This cruise made it possible to take the whole family to the Southern Caribbean for a Thanksgiving to remember without missing too many school days. Embarkation was a breeze in NYC; far better than other ports we have used. Late fall cruises always run the risk of encountering cold and inclement weather and this was the case as we pulled away from Pier 88 in a near-blinding snow storm, but the crew responded with shovels and brooms to clear the pool deck. After a day of rocky seas, and at times heavy rain from a 'Nor'easter' storm, we settled into a smooth Caribbean cruise that unfolded like clockwork with timely port calls under sunny skies and warm temperatures.

As with most cruises, there remains room for improvement in some of the on-board experiences, principally in food quality and on-board entertainment, but NCL on-balance provides a pleasurable cruise experience with good value for the fare paid.

• The greatest weakness in food service was in consistently overcooked meats. While stated that red meats in Moderno would be prepared "medium-rare" i.e., normal, all but one selection was well-done and chewy. This was also the case in the MDR's, but thankfully much better in Le Bistro. They also did not have all of our advance reservations and a very responsive maitre'd was needed to fix the schedule issues. Read more