OVERALL  This was a wonderful Christmas and New Years cruise to the Western Caribbean. The weather was fantastic, hot and sunny with only one cloudy day in Jamaica! The ship was decorated nicely for Christmas but was tastefully subdued. There were plenty of families with children on board. Most children and young teens seemed to enjoy the Kids Crew activities and were not running about on the ship unsupervised. We heard running in the corridor near our cabin once on New Years Eve. We did have a balcony cabin at the very end of the starboard side of the ship, as far as we could from the elevators and stairwells to minimize noise We really really enjoyed the balcony, our haven from the crowds around the pool deck..and no jockeying for deck chairs!

EMBARKATION- Used the NCL bus service from Boston. This was a good alternative as the NYC Transit strike was still going strong, we got to the pier about 6 hours after boarding the bus in Boston. The embarkation process took about 45 minutes.

As soon as we boarded I got into the Specialty Reservation lines to make dinner reservations for the entire cruise. It was about an hour wait, but we got the reservations we wanted at Le Bistro on Christmas Eve and New Years Eve. Unless you are a suite passenger with access to a concierge, you need to make specialty reservations early to avoid disappointment. There is a fee for three specialty restaurants, Le Bistro, Cagneys and Bamboo ranging from $12.50 to $25, depending on the restaurant and meal you select. Read more