This was my third cruise, and my first with NCL. I was part of a third-party tour group, and our group embarked later in the afternoon. There were no lines, and the process was quick and easy. Our cabin was ready when we arrived, and our luggage arrived quickly. We had a balcony cabin on Deck 9. It was the size we expected; I was traveling with my sister, and the beds were separated making the cabin seem a bit smaller. The bathroom was larger than on previous cruises -- especially the shower. Throughout the entire cruise, our cabin was very clean, and the deck hallways were also kept clean and sweet smelling even when we encountered rough seas. We were very impressed with the cleanliness throughout the ship, especially in the public bathrooms. Regarding that, there are many public bathrooms located conveniently throughout the ship.

Because we were with a group, we had a designated seating time in the Summer Palace, so we had a regular waiter and wine steward. Both gave us excellent service, and the wine steward remembered our preferences after the second day. We also dined at the Lotus Garden for both lunch and dinner, and enjoyed the food there. We had teppanyaki one night, and the chefs put on quite a show. Overall, we found the food to be very good throughout the ship.

The cruise began with two days at sea, and during that time we took full advantage of the ship's amenities. We bought the spa package and spent a lot of time relaxing in the hot tubs, steam room, and lounges that are positioned on Deck 12 right at the front of the ship. We attended a wine tasting in The Bistro restaurant, which was hosted by Joselito, the chief sommelier for the ship. We attended all the shows, played the silly game shows in the Spinnaker Lounge, and even sang karaoke. We really enjoyed hanging out on Deck 6 at Magnums making the most of our beer and wine package and just generally had a wonderful time. Read more