Embarkation was a breeze. We arrived at the the terminal at 11:30 AM and were on board at noon. We checked our carry on luggage in the casino and had a delightful lunch at Windows. We were in our cabin by 2 PM and our luggage quickly followed. The first evening we ate at La Trattoria. The osso bucco was wonderful and the tiramisu was divine. The tortellini was overcooked but that wasn't really significant to us. As always, the service was wonderful. The service on the entire cruise was top notch. All crew were helpful and friendly. Our cabin stewards, Roderick (Rod) and Mhycon (Mike) were fantastic. I can't overstate how wonderfully helpful these gentlemen were. We started each day with coffee and fresh fruit from room service. We had ice delivered at the same time. It was a minor irritation that ice had to be delivered by room service rather than cabin stewards. Monday was Cruise Critic Meet and Greet. It had been wonderful coming to know our fellow cruisers on the Cruise Critic Roll Call and even more wonderful getting to meet them face to face. NCL provided coffee and goodies in Henry's Pub. Ship's officers attended which is a real kick for a semi-cruise-newbie like myself. I hesitate to mention that NCL did not provide any of the "thank you perks" for organizing the Meet and Greet. Hope I didn't do something wrong!! We had planned to eat at more specialty restaurants but ended up enjoying our dinner at Windows or The Garden Room. The variety and quality of the food was wonderful. All of the wait staff was gracious, even as my husband and I would indulge our sweet tooths by ordering two desserts each!! We enjoyed the entertainment. Our favorite was Jo-El Sonnier and Friends. We normally wouldn't like this genre of music but were impressed by the talent and thoroughly enjoyed the show. There was a good variety of on board activities. The "Sing It, If You Know It Game Show" was great fun. Also, we loved the White Hot Party and of course, The Chocolate Extravaganza Buffet!! I would suggest that NCL consider having lectures on the the history and culture of the ports of call. Disembarkation was as easy as can be. We took the NCL tour of New Orleans and were brought to the airport. We put a deposit on another NCL cruise while on board through their Rewards Program. Can't wait to decide where to go next!!!