We arrived in Tampa the day before and stayed at the Residence Inn downtown. They had a free breakfast and schuttle to the port. We scheduled the schuttle for an 11:00am ride to the port but it was very late. The driver said the ships arrived around the same time due to the high winds making it chaotoc and him late.

Emarkation was the worst DH and I had experienced but I did not blame NCL for it but the fact of The Coast Guard going on board for an inspection and the high winds causing the gangplank to dislodge and having to be reset.

This was our first freestyle cruise. We arrived at the Versailles dining room Sunday night and found a large crowd and a long wait so we went to The Acqua dining room. The menu and food are the same. The decor is the difference. Aqua is modern and Versailles is traditional. Monday night the same delays and crowds at Versailles and we again ate at Aqua. We found this frustrating and DH said we won't do NCL again. But the crowds started thinning out on Tuesday and we also got more savy about free style so then were able to eat at Versailles when we wanted. Read more