BACKGROUND - We cruised on the 5/17/14 sailing. This was our 5th cruise, 3rd straight NCL (Sky and Gem). We have done a Princess and a Costa before but try to avoid them since learning that they are a part of the Carnival Corporation. Absolutely refuse to take Carnival. We love the Freestyle Concept. We are easy going, easy to please people. There were 5 of us in our group (my wife and I, 3 yo, 7 yo and my Dad) and we had two inside cabins. I have to laugh at the negative reviews I read about how the food is horrible, the ship is too loud, too crowded, an employee didn’t smile at me, the smoke ruined my cruise, blah, blah, blah. If these things ruin your vacation – please stay home. If you’re going to compare the food to your absolute favorite restaurant back at home, then yes, you probably may experience some disappointment.

EMBARKATION / DISEMBARKATION was smooth. We were given number 10 and probably had to wait for 20 minutes or so. Check in was easy with no problems. We had return flights booked for 1230pm so we picked the Green Tag (one of the earliest departure times). We had breakfast in the O’Sheehans and waited comfortably until the line in the atrium dissipated.

CABIN – we found on prior cruises that we are only in the room to change, for the kids nap or to sleep. So we book INSIDE cabins. We were put in 5195. This room was right underneath Headliners Comedy Club. We were expecting the worst and were ready to complain since they had show’s going to 1am or later. But we were pleasantly surprised that we hardly heard anything the entire trip. It was probably the worst on the last night. This cabin was far bigger than I expected. Everything about the room was great. Beds were extremely comfortable. Our room steward – Jonah was great. Read more