We're seniors with a few cruises under our belts. We generally cruise alone & are not big mixers. We cruised with NCL in 2000 on the Majesty & had a horrible trip but decided it was time to give NCL Freestyle a try since our preferred cruise line won't easily accommodate our preference to dine alone.

A friend picked us up @ 11:30 & took us to the pier. We arrived @ 11:00 & were onboard @ 11:45. Luggage drop off luggage was somewhat confusing but we managed & headed to check-in. We were very surprised to have our photo taken for our onboard account when checking in, but it seemed more efficient than getting into another line.

Our first view of the Centrum was underwhelming. Too many people, many as confused as we were, moving in circles & going nowhere. I made a reservation for dinner that night at Cagney's, grabbed a couple of maps of the ship, & we headed to the nearest bar. Pearly Kings was very busy with only one bartender & no working computers. Every check was handwritten so things were moving very slowly. We finally got our drinks & started studying the map to acquaint ourselves with the ship. Cabins were ready when we boarded so after a second drink we headed to deck 10 aft..................... & immediately got lost! When we finally got ourselves turned around we found our cabin with no problem & were happy to see luggage waiting for us. Read more