My wife and I just returned from the Feb 22nd - Mar 1st sailing on the Norwegian Getaway. I will preface my review by saying our expectations were very high as this was my wife's first cruise ever and mine in about 20 years.

Embarkation - We arrived to port around noon and made it through the checkin process with ease in about 20-30 minutes total. All cruise ships may do this but I really liked how they took our picutres for identification/security purposes. Anytime we used our cards to buy something or got on/off the ship they ensured it was us.

First impressions - Very large and beautiful NEW ship. Everything and I mean everything was brand new and clean. The layout was very easy to navigate and signage at the elevators helped us when we needed. We spent the first couple of hours just exploring the cruiseship and even if something wasn't open yet they allowed us to walk in and check it out. Lots of really nice chill areas along the waterfront if you wanted to get away from the crowds at the pool or other popular sections of the boat. Read more