This was my second NCL cruise, and it won't be my last. The ship is beautiful and spotless. The crew were extremely pleasant and always seemed happy. The dinner in the specialty restaurants were well worth the extra money, with the exception of La Cucina. They just started a $10pp surcharge for that restaurant. The only thing I really liked was the garlic type dip for the calamari. I will try to space this out per each day.

Sunday, August 3-I had stayed the night before at the Renaissance Seattle Hotel and my husband wanted to do some shopping at Nike and Adidas, so we decided to walk to the pier. We wanted to arrive by 11:30am. We arrived at Nike before they opened, so we just shopped at Adidas. We arrived at Pier 66 right before our planned time and checked in with a one person wait ahead of us. They gave us a boarding number, which was already at 14 at this point. They sectioned off some waiting areas. I would say boarding began around 11:45, and my number was called and I was on the ship by noon. A very efficient and fast embarkation process. I listened to what other members said about the buffet being overcrowded on embarkation day, so I went to Summer Palace, and had no wait and it was not busy at all. We got a table by the window. I had the chilled banana soup, which was great. I also had tilapia, and was served a nice size filet. It was moist and delicious. My weather is based on the dailies, or captain's log on the TV. It was 72* and sunny. I attempted the rock wall, and this seemed to be the least busy time, before guests arrived. I only made it half way up. I have never climbed before, so I was happy. The Blue Angels flew over us before we set sail. For dinner, we ate at Mambos, which has a 10pp cover charge. My husband wanted the lobster tacos, which were very saucy, but quite good. I had a chicken/steak fajitas combo plate, and that was also great. My husband is quite the eater, and wanted to also try II Popo, so they made the serving for one. This was also very tasty. The servers really know what is popular and good and practically place the order for you. They didn't care that we were ordering so much food. We definitely got our money's worth in the restaurants. The Welcome Aboard Show was a little act from all the performers during the week, so you could decide which you wanted to see. I think this was my favorite show, since it gave a little of everything.

Monday, August 4-It was very cold and windy, maybe 60*, if we were lucky. The Lifestyles Room on deck 12 is the lounge for past NCL members, which it states "members only" on the outside. They have cookies, coffee, and tea in there. We would sit in there and enjoy the views and quietness. I heard several people walking by and saying it was for members only. By the end of the week I think those guests caught on, as it was busy by then. It is really not monitored, so anybody could go in there. I attended the cruise critic meeting, which was nice, but didn't turn out to be a big group, and seemed to split up in 30 minutes. We did get a Saturday morning complimentary bowling slot. I heard several people say it was hard to get a reservation, so do yours early. They only have 4 lanes. The latitude party was great, with free drinks and appetizers. Also, a coupon for a lithograph picture in two of the ports. They had giveaways with some of the prizes being a dinner in Le Bistro, a bracelet, bingo cards, casino chips, etc. We attempted to go the Garden Cafe buffet around 12pm and it was total madness, with nowhere to sit. The action stations were nice, but you had people walking around without watching were they were going. It looked like one continuous line, but if you wanted one station, you would have to basically "cut" in front of the person who is still at the last station. Nobody seemed to be mad, so I guess this was the right way to do things. I would recommend on sea days to arrive at 11:30 when the buffet opens, or wait until 2pm. As somebody else on these boards recommended, and it worked quite well, go eat your food in La Cucina, not many people in there. One day, the Captain was in there eating his lunch. Smart man! The food at the Garden Cafe was decent, basically your typical buffet on any cruise ship. There was plenty of food to find something you would like. We had Cagney's for dinner. I had the filet and my husband had the ribeye and both were excellent and cooked perfectly. I had the chocolate cake with berries for dessert and it was really good. My husband had the cheesecake, and we both didn't care for it. We saw a few whales in the distance around 8pm, I think it was near Prince Rupert. The Garden of the Geisha show was a love story. I didn't really care for it, except when the aerialists/ acrobats came out. They seemed to be the foundation of their shows, as they were used again during the Sea Legs show. I enjoyed the Sea Legs show better than the Geisha. My husband and I were in the Newlywed/Not so Newlywed Show. It was lots of fun, even if you don't play. Read more