We have been on somewhere between 12-15 cruises. Past sailings have been on Norwegian, Holland America, Royal Caribbean and Carnival. Our last Norwegian cruise was in 1994 (which was also our first cruise). We are late 40's and do not have children. We tend to be late night people, enjoying late dinners, shows, different cocktail venues and the Casino.

We arrived at the Port of LA around 1pm. We've been sailing out of Long Beach for several years and I had forgotten how easy the parking is at LA. Unfortunately check in wasn't as seamless as our prior experiences in Long Beach. After parking, we found a long line of people waiting to have their bags checked. Apparently the porters had run out of carts. We waited about 15 minutes and were then able to check our bags and head into the terminal for cruise check in. We went through security and then waited another 30 minutes or so to reach the counter. This would be fine except my backpack was becoming very heavy now that we were closing in on nearly an hour. We finished check in and headed up the escalator and ramp to the ship. After crossing the gangway, we handed our cards to the attendant, but mine was not working. It turns out that they gave me another passenger's card at the check in counter and I had not looked at it until we reached the ship. Another 30 minutes of waiting inside at guest services and finally our vacation was beginning. Grabbed a cocktail and headed to the room to drop off the carry-ons.

We were on deck only a few minutes when the announcement came on that the safety drill would be beginning soon. We headed to our assigned area, which was Tzar's Palace dining room and waited. 30 minutes later the drill consisted of two minutes of information and a demonstration on how to put on a life vest. I understand this is important information, but it was a drawn out and made for a slightly boring start to the cruise. We hadn't eaten all day, so we headed to O' Sheehan's for lunch. Service started slow because they were just reopening after the drill, but things improved from there. Here are the highlights: Read more