Now that I have returned from my seven day cruise on the Norwegian Epic, (Nov 2-9) I thought I would share some thoughts on the trip...I should note that these opinions are mine and are not meant to offend anyone…

Airlines: Planes are planes, but everything went great…I am certainly glad we have the jet flight out of my home town (GCK) to Dallas…Makes things much easier. Score: 5 out of 5.

Embarkation; Painless...No real line to wait in...Walked right up to the desk at 10:30...Staff very friendly and knowledgeable... Lots of people in the waiting area, but the system worked well...Remember, we are talking about 4,300 passengers...Everyone was given a boarding group number...I was group 6...When called at noon, I walked right onto the ship...The staff announced constantly that cabins would be ready at 2pm...Some people were not happy with this...Heck, the bars and restaurants were open so what's the problem? There was a place to store carry-on bags if you didn't want to keep them with you...Cabins were actually ready at 1:20...Amazing what some people consider "carry on" luggage...The "Muster Drill" was not actually held at the lifeboats but in different places around the ship...Just watched a video and a life vest demo...Not sure how that would work if we hit an iceberg, which, granted, in the Caribbean would be unusual...I guess they have it figured out...Each lifeboat holds 280 people...Score: 5 out of 5. Read more