So I was really nervous after reading the reviews about this cruise. It was booked, and we were going, but I was getting increasingly worried that it was not going to be a good, or even tolerable cruise, based on the scathing reviews. Glad I tried it out for myself.

This was my first time with NCL. I have been on 5 other cruises with Royal and Carnival. We did an 11am transfer arranged by NCL from the Marriott Hotel (also arranged by NCL) and were shocked when we arrived at the cruise port, checked in, and literally walked right onto the ship. I have never been able to walk on a ship without waiting, especially when arriving early. This was the first of many times where we went to get off of the ship and simply walked on and off of the ship at ports, disembarkation, etc. It was weird. We never once waited in line. We never felt like it was crowded. It consistently felt as if there weren't many people on board, although the dining rooms were always full.

Speaking of dining, we chose to dine at the La Cucina and Cagneys specialty restaurants for two nights, the dining room for 3 nights, and off the ship for the other 2. We had reservations for all of them ahead of time and NEVER had to wait. People without reservations WAIT. Easy fix, just make a reservation. La Cucina restaurant was okay. Food was good but nothing super memorable. Service was excellent. Cagneys was excellent. The dining room (Liberty - more formal) was also good. Our party overall really liked everything that was served - and I was with some pretty picky eaters. Maybe one dish was so-so but nothing worth complaining about when the rest of the food was very good. Read more