We are both 52 years old, this was our 8th NCL cruise, and our previous experiences aboard the Norwegian fleet gave us every confidence to recommend this cruise to our travelling companions, therefore we were a group of four. Embarkation at Miami was quite efficient. What a beautiful port from which to set sail. The scenery , energy and sail-away cruise band was great ! Our luggage was delivered to our staterooms in a timely fashion, and it was nice to have our "cruise buddies" just three doors down on Deck 10. It was an interior cabin, standardly small, but very efficiently organized, with a fridge and a great shower. The bedding was heavenly and very comfortable. I didn't really care for the new soap and shampoo supplied now on NCL (Elemis, I think) but that is more of a personal preference as opposed to a complaint. As usual, the housekeeping staff was excellent.
Our first night, dining at The Summer Palace, one of the main restaurants, was quite disappointing. Service was painfully slow, but once we did get our food, it was good. It was the only time we went there for dinner. Our preference was Indigo, the other main restaurant, where we dined twice, with excellent food and service.
We were somewhat surprised that the Italian specialty restaurant, La Cucina, charged a fee. On all of our previous NCL cruises, the Italian restaurant required reservations, but incurred no extra cost. However, for $10. per person, it was worth it, because the ambience and food were great, and portions quite generous.