This was my first cruise ever. While I live in South Florida, I was always worried a cruise would make me feel trapped and I would get bored or just get tired of the cheesy activities. While this was my first cruise, I must start off by saying this was a different trip. There was a total of 11 of us celebrating a family member's 50th Wedding Anniversary. It was great to get everyone together and we cruise on Thanksgiving week.

The NCL Star left port in Tampa for a 7 day cruise. We drove from Ft. Lauderdale and met up with the group in Tampa. Most of us were 'local' so car pooled, while one family flew in and met on board. While reading past reviews...I was not looking forward to the check-in process. I read some horror stories on line about the Tampa terminal. We got to the port at about 1:30 PM and there was a long line outside of the building. This surprised me since this is Florida...and if it were summer...you'd be getting heat stroke in the sun. We were lucky. The sun was out...but it wasn't too hot and the line did seem to move quickly.

Once inside the terminal, you go through security. This was a quick process...and we maybe waited 10 minutes. We then were taken to a large seating area where they broke us into groups...maybe 50 people or so. We got to sit for maybe 15 minutes and were ushered to the main check-in line. Another 20 or so minutes in line and we got to the check-in desk. Everyone we encountered so far was extremely friendly and helpful. We also had a 'conversation piece' T-Shirt. We had gotten custom tshirts for everyone in the party to announce the 50th Wedding Anniversary. All the employees at the pier thought they were great and it made for some fun conversations. The check in desk went smooth and easy. I think it took 10 minutes or so to check us in. Read more