Red, if you're gonna finally book a balcony, the Hwaii cruise the one to do so! Congrats.
First, I love the Spirit -- been on her twice. And 2nd, here is a photo gallery of teh ship and a balcony cabin:
http://cruisemates.com/gallery/view.php?id=1524
Honestly, the views are great from either side of the ship, so don't sweat that too much. But if given my druthers, I would book on the starboard side -- you face Honolulu when in port. However, we were on port side, which meant that for the bulk of the trip we did not have the blazing sun in the afternoon. Either will be fine, I promise.
And do get the Hawaii Revealed books -- best ones I had on the islands! I also know a great car rental site -- we had Dodge Neons for $35 total a day.
Harry