Pre-Cruise: Stayed at LAX airport Radisson the night before, slept late and took a taxi to the airport (@$70 with tip). Arrived around 12:30PM. Embarkation: Used the Latitudes line since we had sailed with NCL before. Process was fairly quick with little waiting (maybe 45 minutes and we were on board). Went to lunch by the pool. It was very difficult to find a table since most everyone was in this location waiting for rooms to be ready. The poolside burgers were one of the best food items we had while on board. We explored the ship to get our bearings and visited our room when they announced it was ready. Cabin was adequate, but storage was a bit limited. We asked for an egg crate to pad the very hard mattress. Balcony was nice as we opened the door and listened to the wave noise while sleeping several nights. Shower and toilet area are tiny - I bumped my hip in the slider for the toilet almost every time I went in (and I am an average size woman). Made reservations for La Trattoria. Attended mandatory muster drill which was long and typical. Luggage arrived for unpacking so we changed and headed to the first progressive team trivia (you participate as many nights as you wish and your scores are totaled for the week) and then dinner. La Trattoria has a cute set-up, but food was only tolerable. Welcome aboard show gave us a good taste for the entertainment aboard ship.

Day 1 at sea: Lounged, relaxed, ate, drank. Breakfast in the main dining room was good, lunch in the buffet was decent - salad and pasta were best options we found all week at the buffet. Pasta is cooked and sauce is added on the spot. Attended the Cruise Critic meet and greet. Met our online pals and had a blast with our local city gift exchange. We were all laughing so hard that they had to close the door because we were attracting too much attention from people passing by in the hall. Attended the Latitudes party and won a shore excursion for Acapulco (Yeah!) Scavenger hunt was fun. Dinner in Aqua - food OK, service poorly lacking. Show in Stardust "Music of the Night" with Jean Ann Ryan Company was decent. These performers are excellent dancers, but their vocals are lacking. We enjoyed their shows later in the week that involved as much or more dancing but less vocals. Played trivia and went to the comedy show with Peter Sasso. He is a great comedian with a quick wit and some comedy that makes you think. We loved him!

Day 2 at sea: More lounging and reading and trivia playing. We used the gym each day and enjoyed the facilities although there were lots of people utilizing the gym so you had to wait for your favorite type of equipment (especially the elliptical since there were only 5 or 6). Played bingo on the super machine which seemed to take some of the fun away - yes you had 120 cards being electronically played for you (at least they say you do - you can't actually see them all - just one at a time). We did not win anything. Dinner at Endless Summer. The Il Popo was excellent and has a unique presentation. I won't ruin it, but you'll know when someone orders it the restaurant. The desserts here were excellent. We mistakenly got the wrong desserts so they left those and brought the correct ones. The churros are fresh and yummy, the ice cream with pineapple and coconut is delicious as well as the cream puff type dessert that has a mousse filling. The flan was OK, but I am not a fan ordinarily. Murray the magician was really good. We also had quite a few chuckles from the Newlywed/Not so Newlywed game. Read more