We just got back from cruising on the Norwegian Star to Alaska. This was a tale of two cities. My husband and I have cruised twice before (Disney and RCL). I thought the room that we had on RCL was total luxury but the NCL boat was awesome! It was 2 bedrooms and 2 full baths with a giant shower with a floor to ceiling window in shower of the master bath. Even while showering you don't miss any of the view! In the master bath,there were double sinks and a jacuzzi with a picture window and flat screen TV. There were 4 TV's in our suite, one with a DVD player. I thought I died and went to heaven.
After this the rest of the boat was somewhat of a letdown with the exception of the staff, the entertainment and the specialty restaurants. The Market Cafe needs a total renovation. The restaurant on the RCL Empress where the dining was cafeteria style was beautiful and may provide NCL with some good ideas for the remodeling. The Spinnaker lounge also looked run down.
When we arrived at our suite (the emerald suite) there was a bottle of champagne, fresh fruit and fresh flowers to greet us. There were also special food treats to greet us in our room each night. In general though, there seems to be more attention to detail in the decor of the public areas of the RCL ships.