This was our 6th cruise & our 1st on NCL. The others are all Carnival. We were traveling with several other couples and we were not the ones who picked this cruise.

We flew into Fort Lauderdale, it was way cheaper than flying to Miami. We took a shuttle (SAS, Steve is awesome, best prices I found) to Miami, Holiday Inn Port of Miami. A short taxi ride to the cruise terminal & embarkation. The terminal was not as nice as Carnival's and embarkation involved standing in line for awhile. Just the first of many lines on this cruise! Carnival assigns zone numbers & you can remain seated until time to sign in. After completing registration we headed to the Lido Deck and poolside cocktails. Everyone was VERY friendly and the ship was clean and made a great first impression.

The cabin was very small, but we had a balcony, so that made it OK. Very little storage. A closet with a safe & 3 very small drawers on one side, room to hang things on the other, that was it! Pack light if you choose this ship! The bathroom was tiny & the shower was claustrophobic! It was nearly impossible to shave my legs! Horrible experience... There was a small sofa & a desk with a mini-bar/fridge. The queen size bed was very hard and the pillows were not comfy. The balcony had 2 chairs & a table. It was just big enough for 2 people. Our cabin steward did a great job of keeping the cabin cleaned. Only 2 nights provided towel animals though. Read more