Boarding a cruise ship is always a crowded affair. So it was in Honolulu. What surprised us was that we had to remove the locks from our bags before boarding. The ship, the Norwegian “Pride of America,” was about the same size as the Princess ships we had sailed around Australia on. So we expected to get to our cabin after boarding the ship. We boarded around 12:30pm only to check into our stateroom at 5:30pm. We found out later that the crew were all US citizens, meaning they had to pay higher rates than crews on other cruise lines. Norwegian was the only cruise line allowed by US law to only sail around the islands. Other cruise lines were required to visit at least one foreign port. This meant that there were fewer crew members to do the job.

We found that the selection of free restaurants was not as extensive as with Princess. We dined mainly at their buffet restaurant and a couple of times at their East-West restaurant. These were fine. By Australian standards, the coffee on board leaves a lot to be desired.

We found our cabin to be the best designed we had ever seen with a better bed arrangement; more closet space and better designed bathroom and shower.

The theater was more spacious and it was easier to move to and from your seat. People could walk past you without you having to stand up. However, the Mardi Gras cabaret showroom was smaller than Princess, and the view from behind was not as good. Still, as the cruise progressed, the performances in these two areas were of a high quality.

For those who liked to walk or run to get rid of the effects of excess food, the promenade deck had a 546-meter-long walkway. Three laps was a mile (over 1.6 kilometers). The gangway was much wider than what we had previously seen on other ships.

The purpose of the cruise was to see the Hawaiian Islands. Consequently, during the day there was a lack of things to do on the ship if you arrived early from a tour. There was only one port where dinghy was required to get us ashore. We were impressed with how easy it was to get on and off the tenders and how spacious they were compared to others we had been on.

We agreed to do a tour in each port we visited, six in all. We discovered Roberts Tours on an internet search. It turned out that they were the largest tour operators in America on their green buses. We found them at a better price than the tours organized through Norwegian Cruises Lines. In fact, by booking multiple tours through them as what they called “Combo Tours”, we saved at least $100 each. Your service was excellent, always on time with great drivers/guides who were able to go to additional places when time allowed. We found the guides very knowledgeable and didn’t talk too much. They gave clear instructions regarding tee times and made good suggestions on food etc.

Safety was a very important issue. Upon returning to the ship and pier, we had to show photo ID as well as our cruise card even to get on the pier or dinghy or get off the bus upon returning from the tour.

What surprised me the most about the islands on the cruise was how high the buses went up without us realizing we were at a high altitude. I found out that I would look out the bus window and see an altitude sign like 2400 feet. We never seemed to be that high. It’s not something you see in Australia. We, of course, did the excursion to the highest volcano on the islands. It was reputed to be the highest on earth because it is a mountain that rises from the depths of the sea. It was over 10,000 feet above sea level. Our bus could only get us to 9500ft where we were able to see its huge crater and hike up to a minor peak of about 400m. It was quite a demanding walk due to the lack of oxygen at that altitude.

We saw an active volcano. From the observation deck, it was possible to see the lava bubbling on the surface of the crater. Later that night, the ship passed another lava flow. This one was bigger and the lava was flowing into the sea. This was much more spectacular.

On tours of the island, many coffee and macadamia plantations are seen. In a plantation that had quite a variety of activities, we found pineapple ice cream. It’s a pleasure not to miss. The coffee plantations we visited allowed coffee tasting. We saw the famous surfing beaches where the Pro tournaments are held. Another place we saw was the start and finish of the famous Hawaiian Iron Man Triathlon.

All the islands were very green with very steep rugged mountains. There was a wet and dry side to each island with a large variation in rainfall. One side of each island tended to be the windy side and the other side was protected from the wind by high mountains. For us the weather was great. The only time we needed a jumper was on board the ship, where the air conditioning was sometimes too cold.

Each island had a highway that circumnavigated the island, usually near the beach. We found on our bus tours to get the best view you needed seats on the right hand side of the bus.

If you’re only going to visit Hawaii once in a lifetime, you should include the cruise as part of your vacation, as well as Honolulu, Waikiki, Pearl Harbor, and the island tour from Honolulu.