I have cruised 5 times before but never with NCL so I thought I would try it out. I read past reviews and disagreed with some and gave others a nod. Here is how our vacation rated with NCL.

If you get to the port before 1 or so you will have no problems waiting to get on but after that it got very busy. Remember, there are 2000 people wanting to get on in about 3 or 4 hours. Getting off was fine too, have patience and just enjoy the sun on your last day on deck and wait for your color tag to be called. I guarantee there will be a long line no matter what. It is the same way on each ship. All those people have to get off in an orderly manner going thru customs first and NCL has no control over customs on how slow or fast they go. They ask you questions to make sure you are not some weirdo trying to pass thru to the USA. Patience my friend is a virtue. So just keep an open mind and don't get all riled up after a relaxing week on vacation.

Freestyle cruising is great if you want to give up great service for being able to go to dinner when you would like. We didn't care for it and in the past if we wanted to go at a different time we just went to the buffet or something else on Carnival or RCCL. They all have specialty restaurants and snack joints to choose from. The food was fair and we ate a few times at the pool when they had the BBQ. It was quite good if you like Chicken & Ribs on the grill. The buffet was good also with great salad and fruits to pick from and a vegetarian side for those that preferred non-meat entrees. Ice cream was available back by the kids area on 12 if you are looking for it. The blue lagoon is open 24 hours and has hot wings, potato skins, etc for snacking purposes or a late nite snack or if you were unhappy at the dining room. We never went to the restaurants where you have to pay extra, didn't think it was worth it and I didn't want to wait for a reservation at 9 at nite to eat. Read more