Hawaiian Birthday Cruise

I was fortunate enough to embark on a 12 day cruise on the Celebrity Millenium over my birthday (May 1). We started in Hawaii, and went around the Hawaiian islands for 6 days, then went on a 6 day-at-sea voyage up to Vancouver, Canada. This was the second ship I had ever been on, and it was 3 times bigger then the Azamara Journey. At first I was very overwhelmed, but once I got used to the extra lounge areas and wider range of entertainment options, I made myself (temporarily!) at home. The first port was Honolulu, where the ship embarked from. It was quite a tourist driven spot, and the main street was filled with high end stores (Bulgari, Coach, etc,) and a million souvenir spots. While the locals I ran into (which was mostly on the beach) were friendly, it felt a little like Miami. We did stay in the tourist area though, and did enjoy the main beach. We didn't exactly feel like it was a tropical paradise, but luckily, we were in for a treat in the following days....