We chose Norwegian based on a friends recommendation. He and his family had cruised on multiple different Norwegian ships and he had nothing but praise for all. We are cruise newbies and we trusted our friend and boy are we glad we did! We picked this specific cruise as it checked a lot of boxes for us. The flight from Boston to Tampa was inexpensive and there was a one way flight that was timed perfectly. Once in Tampa, we were greeted at the baggage claim by Norwegian employees who directed us to our transport bus to the port. It was busy but we were comfortable and the trip was fairly short. The port in Tampa was extremely busy and we waited for a very long time. We were early and I do not think they were working to fully capacity when we arrived. Many people in line said that it was odd to have to wait for so long to do the embarkation process. Once we cleared the security check, we got our room keys and were directed to the ship itself. We were extremely overwhelmed as we did not know what to do (or expect). We decided to just go to our room and see if it was ready. Luckily for us it was so we settled in. Once we did, we went and grabbed the first of our incredible meals on the trip. One thing our travel agent did not tell us about (we found out 8 days into the trip) is that we had 4 specialty dining meals and the ultimate beverage package. Once we figured that out we certainly took fully advantage of it. In short, the food choices were many and all excellent. We never once had to wait for a meal except for one night when we made a late reservation at Le Bistro and they were extremely busy. Otherwise we walked up to the staff and were immediately seated. The wait staff was outstanding. They encouraged us many times to try anything we wanted. We are not big eaters but we definitely once again took advantage of this. The Freestyle Daily flyer handed out each night was excellent. We used it to plan our next days adventures. We did four short excursions as well. Our first stop was Grand Cayman which was very beautiful. We took a tender (the only port which we had to do so) and that was a bit of a pain but it is what it is. The excursion was out of this world! We swam with the sting rays and did the dolphin excursion. The next stop was Aruba and since this is a place we have visited over 30 times we knew exactly what to do. We rented a car and cruised the island for the day. Very nice! Next stop was Bonaire where we did a history excursion. All good for sure. St. Lucia was the "Green to Sand" excursion which was fun and refreshing (the water!). We did the scenic rail excursion in St. Kitts which was excellent. Maybe a little long but otherwise excellent. St. Thomas was just ok. Back to the ship! The entertainment options were all excellent! We met a lot of people including a couple from California who had done dozens of cruises. One of the shows we saw was Michael Jackson, Tina Turner and Elvis Presley impersonators. They were outstanding and our friends from CA said it was the best show they had ever seen on any cruise before. The cruise director Pedro was extremely friendly, funny and approachable. He seemed to be everywhere and always smiling. We did other things like played bingo, Deal or No Deal, trivia, etc. All were outstanding. Every public area of the ship was well maintained, cleaned and well stocked (bathrooms). The service was absolutely outstanding everywhere! A stand out was at the Mojito bar where our bar tenders were just so engaging they kept us coming back for more. This trip was just myself and my fiance. We had a 10th deck balcony stateroom which was excellent. Only complaint would be the bathroom which we both felt was a bit on the small side, especially the toilet. It was however always clean, well stocked and quiet. We cruised to Manhattan and had arranged for a rental car to drive the 3 1/2 hours back home. The disembarkation was a bit of a cluster to be honest. People were a bit cranky and they were a definite lack of organization on the ship. And then there is the New York cruise terminal employees. What can I say? Well, we certainly had a fantastic voyage and have already booked another aboard the Norwegian Bliss next May....coming soon Alaska!