I have been on 6 cruises and usually do Royal Caribbean or Carnival and always wanted to try NCL. I booked with my Mom and a friend and knew it would be a "girls" cruise . We live near Buffalo N.Y. and it was a quick flight to NYC. I can't comment to much on embarkation/debarkation due to the fact I have mobility issues and used a roller walker and rented a scooter for long distances and boarded in advance. It did appear that things were NOT chaotic however in these processes. I have to say I was leary about this cruise due to some of the reviews. I also know to take some reviews with a grain of salt. Some people do nothing but moan and complain. I believe a vacation is what you make of it and YOU make your own good time. That being said I will just give a few of my main reasons I probably won't return to this specific ship. My main reason is the placement of the Casino in regard to the atrium and a few restaurants. I cannot tolerate much smoke and the way it is set up you cannot escape it. I had dinner in La Cucina and was bothered by the smoke while trying to enjoy dinner. Bad design for sure. The other main concerns would be for a ship with so many pax the Atrium is extremely too small. They have many activities there and unless you get there about an hour and a half early you will not get a seat. Alot of the areas such as night club areas are tiny with standing room only.n This rings true with the pool as well. Just too small...... The only place that was perfect besides the theatre was the H20 outdoor area where the giant screen was. This is where the 70's, 80's and glow parties were at night. (Weather permitting) This area was big enough to accomadate a lot of people. Lot's of fun to be had there. The blues and jazz club was fantastic and had ample room as well.

As I previously stated the ship is pretty and yes we enjoyed ourselves however I just wanted to express why I probably would try a different ship in the future. Another major issue was that there were many rude staff members which I have never experienced on RCCL or Carnival. Food was excellent in LeBistro, Cagney's, O'Sheehans, La Cucina. Buffet was ok. The Main Dining room ( Manhattan room) food was not good and didn't bother with Taste or Savor because it is the same menu as Manhattan room. When thinking back I get the feeling that it is a HUGE ship trying to be a small ship? Too many small areas I believe. The idea of having outdoor places to eat (extentions of some of the restaurants) was a great idea in my opinion. We did not get to stop at Great Stirrup Cay due to it being choppy and we could not tender.