This is the advice I give all gives who tell me they're interested in Hawaiian cruises. Hope it helps!!!
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I went on the Norwegian Cruise Line Pride of America with my family for my parents' 25th wedding anniversary about 5 years ago.
In my opinion, NCL is great, especially for large families, or couples who don't really want to be bothered by other people. I've been on 4 NCL cruises, and I've loved them all.
A couple of things to look out for: you have to make reservations for dinner each night, especially if you want to eat in the specialty restaurants (e.g. steakhouse, italian, etc.). Also, if you want to just hang out by the pool, you have to get outside really early to get a lounge chair (especially on an At-Sea day). But that's not an issue specific to NCL.
NCL has on its ships a 'diner-like' place which is very fun, open 24 hours. The one of the POA was 50's-Elvis themed, very cute.
A few things to know about Hawai'i in general. Honolulu is a city - it's like going to San Diego. Touristy, peddlers on the street, office buildings, nothing like how you would picture 'Hawai'i.' We stayed two nights in Waikiki (at the Marriott Waikiki Beach) before we got on the ship. At the Honolulu airport, you get 'leid' with a lei (but everything comes with a price!). My sister's luggage was destroyed, and they are so laid back that they offered her the contents of her bag in a plastic bag and a used luggage strap. We were a bit dumbfounded, but didn't want our uptight NY-ness to ruin our Hawaiian vacation. If you're in Waikiki/Honolulu at all, check out Cheeseburger in Paradise. It was a great burger-joint place.
Once you get to the other islands, you'll start to see that fairytale place everyone talks about. We got on the ship and as I said on the board, it was absolutely amazing b/c we were in the Penthouse Suite. Not that you have to be in that kind of room to have fun, but it definitely made it better - plasma TV, king-sized bed, butler service, etc. You name it, and it was there!
Excursions I recommend: We did the Pearl Harbor excursion which was AMAZING. If you're at all a history buff, definitely worth the trip. We also did the Blue Hawaiian helicopter tour over the volcanoes in Kona (i think). This was a bit scary for me b/c I'm not much of the flying type (the flight to Hawaii from NY was enough for me!). But it really was a once in a lifetime experience. I will say that Blue Hawaiian has an impeccable track record for safety that most of the other companies don't have - i think we paid like $200-300 pp for this excursion - but how many people can say they flew over an active volcano?! Not many.
Kauai'i was my favorite port - it's exactly what you picture 'Hawaii' to look like. Very laid back, beautiful, dirt roads, gigantic palm trees. We stopped at the Crab Shack (i think it was called) where you basically eat a crab sandwich in a hotdog bun. Then got Halo Halo (their version of sorbet/ice cream) at a local place nearby. We stopped at Waimea Canyon, which is a lookout point where we took beautiful pictures.
We also did an authentic luau in Maui as well. It was a bit hard to get to - we had to rent a car b/c it was far from where the ship docks - but apparently it's the oldest luau in Hawai'i. I'm sorry I can't remember the name of it, but I know it was in Maui and it prides itself on being the 'oldest' luau in Hawai'i.
On the last day of our trip, we did an excursion from the boat that basically was a busride through Honolulu w/ a tour and then you got to go to the Polynesian Cultural Center for an authentic luau and fun day. This was probably the most fun part of the trip. We got to do some really fun things there and learn about the Hawaiian culture. This worked well for us b/c the bus stored our luggage for the day and then drove us to the airport b/c our flight wasn't until 10pm that night.
I didn't go there, but I heard that Turtle Bay is much more secluded and quieter.
HTH! Let me know if you have ANY other questions - i'd be happy to help!
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