So much has been written about this ship (a lot of it negative) that I had some worry about what our week on board would be like. Now that I am home, I can tell you from first hand experience that much of the bad things said about this ship are no longer true, or were horribly exaggerated to begin with.
Embarkation - Could not have been easier. Boarding began at 1pm and we arrived at the port around 2pm. Stevedors were readily available to assist with the larger bags we would be checking in. Our identification was checked by port security and despite a line of about fifty people ahead of us, we were through the security checkpoint (x-ray) in about five minutes. I am a Latitudes member so we were able to bypass the longer check-in line in which your cruise documents are checked, photo ID is taken, ship pass issued, etc. The regular line, however, was also moving quickly. As we approached the gangplank, NCL America staff greeted us with lei's (shells for men, flowers for women) and we had the opportunity to have our photo taken before stepping on to the ship. We had many other opportunities to have our photo taken during the cruise and there was absolutely no pressure if you declined. Simply saying "No thank you" was all that was required.
We boarded on Deck 5 which is where the ground floor of the atrium is located. The atrium appeared smaller than what I expected, but it was lovely. Four glass panoramic elevators rise through the atrium all the way to the pool deck on the top of the ship, and I counted twelve other elevators that you could also make use of. Never during the entire week did we wait more than two minutes for an elevator. If one came along that was full, another was right behind it.