This was our first Norwegian cruise and last. Embarking in NYC was a pleasure since we live in New York. It was very easy and very organized; it took us about an hour to get through the embarking process and on the ship. Since this was a new ship we were expecting it to be grand, NOT. We entered the ship right at the elevators, nothing grand..just elevators; and got a strong whiff of cigarette smoke. WARNING: If you are not a smoker, than this ship is NOT for you. We are not smokers and suffered the entire cruise having to smell cigarette smoke in the main atrium areas, the pool decks, the bars, and even our balcony. It did not take long for our bags to arrive in our cabin. The cabin with a balcony was a nice size, especially the bathroom (bigger than RCL bathroom). The room was not spotless, we had to ask the attendant to clean the window on the slider. We discovered that our balcony light was not working while we were still at port in NYC; we called guest services to ask for it to be fixed. Sadly, we had to ask again once we arrived in Bermuda and it was finally fixed on the day we were leaving Bermuda. We were never able to enjoy a light on the balcony because we had rough seas back to NY. The cabin attendant was nice, but we were lucky if we saw him 3 times the entire trip. On RCL our attendant was always at our service 24/7 with a smile! There was no pen or pad in the cabin, no chocolates on our pillows, not even a room service menu or mini-bar price list.

DINING: We were 2 adults and 2 teenagers (15 &13), so we mainly ate in the main dining rooms (Manhattan Club, Taste & Savor - included in fare) or at the Garden Café (buffet). Men must have slacks/pants to dine at the Manhattan Club. All 3 main dining areas had the same menu every night, with different specials each night. The Garden Café had a cafeteria feel to it, unlike RCL's Windjammer Buffet. RCL's buffet area had a nice intimate dining feel to it. The food in the Garden Café was nothing to write home about. Some food was labeled, but others were not. The drinking cups are so small that you should fill up two cups each time just to quench your thirst. And the coffee cups are tiny! Each night in the buffet area they had a carving station of Prime Rib/Roast Beef/Chicken. We all enjoyed the soft ice cream :) We did not try the specialty restaurants because we felt that we spent enough money for the cruise in itself. If it is one thing I did not like about Norwegian was the fact that you had to pay extra for specialty dining, Carlo's bakery and Gelato. On RCL you rarely had to pay extra for anything.

ENTERTAINMENT: Our teenagers enjoyed the Entourage (ages 13-17), curfew was 1:00am. They both met some new friends, which was nice. We paid extra for the Cirque show which was nice, dinner was included. It was nice for children, very colorful. The Rock of Ages show was ok, but NOT FOR CHILDREN! The comedian/magician Michael Finney was a nice man, but his show was like being at a 5 year old birthday party. The Second City improvisation show was not our cup of tea. The team was talented though. Read more