I had the pleasure of taking a cruise recently (March 24) on board the Norwegian Star to the Caribbean out of New Orleans. This cruise was part of a casino promotion for my wife and I and there were a lot of people on board with similar promotions. It was a wonderful cruise and I will tell you about the positives and a couple of negatives below.
Embarkation: We took a cab from a local Marriott that was about 1 mile away. Getting on board was a breeze. My wife and I arrived at about 12:45 and there was a security line that was about 15 minutes long. After that we got our IDs and went right on to the ship. It took a while however, to get our luggage. The first piece arrived at about 4:00 and, after a phone call from me, the second arrived at about 8:00. The steward said he found it all the way down the hall where it didn't belong.
Stateroom: Our cabin was clean and we felt very comfortable there during the entire week. The balcony was certainly big enough for the two of us. The thermostat worked perfectly as it got a little warm at times and the air conditioning kicked right on. The bedding and the pillows were very comfortable as well. Of course, the water never got cold enough for brushing teeth but that's the way it is on every cruise I've been on.