First off, the bad:
It was VERY choppy out there on the 1pm trip. They do advise to go earlier, as I haven't I can't say the difference, however at 1pm it gets really bad. I don't get car sick or plane sick, but even I felt like hurling at times and it took everything to keep from doing so.
The actual crew...they were probably friendly enough, but we arrived at the right time (half hour before), went down to the boat as others were still getting off, had staff walk right by us and not even say "hey". I just found that a little odd...not even an "are you here for the 1pm tour?" When we were out there, however, the captain of the ship did a nice job by handing my struggling gf some ginger and a drink to help as she was hurling over the side.
It is rough out there, even when you're down in the cage...but sometimes, to do something really cool, you have to just put up with this kind of thing.
The good:
We saw 3 varieties of shark when we were out, including the Tiger Shark. It seems like you don't get a whole lot of time down there, but it's probably one of those things that just flies by. They come close enough to touch, if you're brave enough. They're awesome to see up close. I was surprised to find the DVD was $100, I wanted a memento but not that much. I managed to collect myself enough whilst the second group went down to get some great shots of the sharks feeding at the back of the boat, so that'll do.
Overall, this is simply another must-do activity in Hawaii, if you don't have things like this at home. Once you get back to shore, you can get refreshments in town or at the 76 gas station. We came by The Bus from Turtle Bay, so it was nice to be on dry land again, eating some ice cream, waiting for The Bus.