This was the first cruise for my Significant Other and me and I was a bit apprehensive, as are most first timers. I have read both good and bad reviews of the same ship and cruise and I have come to the conclusion that most of the time it depends on your point of view and your expectations and tastes. Every ship has it's terrible reviews but, happily, this was a great cruise for both of us.
Embarkation/Debarkation: It wasn't bad. We came on the bus from CT and pulled up to the bow of the ship. Porters took our baggage, we got in line, and after about an hour we were eating a snack at the Buffet. That NCL bus is a real deal and once off the ship on the way home, we only had to wait for everyone to get on...easy!
Ship Impressions: Very nice. Lots of room to wander around and very stable. Hurricane waves did make some people sick but this was only one night (I actually enjoyed the movement because it reminded me that we were actually on the ocean, which is nice!). I liked the way the typically almost imperceptible motion would rock me to sleep at night - or was that the martinis talking? It did creak more at night than I thought it would but we didn't care. Overall a good design.