We take the cruise on 27 July 2008 with the Norwegian Gem in the Mediterranean , it was overwhelming.
Excellent service and a very beautiful ship which you need really time to discover.
And a variety of food of good quality for every one, normal drink's of tea, coffee ect. and ice cream is available with out charge 24 h a day. You can eat almost the whole day so if your feel hungry in the night just take a bite.
Overall it was a wonderful cruise, for more information with beautiful pictures and flash movie including info how to take your own excursions with train schedules and prices of tickets ect. please visit my homepage below.

http://www.nedstar.mycruiseadviser.com

Here you can also download information.

My wife and I just got back from the Honeymoon from hell cruise aboard the DAWN from NY to Halifax. From the time we boarded we found our cabin dirty, footprints on the walls, gum on the ceiling and dirty glasses left from the prior occupants. The safe was locked and the beds where not as requested. We promptly went down to the front desk and we where very rudely treated by the clerk. This has to be the worst customer service organization I have ever dealt with. Nobody on the ship will take responsibility for anything and they act as if your annoying them by asking for resolution to your issues. As the week went on the trip got even worse. The shows are awful and the food was not worth eating. I would NOT recommend to anyone to cruise with NCL. By the 3rd day the supply of food was running out, and items where scarce to say the least. They ran out of Tea and started to serve salad dressing from the bottle, they did not have cucumbers so the put cream cheese on top of zucchini, who could tell? right? We looked forward to getting of the boat so we could get a real meal. The best meals we had where while we where ashore, and these where at chain restaurants that we could have gone to at home. They where far superior in quality of the food, service and taste. Basically the only thing NCL wants to talk to you about is how they can sell you something, especially BOTOX treatments. When the excursion was filled up, the people at the desk would not talk to you... nothing left to sell to you... If you are expecting the service and the quality that NCL has had in previous years, you will be very disappointed! Don't waste your time or your money with NCL! Go with another company.
I wish they had lower then a 1 for Service and Food, because they are the absolute worst you will find anywhere. In the restaurant the staff would reach accross you while you are eating to replace items on the table and as you are walking they would mop under your feet. The words "excuse me" or "are you finished with the plate" are not in the vocabulary of NCL either is "we are sorry" they will not admit they did anything wrong and act arrogant about everything. Well I am SORRY we chose NCL to waste or honeymoon on, the once in a life time trip turned out to be on problem after another. We went on an NCL excursion and the tour guide could not count the number of people on the bus, the started to leave without us and I had to run after the bus and flag the driver to stop. After I told her that there are 28 and not 26 people on the tour, she counted 26 again at the next stop and left another couple behind, lucky them, because on the way to the next stop the bus broke down and we sat for a half hour in 90 plus temperatures until they decided to call for a replacement bus. When it arrived after another 20 Mins we where already late to get the last tender back to the ship. They did wait for us though and we sat on the tender for about 25 Mins while the engines ran and the cabin filled with smoke and carbon monoxide. When asked by the people at the port to close the windows and turn on the air conditioner they told him it was broken! Entertainment was poor and should get a "1" rating. The NY Port Authority gave us better service then NCL did!!!! That is not saying much, believe me... You may save some money on the initial booking with NCL but they will rip you off in some other way, they nickle and dime you as much as possible. My advice is if you are considering NCL, instead go to a Motel 6 and a Country Buffet, you will get better food and service!

we loved it. Ship is older compared to explorer of the seas, but best part of food and indian food in windows.

It's been over a year since Diane and I returned from this cruise. I was going through my reviews and realized I never posted it. Some of the information may be irrelevant at this time but I hope readers will get something out of it and not think of me as an idiot

Introduction

Another September and another last minute cruise. Last year we cruised on the Carnival Legend. This year it was NCL Norwegian Dawn. I was feeling real disappointed that we had not cruised all year. We had planned a September cruise but had to cancel our plans in May. Events made it possible to cruise in September after all and being the 19th I couldn't get us on the ship we had planned for the 22nd but I was able to get us on the Norwegian Dawn for the 25th.

For those of you who have not read any of my reviews of previous cruises�?�Diane absolutely hates to fly. After our November 2004 cruise she made me promise we would not fly for at least 2 years. We had taken the train from Boston to NYC last September and she loved it. This made it possible to book the Dawn out of New York. Booking

Itinerary

The itinerary was less than impressive. Port Canaveral, Miami, Great Stirup Cay (NCL's private island) and Nassau. Diane and I do few excursions and prefer to laze around on the ship while others are off enjoying the various ports. We do get off the ship and walk around the local shops for an hour or so than return to the ship.

More about this under Excursions.

Embarkation
What a difference from last year when embarkation was an absolute disaster. NCL definitely has its act together. We walked into the terminal at 11:12 A.M., checked in our luggage and proceeded to the check-in desk. We were sitting with our coffee all checked-in by 11:30. They had chairs set up and coffee, tea sandwiches and sweets available. Boarding started about 45 minutes later. We were on board and in our cabin at 12:30. Ship

The Norwegian Dawn is a wonderful ship, very clean and well organized. Lots of restaurants and lounges, a library with plenty of reading material, a movie theater, and more.

The pool is great and plenty of hot tubs. The tiered area for sunbathing was great leaving the chairs around the pool for swimmers.

Cabin
Of course the only thing left was Category N Deck 4, inside, front of the ship. Being past cruisers with NCL may have helped because we got upgraded to Category J �?? Deck 8, inside, middle of the ship. This was our first experience with an inside cabin so we went to sleep with the T.V. set to Bridge Cam station (Dark) and woke to Sunshine. It was our porthole window. The room was larger than I expected and plenty of storage areas. There was a coffee maker which we liked as we are big coffee drinkers.

There is a refrigerator but no mini bar. We picked up a few extra cans of soda at one of the bars and stocked the frig. Our steward kept our room clean and the ice bucket filled with fresh ice. Dining

There is a huge choose for dining. This was our first experience with freestyle dining. Diane loves it while I prefer traditional cruise style dining. Rather than 1 large Main Dining room there are 3 smaller venues which have no surcharges and require no reservations (Aqua, Impressions and Venetian). Also the Garden Café for buffet style dining and the Blue Lagoon for snacks and open 24 hours.

The food was wonderful. I particularly enjoyed the Beef Wellington at Impressions.

Excursions
Diane and I are not big on excursions as I mentioned earlier but on this cruise there really was little to do. One thing we like to do in Nassau is to visit a little bar named Iguana�??s. Unfortunately, for all intent and purposes EVERYTHING was closed. The exceptions were the shops in the terminal, a cheap souvenir shop and a bar. A native beer company was giving out free beer at the bar of which I took full advantage. This was after our traditional Bahama MaMa�??s which we couldn�??t have at Iquana�??s, of course. The other port worth mentioning was Great Stirup Cay. This is NCL�??s private island and while it doesn�??t meet HAL�??s Half Moon Cay, it offers a nice day on the beach. There are two beaches. One of them is very rocky. I saw a couple of people with cuts on the feet from stubbed toes in the water. NCL puts on a nice spread of hamburgers, corn on the cob, fruit, etc. Staff and crew

Only good things to say about the staff and crew on the Dawn. The wait staff in each dining venue was wonderful. On ships with traditional sitting the wait staff gets to know the guests. They learn there likes and dislikes and close bonds are developed. Open sitting does not offer this opportunity but the wait staff compensates for this and I still felt I was being treated �??special�?� by all of them.

There was one incident at the Chocolate Buffet which was held in the afternoon. An opportunity to take pictures prior to the eating was offered. As you probably know bathing suits and tank tops are not permitted in the dining room. I was wearing a sleeveless shirt and was told �??tank tops are not permitted in the dining room�?�. After explaining that it was not a tank top but rather a sleeveless shirt, the woman said it didn�??t matter, I was not permitted in the dining room. I had bought 3 from L.L. Bean at $29 each just before the cruise. That night was formal night. We were dressed appropriately, I in a tuxedo and Diane in a gown and seated next to us was a gentleman in dungarees and a t-shirt. When I mentioned this the head waiter simply shrugged his shoulders and walked away. Go figure.

Entertainment
The various lounges have wonderful entertainment but the Bollywood performance in the Stardust Theater was horrible. We had never walked out of an act but after 10 minutes we did. The performers where fine but the music�?�

Pictures
I have to talk about the onboard photographers in every review. Some day I will find a photographer who can take a picture of a tall person (I�??m 6�??2�?�) without cutting off my feet or head, because it hasn�??t happened on any of our cruises. The 6 photographers are out every night taking the �??formal�?� pictures. With all the complaints I read from people complaining about the picture taking, it�??s amazing how long the lines are every night to have pictures taken. Just an observation.

Conclusion

Diane and I are committed cruisers. The itinerary was disappointing and the Bollywood entertainment was the worst I've seen. But everything else was wonderful and we look forward to again cruising on the Norwegian Dawn again in April 2007.

Flight plans: best to make ur own if it is best NCL got a great rate and if ur ok with backtracking 1200 mi and a 3hr layover in Denver and a 7hr flight from there to Honolulu no problem. Actually the flight was ok and the GKids ages 9 and 11 were pretty good and handled it well cuz Grandma prepared with crayons and colour books in a carryon bag.

Embarkation Honolulu: This was a breeze, not sure if because of our afternoon arrival, no waiting, very short lines, very efficient, everything taken care of right there, stateroom card and picture, then just walk onboard. The staff inthe atrium were very helpful in directing us to our stateroom. total time from airport to stateroom less than 45 min.

The Ship:Layout is fairly simple but can be confusing to some as it seems that clubs and such seem scattered all over the place. GKids had ship figured out within the first day. Found their way from stateroom to pools right off. GParents took a little longer. pools and hottubs are deck 11 along with Aloha buffet 2 pools one a deep pool about 8ft deep theother a semi wading pool about 4ft deep at its deepest 4 hot tubs 1 at each corner of the pools, also a pool and hot tub aft on deck 12, sports decks and kids clubs and spa above that. Main dining rooms Skyline and Liberty are 1 deck each one above the other on decks 5 & 6 aft. Pay restaurants are also on 5 & 6, If u want more info NCL's website has a good layout of the ship.
Staterooms: Insides small with few amenities, shower cap, shoe rag and small bottle of hand lotion, soap and shampoo in dispensers. 1, 2 door closet, desk with mirror and 2 drawers and a good size hair dryer mounted to wall beside mirror, demi bar with 2drawers and refridge above 2 shelves and 2 drawers below. Standard toilet and shower. Beds were adequate if not somewhat cotlike suitcases stored underneath quite well. Did like the full length mirror on the wall outside the bath. Did get a peek at a side balcony stateroom and it did not look much larger than our inside tho not sure. rooms adequate but not Carnival good.

Freestyle Dining: Ain't nothing free about it. Found it most inconvient to have to make reservations for everything. they have monitors that supposedly show the status of all the restaurants but don't believe them u cannot just walk in even tho they show no waiting times and even with a res. u may have to wait. Main dining rooms groups of 5 + must make reservations and they are for when they have an opening not at ur convenience. The three nites we did dine in the mains our reservs were most inconvient 1st nite showed up 7:30 with a reserv cuz we did not know u needed one and had a 45min wait, 2nd time got one for 8pm got confirmed for 8:30 showed up at 8:10 and were told we were late, kuckily they had not given our table away, both reserv times caused us to miss all the shows and our 3rd altho early 6pm came just when we were cruising by the magnificent Na Pali coast line on Kuaui. Did get to get up from our anniversary dinner and go outside and take some pics then
come back in to lukewarm food, not restaurants fault tho, due to mechanical problems causing us to leave Kuaui port late. Thank God for the Aloha buffet, most meals eaten here, breakfast was eaten on what is known as the Aloha lanai outdoors aft. Itinary is so port heavy lunch was ashore most of the time. Food in both dining rooms and Aloha buffet was good but not anything to write home about. Unfortunate result of freestyle dining is that u don't get to know the waitestaff.

Specialty Restaurants:don't know what they were like could'nt get a reservation as we did'nt get to ship until around 4pm Sat. and they were already all booked up for the whole cruise so book early, but that was ok cuz did'nt really want to pay extra. same for the Little Italy free restaurant, but it was frustrating to go by and see empty tables and still not be able to be seated. by the way window tables in the main dining rooms were for 2, larger groups 5+ in the middle of the room. also note they do not take reservs for less than 5 u just show up and hope they can seat u. Also note the Key West bar and grill on deck 12 and the Cadillac Diner on 6 are 2 of the best eats on the ship, KW serves burgers, hot dogs and sausage doges and a special like BBQ ribs or sandwich from 2pm to 6pm. Cadillac Diner serves typical 50s diner fare and is open from 5am to 3am burgers and fries, fish and chips, meatloaf and mashed taters and such for free and shakes and maltsand sundaes and
such for a fee about $3.If u like the fare at the specialty rests. I heard they were quite good but remember to make resrevations as soon as u get on the ship.

Itinary: Outstanding. Overnites on both Maui and Kuaui. Rented a van in Hilo on the big Island, in Maui, and Honolulu on departure day as our flt home was'nt leaving til 10:15pm.
Bought 2 ship shoretours Molikini snorkel and Golf outing on Kuaui. On Maui a trip to Lahina is a must where we found that most of the tours offered by NCL are available there for about half the price or less. We saw the Molikini snorkel for about $30/person instead of the $99/person the ship charges, the Atlantis Sub for $29 vs the $99 on the ship, of course u have to get there, but there are busses.All the car rental agencies have transport at the piers at each port.

Onboard Entertainment: Did'nt get to see much due to overnites and reservation problems. Did see the Magician and he was good so assume the other shows were also.
Pools and hot tubs were crowded but not overly so, were able to swim and soak pretty much whenever we wanted to. Also got crewman to open hot tub early in morn to soothe my sore back. One of the reasons we chose the Pride of America was because they have a bungee tramp for the kids disappointed it was only open for an hour each day. It also seemed that alot of stuff closed down somewhat early outside bars and such.
Kids Club: paid $80 for 2 kids packs, they had a pop bracelet,ballcap,tee, colour book & crayons, and backpack, signed GKids up for age appropiatekids club activities. They went once. Spent most of the time on board in the pool or video game room. Speaking of the pop card $52 for 7 day cruise, brought on own Pepsi, ship uses only Coke products.
All the ports had a Wal-mart with free transport to and from the pier which was nice, as GDaughter needed shoes for dining rooms and did'nt bring any, still trying to figure what actually constitutes RESORT CASUAL, obviously not shorts, tees, sandals.
Actually needed to refill a prescription on Maui and in the process found out that the W-M
there had a great selection of made in Hawaii clothes, 100% Kona coffee, and cheezy trinkets galore plus some real finds at great W-M prices and of course being retired W-M associates we have permanent discount cards. Whoopee!

Crew: Its supposed to to be all American, but our room steward said she was originally from the Phillipines but uses a Guam addy. She was very attentive to our every need and our ice bucket was always full. The rest of the service was nothing more than what was expected. A big drawback to freestyle dining is different waiters all the time so who do u tip extra, sorry to say no one on the wait staff. Room steward did get a little extra tho.

Disembarkation: Just as easy as embarkation with plentyof time for breakfast. Left the ship around 9am to pick up our car for the day, found our bags no problem. By the way don't get sucked into the EASY FLY, read all the fine print and u will find it costs $20/person extrano one mentions that before hand so, buyer beware, some thot it was worth it to have bags taken care of all the way to the plane and tickets in hand when u leave the ship. I did'nt.

All in all the cruise was unremarkable except for the Islands, Paradise found. For us Carnival cruisers it was all the little things we found annoying, small rooms, stuff not being wiped down everyday windows not being washed. Oh yeah the whole cruise the passageways had a pervasive scent of sewage in the air. A room steward told me it had been like that for about 2 months.

So at this time if I was asked if I would recommend NCLA's Pride of America: NO!
Would I rec. her ininary: Definately YES!
?s welcome
Fair winds and following seas. John

This was the 13th cruise for my wife Irene and myself. I am 60 yrs old and as usual my wife won't let me tell you how old she is. We celebrate our 40 anniversary in Oct of 2001. We left on Sunday Aug 13, 2000 from Boston.. Being a surperstitious person about the number 13 I left with mixed emotions. This was our second cruise to Bermuda, both from Boston on the Norwegian Majesty. Our first cruise to Bermuda was in August of 97 and the ship was then called the Royal Majesty. The ship obviously changed hands and the ship was stretched by adding a middle portion.

Due to hurricane Alberto, we left Boston with rough seas. The Captain had to slow the ship down so that we arrived in Bermuda at about 1:00 p.m. instead of 10:00 a.m. For those of you that book tours with the ship, the Helmet dive tours were full by the time the first seating for dinner had completed their meal. They had several tours scheduled. I did not count them but I would say there were about 6 helmet dive tours. This was a tour that we did the first time we went to Bermuda. The nice thing about this tour is if you wear glasses like we do, you are able to wear your glasses with the helmet. The next popular tour is the kayaking tour. This was the next to fill up. Due to the late arrival on the first day we did not get to go kayaking as we had planned. This was a disappointment to my wife. We took a cab tour of the island(they are right off the ship and not hard to find), a carriage tour of the island, sail boat snorkeling tour and went deep sea fishing with my brother-in-law. The Royal Majesty is docked at St. George's for the duration of the Bermuda stay. It does not move mid week as some cruise lines do. For those that are young and in shape there is a nice beach near by that is within walking distance called St. Catherine's. Being old and gray we took a cab(OOPS my wife just said, "who says I'm gray??"). There is also a bus that goes there from the ship and back for $2. It goes by about every 15 minutes. If you go snorkeling by the rocks on the left at the beach and go around to the Achilles beach it is very nice snorkeling. Actually we saw more fish there than we did on any snorkeling tour we took during the two times in Bermuda. The weather was nice except for a brief shower every day.

When you arrive in Bermuda the pastel colored houses with the white roofs is quite a site. Most homes have a reservoir beneath their homes. When it rains the the water is collected on the roof tops down tho the reservoir. The roofs have a white limestone paint that purifies the the rain water for them. Some homes have wells but most of the drinking water is obtained in this fashion.

What started off as a weekend shopping getaway for my wife and her two sisters ended up as being a cruise to Bermuda with the three couples. My wife and I enjoyed this cruise. There were minor glitches(for example I got to try the medical facility on the ship as the waiter dropped a full ice cream sundae with glass on my forehead the last night,I figured if that's all that happened on the 13th cruise that would not be bad.) I would not consider the service throughout the ship as excellent but it certainly was above average. I don't think the food was excellent but I was more than satisfied. If I can walk away full, then I have no complaints. This was the last week that the ship was doing the normal service. The following week they were starting the Freestyle Cruising. One thing my wife did not like was that around the pool there were tables with straight chairs. If you wanted a lounge chair, you had to go one deck up. Since I have two shades, burn and blister, this was not a problem for me. I am usually on one of the side decks in the shade. The entertainment was excellent. But what I consider excellent, someone else may think is lousy. We were not a big fan of the cruise director. On Sunday the theater presentation was a singer Joni Butler who sang Barbara Streisand type numbers. Monday the presentation was "The Jean Ann Ryan Company" with a Broadway type show. Tuesday was Jeff Moche with a humorous type show. Wednesday was Joni Butler again with Broadway favorites accompanied by Tom Fitt on the piano. Thursday was Murray Coleman a super banjo player. Friday was the Jean Ann Ryan Company in Gotta Dance. Saturday they brought back Jeff Moche, Joni Butler, Morey Coleman and a finale with many of the crew members. There was also a comedian Frankie Pace that was excellent.

There were a lot of children and teenagers on board. If this is a problem for you then this would not be a good time of the year for you to go to Bermuda. There was a room for internet access. You could be charged by the amount of time you used it or you could spend something like $28 dollars for the week. Many teenagers must of had access for the week because you could never get near the room during the day time.

Having been to Bermuda twice on a cruise staying at St. George's, I think if I were to go again I would take a cruise out of New York that spends a few days at Hamilton and a few days at St. George's. I would not want to take one that spends time at the dock yard. I think that is too far away from everything.

My wife (Irene) & I (Dick) watched the documentary "March of the Penguins" and we decided that we wanted to see some penguins and that was the beginning of our South America cruise. Barbara and Ray joined us on the cruise. At the time of the cruise we ranged in age from 65 to 72. Ray and I were both educators at the high school level, Barbara was a part owner of a small business and Irene was an R.N. We are all retired.

I enjoyed this cruise and would recommend it to anyone. I have a few criticisms of NCL but the problems were minor problems and did not ruin the cruise. I have cruised to Alaska but I enjoyed this cruise more than the Alaskan cruise.

The four of us had our own pre-cruise dinner by attending a local Texas Roadhouse restaurant on Monday Nov 13, 2006. On Tuesday the van picked us up in NH at 3:30 p.m. and drove us to Logan airport in Boston MA. We arrived in Boston at 4:15 p.m. We left for Miami on American Airlines and arrived in Miami at 9:05 p.m. We then boarded an American Airlines plane headed for Santiago Chile at 11:20 p.m.

Day 1 - November 15, 2006

We arrived in Santiago, Chile at 9:35 a.m. which is 7:35 a.m. on the east coast of the USA. That was my first surprise because I assumed that Chile and the east coast of USA would be in the same time zone. Once we arrived in Chile we had to pay an entrance tax of $100 in American money per person. We then picked up our luggage and headed to the bus for our 110 mile ride to the port of Valparaiso. The bus made a stop along the way at a small store/cafe/restroom. We arrived at the port of Valparaiso around 1:30 p.m. There were not a lot of people there so I figured we would sail right through and be on board in a short time, since we had filled out all the preliminary forms on line. The first surprise was that we had to fill out triplicate Argentina forms. They herded you over to a table to fill out the forms. There were no carbons so you had to do everything three times. I would have thought that since I took an NCL bus from the airport to the ship that they would have passed these out on the bus and let you fill them out, but that was not the case. Once each person filled out the three forms you had to stand in line until your turn came up. I noticed and commented that no one of the employees had a computer and I was told that they were just checking all the information to see if it was filled out correctly. They then proceeded to take the passports to hold for the duration of the cruise. Many people did not want to give up their passport but the cruise line kept them regardless without any explanation. Many people were reluctant to give up their passports. At the end of the cruise NCL returned the passports and each of them had a stamp for each port that we entered. Then we had to stand in line to activate our ship cards. We were given keys for the cabin as opposed to using the ship card to open the cabin door. All the keys had the cabin number etched on them. We went from there to a bus because it was a fair distance from the terminal to the ship. Upon entering the ship they sprayed your hands with an antiseptic. Of all the cruises that I have taken they were the most conscious of trying to prevent the Norwalk virus affecting the passengers. I don't know if we were tired from the long flight but embarkation seemed to be much disorganized and did not start us off with a good feeling before we even entered the ship.

We boarded the ship and had lunch and did a little exploring. I liked the size of the ship because there wasn't a lot of walking and it enabled us to dock at all the ports except for Port Stanley, Falkland Islands. The ship was well maintained. We had clothes for 14 days yet we still had drawers left over. Usually we are looking for places to place all our items. Of the 1,000+ passengers 393 were from the U.S. Most ship announcements over the intercom were said in English, Spanish & German. Occasionally the announcements were also said in French. The ship departed around 5:00 p.m. The captain (Capt. Emil Holthe) mentioned that the winds would be in the 25 to 30 mph range during the night and the following day.

The temperature was in the 70's and sunset was at 8:25 p.m. It is spring here since their summer starts on December 21. The evening show featured the Jean Ann Ryan Company, Andre & Francine a dance duo and Michael Hilbig a juggler comedian. The Cruise Director was Pedro Serra. As I recall the casino opened up around 7:30 p.m. All four of us went to bed at 9:00 p.m. since we were quite tired.

Day 2 - At Sea - Thursday November 16, 2006

Sunrise is at 6:37 a.m. and sunset is at 8:20 p.m. Attire: Resort Casual

There were two things that I liked about breakfast: 1) they had trays and not platters and 2) they had beans. I don't like it when there are no trays and you have to try and juggle everything on a platter. I also enjoy beans with my breakfast and I was able to have them every morning except for the last morning. Other than that they had the typical breakfast that most ships have. Omelets were made to order etc. My only complaint would be that generally the food was not very hot on the buffet. It was not cold but it was far from hot. Obviously the omelets were hot since they were made as you ordered them. I felt that the meals at dinner time were fair. I certainly had enough to eat but I found some of the steak to be tough, and they never served lobster on any night. You could get grilled chicken, steamed vegetables and baked potato any night but they didn't advertise that too much. We only saw it written on the menu on one night and that was on Thanksgiving. We generally chose the sit down meal for dinner but ate breakfast and lunch at the buffet.

The ship did not exchange American money for local currency but that was not a problem because all the countries we stopped at in South America took American money. Most of them gave you American money as your change but a few places would give you change in the local currency. So it is not advisable to give a $20 bill for a $2 item unless you are sure that you will get change in American dollars.

The roughest part of the cruise occurred during the first two days at sea, many people were sea sick. The lecturer for the tour excursions had to cut his talk short due to feeling sea sick. A Motion Sickness Information Sheet was distributed to each cabin. Meclizine (Antivert) was available on the ship at the Reception Desk for free of charge. You could go back each day to get more pills if need be. I went for my usual 45 minute walk after breakfast and the wind was fairly strong. As you got to the front of the ship it became a little more difficult to walk. I just turned around and walked the other way so that I didn't have to go via the front of the ship. It was not impossible to walk in the front but I found it easier to just avoid it.

The ship had only 4 terminals in the internet cafe but I rarely had to wait for a terminal. You could pay 75 cents per minute or buy 100 minutes or 250 minutes at a cheaper rate. As you would expect the computers were slow but useful.

Most cruise ships have an abbreviated newspaper in different languages in the library that are free for the taking. That was not the case on this ship. If you wanted any newspaper they would print a compact (11 x 7) version of the newspaper for $3.95 a day.

They had an unusual format for the slot tournament. They had a slot tournament on six different days. The high score for each day qualified for entry into the finals. On the last sea day they had the finals. Under this format you could get 10,000 points on a given day and if someone got a high 11,000 points they would be entered into the final. On the next slot tournament day if the high were 3000 points then that person would be entered into the tournament and the person that scored 10,000 points on the first day would not be eligible for the finals even though they might of obtained the 2nd highest score all week.

Needless to say the pool and hot tubs got very little use. As we went south the weather got cooler and the pool is an outdoor pool.

The show in the Stardust Lounge tonight was a singer Elvy Rose.

Day 3 - Puerto Montt, Chile - Friday November 17, 2006

Sunrise 6:21 a.m. and sunset 8:51 p.m. Attire: Formal

In order to get to Puerto Montt the ship entered the Chiloe Channels (I think that is the name) and the seas calmed down considerably. Puerto Montt has a population of 84,195, and is the capital of Region 10. Puerto Montt was founded in 1853 with German immigrants who had come to settle in the Lake Llanquihue area.

Today was another example of a little disorganization on the ship. We took the Petrohue Falls & Lake Esmeralda tour and we had to meet in the Stardust Lounge at 8:00 am for an 8 hour tour. When we got to the Stardust Lounge they said everyone should have their Chilean Agriculture form filled out and take with them when going ashore. These forms were supposed to be delivered to the cabin the night before. The forms were not delivered to our cabin and many other passengers were in the same position. The situation was simple; you had to go to the reception desk and get a form and fill it out. When you filled out the form they wanted your passport number but unfortunately everyone turned in their passport. So passengers then had to go back up to the reception desk to get their passport number, luckily we knew ours. So I would recommend that you write down your number before you turn in your passport. This was the first South American tour for this season by NCL; I would hope they will resolve this problem on future sailings.

Once everyone was ready to go we had a super tour. It was well worth it. The tour guide on the bus spoke English clearly and was knowledgeable. Puerto Montt has an annual rainfall of 78 inches and it is often not possible to see mountains etc due to the cloud cover. We were extremely fortunate and it was a clear day in the 50's. We boarded a catamaran on Lake Esmeralda and had a great view of the ice capped Osorno Volcano. After the catamaran tour we went to the Petrohue Falls. We took a short walk to the Petrohue River. Water flows over the lava from many years ago creating different paths for the gushing water.

We then had lunch in Puerto Varas at the Bella Vista restaurant. They were located on a hill and had a great view of the Osorno Volcano and surrounding areas. The meal was salmon, mashed potatoes, mixed vegetables, assorted wines, coffee and a strawberry cake like desert. By the way, Chile is the second largest exporter of Salmon after Norway. In the back of the restaurant they had different animals and birds, some in cages and some not. It made for an entertaining time. I would highly recommend this tour.

This was a formal evening and the entertainment was the Jean Ann Ryan Company production of "Swing, Swing, Swing". Since we were no longer on the high seas but in a channel there was no casino. As a matter of fact the casino was closed until Thursday Nov 23 (Thanksgiving Day).

Day 4 - Puerto Chacabuco, Chile - Saturday November 18, 2006

Sunrise 6:14 a.m. and sunset 9:08 p.m. Attire: Resort Casual

Again we were lucky weather wise. The average yearly rainfall for Puerto Chacabuco is 3000mm or roughly 118 inches. That is almost 10 feet of rain a year. The temperature was in the high 50's to low 60's. We took the Patagonian Nature in Depth tour. The tour was well done but I am not big on trees, flowers etc. So this was not my favorite tour. We took a bus to the Aiken Del Sur Park. I did find one thing interesting in that there were some trees that had a reddish skin-like bark. When you touched these trees they were almost as cold as ice. It was a two mile walk at a slow pace. At the end of the walk we went to the Old Man's Beard Cascade. Then we were treated to dinner. When we arrived the lambs were cooking in the center of the restaurant. They had some dancers and musicians performing before the meal. At the conclusion of the tour we returned to the ship.

The entertainment in the Stardust Lounge was the comedy, illusions & magic of Basilio Tabacchi & Daniela.

Day 5 - At Sea - Patagonia Channels & Chilean Fjords - Sunday November 19, 2006

Sunrise 6:16 a.m. and sunset 9:24 p.m. Attire: Resort Casual

Today was a misty day; temperature was in the 40's. We went through the Patagonia Channels and the Chilean Fjords. The scenery was terrific but the fog prevented us from having a great view of everything.

The entertainment in the Stardust Lounge was a multi-instrumentalist Andy Buenger. He was well received.

Day 6 - At Sea - The Strait of Magellan - Monday November 20, 2006

Sunrise 5:53 a.m. and sunset 8:39 p.m. Attire: Resort Casual.

It was a clearer day than yesterday; temperature was in the 50's. The views were spectacular. Whenever there was something to see like a glacier the captain would stop and then spin the ship in a 360 degree motion so that no matter what side of the ship you were on, you would get a clear view of the glacier etc. You want to get up early to see the many glaciers. We were unable to actually see the first glacier due to the heavy fog. The succeeding glaciers were very visible. If someone were to select a balcony or an ocean view cabin, I would recommend a cabin on the port side as many of the glaciers were on the port side. But, as I mentioned earlier, the Captain would spin the ship 360 degrees so that everyone would have a great look at the glaciers.

The entertainment in the Stardust Lounge was the Jean Ann Ryan Company in "Footloose" & Comedy Ventriloquist Phil Hughes.

Day 7 - Punta Arenas, Chile - Tuesday November 21, 2006

Sunrise 5:29 a.m. and sunset 9:30 p.m. Attire: Resort Casual

Punta Arenas is a city of 100,000 people, even though it is not the southern most tip of South America it is often called "the city at the end of the world". Temperature was in the mid 40's to the low 50's.

We wanted to see penguins and today was the first of our three tours involving penguins. We took the Otway Sound & Penguin Adventure tour. I enjoyed this tour but of the three penguin tours we took I would rate this third best.

The Magellan penguin is a South American Penguin breeding in coastal Argentina, Chile and the Falkland Islands. At this time of the year either the eggs have hatched or they are waiting for them to hatch. Most of the eggs were hatched at this time of the year. The penguins usually build nests in burrows or under bushes. At Otway Bay and Otway Sound they seem to have their nests right on top of the soil. On the way to the penguin reserve we got to see some rheas and condors. I was unable to get a photo of the condors. As luck would have it, I was on the wrong side of the bus to get a picture. There was an instance when there were 7 condors in one group.

The entertainment in the Stardust Lounge was the Jean Ann Ryan Company with "Rockin With The Rhythm".

Day 8 - Ushuaia, Argentina - Wednesday November 22, 2006

Sunrise 5:16 a.m. Sunset 9:30 p.m. Attire Resort Casual

We have had unbelievable luck with the weather. It was another clear day with the temperatures in the high 40's to mid 50's.

If I were to pick one day as being the best day of the cruise, I would pick this day and there was not a day that I didn't enjoy during the two weeks. Between my wife and me, we took one hundred and seventy photos just on this day. The glaciers and scenery leading up to Ushuaia were just terrific. Then we took the Beagle Channel and National Park tour and the Beagle Channel portion was excellent. The photos do not do justice to the actual sights.

Ushuaia like Punta Arenas claims the title of being at the "End of the World".

The entertainment in the Stardust Lounge was local talent - Ballet Ushuaia Folklore Show featuring the best of Argentinean culture and traditions.

Day 9 - At Sea - Sailing Cape Horn - Thursday November 23, 2006 - Thanksgiving Day

Sunrise 4:54 a.m. and sunset 9:10 p.m. Attire: Resort Casual

I had assumed that this would be the toughest part of the trip where the Atlantic Ocean meets the Pacific Ocean. But luck was with us again and we had a nice clear day and the seas were very calm. Temperature was in the 50's again.

The dining room was decorated for Thanksgiving. The casino reopened at 10:30 a.m.

The entertainment in the Stardust Lounge was Michael Hilbig a juggler - comedian.

Day 10 - Port Stanley, Falkland Islands - Friday November 24, 2006

Sunrise 4:40 a.m. and sunset 8:31 p.m. Attire: Resort Casual

Many times it is not possible to tender into Port Stanley due to the weather or the seas. Again we were blessed with good weather. It was clear day with the temperature in the high 40's to low 50's. The Falkland Islands has a population of around 2500 people.

We took the second of our three penguin tours, the Sparrow Cove Penguin Adventure. This colony of about 1600 Gentoo penguins is on private property. There are a few King penguins there also. A tender picks you up at the ship and brings you to the Sparrow Cove property. You disembark the tender and get on two four wheel drive vehicles to take you through the bumpy land to the penguins. Each jeep holds about 6 passengers. Hence there are about 12 people at the colony when you get there. That is one of the pluses of this tour. There are not large crowds around the penguins. Whereas the Magellan penguins had their nests in burrows these penguins had their nests above ground. Gentoos breed on many sub-Antarctic islands. The main colonies are on the Falkland Islands, South Georgia and Kerguelen Islands. Nests are usually made from a roughly circular pile of stones and can be quite large. The King Penguin is the second largest penguin with respect to height. I didn't see any nests for the King Penguin so I have no idea what kind of nests they have.

The entertainment in the Stardust Lounge was The Jean Ryan Company in "Lullaby of Broadway" and singing sensation Chris Riggins. Chris was well received by the audience. If you are a fan of Josh Groban, then you would like Chris Riggins. He received a standing ovation and sold CD's after his performance. While I am on the entertainment I liked the way NCL would use the Jean Ryan Company like tonight for one number and then have a performer. Many cruises that I have been on have big production shows three and four times during a cruise and even though they may do a good job I get tired of the same type of a show every night. The Jean Ryan Company did a fine job.

Day 11 - At Sea - Saturday November 25, 2006

Sunrise 5:04 a.m. and sunset 8:31 p.m. Attire: Resort Casual

We spent the day at sea headed towards Puerto Madryn, Argentina. The day was another clear day.

The entertainment in the Stardust Lounge was the Dance duo of Andre & Francine in "Steps in Time!"

Day 12 - Puerto Madryn, Argentina - Sunday November 26, 2006

Sunrise 5:39 a.m. and sunset 8:31 p.m. Attire: Resort Casual

When we booked this cruise, the one tour I definitely wanted to take was the Punta Tombo Penguin Rookery tour. I have seen the population of penguins listed anywhere from 500,000 penguins to 2 million penguins. I certainly didn't count them but there were a lot of penguins. It was a two and a half hour ride from the ship to the rookery. Part of the way was on dirt roads. We were in buses that handled the bumpy surface quite well. There weren't any large holes in the road or anything of that nature. It simply was a dirt road that was well maintained; at least it was when we went. I would say that the buses and vans got there just about at the same time. The area is so large and there are so many penguins that it does not seem crowded. The weather was in the 60's and it was a sunny day. Again these were Magellan Penguins and most of their nests were under bushes. This tour was everything I expected it to be.

Before retiring tonight we had to set our clocks one hour forward.

The entertainment in the Stardust Lounge was the Magic, Comedy & Illusions of Basilio Tabacchi & Daniela and Multi Instrumentalist Andy Buenger.

Day 13 - At Sea - Monday November 27, 2006

Sunrise 6:58 a.m. and sunset 8:11 p.m. Attire: Formal

Today was the finals of the Slot Tournament and Irene finished third and received the ever popular tee shirt and a bottle of champagne. They also had the chocolate buffet from 3:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m. and that was well received. Many people were able to satisfy their chocolate cravings.

This was also the second formal evening.

The entertainment in the Stardust Lounge this evening was the Jean Ann Ryan Company in "An American in Paris". This was followed by the farewell finale from the officers, staff and crew.

Day 14 - Montevideo, Uruguay - Tuesday November 28, 2006

Sunrise 6:23 a.m. and sunset 8:39 p.m. Attire: Resort Casual

Today was another sunny day and the temperature was in the high 70's to low 80's. We took the "Highlights of Montevideo" tour. The tour was pretty much what you would expect.

The passports were returned to the passengers today.

Before retiring tonight we had to set our clocks one hour back tonight.

There was one show tonight for the entertainment in the Stardust Lounge. The entertainer was Elvy Rose.

Day 15 - Disembarkation and Buenos Aires - Wednesday November 29, 2006

Sunrise 5:35 a.m. and sunset 7:48 p.m.

We had a late flight out of Buenos Aires so we booked the "The Best of Buenos Aires. We met in the lounge at 8:30 a.m. and left at 9:00 a.m. When we got off the ship we boarded a shuttle to take us to the terminal. We claimed our luggage and it was grouped together by the porters. The luggage was then sent to the airport and stored outside the entrance. They had each person?s luggage all together and in alphabetical order. So when we got to the airport your entire luggage was together and easy to get.

We then boarded the bus for the tour. We did a city tour of Buenos Aires and then headed out to the Mimosa ranch. It was an enjoyable afternoon. They had a great barbecued lunch. There were potatoes, salad, red wine, white wine, beer, sparkling water, coffee, veal, sausage, chicken, beef and ice cream with a sauce. You could have as much as you wanted of everything. There were some local people that were musicians and dancers and they played music and performed some traditional dances. Some of the hands at the ranch had some riding competitions where they would ride as fast as they could and tried to spear a hanging ring. There were horse drawn wagon rides as well as horses to ride.

The bus got us to the airport at 5:00 p.m. Just about everyone had flights that left at 10:50 p.m. or 10:55 p.m. We were inside the terminal by 5:15. Since most of the flights were around 11:00 p.m. we couldn't be processed until 6:00 p.m. Once everyone found the correct line they checked the passports around 6:00 p.m. Then we got in line to get boarding passes. Then we got in line to pay the $18 per person departure tax. Then we got in line so that they could collect the disembarkation forms. Then we got in line to pass through customs. Then we were finally into the gate area. It was 7:00 p.m. by the time we were in the gate area. We now had 4 hours to wait for the plane. When we did board the plane they checked all back packs etc by hand. Irene bought some water once she was cleared and she was waiting for the plane. When she boarded the plane they took the water away even though it was bought after being cleared.

We then got to Miami and there were all kinds of lines that say U.S. Immigration but you want to be aware of the small sign that is located in front of the immigration officers that says "U.S. Citizens". Most of the lines are for non U.S. citizens. Naturally we were in the wrong line. We then had to get in the correct line. Then we had to pick up our luggage and turn around and give it to A.A. for our flight to Boston. They switched departure gates on us and finally we arrived at the correct gate. We boarded the plane to Boston. We were back in NH around noon time.

EMBARKMENT:

Compared to 2005 trip on the Jewel this trip was much easier and faster. However, the ability to get on the ship was later than the year prior. The cruisers with a disability and suites were let on around 12:10PM followed by Latitudes people.

Upon arriving at our stateroom deck 10 the room was not complete. A dirty dish on the counter, towels on the floor and the carpet was not vacuumed. However, we met our cabin Steward and he allowed us to put our carryon on the bed. We were able to lock our valuables in the safe. This is really not a complaint, but more for information.

THE SHIP:

The ship for the most part was very clean and very pleasing to the eye. However, there were a few area needing sprucing up. But it may have been a timing issue. The bar stools at the Maltings Beer and Whisky Bar needs replacing they are extremely uncomfortable. I was very please with the viewing area of the Bridge. It was Very Educational. Thanks AVERY for your 26 years of Navy Training. You explained a lot to me.

I will add more about the ship as I progress.

RESTAURANTS:

The only main restaurant I attended was the Tsar's. We had two dinners and one lunch. Dinner the first night with a party of four was fine. The waiter was good and the service was acceptable. However, the food selection was just okay. Had lunch was totally unacceptable? The menu was just awful. I settled for a Portabella burger and received a hamburger that was petrified. The waitress never came back on a timely basis to see how things were. When she did return, when everyone else was just about finished she asked was there something wrong and I told her you brought the wrong meal. She then asked if I wanted something else, well since everyone else was just about finished I said no. My wife also stated her meal was luke warm and not good at all.

Now the best for last. The last day of the cruise I called my concierge to find out if I would have a problem with a table for eight with out a reservation (being a main dining room I didn't think they would accept a reservation) well to my surprise the concierge was very happy to make the reservation. This was the best part of this meal. Arrived timely at 6:30PM. Had a rectangular table for eight. I would have preferred a round table as they are made for talking and seeing all at the table, but not a big deal. Members brought two bottles of wine to share. The menu selection was not very good. Orders were taken after some time. Dishes left on the table in between course for quite some time. The follow up by the waitress and busboy (person) was just awful. The main entry I had (lamb) was cold actually the sauce over the lamb had jellied. Potatoes were ice-cold. My wife?s fish was just okay (taste), but was luke warm. The service became so bad one table member had enough and started to confront those with the responsibility. I must admit the higher up she went the ruder the person became. All in all our satisfaction was not met. They just did not understand what our young voice was trying to say. Our young voice was saying what can you do for the group rather than settle on reducing her wine tab (only $15.00 an up grade). They just didn't seem to care. There seemed to be more assistants and matridee than waiter and busboy (person). My wife and I are convinced the specialty restaurants are the places to eat. I'm so glad we only ate at the main dining rooms 3 times.

GARDEN CAFE

We found the Garden Cafe to be very good for breakfast and lunch especially the days at sea. One night we we're not very hungry and caught the Garden for a little snack I think it was around 8:00PM, wasn't bad.

LeBISTRO

Has been my favorite the last two years. Attended two evenings. Formal night attended to with another couple. All of us found the service to be the best. All had appetizers; my escargot was the best actually had a double portion. The filet mignon with the foie gras was outstanding. While I?m not a desert person what the others had seemed very good, especially the chocolate fondue. One of the table members asked for lobster tail (not being on the menu) was able to have it with his steak. Good size portion. The second night it was just the two of us and was a repeat performance by a different wait staff.

CAGNEY?S STEAKHOUSE

We went there once last year and once this year. Both times we were dissatisfied with the meal and the service. It took over and hour to receive our main entry. We did however, have many visitors to the table apologizing for the lack of service. What are could not understand the restaurant was not full (very busy). Upon receiving the entree my steak was very tough, not very palatable. We never received any of the condiments to go along with the meal that we asked for ex. sour-cream for the baked potatoes along with extra butter. I might try it again.

TEPPANYAKI

If you want a fun evening this is it. You need to go there with a group. However the night we went we were a group of four and the other four at the hibachi were nice. The food was good and plentiful. However, the only negative thing the chef was not entertaining. Actually he shook the salt and peppers shakers a few times and tapped his fork and knife a few times. That was it. Yes he attempted to catch something in his chef hat never made it was caught by the floor. But we think he was in the learning stage. This was okay by us. We had a great time with the group, would definitely do this again.


ENTERTAINMENT

Jean Ryan Co finally got their act together with the production of Second City, compared to last year (same) it was 1000% better. This is not to be a negative against the Jean Ryan Co more of a comparison to last year. We have always enjoyed their productions. The Cirque Bijou was also great. It was easy to understand the story behind it.

The Magic Show just okay, I thought it rather cheesy, would not sit through this again.

Crew Member?s night was very entertaining, some very good voices.

CASINO

I really can?t write much about the casino, I?m not a gambler. I did pass through the casino a few times. People seemed to be enjoying themselves was clean and roomy considering the number of people and machines. The only thing I notice there was no one sitting in the high rollers area at anytime I passed through the casino.

DISBARKMENT

My wife and I had VIP status meaning our luggage was placed in an area by it?s self and we would be the first off after the express people. There was a delay caused by customs. Apparently a few people did not pass though the customs area timely. Once we had clearance, it was great. Walked off the ship to our luggage, found the luggage right away and was through the customs agent and in a taxi in less than 10 minutes. Great Job NCL.

EMBARKATION: Easy! We got to the port about 11:30, luggage departed in seconds, checked in with-in 10-15 minutes, additional 15 minutes of waiting and then on-board! Someone said the big mass-market lines don't escort you to your cabin, but NCL does. Overall (and I'll comment specifically) I thought that the service was very good and done with smiles.

CABIN: We were in a mini-suite off the Stern (9078) and at first I was a bit disappointed because I expected the standard configuration with the pull out couch alongside the bed but it was opposite, so there appeared to be no room. (We were traveling as an adult couple with our 12 year old son). But there was plenty of room. Big veranda (we used it a lot!) and we had the nice mesh chaise lounges - had 2 and requested a 3rd and got it right away. With three, there was still plenty of room. Lots of space in the cabin for all our stuff (and we are NOT light packers after years of traveling). But the bathroom was the best. I will have a hard time going back to regular cabin now. Walk in closet area with separate vanity, big bathroom with tub and a separate toilet stall. We had room to spare.

BEST PART OF MINI-SUITE: Ray Williams our Concierge. I would happily pay for the suite in the future to get the help of a guy with such finesse and helpfulness. Ray made our dinner reservations for us, helped with questions and concerns and best of all got us priority tendering! That helped so much since I booked all our own excursions (not through the Ship)

DINING: Ok. I admit it we cheated. Problem is we decided to go to Il Adagio the first night (had heard most do the dining room and it was an easy night to get in). Well, not only is it a beautiful restaurant with every table a good one with a view, but the service and food was wonderful. Most of the wait staff in the restaurants are Romanian and they were terrific and friendly and accommodating. Do not be concerned that the tipping is included thinking that the staff doesn't care. We never felt that way even in the main dining room. Anyway, back to the cheating part. Sunday night was formal night and Ray had suggested if we were dressed (we were!) that we'd feel more festive where most people did dress up, so we tried Le Bistro. Food was also very good, but we like the ambiance better at Il Adagio. We liked Il Adagio and Le Bistro so much, we next ate at East Meets West (Asian fusion - VERY good). So good my husband and I ate there the next night also (our son ordered room service pizza which he really enjoyed). Next night - back at Il Adagio. Yes it was good. So finally Thursday we thought if I was going to review this ship we better eat in the main dining room, and since it was lobster night we ate in the Seven Seas. Obviously not quite as special, but the food and the service were good. I haven't dared to look @ my bill yet but for $10 more per person ($12.50 for Le Bistro) it is well worth the special service. After all this is a vacation!

We did eat in Seven Seas for lunch once or twice and breakfast about 3 times and it was enjoyable. The Garden Buffet was just that (a buffet). WE did like the free tapas (& music) at Las Ramblas and would recommend that.

ENTERTAINMENT: Better than I expected! Jane Powell is no longer there (or on break?), but the Jean Ryan troupe was very good and versatile (Broadway to Cirque Soleil type. We really enjoyed the comedians Peter Sasso & Jeff Harms and impressions of Wes Apae. Roots Link (Caribbean band at the pool, Twice as Nice, Don Dunn (acoustic guitar @ Las Ramlas) and the Norwegian Sun Showband were all good. I liked the live music with the show vs. Princess recorded background music for their productions.

TEENS: We had a 12 year old in the Teen program and he said he really enjoyed it even though he came with no friends and isn't a real social guy. He loved the arcade and having the run of the ship. We did buy him a Teen passport (for sodas and virgin drinks) but he never did use them all.

EXCURSIONS: I really shouldn't comment on this since I researched and booked all my own. They were all great. Did Captain Marvin's Sting Ray City (so unique - really fun). Paya Bay Beach Resort in Roatan (long drive - but a beautiful spot and where else can you be taken out snorkeling to a nice spot with just the 3 of us!) Sea Sports Belize snorkeling in (where else) Belize!

Best snorkeling I've ever done. And last but certainly not least - Dune Buggy tour in Cozumel! Great to get away from the masses shopping and drinking margaritas. What a fun ride and a great beach. The Western Caribbean is a wonderful itinerary for people who enjoy active vacations (or you can of course just stay on the ship and relax.)

MANDARIN SPA: Often the spa staff on ships tend to be over-priced and not as good as can be found elsewhere. Our son is a very good massage therapist so we have high standards, but both of us had massages that were very good.

MISC: LOVED FREESTYLE. Not sure I can go back to set seating. My dubious husband loved it. It made the week very relaxing and debarkation was so easy. We had a leisurely last breakfast in Seven Seas, walked around the almost deserted ship, took a few last pictures and then very easily walked off the ship, found our nicely tagged luggage and departed for the Miami airport.

MORE MISC: My husband like the casino (he's a blackjack fan) and it's nice to buy chips at a discount. The gym was very large and there was never a wait for any equipment even the day at sea. We liked the free ice-cream at Sprinkles (some ships charge extra) and the drinks were good and I did not think they were overpriced (but then again we live in Philadelphia). Our steward was the quiet type but he really got us laughing as he found out we enjoyed his towel creatures. He even made one of our son with a TV tuner (his favorite toy!) and unglasses and a hat!

So, all in all. GREAT Cruise. I want to go back! The ultimate test . . . my husband wants to go back.

I just returned from LAX after a 2 night inaugural sailing of the
Pride of Hawaii with one of our local agents. I am going to write
this based on the ship and pax point of view. First I have to say
what a disappointment it was.

First off. Do you remember how obnoxious Carnival ships used to be
with all of the neon colors? Carnival has since changed. Well I
think NCL hired the old Carnival designer. The colors were
obnoxiously bright and the themes of the public rooms ran amok. You
see one theme and than it crashes into something completely off the
wall with clashing colors. There was absolutely nothing about this
ship that impressed me. I have been on the America and loved it. I
thought it was very tastefully decorated. This ships color schemes
will definitely blind you. . In two days there was only one photo op
and that was right when you board the ship. No one ever looks good
boarding the ship. There were no photographers to be seen. I am one
of those pax that will utilize every photo op hoping to get 1 good on.

We had an ocean view balcony. Like the Aloha and America which I have
sailed on, it was like the incredible shrinking room. Two people
could not walk past the bed at the same time as there was so little
room. The beds were on wheels and as the ship rocked I was afraid of
rolling into the other bed. The bathrooms are the smallest that I
have ever seen. I am only 5 ft and as I was sitting on the toilet I
noticed that there was only about 3 inches of space between my knee
and the wall. My companion is about 6 inches taller and I had her
test it for me. No I did not send her with a tape measurer but she
had about 2 inches of space. My husband is over 6 ft and I figured
he would have to sit sideways to use the bathroom. The space between
the door to the bathroom and sink were very small. I would change in
the bathroom and either my tush was in the shower or in the toilet.
The walls lacked decor which made for a very bland room We had trouble
getting the air regulated. We had it on very low one night and I was
sweating. The next day we were cold so we had the heat all the way up
and was even colder okay freezing with two layers of clothes and under
the quilts and blankets. I never asked Jen but I did not find the
beds too comfortable.

Buffet. Carb city. They had a pasta bar, pizza bar, sandwich bar
,salad bar and Chinese bar. At the Chinese bar all the had was stir
fry and nothing else. Not even rice. I was in the first group on the
ship and the food looked like it had been sitting there for hours. We
had dinner at the Jasmine Garden. The food was great but the portions
were small. So small that my companion and I went up to the buffet
right after for some munchies. Again no rice was offered so we had to
ask for it and it came in a soup bowl.

We also ate at the Tapas restaurant. I do not know when any of you
last had Tapas but it is Spanish NORMALLY. This Tapas bar was all
Mexican. Did I miss something? We sat down and received our menus.
There were no Tapas. HMMMM. We asked about it and the waitress said
we had to go to the bar for that. OK. We went to the bar and they
said no we had to be at a table. HMMMM. They sat us and served us
Mexican Tapas. It was quite tasty but no Spanish Flair in sight.
Again we went up to the buffet and had dim sum. The Chinese bar at
night only has pot stickers and spring rolls. There are two rows for
food but nothing was ever on it. Again the food at the buffet looked
very unappetizing. The desserts were very good. (dont tell dad) We
never ate in the main dining rooms. The Italian restaurant was mostly
pasta and pizza with only 4 protein entrees. Cagneys steakhouse was
always booked but it did not have the western feel that the America
had.

One surprise was the main show lounge. There is no bar service. The
theater is set up stadium seating with no space to walk by. The
colors quite loud. The shows were fabulous. One of the lounges looks
like Barney threw up in there. For those of you who do not have young
ones he is a giant purple dinosaur. The first thing I see in this
lounge is something from my daughters room. It was a coffee table
with a glass top. The base was velvet neon green with bright purple
alligators sticking out the top. It reminded me of a velvet Medusa.
Sadly there was a chair to match that looked like the egg that Mork
from Mork and Mindy landed in. Again it was all neon green and purple
velvet with the same alligators on top. The chair looked like Barney
threw up in Austin Powers flat. But brace yourself. The theme of the
lounge was nautical. I have spent way to much time trying to figure
out the correlation of the two. If you want kill it put sponge bob in
there.

The kids club. It looks just like the Pride of America. There was a
climbing playground like they have in Mcdonalds and tables and chairs.
It actually looked a little bare since I did not see any toys around.
The pool had a water slide which was nice. The gym was awesome. Yes
I actually worked out. Every treadmill has a tv but you need to bring
headphones. My cabin mate signed up for a massage. I was there when
she booked it and they asked if an around the world massage for 25
minutes is ok. That was there standard. She said fine. She comes
back and asks me what it was that she signed up for because she
thought she was losing her mind. It turns out that they gave her a
deep muscle massage for only 15 minutes. She said that it was
supposed to be something else and they did not go and verify. She was
quite upset since she spent 88.00 for a 15 minute massage. The gift
shop was one little one with upscale Hawaiian items and than you had
the gift shop on steroids. It was probably the largest on float. It
had great variety but not much for kids between 8-12.

Turn down service. NCL has these cute little dials next to your
door. When you want turn down, make up, privacy etc you turn the
dial. On my other 2 NCL cruises I never had to use it. Well guess
what on this cruise you do. OK so now I know what to do. On the
second night we had turn down service and was a little disappointed to
find no chocolate mints on my pillow and no animals made out of
towels. I really like those things.

Bar service. The were plenty of bars to go around but not many
servers. In the Barney lounge. We got there about 10 minute before
the show started. No one came to our table. Halfway through the show
we ordered some drinks. We finally got them the 2nd to last joke of
the show. Many people were going up to the bar to get their own
drinks.

Staff. This crew is the nicest that I have ever met. It could be
because the average age was probably 22 and it could be that they have
never worked on a cruise ship before and it could be because this week
was the first time in 2 months that they had humans on board. You
would think it was Stark Trek. I cant say enough about how nice
everyone was. You just wanted to be friends with them. I would
really like to see them after 2 months of passengers to see if they
are still this friendly. I actually felt guilty leaving the
restaurants without giving them a goodbye hug.