This was our family's (ages 51, 51, 21, and 18) fifth and favorite cruise. Previously we had only cruised in the Caribbean and had been looking into a European cruise for a while. We sailed on the Norwegian Dawn out of Tampa in 2011 and decided to try Norwegian again and were not disappointed.
Embarkation was extremely smooth. Almost no wait, very attentive and helpful staff, and a clean and well-organized terminal. Our room was ready by the time we boarded (which was a new experience for us) and our bags arrived within a couple hours.
The ship itself is really unlike anything else we've been on. More elegant than the carnivals (and even other Norwegian) we've done without the stuffiness of a Princess. As others have mentioned, despite the 4000+ guest capacity, the crowds were manageable and with so many options, even on the sea day we felt free to do whatever we really wanted (including the awesome slides)! One of the best design aspects was the use of openings between decks (particularly on decks 5-7). This allowed smaller corridors to feel much larger and connected. Another design feature we appreciated was how well laid-out the ship was; no having to go up two decks and down one to get to dinner as we have experienced on other ships.
This was our first balcony cabin and we were very pleased with the layout. There was much more room to move around in than the inside cabins we were used to. Storage in the cabin was plentiful, though a bit hidden if you don't know what you're looking for. The bathroom set-up was unique but with the privacy curtain it was easy to adapt to. The external sink was a nice perk. Our cabin steward, Wayan, knew our names from the first night and made a point to ask about our day every time we saw him, not to mention he always had our room in tip-top shape.