BACKGROUND/OVERVIEW -- This review/travelogue is broken down by day for easier navigation and includes a review of our three day precruise stay (12/30/04-01/02/05) that was booked through NCLA. The actual cruise ran from 01/02/05 to 01/09/05. I conclude with a "Conclusions" section, and try to make a few comparisons with the other lines I have cruised.

So that you may understand where these views are coming from, I am an early 30s college professor and my wife, who is nearing her mid 30s, works in the social work field.

This cruise was booked approximately 13 months in advanced and we were originally scheduled to sail on the Pride of America. We were eventually reaccommodated on the Aloha, but our TA had to fight to get us a midship cabin as we were rebooked in a forward cabin even though we had a midship cabin previously. Read more