our entire family of 11 ,5 grandkids ages 8,12, 17,18 ,20 and their parents who had never cruised before took the ncl star mex Rivera cruise. we had a good time and enjoyed the ship and the ports. the only real issue was dining with a large group first we had 3 specialty dining nights it was a nightmare to preschedule on the web and by phone and the even on board trying to get it scheduled was difficult !! The main dining was also inconsistent, aqua was excellent the other not so Christmas eve was almost 3 hours . the specialty dining was very good Cagneys and Morderno were excellent, the garden café buffet was good we ate all our breakfasts and lunch there , the layout is somewhat strange on one side you can't get to back of ship and the other is a adult only area so the only outside eating is pool side for families .The entertainment over was average except the comedian was great we went to all his shows the acrobats were very good but the rest of the shows only so so !! Our family and kids participated in many of the ships activities and had a great time. They really used the fitness center. We only used one shore excursion through ship the jeep in cabo the rest where independent mainly due to cost , ships where higher priced. We did dolphin swim in PV and zipline in Mazatlan with verando adventures great excursion, great lunch add to your to do list if I ever get back i'll go again!!! The embarkation and disembarkation was very good in fact it might be the best we have ever had. Overall we had a great time with all our family on a cruise what more could you ask for!!!