My boyfriend B & I are from Ohio and wanted to take a nice, warm vacation in January 2009. We planned it perfectly, it was the COLDEST week of the year back home while we were gone! Which meant it wasn't the warmest vacation we had been on, most days the weather was in the 70s, but it was a wonderful break from winter weather. We heard a few moans and groans on board about the weather, but A - what do you expect for the second week in January? and B - NCL most definitely does not have control over the weather. No vacation is perfect, and we definitely made the most of it!The first sea day was perfect. Sunny, hot, wonderful. We had breakfast at the buffet, which was yummy, but didn't figure out until the second day how much better the dining room breakfast was! For you late sleepers (which we are 100%) it was completely worth getting up a little early to make it to the dining room on time for breakfast. My mouth is still watering thinking about the eggs benedict months later! The seating around the pool can be difficult to get, but we were happy to get chairs on the upper deck where it was much more quiet. The waiters are more than happy to help get you drinks, and the service is quick. Drinks are a little pricey, but good. The weather the remainder of the trip was a little less than ideal, but not bad. It rained for an hour in Roatan, which was fine for us, we went back to our room after breakfast to take a nap! There was always plenty to do on the ship that wasn't pool related, which was nice, because B is fair skinned so we couldn't spend hours in the sun anyways. The ship was beautiful. The bars were very nice, lots of lounge areas to relax and chill, the decor was fun but still very pretty. We saw the Second City Comedy Troupe twice and they were fantastic! Well worth your time. We went for a romantic getaway, and even though we were on a boat with 3000 other people, we didn't feel like it. There were plenty of spots to cozy up that felt more intimate. Our only complaint - not enough hot tubs! Now to the most important part - the food! We were really impressed. We're both pretty middle of the road - not too picky, but we are used to eating in some of the better restaurants in our area at home. The only places we had complaints about the food were the Blue Lagoon and the main dining room. We ate at the Blue Lagoon twice, and weren't too impressed. The spinach artichoke dip was bland, but the brownie with ice cream... yummmm. Stick with the buffet for snacks, but dessert was good. The dining room was inconsistent - one night the food was fantastic, the next it was just okay. I'd recommend saving money for the freestyle restaurants - we LOVED them. Cagney's was amazing, Teppanyaki was fun, but I think Mambo's might have been my favorite! Dinner at Mambo's came with a margarita included, which made it worth the price. The food was delicious and dessert - yum! We weren't big on the shows at night, so we made reservations for dinner around 9pm each evening. We had absolutely no problems getting into any of the restaurants. Cagney's was so good we considered going twice!The buffet was much more than I thought it would be. There was an amazing amount of selection, exotic foods, and a really delicious hard dip ice cream bar! (As well as soft serve on the back of the boat) The coconut ice cream was the best - we've been looking all over for it at the stores since we've been home! Yes, they make you wash your hands, but I really don't mind. B & I are both in the healthcare profession and most people don't wash their hands enough. If you're really that offended by it, then stay home and be dirty by yourself! Our room was great - we got a great deal on a mini-suite, which was fantastic! Lots of room, a bathtub in the bathroom, great balcony, small sitting area... heaven. We spent a decent amount of time in our room on the balcony reading. In case you were wondering (which I was) the room service menu for the mini suites are the same as the other cabins. But I had no complaints. Croissants weren't on the menu but I asked for them and got them every time. We had coffee on the balcony then off to breakfast in the dining room each morning. Once again, heaven!We had to re-route our trip a little due to a medical emergency on board. Instead of the private island, we went to Key West. I have to say, as a nurse, I was a little disgusted they televised the medevac of the sick child on board. Yeah, it's cool a helicopter landed on the ship while we were in the middle of the ocean, but I certainly wouldn't want to be on camera if I were sick enough that I needed to be evacuated. A little tacky on NCL's part. We did the murder mystery dinner, which was fun, but not what I expected. It wasn't very organized, and I was expecting full on dinner theatre - no, each person read out of a script at the dinner table, which was fun, but I wanted a big production. B had to wait in line for about a 1/2 hour to get us tickets to this, I don't know if I would recommend it. Our excursions were great, food was delicious, ship was very, very beautiful - couldn't ask for more! Only tip - our customs agent in Miami was a jerk - we both got lectured for 5 minutes - me, because I bought a knockoff purse, and B, because he bought 2 bottles of liquor duty-free. You'd think we were supporting terrorism for the lecture we got. Be vague about what you bought, or be prepared to get lectured!