Itinerary: We were on the February 8, 2008 sailing out of Miami on the NCL Sun. The 7-day itinerary included ports of call at Roatan (Honduras), Belize City (Belize), Cozumel (Mexico) and Great Stirrup Cay (NCL's private island in the Bahamas). We stayed in cabin 9235 which is a balcony room on the 9th Fjord deck. Background: I am a San Diego-based financial advisor for a major Wall Street firm in my mid 40s. This was my 4th cruise, with past experiences limited to Celebrity and Carnival. My girlfriend is a social worker in her mid 30s. This cruise was her first (and she loved it!).

Pre-Cruise Hotel: We stayed at the Hampton Inn Dadeland. They offered a free shuttle from the airport to the hotel and a ride to the ship for only $15 for the 2 of us. However, the cruise ship terminal shuttles may sell out and if you have to take a cab you're looking at spending $40-$50, so reserve the shuttle ride early. The rooms were clean and comfortable. Free Wi-Fi is a plus and the nearby Dadeland shopping mall is convenient. We stocked up on supplies at a nearby Publix supermarket and the shuttle took us there and back for no charge.

For the Drinkers: NCL offers a bottle service bar setup but you must book it in advance. Most 1 liter bottles of liquor are either $40 or $55. We ordered 1 liter of Absolute Vodka and 1 liter of Beefeater Gin. The total cost was $83 inclusive of a $3 service charge. If we had ordered the same quantity of alcohol on the ship without the bar setup, the cost would have approached $300. NCL has very strict liquor policies, so I found the bar setup to be convenient and a reasonably good value. To set this up, the Sun's coordinator can be reached at shipcoordinatorsun@ncl.com. If you're on another NCL ship, simply change the sun part of the aforementioned e-mail address to the name of your ship. If you phone NCL customer service, they may well not be familiar with bar service and again if you don't do this in advance, it isn't going to happen. Read more