I was looking for a last minute 7-14 day European cruise with a balcony room available with a reasonable cost. This NCL cruise was available and I was pleased with the ship for the cost paid. I was especially impressed with the ease and speed of both the embarkation and demarcation process. I was surprised with the additional costs/service charge on items such as room service, specialty restaurants, and lobster. The staff was very friendly, especially in the Taste and Manhattan Dining rooms. I thought the staffing at certain times were minimal in the Garden Cafe/Outdoor Cafe when it was needed to clean-up tables for seating. I was surprised not to see very many officers (i.e. Captain, Navigator, Safety officer ,and etc) during the cruise. A discussion or briefing with the staff would have been a nice touch, especially if there were any questions or comments. I saw the Captain only once during the cruise and that was during the "picture with the Captain" and I felt his time was limited for picture-taking only. I can also see that this cruise had more children on-board and was geared to support families very well. On that note; I thought the big shows were marginal for families but your musical groups in the bar venues were outstanding. I would have no problem sailing with NCL again.