Ok, folks, here's my two cents, if it's worth that! We are me, a 46 yo teacher; DH, a 47 yo journalist; and DS, an 8 yo wild man. We've cruised twice before with DCL and LOVED it. We booked NCL because of the dramatic price difference, including being able to save on airfare by driving to NYC from Columbia, MD and because DS is a SpongeBob fanatic, so he would still get his character fix. I was concerned whether or not NCL would compare favorably but was pleased with the comparison.

Embarkation

We had a speedy 3+ hour drive from Columbia to the NYC terminal, which was easy to find and navigate. We dropped off our luggage at the "Drop off" section, then circled back around and followed the "Parking" signs to the roof. Considering how much we saved on airfare, we found the $210 to park for the week a fair tradeoff. We passed quickly through security and waited behind two other groups in line for check-in for about 3-5 minutes, then checked in easily. A quick embarkation photo and we were in seats by about 10:30. During the hour or so that we waited for them to begin boarding, DS bought himself a soda package, and I made dinner reservations for Tepanyaki at the tables that were set up in the terminal. When boarding began, we went straight up to Deck 12 and tried to eat at the Garden Cafe. It was such a cold, dreary day in New York that the A/C was a bit of overkill, and DH was feeling very chilled. We relocated to a poolside table which felt a bit warmer. DS got right into the pool with one other little boy and had a blast for at least an hour. I ran down to guest services to make sure OBC's were properly applied (they all were), and then they announced that staterooms were ready. Read more