We almost exclusively sail with NCL and wanted an easy trip, so decide to sail from the states and not Europe. I would recommend this trip to those that want to have a relaxed trip and just do basic sight-seeing. Enjoyed our time on the ship, but ports were a bit boring compared to what you see in Europe.

The embarkation process at NY Terminal was the worst I have experienced, EVER! Rude porters. We waited in line to check in for over 1.5 hours, I have never waited more than 20-30 minutes to get on a cruise ship from the time we've arrived at the port to walking on the ship. I'll never sail out of NY again, even though it was breathtaking & emotional sailing by the Freedom Tower and Statue of Liberty. Be sure to get on deck for this. Debarkation in NY was easy, as we didn't have to deal with anyone at the port and went straight to our bus for a NCL Tour of NYC that dropped us at LGA. This tour was a highlight of the trip since we had not ever toured the city, highly recommend!

The ship is really beautiful and this was one of the friendliest crews we've encountered on any cruise. The majority of the passengers seemed to be having an excellent time. We dined mostly at the Buffet so we could eat quickly, we prefer to spend time doing activities instead of waiting on food to be delivered. (thank you Washy-Washy girls for keeping us all healthy and shame on those that don't wash their hands - you know who you are). The bar service was excellent at every venue and the UBP is a must for us as a double rum and coke is around $22 so my bill would have been expensive. Due to the size of the ship, they have a lot of bars to choose from, unfortunately none of them are very large so they stay full and it is often difficult to find one seat, let alone two. The Five O'Clock somewhere bar seemed to be used for selling things or seminars and I didn't like the atmosphere so never went there. Margaritaville ($14.95 charge) was also empty the entire sailing, so both of these spaces could have been put to better use. Headliners Bar is home to Dueling Pianos, which we enjoyed and also the comedy shows. We couldn't attend the comedy shows since they are reserved seats and the venue is very small, so book those shows at the earliest possible moment. The Choir of Man was excellent and I heard only great comments from other passengers, best show on the ship, so be sure to make reservations. There is a small fee, but worth it. You'll want to arrive early with your entire party to be seated, they served Beef Wellington that was just OK. I did not care for the two main stage shows - After Midnight and For the Record, the quality of the shows on other NCL Ships has been far superior to these two. The talent was there, but did not care for writing of the shows, endless tap dancing in A.M. and the extremely loud music in FtR (but the cast was really cute), I think that show is rated PG-13. If you didn't like the movies - The Breakfast Club and Ferris Bueller's Day Off, then don't go see For the Record. - I loved the movies, but not this show. Read more