About Me: I'm a 28 year old male who sailed with his 60 year old mother on the May 21, 2010 sailing of the Norwegian Spirit from Boston to Bermuda. This was my fourth NCL cruise this year sailing twice on the Norwegian Jewel and once on Norwegian Sky and my ninth NCL cruise overall. I've sailed on other cruise lines including with Princess (5x), Celebrity (3x), RCCL (1x) and Carnival (1x). I primarily cruise NCL these days switching completely from Princess as of January 2009. I prefer the FreeStyle concept and love NCL for their innovations they've brought to the cruise industry. With that said now here's my review...

Embarkation: For Boston this process went VERY smoothly. This was my third time cruising out of Boston and the other two times had torturous embarkations with long lines for everything from getting the bags to checking in. This time it was not the case. We got rid of our bags promptly and walked inside the terminal and through security to the check in counter where there was a five minute wait and then it was our turn. Then it was right up the escalator and onto the ship after being greeted by Bruce (Concierge). Before we knew it we were having lunch! I don't know how NCL fixed this problem from the past two years but it was a very enjoyable embarkation!

The Ship: The title of my review is inspired by her Oriental dEcor. Originally the SuperStar Leo she is now some 12 years old and in the public areas she's not showing her age at all. Everything looks brand new and is well polished and shiny. Her dry dock just over a year ago probably helped to keep her looking so fresh and new. Each of her specialty restaurants have incredible artwork - mostly Asian inspired (minus LeBistro and Windows). Our favorite dining room was Windows because you could see daylight no matter what part of the dining room you are in. Other public venues I enjoyed this trip included Cagney's Steakhouse, Le Bistro and Maharini's Nightclub. Read more