Embarkation: Incredibly smooth boarding the ship. I arrived around 11am and was in my cleaned and ready stateroom by 12:15, including a 30 minute wait for first call boarding. Check in staff were friendly and efficient.

Basic Ship Info: This is not a ship suited for NCL's freestyle cruising. It's too small and seems to be cut up into too many small areas. They would have been better served to cut out one of two restaurants and bars and make the others more welcoming. The Asian touches set it apart from more Las Vegas looking cruise ships. One can certainly tell this ship was not designed for the usual American freestyle cruiser. There are some spaces with a pleasant coziness to them that I have not had on other ships. There are many signs of cosmetic wear and tear noticeable, especially at the buffet---scratches on chairs, tile work that looks unprofessional. Some fellow cruisers who didn't do their research were irate because of the lack of newness of the ship. Do not go expecting sparkling and get the best deal you can. I did enjoy that there was a toned down sales pitch on this ship. The shopping consultant had a much lower presence than the annoying shopping consultant on the Jewel who seemed to be making announcements every five minutes. The cruise director keeps you informed but is refreshingly low key as well.

Stateroom: My ocean view stateroom was cleaned daily by a very attentive and friendly staff. The room felt small because of an extra pull out twin sofa bed which seemed to be an afterthought in the room. I would have rather had the extra space than the sofa. Bathroom was small but clean. There were some minor cosmetic signs of aging in the shower and on the tile. The furniture in the room was very cheap looking and flimsy. There was ample storage for two people. I cannot fathom how more than two people could be comfortable in that space although there was technically sleeping space for four. The bed was hard. Read more