This was my first cruise. I traveled with a friend, and it was her first cruise also. I had done extensive research on the ship and NCL before we booked; and CruiseCritic.com became daily reading for me before the cruise. Amazing site. This may be lengthy but I don't want to leave out a thing.

We drove to New Orleans since we were coming from Jackson, MS. The directions posted on the Port of New Orleans site were invaluable.

Embarkation--We arrived about 3 p.m. and everyone was so helpful..from the porters getting our luggage to all the NCL crew inside the port. We had all of our paperwork handy; painlessly and efficiently, we were onboard the Spirit. Read more