My husband and I have previously cruised on Holland America's Noordam, the Coral Princess, and Viking River Cruises' Viking Europe recently, and, years ago when our daughters were small, on Commodore's Enchanted Seas and Cunard's Crown Jewel. We were a little wary of booking NCL after some of the reviews we'd read on these boards, but the Spirit was within driving distance and had an interesting itinerary, so we booked Cabin 11052, (BA) on the 12/7 -12/14 Western Caribbean cruise.

We were quickly relieved of our bags at the Erato Street Terminal ($98 for the week, payable in advance by cash or credit card.) After parking, we took the elevator to the second floor check-in area. It became immediately apparent that just about every other passenger had arrived at the same time, and that this was not going to be a quick boarding process. We stood in line for security, which took about 15 minutes - not too bad. We were then handed a number (25) and told to wait at the far end of the room until the group was called. I had a momentary and unpleasant flashback to the last time I had to renew a car tag in person and was handed a ridiculously high number. We took our seats and waited; the very strong 3G wireless signal there meant we could pass the time using our laptops, which made the wait a little less boring. After about 45 minutes, our group was told to get in the line for check-in; I've seen shorter lines at Space Mountain in peak season. Latitudes members had a separate line, but it didn't look a whole lot shorter. After another 45 minutes to an hour we finally reached the agents, and the actual process was quick. (We were told that there were fewer immigration /customs agents than usual, which had slowed things down getting people off the ship from the previous cruise.)

We were utterly astonished to be told that we were VIP guests (!!!) and to gather in the VIP lounge. A very charming concierge offered us refreshments, gave us information about the Captain's cocktail party we were invited to attend on Monday, and told us that we were welcome to enjoy breakfast and lunch in Cagney's each day. We can only figure that an emailed question to someone at NCL, inquiring about exactly what changes were made during the recent refurbishment, tipped them off that my husband works in local TV. Perhaps they were hoping for a little good PR. Whatever the reason, we were delighted. Read more