Four friends of 40 years rendezvoused in JFK from NYC, Boston, Maryland, and California. We arrived in Barcelona with 2 nights reservations at Hotel Espana, a beautifully restored landmark a block from Las Ramblas and two blocks from La Boqueria, the historic market. The hotel was an excellent value, safe, with a lovely roof garden and attentive staff. We enjoyed a two hour "Free Walking Tour" of the oldest part of the city. We were only asked to tip at the end and felt it well worth 10 plus euros apiece.

Embarcation was a breeze and we had immediate access to our cabin and met our steward. He unlocked the connecting door between our cabins, although the balconies could not be connected. After an excellent sitdown lunch in Windows we unpacked (plenty of room) and toured the ship. On that first day I noticed something that persisted throughout the cruise: the crew and staff were upbeat, happy, helpful, and generally a pleasure to encounter. Also persistent was the high quality of the food and the speedy service in Windows, a far cry from our NCL cruise of 2010. NCL has been listening to cusomer feedback: the beds were quite comfortable and there were extra pillows in the room.

We always had ice in our room and each towel animal exceeded the previous one. Room service with coffee and rolls was always early. I didn't lose much in the casino. My soda card ALWAYS got me a smile with my soda. Read more