A little about us, we are 29 and 30 years old, this is our 4th cruise (past cruisers of RCI, NCL and Princess-this was our 2nd sailing with NCL but our 1st Penthouse experience). We are CC addicts - so we thought it would be proper to give a full review of our recent cruise in return for all the great advice and comments we have received here on CC. This may get kind of long-but, well....we have a lot to say! (=

EMBARKATION It was great, since we had a penthouse we had our own check-in line, which was a breeze, we were taken to a special room where they gave us our on board key card. From there we were escorted to security (we carried on 5btls of wine and paid the $15 per bottle corkage fee and moved on - well worth it!) we were then escorted to the VIP waiting area. We ended up waiting a little longer than usual due to late disembarkation of the previous cruise. When it was time to board, the VIP section goes first...this is where we met our concierge (Carlos) and then were greeted with a glass of champagne as we entered at the crystal atrium of the ship....we weren't able to go to our suite immediately (they were still cleaning from cruise before us) but, as a suite guests, we were allowed to go to Cagney's for lunch...a very nice, quiet start to an AWESOME cruise!

ROOM One word. AMAZING. On our previous cruises we have done mini-balcony suites and inside cabin (we are partial to balconies - and only sailed with an inside cabin once because we could not pass up the price)....the Penthouse suite was a great experience for us, we had an abundance of space and the amenities and "perks" were substantial! You walk into a small hallway - off to the left was a small room with a bathroom, closet, tv and a sofa that pulled out to a bed, and it also had a bunk folded into the wall that pulls down for more sleeping space. You enter the main suite through a lighted doorway into the dining area that has a table that seats 4, a small bar area with glasses of all sizes, a cappuccino maker, refrigerator, various condiments and a bottle of champagne. (we also ordered the anniversary package, so we had chocolate covered strawberries and an extra bottle of champagne in our room {anniversary package was $79 which is well worth it! It includes the mentioned champagne & choc covered strawberries upon embarkation, dinner for 2 one night at LeBistro with a 1 btl of wine, a champagne & cake party, canapEs delivered to your room one night and a free 5x7 pic or $5.00 an already printed larger pic}. Past the dining area is a sitting area with a sofa (that also pulls out), some chairs, coffee table and flat screen tv and sliding doors to the balcony. The balcony was the same size as the mini suite balconies, but the furniture was nicer, and more comfortable. There is a sliding door that separates the dining/sitting area from the main bathroom/bedroom The bed is in a little area by itself that has curtains, along with some storage cabinets and another flat screen tv. The bathroom area has a huge closet with lots of hangers, bathrobes and slippers, a separate little room for the toilet (behind a glass door), a separate shower area that had rainforest, spa heads with a window that looked out to the ocean (yes, there is a shade if you need it), then there is the tub, we thought it would be a Jacuzzi, but it is just a tub that has a huge window that also overlooks the ocean, and they provided bath salts. Very relaxing! The large vanity was great for 2 people. Double sinks, lots of space, lots of drawers and cabinets, and an area with a stool, plugs and full size hair dryer (great for us ladies to primp!) There was also a scale in the bathroom (if you really care about your weight while on a cruise!!) and all the products were Elemis. The towels in the main bathroom were huge, and the bed in the main bedroom was very comfortable - memory foam. There is also 4 phones throughout the suite, one that is cordless, and both your concierge and butlers numbers are programmed in this phone, you can carry this around with you on board either to call your room or your butler or concierge if you need them. Our butler (Roel) was awesome, as well as our room attendant (Joseph)....our room was always taken care of, and our concierge made all of our reservations and took care of anything we needed outside the room. Our butler (Roel) took care of anything we needed inside the room. All of these guys were very hardworking, and highly deserve the best appreciation!! (don't forget to TIP!!!!! Don't be frugal! You are on vacation-and they are working for YOU!!) Read more