Background information: My sister and I were traveling together without our husbands. This was my fifth cruise and second on NCL. I have cruised Carnival, Disney and Premier in the past. I sailed on the POH in August 2006. This was my sister's first cruise. We are both in our early fifties.

New Orleans: We arrived in New Orleans Saturday afternoon and were met by my son who is currently working there. We stayed in the French Quarter at Le Richelieu on Chartres St. It was a wonderful location on a quiet street within walking distance to many attractions. They offer free parking and internet access. We got a rate of $105 for 2 double beds through Venere.com. Our room opened to a shared balcony that overlooked Decatur. We enjoyed a delicious dinner and great service at Bacco's. Sunday morning we went to Court of Two Sister's for their Jazz brunch. The setting is beautiful in an open courtyard but the buffet was nothing special and the Jazz trio played maybe 10 minutes of the 1 1/2 hrs we were there. Would not recommend this place as I am sure for $28 pp you can find a better brunch in New Orleans. My son took us on a tour of the downtown area where several office buildings remain vacant and then we headed out to see the 9th ward and St Bernard's Parish. Amazing to see the devastation that Katrina created and how slow the area is recovering. We spent the rest of the day exploring the French Quarter. This area has fully recovered and is as beautiful and lively as ever.

Embarkation: We arrived at the port around 2:45. A porter took our bags, which we had tagged with our cabin number, right out of the car. We took our carry on items up the escalator and were almost the last people to go through security. We arrived on deck 7 in the reception area right as they were calling for the lifeboat drill. Our cabin 10611 was a sideways inside in a great location. At 175 sq ft, it was as large as many balcony rooms. This cabin was a great find, it was very roomy and close to the stairs and elevators in the mid ship area. Being between floors of cabins, it was very quiet. Our cabin steward, Rusty, came to introduce him self and was very friendly and efficient throughout the week. My husband had ordered a dozen roses and they were in the cabin waiting for me when I opened the door. Our baggage arrived in our room around 6 pm. We found a pair of men's shoes under the bed and a check book in the safe. Rusty apologized for missing them and removed them quickly. Read more