Previous Cruises: RCL Splendour of the Seas - Mediterranean - 7/03 Reef Endeavour (Captain Cook Cruises) - Great Barrier Reef - 7/05 Crown Princess - Southern Caribbean - 11/06 Star Princess - Baltic - 7/07 Norwegian Star - Mexican Riviera - 10/07 (this review)

Background: We are a couple in our late 20's/early 30's (no kids) and this is our 5th cruise but first time cruising with NCL. After having recently done two cruises with Princess I must say that we were happier with our NCL cruise. Our itinerary left from Los Angeles. Since we live in Phoenix, we did not fly and we did not stay in a hotel before our cruise as we were able to drive from Phoenix to LA and spend a night with family before heading for the ship. Embarkation went very smoothly and everywhere in the terminal and as we boarded we were greeted by friendly people and everyone always answered our questions clearly and without confusion. We received our luggage within 2-3 hours of boarding the ship. Our stateroom was nice and clean. We booked an inside cabin but were upgraded to an ocean view for the same price. The washrooms on this ship were better than we had had on previous cruises (larger showers), at least with Princess & Royal. Our room steward did a good job and we always had everything we needed for our room.

Ship Information: There was only one main pool. It seems like on a ship this size there should have been more than that. There was the indoor pool at the spa but you had to pay to use it so we opted not to do that. Although I was disappointed by the lack of pools, the pool area itself was well maintained and there seemed to be no shortage of spots to find a lounge chair. We often went to the front of the ship or to the promenade deck which also had lots of lounge chairs to relax and get away from the party-like atmosphere at the pool area. Finding a spot that was to your liking was never a problem. It was often crowded down by the pool but we just tried to avoid the crowded areas during the middle of the day and instead use the pool and hot tubs in the morning (when you can have the place practically to yourself) or later at night. The pool areas seemed to clear out by around 6pm. The main atrium of the ship was beautiful and all around the ship was tastefully decorated and well kept. There were no rooms/bars/public spaces that were disappointing (except for the market cafe which I will comment on later). Read more