During the next week we vacationed aboard this ocean-going resort while visiting four ports-of-call on three different islands. The ship offered an excellent program of shore excursions. Kayaking, snorkeling and parasailing were among the many activities passengers could participate in. For avid sightseers like ourselves, group tours conducted by knowledgeable driver/guides provided up-close looks at each island’s most scenic attractions.

Our favorite stop was at Coco Palms. Some years earlier we had spent several days at this fabulous resort which provided locales for "Fantasy Island," "Miss Sadie Thompson," and the wedding scene in Elvis Presley’s "Blue Hawaii." Although the hotel was damaged by Hurricane Iniki and has been closed since 1992, the lagoon and the coconut grove where the torch-lighting ceremony took place were still as glorious as we had remembered.

Excursions to Waimea Canyon, a breathtaking gorge often compared to Arizona’s Grand Canyon, and to the famous Fern Grotto on the Wailua River were other popular sightseeing options during the ship’s stay at Kauai.

On Maui one could venture into the mystical ‘Iao Valley, or to add a fifth island to the week’s itinerary by hopping over to Molokai to see the former colony where Father Damien worked with the lepers. While we strolled around the picturesque old whaling town of Lahaina, still other passengers went whale-watching or opted for the 38-mile sunrise bike ride down the slopes of Haleakala, the world’s largest dormant volcano.

Maui was also the site of a spectacular luau held on the grounds of an elegant resort. Island crafts, traditional Hawaiian cuisine, and hours of authentic Polynesian entertainment hosted by the ship’s talented kumu (teacher or storyteller) all contributed to a memorable evening.

During the ship’s call at Hilo on the big island (Hawaii) Dick took a helicopter flight-seeing ride over Kilauea, the world’s most active volcano. I opted for the full-day motorcoach trip up to Volcanoes National Park. The wettest city in the United States, Hilo is known as the flower capital of the world. The tour began with a visit to a lush tropical garden featuring a stunning collection of orchids.

From sea level the twisty road climbed through nearly impenetrable rain forest to emerge onto barren deserts and the sites of earlier lava flows. In one area a whole town had been swallowed by eruptions of molten rock. An exquisite black sand beach that I had walked across on an earlier visit to Hawaii had also disappeared under tons of magma which had since poured across it and continued out to sea, creating new land in the process.

"The earth is recycling itself," our knowledgeable driver/guide, "Uncle Butch," declared philosophically.

Following an excellent buffet lunch at the famed Volcano House and a visit to the Thomas A. Jagger Museum for a first-hand look at a seismograph, the tour continued along the Chain of Craters road. Steam spiraled from the caldera as we walked gingerly along Devastation Trail to peer down into the blackened depths of the vast crater. Further on we again left the bus, this time to venture through the Thurston Lava Tube, an amazing natural tunnel created by a long-ago eruption.

That night, while the ship sailed slowly from Hilo to Kona along the south side of the big island, we watched from a safe distance as a fiery river of lava flared in the darkness, bubbling inexorably out of Kilauea’s side vent and down the slope of the volcano at 30 mph.

According to legend, if a lei tossed overboard floats back to land, the person who threw it will oneday return to Hawaii. As the ship departed Kona for the overnight voyage back to Honolulu, we were among the many passengers who gathered at the stern on Outrigger Deck to cast their flower necklaces into the surf.

Mahalo—thank you—for traveling along on this nostalgic journey to Hawaii’s outer islands. Please join us again in two weeks here on Senior Globe when we conclude the travel diary of our Hawaiian vacation with a visit to the main island, Oahu—"The Gathering Place."