For our first cruise was really good choice. Although rerouting from Cuba to Bahamas was disappointing (obv not NCL fault). Food in all restaurants we went to was very good, service was great across the board. Balcony room was tight, but we knew that going in. Embarkation was a breeze, even with seemingly hundreds in front of us. Disembarkation was a little confused, they weren't letting folks off that had checked their bags the night before since they weren't ready in the terminal (at 8:45 AM). They finally relented and let people pass. Better to wait in the air conditioned terminal than on board in the morning heat. Also we booked the NCL transfer, and this was very smooth and well organized. I'm sure there were plenty of Ubers but NCL made it easy.

One negative that is probably all cruise lines not just NCL was the medical service. My wife needed to see the doctor due to an infection. 20 minutes and $650 later we were back in the room (cost of "treatment" and antibiotics). While a bummer, this saved her a lot of discomfort for the rest of the trip. Another veteran cruise couple told us they heard the medical operation makes more profit than the casino. So get travel medical insurance! We have via our credit card, but I learned that only goes to $2500.

Speaking of the casino, I ran pure at blackjack (on a 8 deck continuous shuffler!) so that helped ease the wallet pain! BJ tables were $10 and $15, and some were 3/2 (just have to ask). Poker is not so great, they spread 2-5 NLHE and rake 10% of the pot up to $25! Didn't really see the poker table get going, but I guess they should get kudos for having it. Video poker pay tables are awful (7/5 DDB) but that's expected. But casino had great service, with the open bar the waitresses kept the drinks flowing, dealers and floor guys were fun even when they were getting beat! Read more