Background: This was a Spring Break cruise that I took with my grandson who was almost 14. We went at this time because it is the only time he doesn't have any sports activities scheduled. He had been on one previous short cruise to the Bahamas with his parents, which he didn't like particularly because the Kids Club restricted him from leaving if he didn't like the program. I am a bronze Latitude member as this is my fourth NCL cruise (out of a total nine cruises) the others having been with my husband who now refuses to fly because he hates the hassle at airports.

My grandson's break lasted from March 27th to April 7th, and therefore we left the cruise in Venice to fly him home for the first day of school. So we did not see the last couple of ports.

Travel to the port of Embarkation: I flew from BWI to Miami (where my grandson lives) and the next day we flew from Miami via Madrid arriving in Barcelona on March 28th. I arranged my own airline tickets and did not use the cruise ship air. Read more