We planned to get to the ship earlier to avoid crowds, but due to delays with the airlines the night before our arrival was around noon. Despite this, our embarkation was smooth and the lines moved well, putting us on the ship in about 45 minutes start to finish (having all the paperwork filled out in advance and proper ID helps). We were in a family balcony cabin, on the back of a hump, so had a bit larger balcony than the norm; otherwise, the majority of the balconies on the ship are much smaller than most. The room was standard, plenty of storage space and the bathroom nice size. Our cabin steward, Dennis, was wonderful - superior service and cool towel animals every night.

The ship is larger than most we have been on, but easy to get around, and did not feel overwhelming or crowded. It was nicely decorated for Christmas, but not overdone. The gingerbread village was really wonderful. I made dinner reservations for each night of the cruise in advance so we wouldn't have to think about this on vacation. We ate in the MDRs for the most part, but had 3 specialty dinners - Moderno, Teppanyaki and Cagney's. Teppanyaki was pretty typical food-wise, but very entertaining. The salads at Moderno were actually the star for me, rather than the meat. Cagney's was wonderful, and if I bought another dining package, would eat there for every one. The MDR food was good to very good, but there were some average dishes. My husband always enjoys the soups, and was happy in this regard. My son ate the Caesar salads, but they were way over-dressed. I have a dairy allergy, and all the restaurants catered to it, but the MDR sometimes cancelled my selections and brought something else without telling me. One cheese plate in lieu of dessert was brought, looked horrible, but to the Asst Maître's D's credit, she saw it and brought a beautifully done replacement saying: "you eat first with your eyes," how true. Loved having entertainment during dinner in the main MDR. The two other MDRs, Taste and Savor have the same food as the main MDR, smaller venues, but not the entertainment. We usually ate breakfast and lunch in the buffet, which had lots of variety, but maybe could have varied a bit more from day to day at the stations. I wanted to go to the noodle place, but not open for lunch (should be) and at dinner they said an hour wait when the place was empty. Had the UBP, as many did I think, but never had to wait to long for service or a drink.

I also made reservations for the 2 shows, Million Dollar Quartet and Burn the Floor in advance. We liked both shows, Burn the Floor particularly, but Million Dollar Quartet was twice as long as it needed to be. We saw Flip in the comedy venue, and he is hilarious, both his family and adult versions. The group of performers at Howl at the Moon were very entertaining and engaging. We did an Escape room thing which was fun and challenging - be prepared to use your brain and puzzle-solving abilities. You could always find live music going on in several venues around the ship, something Norwegian does very well. The dance parties at the club at the top/front of the ship were fun too; same place as some movies, but didn't get to see any of those. The variety of activities was plentiful and great for families, or groups with different interests/tastes. Read more