Boarding a cruise is always a crowded affair. It was like that 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 of a similar size to the Princess ships that we had sailed through Australia. So we were hoping to get to our cabin after boarding the ship. We boarded around 12.30pm only to enter our stateroom at 5.30pm We later found out that all of the crew were US citizens, meaning they had to pay higher fares than crews on other cruise lines. Norwegian was the only cruise line allowed by American law only to cross the islands. Other cruise lines had to visit at least one foreign port. This meant there were fewer crew members to do the job.

We found that the selection of free restaurants was not as wide 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 the ship leaves a lot to be desired.

We found our stateroom to be the best designed we had seen with a better bed arrangement; more closet space and better designed bath 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 showroom at the Mardi Gras cabaret was smaller than at Princess and the view from the back was not as good. Still, as the cruise progressed, the performances in these two areas were of great quality.

For those who liked to walk or run to remove the effects of excess food, the deck of the promenade had a walkway that was 546 meters long. Three times around it was a mile (more than 1.6 kilometers). The gangway was much wider than what we had previously seen on other boats.

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 were arriving early from a tour. There was only one port where bidders were required to get us ashore. We were impressed with how easy it was to get on and off the tender and how spacious they were compared to others we had been to.

We agreed to take a tour of each port we visit, six in total. We discovered Roberts Tours in an internet search. It turned out they were America’s largest tour operators on their green buses. We find them at better prices 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. Their 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 to be very knowledgeable and we didn’t talk too much. They gave clear instructions regarding departure times and made good suggestions about food etc.

Security was a very important issue. Upon returning to the ship and dock, we had to show a photo ID, as well as our cruise card, even to get on the dock or tender or get off the bus when we returned from the tour.

What surprised me the most about the islands on the cruise ship was the altitude that the buses climbed without realizing that we were at a high altitude. I found out that I was looking out the window of the bus and seeing an altitude sign like 2400 feet. We never seemed to be that high. It is not something you see in Australia. We, of course, did the tour 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 more than 10,000 feet above sea level. Our bus was only able to take us to 9500 feet where we were able to see its huge crater and hike to a lower peak of about 400 meters. It was quite a demanding hike due to the lack of oxygen at that height.

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

On tours of the island, you will see many coffee and macadamia plantations. In a plantation that had a great variety of activities, we found pineapple ice cream. It is a pleasure not to be missed. The coffee plantations we visited allowed for coffee tasting. We saw the famous surf beaches where the Pro tournaments are held. Another place we saw was the start and end of the famous Hawaiian Iron Man triathlon.

All the islands were very green with rugged and rugged mountains. There was a wet and a dry side to each island with great variation in rainfall. One side of each island tended to be the windy side with the other side protected from the wind by the 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 road that circumnavigated the island, usually near the beach. We found on our bus tours to get the best view that you needed seats on the right side of the bus.

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