This was our fifteenth cruise and our seventh with NCL. We chose this cruise due to the ports of call and reasonable last minute price. We stayed at the La Quinta near the Airport for less than $100 a night including free transport to the ship and free parking during our cruise. The shuttle back to the La Quinta cost $20 for 2 people. It worked out great!

The Ship: I found our cabin to be very clean with an adequately sized bathroom. The room itself was small with an uncomfortable floor plan. It was so dark we kept banging into the table and chair on a nightly basis. The bed was very comfortable. We were right above the Stardust Theater so during the practices and the shows it was quite noisy, but very quiet during the night. We appreciated the refrigerator in our room. Our room stewards did an excellent job and were very personable! The public areas were always clean, the atrium was very nice. What I liked best about the ship was the great crew! Most were very helpful and just plain interesting to talk to! I also enjoyed the Latitudes parties. We just made the Silver status which meant we not only got one invite to a very nice cocktail reception, but a second invite to a wine and cheese party! Both were very nice with live music and free drinks! One of my favorite shipboard experiences was getting in the hot tub that is all by itself in the forward part of the ship on the first sea day in the early morning during a rainstorm. There was absolutely no one around! What I really disliked the most about this ship was the floor plan. The whole back of the ship is devoted to a play/pool area for the kid which is great for the kids! So we were left to lounge in the noisy pool area, the windy forward portion of the ship, or the very noisy kid- screaming aft area! If we were able to find a non-windy area anywhere to relax, it seemed inevitable a smoker came along and set up their spot directly upwind. They can smoke anywhere outside they want to. Also, I like to eat outside with a view, no such place on this ship unless you lug your food up to the Bimini Bar and hope you are not surrounded by smokers and then the view is primarily of the pool. There is also the Blue Lagoon on the 7th deck which has a limited menu of comfort foods. The only other option is by the pool or inside looking through dirty glass. The front portion and sides of the ship have these annoying dirty glass panels so while cruising in and out of the ports, I found myself trying to take my photos in the small areas between the dirty glass! What a terribly designed ship! The other disappointment was the high fee just to use the spa. The gym is still free and it is very nice.

The food: Not bad in the buffet and dining room, especially if you like vegetarian. I was always able to find something good to eat. NCL definitely pushes the specialty restaurants on this ship. The lobster tacos at Salsas were my favorite as well as the appetizers at Bamboo. The chocolate buffet was really lame! Instead of chocolate covered strawberries, they had chocolate covered dried figs probably left over from the breakfast buffet and more of that nasty flavorless gelatin like desserts that can always be found at the buffet only with a chocolate twist to them! Yuck! Don't waste your time and don't bother to bring your camera. Read more