Lena had never been to Hawaii and had never been on a ship, so we decided to take a 7-day cruise around the Hawaiian Islands on the Norwegian Star (and then stay in Honolulu for an extra 3 days at the end of the cruise). We flew to Honolulu on Hawaiian Airlines and boarded the newly-commissioned (in 2001) Norwegian "Star" on a Sunday afternoon.
After we cleared Customs and checked our luggage, they took this 'commercial' photo of us before we actually crossed the gangway to board the ship (which has 14 decks and—at 970 feet—is more than 3 football fields in length). The "Star" has over 1,100 staterooms and a crew of about 1,100 to serve its 2,200 guests. We had a convenient and comfortable inside cabin...
... (located slightly forward of mid-ship) on the 10th deck. This image shows the main Hawaiian Islands which we visited (as well as the ports in which we docked at each island).
This map and itinerary for our 7-day cruise shows that we spent 2 full days at sea going to and returning from Fanning Island. Compared to Steve's previous Navy experiences aboard a converted WWII destroyer escort and a guided missile destroyer (when he was rolling around in the ocean for 30 days at a time), this was a an acceptable period to be away from the pier.
After checking into our cabin, we ate our 1st meal aboard ship—in one of the 10 different, unique restaurants—before getting underway at 8 PM. Since cell phones don't work at sea, before we sailed, Lena called the Mainland to let everyone know we arrived safely in Oahu and were getting ready to depart the port of Honolulu for the island of Hawaii.
While we had some 'rough' seas (for some passengers) that 1st night, Lena overcame her sea-sickness using 'acupuncture' wrist bands. Early Monday morning, we arrived at the port of Hilo on the "Big Island" (as the island of Hawaii is known) and—after enjoying a huge gourmet breakfast on the Star—embarked on a tour of a beautiful tropical botanical garden.
Not having personally seen tropical gardens before, Lena was impressed with the many colors and varieties of flowers and plants. However, we quickly realized that (1) it was impossible to see all of these islands in only one port call and (2) some of the more popular tours ashore had quickly filled and were unavailable. For example, we had REALLY wanted...
...to take a helicopter flight to see the active Kilauea volcano (with its molten lava flows) that is located on this island, but all available flights had quickly sold out. So, we had to be content with looking at the gardens and hiking a short distance from the bus to see this Akaka falls.
We departed the bus, navigated a number of steps, and walked about 1/3 mile through lush tropical rain forests to reach the falls (while hoping that the cloudy skies did not turn into a downpour of rain). This particular tour had been touted as "exploring a little-visited yet accessible waterfalls and seeing coastal areas along the way," so we...
...cannot say they mis-represented the facts. All in all, while the Akaka water falls were nice, it was not quite on par with getting on a helicopter and personally seeing molten lava flowing from a volcano into the sea! <grin>
After a full day of touring the gardens and seeing the falls, as we were retuning to the ship, we visited these commercial vendors in the pier-side security area next to the ship.
There is just 'something' about the CHRISTMAS season that is missing in the tropical Hawaiian climate!
Our inside cabin on the 10th deck was very modern and comfortable. Of course, based on Steve's previous Navy experience as a junior officer on his 1st ship [the USS Diachenko (LPR-123) which was a converted WWII destroyer escort], he had been packed together with 4 or 5 other officers in a room this size!
Even on his 2nd ship when was stationed on the USS John Paul Jones (DDG-32) as a LCDR and lived with only one other roomate, he did NOT have a shower, toilet, refrigerator, or TV in his room!
And, based on his Navy experiences, Steve had a hard time believing there were no rails around the beds to keep people from falling out (or rubber matting on the tops of tables to keep things from sliding off) when the ship rolled. In fact, Steve found that it was possible to set a glass of liquid on the table without worrying about its sliding off and getting broken.
However, one of the BIGGEST CONTRASTS to Navy life at sea was 24 hour FREE ROOM SERVICE for snacks, desserts and/or drinks! After having 3 (or more!) normal meals in any one of the 10 restaurants (or numerous snack-bars), we could also order Chocolate Mousse, pastries, pizza, sandwiches, ice tea, coffee, etc., for delivery in our cabin. WOW...
Actually, the cabin's toilet facility and shower were almost on par with many motels and hotels at which we had stayed.
In fact, about the only 'deficiency' (if you could call it that) was limited counter area around the sink on which to store toilet kits. BUT, compared to what Steve had experienced aboard a Navy ship, this was PARADISE!

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