A friend and I planned a "girlfriends cruise" to Bermuda to celebrate the start of summer. We compared Bermuda itineraries and prices from NCL, Celebrity and RCL and chose NCL's seven day cruise to Dockyard Bermuda from Manhattan with free internet and three speciality restaurants included. My friend had cruised NCL previously and assured me that I would love it. However, I had heard some negative feedback and was a little apprehensive. Specifically, I was worried about being "nickel and dimed" and about the quality of the food as people had told me that the only way to get a decent meal on NCL was to dine at the specialty restaurants every night. Happily, those critics were wrong. For the most part, I did not feel that NCL upcharged too much, and the meals were excellent.

Embarkation: We arrived at the port at about 11 a.m. The driver didn’t seem familiar with the area, and almost dropped us where people were disembarking on the first level. Make sure you go to the second level for embarkation. There is no one to take your luggage onboard on the first level.

Since it was July 4th week, the port was packed, and we heard that the ship was full. Still, everything seemed efficient and we had no trouble getting our stateroom keys and entering the Escape. Staterooms were not ready, so we had lunch in the Manhattan room. The food was delicious and the service, as it was throughout the cruise, was very friendly and competent. After lunch, we spent the time before our stateroom was available making dining and spa reservations. The safety drill was relatively painless. We left port on time at 4 p.m. The view of New York Harbor and the Statue of Liberty is a real highlight of this cruise. Read more