This is the story of a cruise that was nine years in the making. Back in 1997, my friends and I booked passage on Royal Caribbean's Rhapsody of the Seas on a cruise from Vancouver to Honolulu. Alas, this cruise was cancelled at the last minute because Rhapsody of the Seas had developed engine problems. We had to completely reschedule our vacation and ended up in Iceland having a great time. But our wish to set foot on Hawaiian soil still lingered.

Enter Celebrity Cruises' Infinity!. My friends and I sailed on sister ship Millennium in her first season in the Mediterranean and liked the ship, so when we noticed a roundtrip cruise from Los Angeles to Hawaii we checked our savings accounts, called the cruise line and booked passage right away; more than a year before the departure date. 

Realizing that Infinity has had her fair share of propulsion trouble, this choice was a bit of a gamble. Still, with no less than 8 sea days to look forward to, the thought of getting away from it all was enough to carry us through to October, 2006.  Then the day arrived to hop on a flight to San Francisco where we spent a couple of days before driving south along Highway 1 at our leisure. Finally, a two-night stay on board the classic ocean liner Queen Mary put us in the right mood for our long-awaited voyage to Hawaii. And back!