Reason for choosing this cruise:The cruise was March 9(Singapore)-March 27(Dubai). We choose this cruise because of the itinerary which was port intensive with only 5 sea days. This is a part of the world that we had not traveled and this itinerary seemed an ideal way to sample a number of countries without a long term time and financial commitment. In this respect the cruise totally lived up to expectations as we visited 14 ports-including embarkation and disembarkation- that we had never visited before allowing us a small sample of what each place had to offer.

Pre-embarkation: We engaged a private guide from Indie Singapore to give us a tour of Singapore pre-embarkation. The guide-Iris- was fabulous and through discussion the tour was tailored to our interests. She provided a fabulous walking tour featuring Little India, Kampong Glam and Chinatown as well as some historic colonial areas and the Marina Bay Sands area. Lunch at Hawkers with expert guidance on the best stalls was also a highlight.

Embarkation:This took forever, this issue had been identified by previous reviewers and it appeared that little had improved, however NCL did provide chairs for the 2 hour plus wait that some people endured. In defense of NCL, after seeing their superb organization in getting passengers on/off the ship and dealing with boarding cards/visas I am led to conclude that the issues with Singapore embarkation are likely the responsibility of the Singapore government staff. Read more