Hi everyone! This was our 1st NCL cruise (2nd overall) and we went on board with an attitude that if it wasn't what we enjoyed, we wouldn't do it ever again... Turns out, we enjoyed Freestyle Cruising! Our family of 3 had a great time and we can't wait to cruise again.Embarkation: Arrive around 12 noon from NJ. Didn't take long at all. Spent a total of 30 minutes on line before actually entering the boat. Went straight to Tsar's for lunch and cabin was ready by the time we're done with lunch around 2pm. Entertainment: Entertainment was really good. Le Bijou Cirque was terrific.Shore Excursion Desk: We booked "Atlantis Beach Break" online and it was indicated that the departure time was 9:15. We got our shore excursion tickets in our cabin and it was showing that our departure time was 10:30. We were not happy with this as we are already in Nassau by 8am and a very late departure time is a waste of time and money. So we returned our shore excursion tickets to cancel. Breakfast with Nickelodeon: If you want to meet the characters, check the Nick schedule and just go to the character meet and greets. We were not happy with this... It was not organized. The food was not that great and everyone got the wrong thing. The server gave us the wrong orders and they seem to be rushing... Fine if it was free but it was $15 for adults and $10 per child. We got good pictures though... and they also used our camera so we can get family pictures with the characters.Housekeeping: They were great. Tipped them extra for the wonderful service. The room is cleaned at least twice a day. The second time around is when they usually make your towel animals, and leave you your freestyle daily which includes everything that will happen for the next day. FYI: all the rooms have Mini Bars, which includes liquor, soda, bottled water, peanuts and candy! I requested those items to be removed so I can store my drinks. We also stock up on milk from the buffet for my daughter so we'll have milk anytime she needs it. You're allowed to bring soda and bottled water on board.Dining: We loved all the choices of Dining Rooms on the ship. We ate in the beautiful Tsar's, Azura, Blue Lagoon and Buffets. Kid's Cafe was a big hit for my little girl. We ate there most of the time for breakfast and lunch. I guess we eat early breakfasts and lunches so we never felt that the buffet was crowded. I really like the set up. You don't have to wait in line to get food unlike in Carnival unless it's a made to order station. Lobster was not on formal night, which was a little odd. We had the Lobster Night in Nassau. Port Canaveral : It was raining when we got there but it cleared up in the afternoon. We have been to Orlando just few months back so we decided to take the FREE SHUTTLE to Cocoa Beach. It is easy to find as you get out of the port. They have a sign next to the bus stop and you can ask about it. It is sponsored by Cocoa Beach Surf Company and it is next to Ron Jon's. Cocoa beach is about 5 mins away. We were walking very slowly by the way. Great Stirrup cay: The island was beautiful. I just wish the water was not that rough... Got a little dizzy while tendering. Not a fan of the tender process. We rented a float in advance so we were able to get on an early tender. No need to fall in line to get tender tickets if you booked an excursion, or a float or clamshell etc... Unfortunately, my little girl was scared on the float so we switched to the clamshell w/o any problems. Clamshell was great for the little ones. Chilled out on the beach, ate some bbq!! This is NCL's island so everything here that you purchase, besides for the little vendors, has to be swiped with your card. Had a great beach day. Bahamas: Beautiful island. Didn't purchase any excursion but was able to get one of the locals to take us on a city tour that lasted for 2.5 to 3 hours. Great introduction for first timers like us. Visited Atlantis, Queen's Staircase, Fort Fincaslte, Cabbage Beach, and Junkanoo Beach. We requested to be dropped off to Junkanoo Beach and just walked to the ship after spending about an hour. Sea Days: Fun and relaxing. Take some motion sickness protection with you if you get dizzy. Used Bonine 3 out of the 7 days because I get sea sick a lot. The sea days were really rough. Not just me coz I saw some people getting dizzy specially on our trip back to NYC. Kids club was awesome! My 3 year old had a great time on NCL Jewel. She only went to the kid's club during the sea days and I made sure she was not there longer than 3 hours at a time since we want to spend more time as a family. The counselors even gave her an NCL kids crew shirt that she painted the last night of the cruise.Nickelodeon shows were great! Had fun watching. A lot of older kids (5-10 yr olds) and their parents participated in the games. SUMMARY : We had a great and relaxing time. We already made a $250 deposit for our next NCL cruise.