This was our 9th cruise, 5th with NCL. We arrived in Barcelona a day before the cruise and stayed at the Hotel Claris. Very nice hotel. We picked it because Samantha Brown stayed there. Got to the ship at 1pm and were were on board drinking champagne by 1:30.We went right to our room and it was beautiful. Plenty of room and storage. This is the first ship we have been on that there was more than 1 electrical outlet. They had 5, (4-110 and 1-220). The balcony had an electric sliding door, that stayed where you put it. It was nice to have at night so we could hear the ocean. The bathroom was bigger than most other ships. We ate mostly in the main dining room. Great food and service. The buffet was also better than on previous ships. We also ate at LeBistro and Cagney's, excellent choice!The waiters were mostly fast and efficient. The only place we had to wait a long time for our food was the Blue Lagoon. The ship pool has a waterfall,that we thought was a great feature.It was hard to find a lounge chair on the sea day though. In Malta, we just took the bus to town went to St Johns Cathedral and shopped. In Naples, we took the train to Pompeii.It was very hot in Pompeii, at it was only 9-10am.We walked around and were very impressed by the ruins. We then took the train to Sorrento, a beautiful town built into the mountain side. We walked around and shopped, had a wonderful Italian pizza and took the hydrofoil back to Naples. The hydrofoil is right next to the ship, very easy. In Rome we took the train with a wonderful group we met from the CC boards.It was very easy. We went to The Vatican in the am, then took the HOHO bus to the Coliseum, Forum and Spanish steps. In Livorno we took the train to Florence, saw The David, the Duomo, and then walked around. We then took the train to Pisa, walked up the leaning tower, and took the train back to Livorno. In Nice, we took a private tour with 2 other couples we found from the CC boards. We went with Michele ofAP tours and he was great. We saw Nice and Monaco, and had plenty of time to shop and walk around. We only saw a couple of shows on the ship as we were exhausted from our daily sightseeing. The comedian and magician were very good.We would have liked to have a sea day in the middle of the week, as this cruise is very port intensive.We got home exhausted. The ship was kept very clean and the crew was very visible and attentive. This was our best experience with NCL, and we are already planning our next one!!!