This was our first cruise, so I don't really have anything to compare it to. I think my expectations were pretty high from talking with people who have taken cruises before, I may have been expecting too much.Embarkation: We ended up flying down the morning of the cruise. Very risky I know, but as rookies, we didn't know any better. Luckily everything turned out great and we even landed in Miami early. We did purchase the NCL airport-to-pier transport and it was great. Unfortunately Delta Airlines lost a bag of one of our friends traveling with us, so we had to sort that out, but it was nice knowing the NCL transport people were there to let us know when we HAD to leave the airport. Once we got to the pier we walked right through security, right through check-out and right on board.Ship: The ship was beautiful. However, I thought the pool deck would be much larger. Was very, very crowded on sea days and embarkation day because none of the other restaurants were open. Had a very difficult time getting anything to drink served to us during the bon voyage party because of the amount of people. Also when they had live music on this deck, it was way too loud for the size of the deck.Cabin: We had an inside stateroom and was very pleased with it. We did not take our children, just my DH and I, so the inside stateroom was plenty of space for us. Plenty of storage and the bathroom and shower was great. Just wish flushing the toilet was not quite so loud-lol! Bed was very comfy!Food: We felt for the money we spent on the ship, it was against our principle to go to any of the specialty restaurants. Therefore, I can only rate the food as "ok". I got tired of the same food in the buffet and it was basically the same thing throughout the other restaurants. We ate in the Summer Palace and Indigo on two separate nights and was disappointed in both. The food was good (had the same thing in both restaurants because I didn't like their "daily" selections), but the service was extremely slow. This could be part of not being on a cruise before and not really knowing what to expect for crowds, etc.Service: Our room stewards were great. Loved the towel animals! However, I did get annoyed with either the server's not being able to understand what I was asking, or not being able to understand the service person's accent. Even though they all spoke English, sometimes their accents made it very hard to understand them, especially at dinner when they would ask you questions. I always had to translate for my husband because he could not understand them. Ports: Samana - we had originally paid for the Cayo Levantado excursion, so I was disappointed when they gave it for free mostly due to the fact that it no longer became a "private island getaway" but open to the entire ship. The other thing that made me upset was those that had originally paid for the trip (and I was still charged $30 for the "Plus" version), we were on the last tenders to go over, so the entire beach was crowded before we got there and we had originally paid for it. My husband went on an ATV Tours with Terry and loved it! However, luckily there were others on the ship on the same tour or they would have left without them since they didn't get on Samana until 11:45! The tenders that day were an absolute DISASTER! Was not a good way to set an example for these cruise rookies on Day 2! St. Thomas - great day. We took Castaway Girl Barefoot Sail & Snorkel and it was great! Highly recommend this for anyone. Disappointed we didn't get to spend more time seeing the island. We only got to shop at the dock area for about 1.5 hours before we had to meet for our snorkel tour. Guess we'll have to go back!Tortola - plan an excursion! Not enough to do on Tortola without one. We ended up going on a taxi tour with Kitty. She was great and it was $15/pp, and was money well spent. Saw great sights at the top of the island and some of my best photographs on the entire trip was on this tour! Tortola would have been a waste if it was not for this. Even so, we were back on the ship in about 4.5 hours.GSC - great island. Just a fun day in the sun and water. BBQ lunch was good. Water was crystal clear! Tenders were much better (bigger boats so more people).Entertainment: We only saw the hypnotist (regular and adult show) and David Naster. I thought both were good. The Adult show for the hypnotist was not that "adult" for what we expected. Could have been better. Would have been better had we not already seen her once. Didn't like you had to pay for bingo and bowling. Overall it was a great trip. Yea, there were things I wish had been better. But it hasn't deterred us from wanting to take another cruise. I did hear from other cruisers that have been on other lines they like NCL the best. By the end of the week I was ready to go somewhere without 4,000 people around though!