Cafe. - 7:30 am Met my group at pier & took cab to Blue Hawaiian Office @ Harbor Mall. I know many people have indicated that walking to the mall & shopping center is an easy walk and I don't want to discount them but, I will tell you that by this day I have about had my fair share of walking. Although we would normally have taken a shuttle to the mall the shuttles do not begin running until 8 am and we needed to be checked-in at Blue Hawaiian by 7:45 am. The cab ride was just $5 so well worth it. Now for the sob story: Yesterday on Kauai it was absolutely beautiful sunshiny weather. Not so today! As it happened this was the ONLY day we got anything more than a few drops of rain. By 8 am the 1st group was told they would not be able to do the flight. I'm now crossing my fingers with all my might that the skies would mercifully clear up. Unfortunately, this did not happen and they had to cancel our flight as well. I am absolutely devastated. Out of all the things I had planned this was by far the most important to me. Not only that but I had been dreaming of doing this for many, many years. I was PISSED! Not at anybody, just at my lousy luck. Had I planned this for the day before it would have been a very clear & beautiful flight. Oh well, you can't control mother nature and, since I'm a believer that things happen for a reason, I now am anxiously waiting to find out what could possibly be the upside to my missing this flight. So I make my way over to the Anchor Cove shopping center so I can catch the shuttle back to the ship. The shopping center is just across the street from the mall and as I'm walking the sprinkles are turning into very big drops. Fortunately I was able to get to cover before the downpour began but I was not near the pick-up location for the shuttle which happened to come right then. As I try to make it to the shuttle pick-up location without getting totally drenched off goes the shuttle. Ok this is not turning out to be a very good day. I now have to stand and wait about 20 min for the return shuttle but at least I know another shuttle will be coming. Thank goodness there was nobody else standing around wanting to make small talk as I'm afraid I might not have been able to be very nice.- 9:00 am Back at the ship I go up to the Aloha Cafe to drown my sorrows in FOOD. I had been trying to be really good about what I was eating all week and right now I just don't care about anything or anyone except how much food I can push down my throat. Fortunately those of my group who were not doing the heli & were at the Cafe were very generous with their sympathy and did not mention a thing about what a pig I was.- 10:00 am Shopping: Although I'm not a shopper I did need to get a few items as gifts so I accompanied others from our group to Hilo Hatties via the shuttle. By the way, at this time, the skies look like they've cleared up enough for the 10 am flight to go on. Yes, this added to my misery. This expedition did pick my spirits up a little but just a little. It was going to take more than this to remedy my missed heli ride.- 1:00 pm Lunch/NaPali Sailby: We decided to eat lunch on the back deck of the Aloha Cafe so we could have a decent location for viewing the NaPali coast as we were leaving port. This turned out to be a good decision as we stood at the rail and were able to get great pics. From other reviews I had expected a larger group to be crowding around the railing but I was pleasantly surprised this was not the case, at least not at this location. During the sail-by they did have an announcer making a talk over the loud speaker but truth be told I didn't hear a thing they were saying. Everyone on the back deck was enthralled by, not only the NaPali Coast but with the whales we were sometimes able to see. They weren't jumping but it was exciting watching them just the same. We were also blessed with a beautiful rainbow which was quite awesome also. - 6:00 pm Set luggage out in hall so we could debark pain-freeOAHU - POST-CRUISEDay 1 (Sat) Planned Itinerary 8:15 am Debark, Shuttle to Hertz Car Rental, Dole Pineapple Plantation, lunch, check-in @ Aston Waikiki Circle HotelWhat Actually Happened- 7:00 am Breakfast at the Aloha Cafe. Although it was much more crowded than on previous days we did not feel it was overly hectic. By the time we were leaving it did feel like the masses had awoken & were now hungry.- 8:15 am Debark: All went exceptionally well & quick. There was absolutely no line or crowd and we were able to locate our luggage immediately and leave the terminal. I headed in the direction of the signs indicating "Car Rentals". When outside I asked someone where to wait for Hertz & they indicated the total opposite end of the terminal. We head down that direction and before going too far I ask another individual just to be sure we're not on a wild goose chase. This person also indicated the far end of the terminal and just as we were getting there in pulls the shuttle. There were only 2 other people waiting so we were able to get all our luggage & both ourselves & the couple with us loaded. I told them we were Blue Chip which they called in so things would be ready when we got there.- 8:30 am Hertz Car Rental painless again.- Dole Pineapple Plantation: I did not have high expectations for this but since we had time to blow before we could check into our hotel I figured this was something we could do. Both myself & girlfriend took the train ride, hubby's opted out. Again, didn't expect much but it was interesting & we did learn a few things. Next we went & waiting about 5 min for the next pineapple cutting demonstration. There were already people waiting & it was difficult to see due to those who were very tall insisting on standing in the front. I just stuck my arm/camera through their heads & took my photos. It was very interesting and, again, I actually learned a few things. The store is quite large with a big variety of items to purchase.- Turtle Beach: On our way out from Dole Plantation we asked someone where Turtle Beach was. He gave us directions & I asked "is there a sign?". Of course not, that would be too easy. He told us to go up the road about 10 min, through the 2nd traffic light and the parking lot would be on the right side of the road. Found it and it was CROWDED! I took some photos from the side of the road and then went down to the beach when we saw some turtles under the water. None surfaced or were on the beach and my photos didn't turn out very well but they were there just the same. We opted to do this, again, just as a way to pass more time before going to the hotel.- Chili's & Kmart: Since we didn't have much luck during our pre-cruise stay at finding many restaurants we were interested in at Waikiki we decided to use our GPS to locate a restaurant near Kmart which we wanted to hit to check prices on a few things. Chili's was practically right next to Kmart so we had a very nice lunch & then did our price comparisons at Kmart. Didn't find any real values on the Hawaiian themed items but we tried.- Aston Waikiki Circle Hotel: As I indicated in my blurb above regarding the hotels we were upgraded to an ocean view room which was FANTASTIC! Remember my heli ride that was cancelled the day before & how pissed I was? Well, I can honestly say that after getting to our room and being able to relax & see the view that we saw, I was honestly able to put the heli ride behind me and realize "this was paradise" and I was smack dab in the middle of it. I couldn't have asked for a better photo op & I have really stunningly beautiful pictures to show for it. It's amazing how something so simple can change your outlook and I am so thankful we were able to experience this. It really made the last part of the trip a much nicer experience and something I will never forget.- Swimming in Waikiki: After relaxing a bit on the balcony & soaking up the beautiful site I decided I just could not go home without a quick swim at Waikiki Beach. I was going to go alone but at the last minute hubby agreed to come with me. It was just a quick swim, right across the street, but it awesome. The beach was crowded but not overly so and I wasn't there to sunbathe anyway. The water wasn't the least bit crowded so it was a very peaceful swim, again, soaking up the amazement of being in Hawaii.- International Marketplace: To finish up our shopping we headed to the International Marketplace where I picked up what I considered to be a few bargains and completed the last of the gift shopping. - Before I went shopping hubby fell asleep in the room and was pretty much out for the night. He didn't even wake to eat dinner. I was very glad he was this tired because under normal circumstances I believe the noise of the traffic would have been a big distraction to him & kept him awake. We were on the 3rd floor, the highest the said was available, so we had to make do. Traffic is quite loud, especially with the fire trucks, but I was in heaven and noise doesn't keep me awake.Day 2 (Sun) - OahuPlanned Itinerary Climb Diamond Head, clean-up & check out of hotel, return rental, head for airportWhat Actually Happened- 7:00 am We left the hotel & drove to Diamond Head. This was our last big hurrah and I had my goal while in Hawaii was to push myself and I was really looking forward to doing just that. I am quite overweight but exercise regularly so I knew I was up to this. It is a hard climb, but not nearly as hard if you just take a few breaks along the way. I am the type that goes at my own pace and does not try to keep up with others. By doing it this way I was perfectly content to push myself & rest when needed. Just stopping long enough to take a few photos was usually all the rest I needed although there were a couple places I waited a few minutes longer than that to rest. Those 99 steps are a killer! I was so glad we decided to do it early thanks to the word from reviews I had read. There was 1 spot where the sun was hitting us and had we had to be in the sun for long it would have been so much harder & much more miserable of a climb. Leaving the hotel @ 7 am was very good timing. The view was beautiful and well worth the climb. We had 1 person in our group that uses a cane to walk and she was able to do the climb. At the top you need to climb up a small ladder through a hole to get out to the top & see the view. Unfortunately, after doing all that work to get to the top she knew the position she would have to put her body in to get through the hole was not something she could do but she was very happy knowing she had made the climb up. Overall, going up & down took us about 1 ½ hrs.- 11:30 am we checked out of the hotel & headed to the Hertz office to return the car & take the shuttle to the airport. We were not looking forward in the least to the return