When we decided to choose this cruise out of New York, we were a bit hesitant due to the size of the ship and location that we might feel overcrowded or find it difficult to navigate around the ship. The embarkation process was a breeze, perhaps made a little easier because we are platinum members, but the process was very organized and staff were very friendly and polite. The port was easy to locate and easy to get to, as there are multiple hotels within walking distance of the port! Once onboard the ship, there were almost too many things to see, but also I enjoyed the more casual and less-crowded atmosphere of O'Sheehan's to eat lunch upon embarkation day.

The dining experiences we had were perhaps our favorite and most memorable to date on NCL! This is not to say our previous dining experiences were not good, but it appeared the service and food were perhaps a step above our other experiences. We ate in every specialty restaurant and dining option except for the supper club during our 14 day cruise. The stand alone favorite was Le Bistro! The entire experience from the excellent and accommodating hostess and wait staff were all exceptional in service that our cabin ate here 3 times during the cruise! The food was always perfectly cooked and the jumbo shrimp with artichoke hearts in the white cream sauce was the best item on the menu! The beef tenderloin was exceptional even cooked well-done like my mother prefers, as I tried a piece. The other specialty restaurants were excellent with service and offerings, and all wait staff and hostesses exceeded our expectations and gave great service each time we visited their restaurant. It appeared that there was more of a selection of main dining room offerings on this ship that always made it difficult to choose just one entrée during dinner! The dining staff and Maître D were very attentive and were very professional when guests next to us complained about their meals and were very rude to crew. I also have to commend the hostesses that assisted during lunchtime in the garden café who had to be yelled at and insulted by fellow guests and all crew should be commended regarding having to deal with rude and disrespectful guests from this sailing. As someone who has cruised several times with NCL, I continue to be amazed and have a deep respect for crew who have to take yelling and disrespectful language and insults from passengers!!!

The entertainment was superb on this ship specifically the 2 Broadway style shows as they had great choreography and sound from the performers! Each show was not too long, but also was made to highlight each performer's strengths on stage and I like how there was more than one main character in each of the shows. I have seen a lot of Broadway style shows around the world and I have to give each performer in both of those shows 2 thumbs up for their excellent musical talents! The other non-Broadway entertainment was also very good including the comedian juggler, the comedians in the comedy club, and lounge entertainers. Read more