Well, we are back from another marvelous cruise. This was my 12th cruise, second cruise on NCL. I've sailed on all the major lines: Princess, Celebrity, HAL, Carnival, RCL of course Norwegian, and a few other now defunct lines. I often make comparisons because there are slight differences between them, however, a good cruise can be had on all of them. I'm often asked which line is my favorite. I don't really think I have one. Prior to this sailing I would've ranked the lines in this order RCL, Celebrity, Carnival, Princess, HAL, NCL. After this cruise I'd probably say RCL, Celebrity, Carnival, NCL, Princess, HAL. Overall it was a great cruise, a few plusses, a few minuses but nothing major. My reviews are always long. I try to provide a lot of detail because I get so much information while preparing for the trip that I want to give back and help future cruisers. I do try and organize by headings so that you can pick and choose what you want to read.

Pre-Cruise Stay

We arrived in Miami from Atlanta GA on Thanksgiving Day. We booked a room at the Hyatt Downtown. It was a very nice hotel, though the bathrooms were a bit dated. It was close to the ship and within walking distance of some Miami attractions. Since it was Thanksgiving we knew there wouldn't be much open, but there were a few places in Bayside Marketplace that were still open. Miami has a free monorail system that transports you around a very limited small center of downtown. So, we were able to find enough to keep us occupied. We shopped, relaxed and got ready to cruise. Read more