Hi Everyone,

My husband and I just booked an inter-island cruise around Hawaii for September. It's on NCL's Pride of America and we're being cautiously optimistic. Masaki seemed to enjoy his cruise last year aboard the Pride of Hawaii and we're going into this with a laid back attitude. We know we're not going to get Regent-type service. We're trying to keep our expectations at a realistic level.

The itinerary fits our schedule and we were able to get a nice Deluxe Penthouse with a hot tub on our balcony so we're excited! But we're also a bit nervous about being on such a large ship. It will be interesting to see how we do as one couple in a jumble of 2,000 people. Luckily, suite passengers get priority embarkation and tender tickets so we're hoping we can avoid some of the crush.

And, we figure if we don't particular enjoy the cuisine onboard, we can always eat on island. In fact, we're hoping to have lunch at Alan Wong's Pineapple Room on our first day in Oahu. Has anyone dined there recently? How about his Hualalai Grile at the Four Seasons on the Big Island?

If you've got a fav Hawaiian restaurant, please share! We'll be visiting Oahu, Maui, the Big Island, and Kauai.

Also, has anyone done the Feast at Lele luau on Maui? It's supposed to be a bit more upscale with a plated dinner instead of a buffet. It sounds fun but the only day that's available is the same day we're doing the Road to Hana, so I don't know if we'll be up for dressing up and dining out later that night. We'll see.

We plan to do a lot of hiking and photography and just plain relaxing! I'll be blogging about our experience and posting pictures from the islands.

We can't wait! I started a new job at Barnes & Noble Publishing earlier this summer and my husband's been super busy too. We're looking forward to spending some time together!

Cheers,

Andrea