Best Vacation Ever!!

I took this cruise with my husband and my two girls ages 13 and 11. We departed March 3, 2018 for what was to be a 7 night cruise. About a week before we set sail, we were notified that we would be having a 6 night cruise as they had to "dry dock" the ship. At first I was a bit upset, but it worked out just fine.

Norwegian organized busses to take us to the Hilton Hawaiian Village for our last day/night. Everything went like clock work.

I read a lot of reviews giving this cruise less than stellar remarks. I was a little afraid of what was to come. Rest assured, the ports are the attraction, not the ship. There is nothing wrong with the ship, it is just not their finest vessel. Meaning, there is no casino, no fancy pool slides etc. We saw two evening shows: a magic show and a Vegas style show. Both shows were great. We ate mostly at the Aloha Buffet and the Cadillac Diner. The food was good but we soon tired of eating the same thing every day. We could have opted to go to the other restaurants and pay but we preferred not to.

Our room was 9136, on the 9th floor mid-ship balcony family room. It was tight but adequate. Luckily we could push the suitcases under the bed and put stuff in the closet.

I would suggest bringing removable 3M hooks to hang stuff up and then remove them before you leave the ship at the end. Our little desk area was so cluttered with phones, chargers etc. would have been nice to hang them on a hook.

In the shower they had a clothes line to dry bathing suits, that was a nice surprise. They also have a coffee maker and hairdryer for your convenience.

Many posters complained about not seeing their room steward for a few days. I suspect it is because they arrive on ship, go to their room and then leave. We say our room steward daily starting on day 1. Our steward was very nice, very respectful and left the room immaculate daily. Another poster had recommended bringing lanyards for each traveler and a hole puncher. This was a fabulous idea. Everyone had their room key around their neck and there was no fear of anyone losing their key card. It also made for faster on/off the ship because their ID cards were always at the ready!

We were lucky to have a room on the starboard side of the ship. We got ALL the best views from our balcony, including the LAVA flowing into the sea after leaving HILO. Book the starboard side of the ship!! In Kauai, we had a lovely view of the mountains and harbor versus the ship security building view on the port side of the ship.

All in All Well Worth Every Penny, and an absolutely wonderful way to see Hawaii.

In ports we rented cars each day and did our own exploring. Got great deals on cars from Discounthawaii car rental.

Also, we did the chiefs luau in Oahu, we bought it through Roberts and they gave us FREE tickets to see the Polynesian Magic Show. Really great nights!!

Would love to go again!!

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