We chose this cruise because it is convenient for us in Arizona to go to the Mexican Riviera. We have been to all of these ports multiple times, so the trip was more about the experience, and getting away than targeting a specific location.

It was our first time on one of the LARGE ships, and I was afraid that it would feel crowded. I did not find this to be the case. After a few days, I figured many people must have cancelled at the last minute due to the corona virus scare, so I asked a customer service, and they confirmed that there was 4,300 passengers the week we sailed. Double occupancy is only 3,800 so it was a pretty full ship, yet I never felt too crowded. A synopsis of some of the good/not so good is below.

Embarkation - we had flights included with our cruise fare, and arrived later than we would have planned for ourselves. Those that arrived before 10:30 got through security, health screening, and embarkation within about 1/2 hour. since we didn't get to the port till about 1:00 it took quite a bit longer. They were doing extra screenings of passports, and had extra health forms everyone had to fill out, so that slowed things down, that of course was not NCL's fault. Overall would have been better if we had arrived earlier. Read more