Some background on my cruise experience: I'm a relatively new cruiser, but have done three cruises within 15 months before taking this cruise. All three were on Royal Caribbean, two of which were charters. This would be my first cruise on a different line.
When I was offered a new job, I purposely took a two-week break to take a trip. I knew I would need some time to relax and reset before starting the new job, and a cruise seemed to be the perfect option. A friend of mine (Lucas) who was recently laid-off was interested in joining me, and we searched high and low for the perfect cruise. We wanted to do a cruise that was longer than a week and was at a good value (not more than $100/day for an interior cabin). We were booking last-minute, but we had several options. We settled on NCL's Norwegian Pearl 9-night Southern Caribbean.
Although NCL calls this itinerary Southern Caribbean, I considered the itinerary more "eastern" than "southern," with stops in Samana (Dominican Republic), Tortola, Antigua, Barbados and St. Lucia. With five ports-of-call all new to both Lucas and me, plus an opportunity for Lucas to go scuba-diving in Tortola, we felt this was the best option. NCL listed an interior guaranteed cabin at $729, but I found it listed online for $649. I booked online about two weeks before the trip.