I used this board a lot in my research for our cruise, so I felt it necessary to reciprocate and pass along our reviews. For some background, my husband and I are both in our late twenties and are avid travelers, but not avid cruisers. We booked this trip nearly a year in advance and spent quite a few hours researching activities for our port time via boards like this and general internet searches.

First let me compliment NCL on making boarding the ship a very easy experience. We did not arrange for pre-pick up since we arrived a day early, but found it quite easy to find a shuttle to the pier when we returned our rental car. The cruise business is a big deal, so pretty much all the employees involved in tourism know exactly what direction to point you in. Once we arrived at the dock, we made sure our bags were tagged with our cabin number, passed them off for delivery to our room, and went through the check in process which included a bag screening and then a short line for photo ID cards. These cards are your life for the extension of the cruise. No credit cards, no cash, just hand your card over, sign the receipt and then you get a master bill at the end of the week. This was very convenient and the photo identification was a great added measure of security. Disembarkation was also just as easy. You can tell they have this part down to a fine art!

Positives: The ship itself was very clean and had great directions listed anywhere you looked. The restaurants seemed to be grouped together and easy to find, and the service from the crew was positive from the start. I liked that the crew was all-American because it lent for easy conversation. Most of the staff is college age, but it was interesting to hear how and why they all ended up on a ship in Hawaii! We were also very impressed with the work out facility. My husband and I try to work out several times a week and found it very easy to continue our routine while on-board, especially with the time change! Though there was a wait at times for equipment, it was never too long, and there was always an alternative. The stateroom itself was great, and very well planned out. We had a balcony room which allowed for a little extra sitting area, and was really worth the view in the mornings. There is a small refrigerator and a tv as well. Though you only get a few channels, ESPN, FOX, CNN, and TNT. Just enough to keep up with the outside world! On another technology note, we were pleased to have wonderful cell service pretty much the whole time on board (except for the overnight sailings) and you could access wireless internet if you chose, but the fees were very expensive. We found internet cafes in port if we really needed to get to our mail. They were not hard to find and were much more reasonably priced. Read more