I research the reviews carefully before booking my "last minute" cruise with NCL. As far as the criticism from those who claim to be experts because they are experienced cruisers, I say they are comparing apples to oranges. You dont get 5 star treatment on a discount package. As an experienced cruiser, I feel that for the price, you got a reasonable value.
The port side check-in was fairly easy, with the advanced online documentation registration. The traffic on the West side by the ships is always a horror- take a train if you can. Otherwise, parking was fairly easy, but pricey ($140) We managed to bypass the luggage check in (by accident) but we travel very light for 2 adults and 2 kids. Although we were told the staterooms were not available, we went straight to ours to drop the bags and hit the pools (HINT- dress the kids in swimsuits under their clothes so they can jump right in after boarding-you dont have to wait for your bags.).
We got the LEAST EXPENSIVE room possible, so it was not surprising that it was closet size. The 4th mattress lies on the floor. (Better to have 2 rooms or an upgrade if you have 4 people). The bathroom was nice and clean with no functioning problems as I have had on more expensive lines. Our steward was very friendly and always addressed us by name when he saw us in the halls. We got towel animals (I wonder why someone would miss that?) and chocolates on our pillows.