Over the years, we have taken 13 cruises, 9 of them with NCL. We've sailed on the Jewel 4 times, the Jade 3 times and our very first cruise was on the now defunct SS Norway. Our other cruises were on three different cruise lines; we returned to NCL for a Baltic cruise in 2008, and that made us return to NCL for good.

We like not having to bring suits, ties and dress shirts for the formal nights. NCL does have formal nights, but there is no need for the suit or gown, unless that is what you'd like to wear.

Our most recent cruise was on the Epic, sailing from Barcelona to Miami on a trans-Atlantic reposition cruise. We had only 2 ports of call, Ponta Delgada in the Azores, Portugal and St. Thomas USVI Having been to both places on previous trans-Atlantic cruises, we got off the ship simply to walk around. Read more