With "Leslie" upgraded to a category 2 hurricane and slowly heading to Bermuda on the same schedule as the Dawn, we departed Boston and headed south toward the Bahamas. Amazingly, Leslie took a turn Northeast and our Captain decided to take a triangular path to Bermuda, arriving there a day later than planned. The weather was surprisingly good and the seas were relatively calm, so we all were very fortunate with the outcome. Now onto the ship....

As experienced cruisers, we had never sailed with NCL, and based on reviews and reputation, we (2 families, including 6 twenty-something year olds) tried to temper our expectations. We ended up being surprised, both on a positive and negative basis. Here's a quick summary:

The ship itself is in very good shape, having just been refurbished in 2011. Read more