We have just returned from our cruise and had a wonderful time. We (husband and wife) are mid-50's. Embarkation in Honolulu was slightly disorganized, going one direction to pick up luggage tags, then another direction to drop the bags off, then through security.

The first two days were spent in Maui, the only island that we had visited previously. We rented a car from Alamo through DiscountHawaiiCarRental.com ( as we did for all of the islands). Good prices and no problems. We spent the days sightseeing in the Iao Valley and other areas, and visiting beaches (Kamaole 2 is nice, in Kihei).

Next was the Big Island. The first day was spent seeing Volcanoes National Park, a must-see. Had we planned better, we would have headed right for Chain of Craters Road and taken the hike at the end of the road out to the lava flow. As it was, we took the 1/2 mile hike to see the lava tube. There was a small parking lot closer to the lava tube, but the short hike was nice. Read more