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Hilton Hawaiian Village is a "nice" spot to be on a Friday night, go for drinks with your loved one, and watch fireworks explode above you.....great fun.

MROBSTAD - we did the Pride of America cruise a few years around the Hawaiian Islands, and loved it. The cruise ship apparently has some association with a tour operator company, I think they own it. (Sorry I just can't think of the name)

We booked another company called "Roberts of Hawaii" who were cheaper, and just as good as the other company I believe. Polynesian Adventure Tours I think is owned by the Cruise Company.

We had an native Hawaiian guy called, "Ken" who was our tour guide for the day on Maui - who drove the Roberts of Hawaii Bus, and he drove us to Hana, then, Ken would stop the bus, walk over to a native bush, pick berries which explained is a berry the native Hawaiians used to eat, we all tasted the berries. Ken was wealth of knowledge on ancient Hawaiian sites, etc. He even stopped the bus so I could buy some bananas from a stall holder at near Hana. If I could get Ken again as a driver, I would use Roberts of Hawaii at the drop of a hat.

I agree The Bus is an excellent inexpensive form of transport in & around Honolulu/Waikiki/Kahala, etc.

We have the Bus to get to start of the walking track up to Diamond Head.

What's wrong with using a pepper grinder, we use one all the time at home, and most restaurants have them as well.

Thanks guys, well it appears that Cafe Al Bacio is the place for that coffee each afternoon. Its funny we have never had more than 2 coffees in one day, and even then its one in the morning at a beachside cafe, and then the 2nd in a similar cafe, but not same cafe in the morning, if you know what I mean.

I just got back from my favourite cafe where I live in Hervey Bay, and the "master" as I call him, made the perfect coffee for me again.

I have trouble finding someone who makes coffee as good as he does.

I did try Starbucks in Waikiki. I wasn't that impressed with it.

My wife & I are both ex-smokers, having given away the habit many years ago, after watching my uncle die of lung cancer (heavy smoker). My wife is a retired nursing sister, and she nursed many dying patients who had smoked for many years.

I never thought I would become so much an "anti-smoker". I find I can't even stand near a person when they are smoking, I just walk away, telling them that the smoke effects me, and I want breath fresh air.

We don't book balcony cabins, in case, the persons in balcony cabins near us, are smoking. So we opt for "oceanview" cabins, a bit cheaper, but no smoke.

The last cruise we did was on the Sun Princess, around the Pacific Islands, and I noticed that smoking was allowed outside in certain areas, not close to public amentities, bars/food areas, etc.

To the member who posted those beer & wine prices - THANK YOU, I now have an idea of what types of wines & beers are on offer, and what to budget for. My wife & I like New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc or a Pinot Grigio.

I like lagers, but prefer IPA or Pale Ale. In Australia we have a very nice Pale Ale called, Coopers. If you buy a stubbie Coopers Pale Ale, you must lay the stubbie bottle on its side, & roll it, to mix the sediment in the beer.

Thank you once again, well done!

Thank you, each & everyone for their advice. Firstly, I should have stated that we only have coffee once or twice in a day (2nd coffee well after the first)

At home, when we go for coffee, we pick places, which not only serves great coffee - we like the brand of coffee they have - but MOST OF ALL, the cafe or its location should have ambiance, ie, nice location/furnishings, or more so what does it look out onto, water/ocean views. To us, having a coffee, is a pleasant quiet time where we both discuss things, enjoy the view, and relax.

We have one cafe here in the bay, that serves Di Bella coffee, but also has "guest coffees", eg. coffee from Mexico, New Guinea, & other exotic locations. The Barista at this Cafe, is passionate about making the best coffee for his customers, he experiments with various parts of his coffee machine to produce a darn good coffee. He loves to talk to us on how he does it. I told him, "You can't improve upon perfection" (he smiled)

Well, once again, thanks each & every one for their advice, we will certainly visit Cafe al Bacio each day.

Good to read all these previous reports & replies. This was going to be my next question regarding our next cruise of Celebrity Millenium, how good is the coffee from the ship's cafe?

My wife & I have a coffee once each day, and always at a cafe in the bayside town in Queensland, Australia. We are fortunate to have some good Baristas in our town, and also we have cafes situated very close to Bay's beaches. One cafe owner actually serves take away coffee to persons seated/or lying on the beach (now that's service I say)

On the our last cruise, Sun Princess, we had coffee once each day (enough caffeine we reckon) in the ship's cafe, and strangely enough, it was quite passable. We both like Cappucino style, with a good sprinkling of chocolate on the top, and it must be extra hot, without burning the milk. A tall order, but a good barista can get it right.

Not sure about American style coffee's - but I am sure we will find it okay.