It's probably too late, but a cruise is the best way to see Hawaii
Dawn and I have been to the islands several times, but our first trip was an 11 day inter-island cruise > fly in to Honolulu so there's no days wasted on ocean crossing from U.S. or Canada, and then tour all the islands in style -- each has its own flavor.
Get your Jeep on the big island (my favorite) to hit the active volcano areas
