BACKGROUND: It was my boyfriend and I's first cruise. We specifically chose NCL because we didn't like the idea of being forced to eat at specific times with total strangers. Another plus was not having to carry around singles to tip every person who you came in contact with. We chose a 4-day trip to the Bahamas as a little taste in case we hated cruising.

BEFORE THE CRUISE: We used Doral Transportation to get from our hotel (Holiday Inn Express Miami Airport) to the port, and then again from the port to the Miami airport. Both times, the trip was only $10 per person, which is far cheaper than booking your van through NCL.

THE SHIP: The ship was great. Actually, rather nice looking compared to some others we saw at the port. It was spacious and had plenty of rooms to explore. I, personally, had a hard time finding my way around. I don't know if it's like that on all cruise ships, or just this one, but often times you couldn't get from one side of the ship to another without changing floors... very confusing. I wish they had provided us with a map. The only map I saw were the ones by the elevators. Speaking of elevators, they were very small. This was only an issue upon arrival and departure day when everyone was carrying around their luggage. The room were nice, although excessively decorated (Dazzles had pink floral chairs and stars on the ceiling). The pool deck was a good size... never too crowded, you could always find a chair. I thought the pools were a little small, but there weren't very many people in them, so I guess I was wrong. There were 5 hot tubs which were almost always crowded. The deck chairs were comfortable and plentiful. Read more