We are a group of 7, ranging in age from 15 to mid-70s. Overall, this was a wonderful itinerary, with plenty of ports and activities for everyone in our group. It was the first time any of us had cruised with NCL and everyone was well satisfied, although I'd say that the average age of passenger on the ship skewed older - 50+.

Embarkation was NOT a wonderful process. NCL representatives had told us that we could check in and use the ship as a floating hotel, so we booked flights arriving around 9 a.m. and a shore excursion at 2:30. Everyone had suffered a poor night's sleep on the plane (expected), so we thought we'd have time to freshen up, eat, and maybe even nap before meeting our tour guide. WRONG! You are welcome to arrive anytime you want, but despite the fact that the ship will have been in port since early the day before, it will not be ready for boarding till noon or later. In our case, we were held in a large building beside the ship till around 12:15, so we were able to eat and make our shore excursion, but nobody could freshen up significantly and there was certainly NO time for napping.

Our group found that the food was good, albeit not always as warm as we would like, especially at Raffles for breakfast. Desserts were a major disappointment to our one chocoholic - expect them to lean toward the fruity. Read more