I booked this cruise because it was $500 cheaper than the Carnival equivalent. I've sailed on 9 cruises before but this was my first on NCL. Prior to going I read the reviews and didn't have high expectations. People love to bash NCL. However, to be fair I felt it necessary to write a few positives about NCL. Getting on and off was as easier and faster than any cruise I've been on before. We choose the walk off and got off in 15 minutes and a 1/2 hour earlier than advertised. To begin, the weather was only 60 degrees and 70 degrees in Florida, Great Stirrup Cap and the Bahamas. Not beach weather and there were no days warm enough for the pool deck. However, the ship was beautiful and gave us plenty to do. Food - Ok, maybe it was a step down from other cruise lines but it was very good overall and I didn't go hungry. After 4 days on the ship they must of had a "scare" because guests were no longer to get their own food in any of the self serve areas. We couldn't even get our own water or ketchup! Yes, that was very annoying and forced me to eat in the dining rooms. We were always served within 20 minutes at the dining rooms. Plus, they gave you a "wait buzzer" which allowed us 2 for 1 drinks at the bars! We loved that buzzer and didn't mind the wait. The dining room food was very good and the desserts were good too. The lobster night was excellent. The food in the Garden Cafe buffet was good but there was very little variety from day to day. Same breakfast and lunch every day. Other ships change it up! But, overall it was good. I love Indian and Asian and it's was excellent. The pizza was very good. Cold soups were good too despite the horrible reviews. So, on a scale of 1-10 I'd give the buffet a 6 and the dining room a 7. Other cruise lines I would rate at 8 & 9. But again, I saved several hundred dollars and was perfectly satisfied with the food. Oh, they skipped the 11pm-3am feasts offered on other cruises. Yes, I missed that feature but my waist really didn't need that temptation anyway. We ate at 2 of the specialty restaurants. The French La Bistro cost of $70 but it was excellent individualized service and great food in an intimate setting. We had 2 waiters. I probably wouldn't spend the extra money next time but it was different. We ate at the Tex Mex restaurant for $20 extra. Again, very intimate and attentive service but the food was nothing special. In fact, the special lobster tacos were probably the worst I had on the ship. Ok, here is my biggest piece of advice. If you love tranquility, luxury and hot tubs, spend the extra money for weekly access to the Lotus Spa Chill Out room! We got lucky our last 2 days and found this piece of heaven. Luckily, they allowed us to buy day passes for $20 a person. Normally, they will only sell weekly passes and they are limited. Those 2 days made my cruise amazing. It's a small private area in the spa with only 20-30 people allowed at once. They had loungers overlooking the water, heated ceramic loungers that were amazing, a hot tub, a huge whirlpool spa, steam room, private bath spas and a sauna. No kids allowed! We spent 9 hours in there the last 2 days. I would have paid $100 a day for that place! I think it's $99 person for the week. If you want peace and quiet this is your place. The staff was very nice the entire time. I think NCL gets a bad rap and I'm not sure why. The ship was clean and beautiful. Room stewart was prompt and helpful. The $12 pp service fee was very reasonable as tips. They earn it. Oh, don't play Bingo, huge rip off at $60 and $140 to play with less than $200 payouts. I got suckered in once. The only thing lacking was the ports of call. Port Canaveral advertises Wal-Mart as their shuttle bus stop. We did get ripped off by a shuttle service that dropped us off in the middle of no where and never picked us up later. Had to spend $20 extra to get a taxi back. But, we hit a local bar and hung out with 8 locals who bought us drinks all day! The waves in Nassau were too high to swim. Great Stirrup Cay was cold but would have been a nice day to relax if the weather were good. TIP - you must get tickets to catch a tender to the beach at Great Stirrup Cay. If you don't get on one of the first 5 of 10 boats you won't get a lounge chair on the beach. So, stand in line the night before PRIOR to the announced time to pick up your tender tickets.