Got back from NCL Star 10/29/2006 cruise to Acapulco, ixtapa, Puerto Vallarta and cabo san lucas. This was my first experience with free style cruising and I must say you pay the price of going to dinner when you want, with the quality of service you get.  I have cruised 15+ cruises with ccl,rccl,princess,costa and with all the hand sanitizer I used on board I got the dreaded ship virus,  My husband overheard several people saying someone in their party was also sick.  As far as the ship I was impressed with the decor , not flashy like some ships the pools were filled with fresh warm water my 6 yr old daughter loved the waterslides.The kids program I didn't think was structured as well as other lines, mostly there are a lot of older passengers so I don't think they get a lot of kids on board, when you are in port if you want to leave your child with the kid's crew you pay $5.00 per hour unlike other lines where it is at no charge.The entertainment wasn't that good,there is no real night club/disco on board.  Our cabin an ocean view had a lot of storage space. The bathrooms had slider doors between the shower , sink and toilet areas although if you are of large size you better check a handicap room for the size of the bathroom ,even for my husband and myself it was small and we are not large.The cabin smelled sweaty,comforters and pillows.  I did like the area by the main pool it had a lot of lounge chair and table area to enjoy the pool and sun.

We did get lucky and missed hurricane paul our friends on ncl vision of the seas weren't as lucky, we had calm ocean waters and made it to every port , late but made it.  I would much rather pay tips than the service charge that we were charged ( no choice).  Getting off the ship went way better than getting on. I guess the question is would I sail ncl again? Hmmm not sure.