We live in San Francisco so we had just a short taxi ride to the pier. Embarkation was a breeze. A porter took our luggage as the taxi pulled up. We were through check in within minutes and had to wait just a short time before the ship was ready to board.

The staff was warm and welcoming - greeting us with trays of champagne. The decor of the ship is clean and classic - not ostentatious. Very comfortable and well maintained. Our favorite bar was the Windjammer - woodsy and nautical. Fabulous martini made with "Ultimate" vodka.

Cabins have a 4-cup coffeemaker - NCL supplies coffee filter packs all in one. I love my own dark rich coffee first thing in the morning. So we hotfooted it off the ship - headed to Safeway to purchase small (flat) filters and a bag of Peet's coffee (local roaster - great coffee). Sunrise many mornings found us on our balcony with our own coffee. The sunrises (and sunsets) were awe inspiring...worth crawling out of bed early. Read more