This is an awesome ship! My husband and I went on this cruise with 3 other couples. We flew from Houston, Texas directly to Honolulu three days before the cruise to get used to the 5 hour time difference. (That still was not enough!) We woke up the next morning at 2:30am raring to go! Only place to go was Denny's!) We stayed at the Outrigger Reef on the Beach for 3 nights, city view, for 375.00 so that in our opinion was a great price because it was right on Waikiki Beach. It is a nice hotel and right in the heart of things. There is a lot to see in Oahu so you need to plan on spending a couple of days there to see Pearl Harbor and the Polynesian Cultural Center, etc. On Monday we arrived at the Summit, our home for the next 11 nights. This was an 11-night cruise that went to Kauai, Maui, Kona & Hilo and was at sea for 5 days and ended in Vancouver. The weather could have been better. It did rain basically the entire weekend we were in Honolulu and the entire day in Kauai so we did not see much of Kauai. Maui is awesome and I recommend taking the Molokini Snorkeling Tour. We saw everything, white tip reef shark, sea turtles (one was missing a flipper and the guide informed us a Tiger Shark probably got it, yes, just what I needed to hear in this deep water at this time!) octopus, rays, fish and even a humpback whale on our way back to the dock. Maui has a lot of shopping also. This was our favorite stop and we were here 2 days. Kona was also nice. It is on the Big Island. We did the Body Glove Snorkeling here. They are great at entertaining you on this excursion. Next stop is Hilo. Yes it rains here! We went to Volcanoes National Park. Nice to say I have been. Can't say I would do it again. I have been to almost every state park in the US so this is the main reason why I went to this one. My opinion, seen one rock you seen them all.ha! Smells here so if you have breathing problems do not go due to the vapors.

Now my opinion of the ship. My husband and I are in our 30's. The others in our group are in their 40's and 50's. Our cabin was on 3rd deck, outside. Our friends all had Balcony staterooms on 7. I referred to my husband and I as "slumming" compared to them but in all actuality our cabin was just like theirs except for the fact that they had the balcony. I did not get the balcony for the simple reason that we usually cruise with our 3 small children so we can not have a balcony with them and I do not want to "spoil" myself with having one, so I can't miss something I have never had. ha ! Our stateroom was so nice! There was plenty of room for everything. I drink nothing but diet coke so I had also brought on with me 2 cases of diet coke to keep in my room. They do have a mini bar which I did not use except to keep my own cokes cold. The bed was very comfortable. I always pack enough clothes to dress half the ship and I had plenty of storage space for mine and my husband's clothes. The bathrooms were very roomy as was the shower. They also supplied you with a nice "waffle weave" robe to wear during the length of the cruise. I lived in this in my cabin. Very Nice! If you choose you can buy new ones so I came home with 4 for me and my friends! Same with beach towels! The food was great and I am not a big eater but I enjoyed the food on this ship more than any other! I actually gained 10 pounds! The personal pan pizza's are great and we had them delivered to our room almost every night. The entertainment was great. The cruise staff was one of the best we have met so far. My husband and I always try and participate in everything we can. Again we were on a 2 week vacation for the first time with no children, in Hawaii at that, so we were making the most of this trip! We were on the Newlywed Not so Newlywed Game, we lost bad even though we've been married 17 years! Played Battle of the Sexes every day. They dressed my husband up as Elvis on 50's night and we won on The Quest (awesome game but more fun on The Rhapsody of the Seas). Rani, on the cruise staff even sent us a Thank You card for participating in so much that week. Again, overall this was a great trip. This ship is a beauty. Hawaii is fine. It rains a lot there. My friend lived there for 2 years and told me its just another island. I now tend to agree. I prefer the Caribbean because one it is closer to Texas and being from Texas we are used to heat! I could not get used to the cold Pacific water compared to the warm Caribbean. The Caribbean water in my opinion is also clearer because it is warmer. Now, would I go again to Hawaii on this same cruise if given the opportunity, in a heart beat! I went on the Rhapsody of the Seas last October 2001 and "rode out" Hurricane Michelle all week in 30-40 foot seas so I know I could handle a little rain in Hawaii. We are going on the new Carnival Conquest in 9/03 so we will see if we have any more storms to deal with. Happy Cruising!

diox@txucom.netSeptember 2002