This was my 6th NCL cruise (5th NCL ship). Other family had booked 7 weeks in advance with the "kids sail free" promo. I booked 5 weeks in advance on the day the single supplement was eliminated and got a great price ($659 base) on a balcony (cabin 12282, with family in 12272).
We flew into FLL the evening prior to cruise and stayed at Springhill Suites. It was fine but the area was a little sketchy at night. Had pre-booked Fast Shuttle to pier the next morning. Shuttle arrived right on schedule at 11AM for transfer to Port of Miami. At POM we left our luggage with porter (tipped) and headed inside Terminal C. The Lattitudes line was longer than the newbie line so we went to the newbie line, where we had a couple newbie agents. Eventually we got checked in, received group 15, headed upstairs and boarded right away. This was around 12-12:30. The whole process wasn't too bad. The cabins weren't ready and the halls were closed so we couldn't drop off our carry-ons.
Cabins 12282 vs 12272. Family balconies. 12272 has the larger angled balcony with beds by closet. 12282 regular balcony with bed by balcony. The bed placement made a huge difference, with 12282 feeling much larger. Plenty of storage. The cabin location was excellent, near the stairs/elevator up to decks 15/16 for Garden Cafe and Flamingo Grill, then up to sports area and "pools". These port-side aft cabins were also perfect for viewing the fireworks. The A/C worked great and was much needed because it was HOT and HUMID. I really didn't use the balcony much because of that, and because the guests next door seemed to always be on their balcony talking loudly and smoking. Note: On the deck plans there is a white area a little furth back across the hall from 12282. This is a crew area and the door slams hard and LOUD everytime. I could feel it in my cabin. Surely this has been reported before and should be fixed. I finally mentioned it to our cabin steward the night before disembarkation. I then received a phone call from a supervisor at about 11PM that night offering me another cabin, which I declined since it was the last night. But it was really bad. Both cabins had the wonderful Rhoderick for cabin steward.
Cabins 12282 vs 12272. Family balconies. 12272 has the larger angled balcony with beds by closet. 12282 regular balcony with bed by balcony. The bed placement made a huge difference, with 12282 feeling much larger. Plenty of storage. The cabin location was excellent, near the stairs/elevator up to decks 15/16 for Garden Cafe and Flamingo Grill, then up to sports area and "pools". These port-side aft cabins were also perfect for viewing the fireworks. The A/C worked great. Note: On the deck plans there is a white area a little furth back across the hall from 12282. This is a crew area and the door slams hard and LOUD everytime. I could feel it in my cabin. Surely this has been reported before and should be fixed. I finally mentioned it to our cabin steward the night before disembarkation. I then received a phone call from a supervisor at about 11PM that night offering me another cabin, which I declined since it was the last night. But it was really bad. Both cabins had the wonderful Rhoderick for cabin steward.