We were a group of four ladies on a "girls" cruise. We had two inside cabins on the same deck on opposite ends of the hallway. We picked this particular cruise as we could drive to Boston and had a friend drop us at the pier -- no parking charges!! We arrived at the port about 12:45 and were on board by 1:30. Embarkation went smoothly. The customer service rep recommended that we head straight to the Venetian dining room for lunch. Much better than the buffet and while we were eating lunch they announced all cabins were ready. Once we finished lunch we headed to our cabins.

This was my first Norwegian cruise. I have over 15 Carnival cruises behind me. We booked three weeks before sailing and picked inside guarantee cabins to keep the cost down. We were not eligible for the "free" dining or drink packages due to the type of cabin we booked. I had only made dinner reservations for the first and second nights -- one night in Aqua and one in the Venetian. We figured we'd do it once we were on board after seeing which we liked better. We didn't realize that the menu in both of those restaurants were the same, so it was only a matter of location/decoration that really mattered. The food was good in all "free" venues -- Aqua, Venetian, Garden Cafe, and O'Sheehans. We could not get any more reservations once we were on board. We just arrived a the dining rooms when we were ready and except for two night were seated within minutes.

The big shows were fantastic -- the best I've seen on a cruise in a long time. We went four nights to the main show room. We did not go to the illusionist as it is not really our thing or one of the game shows. The later night entertainment in the Bliss Lounge was fun as well. Mostly dance party type events. I think the entertainment that they offered was very good. Just not a lot to choose from other than the show in the main show lounge and the later night dance party and games just before. There was a piano player outside the cigar bar that played for a couple of hours a few nights and the couple that sang in the Atrium (who were fantastic) each night for a few hours. They did show a movie in the atrium, but they only had table/chair type seating so not really comfy to watch a two-hour movie. The White Hot Party was a blast. But again was a dance party. I missed the piano bar, comedy club, a variety of night-time entertainment that Carnival has. Read more