This is my husband's and mine 7th cruise (both in our 50's), second time with NCL. We came in the night before and landed in Ft. Lauderdale. We visited some friends the first night and then came back to the airport to get the GO Shuttle to the Miami Port ($18/pp). Due to some circumstances, we were at the port extremely early around 9 AM and waited outside the terminal. Around 10:30 AM, we were allowed into the terminal and went almost directly up to the waiting area. By about 11:30, we were on the ship. We had lunch in the Garden Cafe and explored the ship and hit the fitness room. We found it very well equipped. We found the ship's dEcor lively and fun. This was our first nine night cruise and we loved having the extra days. We enjoy the flexibility of freestyle and went to the "Summer Palace" the first night and had no wait and found the service great. We like to go to all of the entertainment we can and in general, we loved the entertainment except for the Jean Ann Ryan shows. They were okay but not spectacular. In fact, we missed the Chocoholic Buffet because we were so busy hitting all the entertainment. (We were disappointed the buffet was only 1 hour but my waistline appreciated it.) We went almost every night to the Spinnaker Lounge to listen and dance to the cruise band Kenosis which were very good. All the bands and musicians were very good on the boat. The first full day we found the cruise critic meeting and that made such a difference to our cruise. We met some of the nicest people and spent the rest of the cruise "hanging out" with the CC crowd. The CC meeting was lots of fun and gave us an opportunity to meet the Captain and Simon the cruise director up close and personal. Both of them are very charming and fun people. During the day, we spent time around the pool and although the pool area was always busy during our sea days, we always found spots to sit even if they were not right at the pool. It was great having heated pools and in fact, many people complained that the "family" pool was too hot. The Caribbean pool band, "Caribbean Vibes" was excellent and one of the best we every heard on a cruise ship. For dinner our first full day, we booked Shabu Shabu and loved it. My husband and I had Shabu, Shabu in Japan and was anxious to try it again. It was great but they gave too much food - this was true at most of the restaurants. With regard to booking the restaurants, we always booked the day before by going to the sign up in the Mambo's restaurant. We rarely found any lines for sign-up. In addition, we discovered that the best place for a relaxing and quiet breakfast was in The Blue Lagoon cafe which was right across from Mambo's allowing us to find the best time to go sign up for our next night's dinner. We can't say enough great things about the Second City Show. We went to all of their shows and we participated in the Improv workshop with these actors. It was one of the best activities we have ever experienced on a cruise. Don't miss it. We were surprised but there were only 15 participants in the workshop. The other hysterical act was "Sharkbait". Don't miss the "Liar's Club" as well. We were also pleasantly surprised that the "Jeff Trachta" show was so entertaining. Both my husband and I know nothing about soap operas or their stars so we were "bowled over" by Jeff's talent. We went to all the restaurants on board with the exception of Cagney's and the Sushi Bar. Our favorite was Mambo's and we loved sharing the Il Popo with all our new friends. The CC group booked a table in Teppanyaki one night and that was a blast. Unfortunately, the Maitre'D had the miscalculated the size of the group and we had to squeeze ourselves in to join the crowd but it was well worth it. With regard to excursions, we did book with NCL the beach excursion in Dominican Republic. It was fine, nothing too exciting but it was relaxing. In Tortola, we left the boat as soon as possible and caught the 10:30 AM Speedy's ferry ($30/pp) to Virgin Gorda and went to the Baths. Spectacular scenery and great beach. We caught the 3:00 pm ferry back. In Antigua, we joined the people who we met during our Muster drill for a tour of the island. Except for the fighting over us by the taxi drivers, we had an enjoyable visit seeing the sights around the island and spent some time at Nelson's Dockyard and English Harbor ($25/pp and $5 admission to Nelson's Dockyard). In Barbados, we treated ourselves to a catamaran ride with El Tigre tours. We booked with Jessica and she was very sweet. ($80/pp for 5 hours). We snorkeled with the fish and the turtles but we were disappointed in the turtle swim. There was only one turtle and it felt a little bit like he was trained and there just for the tourists. Initially, the boat had about 30 people and it was comfortable but a bit crowded. After the turtle swim, about 20 people left the boat and the remaining group was treated to a lovely homemade lunch and lots of great sailing despite a heavy rain shower but by that time, we all had so much rum punch none of us really noticed. The last excursion was with Cosol Tours in St. Lucia with all of our new CC buddies and it was fabulous. Great tour with Bompy and lots of fun. Well worth the price of $50/pp. Overall, this was a wonderful cruise. We met great people; we found the staff friendly; the activities fresh and fun; the captain and the cruise director engaging; the ports interesting and beautiful (with the exception of DR); the boat comfortable and attractive. What more can you want! Life is good!