Background: My husband and I (late 40s), my daughter and son-in-law, grandson aged 2. I have cruised numerous times and had taken my daughter on another NCL cruise (just us girls) last Fall. We booked this because it was out of New York and I wouldn't have to buy 5 plane tickets. Never again....you are taking too great of a risk with the weather in February and we really only had 2 nice days out of 7. Lesson learned, on with the review ;)
We arrived at the NYC Terminal at noon and after a relatively short wait through security were led right to the VIP line where we were immediately checked in, handed our Sail and Sign cards, and directed to the Casino/VIP waiting area. Upon arrival there, the room was empty so an NCL agent escorted us personally onto the ship. I did miss the complimentary glass of bubbly but mainly because of the fact that instead they had many little tables and staff trying to sell you cocktails before you had even crossed the threshold into the Atrium. It was very busy and crowded and they really didn't do a very good job of directing passengers out of that immediate area - quite a different experience than I had just last year when an NCL employee escorted us to the pool deck/buffet area - from reading the boards here we knew to head to the main dining room for lunch. Everyone should heed that advice because the buffet was crowded on embarkation day and got even more crowded once the ship was full.
The ship: the ship itself is in pristine condition and fairly easy to navigate. DEcor is abundantly colorful which may appeal to some and not to others but the fact of the matter is that the ship is in excellent shape, spotlessly clean no matter where you look, and shows absolutely no signs of wear or tear. We had a balcony cabin that was plenty large enough for the 2 of us for a week even though the bathroom is small. There are only 3 small dresser drawers, but there are shelves behind the door that functioned quite well as a place to store clothes; the closet had ample space and hangers although I always bring my own as well. The only complaint I would have is the lack of tv channels but this is the first time I've ever cruised where the weather hasn't been 100% so I spent more time in the cabin than I usually do.