This is a nice port that seems to get a lot of bad press. The port area is much improved even though the sales folk are a bit aggressive; this port offers a host of activities but the main issue is time as you have a long tender about 20-30 minutes depending on the sea state. Cave tubing is a MUST for any visitor it is a fun activity and if it is raining in the rain forest, be ready to get very wet. I always go with one of the original vender’s, “Reggie” he is funny, honest and everyone knows him. Nobody else comes close, his email is “regtour@btl.net” If you have done cave tubing and you watch your time, then venture off to Caye Caulker. To catch the Caye Caulker water taxi you will have about a 7 minute walk from the port gates. Once you get to the “swinging bridge” you can buy your ticket ($15 round trip). Be sure to watch your time as it will take about 45 minutes to get to Caye Caulker. The Caye village seemed to exemplify the Caribbean lifestyle. Bright colored buildings, quaint little restaurants, and tons of docks and fishing boats. It was very laid back. I booked a 3 hour snorkel with Sharks, Rays, and various fish for only $25.00 pp. If I had to do it again, I would just hang out in the village it was simple Beautiful and the snorkeling was not all that great. WATCH your time

Sail Date: 13 May 2007 This was my 15th cruise, and the 5th on a Carnival ship. Our group consisted of 3 married couples (45-55yrs). I selected this ship because it was new and because my friends really wanted to go on the itinerary offered. Six months ago, I had sailed on the LIBERTY which was IDENTICAL in layout, but I found the VALOR to be worlds apart. Embarkation: The lack of signs and clear building numbers was a bit confusing, however, once inside, the processing moved quickly. I still think Carnival needs to invest in a microphone system for a few supervisors so they could make announcements instead of shouting at the crowd. We got to the port about 10:30 AM and were on board by about 12:00noon. Cabins: I went with an inside guarantee, got a 4E on deck 7. I had no problem with the room’s size or the layout, my only issue was that I am a light sleeper and the cabin was located at the aft of the ship, so whenever we docked I could hear the ship’s propellers. In addition, we had the rudest and nosiest neighbors ever; I have no problem with folks having a party, but @2:00 and 3:00 in the morning that is just plain inconsiderate. As for the room, it was nicely decorated and well laid out with lots of storage space, a small chair, dresser, the bathroom had a nice soap and shampoo stocked dispenser as well as some nice complimentary toiletries (although our cabin steward had been on vacation and we presume that is why we had only razors in our little amenities basket while the others in our group had at least a half dozen different ‘goodies’). The options offered on your TV were nice, you could check your ship charges, watch pay per view movies, and see the different dining room menus offered. Dining/Food: There was no comparison between the food on the LIBERTY and the food on the VALOR – the VALOR was just superb. I ate breakfast at the Lido buffet and the main dining room; the food served in both places was almost identical except for a few items, like salmon lox and Eggs Benedict. Lunch included a variety of buffet stations on the Lido deck. My hands down favorite was the Fish and Chips station. Fish and Chips were NOT the only thing served, each day features a few new “goodies”. The lines were never long and moved fast. The sushi bar (deck 5) from 5-8pm was a nice place to grab a bite of sushi before dinner. I ate dinner in the Lincoln dining room; every night the variety on the dinner menu was GREAT! All the dishes served (and I tried everything from beef to fish to lamb) were simply delicious. Appetizers were so good that I had a few of them every night. I did not eat at Supper Club, once again $30 is too much with all the other food offered on the ship. Public Rooms: Simply beautiful! The ship was decorated in early American revolution/hero/presidents type theme. The ship is designed with its 4th and 5th decks serving as the main hub of activity, i.e. with shops, a casino, lounges, photo, library – main traffic area. It was easy to navigate and had lots of space to relax and enjoy. Entertainment: In the evening, you will find music playing at several locations throughout the ship. There was a piano bar which was very lively and good fun, but very smoky. Karaoke was hosted in a “NON-SMOKING” lounge, which was great and it was jam-packed every night. There was a Filipino band in another lounge next door to the piano bar and karaoke area, and it was hit or miss. I also enjoyed the disco but it was a tad bit cold unless you were dancing the whole time & working up a sweat. In addition, the Atrium featured a band that played into the wee hours. During the afternoon at the Atrium has classical music and it is a great place to have a drink and people-watch. In the casino, they even have a 7 card Texas Hold’em table, but it is VERY smoky and those who don’t smoke will have a hard time watching. The shows offered at the main stage should appeal to everyone, dancing, comedy, a ventriloquist, Motown sounds and a finale on the final night featuring passengers who are music legends singing karaoke. This show was a blast (well maybe I am bias because I was featured in the show as James Brown)! Excursions: We embarked at four ports, all of which I had visited in the past. As usual I went on my own excursions. Activities: The variety of usual ship activities (trivia, bean bag toss, newly not-so-newlywed games, survivor etc.) were offered. Bingo was offered at a very reasonable price with some very decent money ($500-$700) pots for the winners. There was more than enough to occupy everyone; you could always attend the art auction and drink free champagne or window shop in the Mall area if you were bored or desperate. Disembarkation: You can take your own bags off during the first hour after the ship docks, otherwise you get off by deck and assigned numbers – no real issue, I just hated to leave the ship! Expect the normal hassle in getting a cab, but if it is raining, be prepared to get drenched – there is no accommodation for rain as you leave customs & dash for cabs (it was obviously raining when WE disembarked, so we know)! Overall: I loved this ship even though it had a so-so itinerary (four stops on a 7 day cruise is just too much in my book). There are still the excessive on board announcements promoting/‘hawking’ Carnival products, but what can you do? All in all, I would not hesitate to recommend this ship to anybody and it gets high marks from me. NCL Jewel Nov. 07 (to come) Carnival Valor 07 Carnival Liberty 06 Sapphire Princess 06 NCL Star 05 Carnival Pride 04 HAL Zuerdidam 03 NCL Sun 02 Carnival Destiny 01 HAL Zaandam 00 NCL Sea 99 Century 98 NCL Leeward 97 Carnival Fantasy 96 Big Red Boat 95 Triton 94

Me taking a photo on the CA coast prior to sailing (I almost got arrested for stopping on the side of the road): Photo of the Queen Mary during the Ghost Tour: My 11th cruise and a family one. I was joined by my sister and her family as well as my own, there were 12 of us total, ages ranging from 19-59 years. Initially, I was a tad bit apprehensive about booking a Carnival ship, since my experience with the “DESTINY” was not good a few years prior. However, I loved the itinerary and after doing my research I thought this could turn out to be an excellent cruise. It turned out to be as I imagined and more. In my review below you’ll note my rating system – each category gets a star rating, with 5 being Outstanding, 4 Excellent, 3 Satisfactory, 2 Marginal, and 1 Unsatisfactory. Embarkation: ½ a star is all it deserves. Hate to start off with a negative (everything else will get better), but this was the worst embarkation I have ever experienced. I spent the night prior to sailing boarding aboard the Queen Mary and I highly recommend this for any cruising fan. The Queen Mary was a great experience with its old world bathrooms and Ghost Ship Tours. The best part is the cruise pre-boarding registration @9:00am (right next door to the Queen)! All was going was smooth – I was told to get in line starting @11:00 and that I would be on board by noon. However, soon all this changed, and not for the better. To make a long story short, apparently US immigration was conducting some type of immigration check aboard the PRIDE for all crew members (this check is conducted every ninety days or so I was told), and boarding was delayed until 2:00pm. There were lines everywhere, nobody had a clue what was happening and the Carnival representatives kept making announcements “a few more minutes”. Bottom line, it was mass confusion in the hot sun. Carnival needs a better back-up plan for this reoccurring activity. Cabins: Solid 4 stars Nice. I always book the cheapest category, but I lucked out and managed to get upgraded to an outside cabin with an obstructed view, but I had a door which opened like a small balcony even though the lifeboat was blocking my view. The cabin was large and well laid out. The room had lots of storage space, a small couch, dresser and the bathroom had a nice soap and shampoo stocked dispenser as well as some nice complimentary toilet items. Some members of my group had a large outside cabin with a balcony and some had inside cabins, I did manage to view the inside cabin and they appeared to be about 180sq ft. and well laid out. On one occasion I experienced a small air conditioning problem, but it was immediately resolved. The only real complaint that many of us had was that noise and music playing in the Atrium could often be heard inside the cabins. Dining/Food: A solid 4 stars. Overall food and service in the main dining room was nothing short of excellent. I ate all my evening meals in the main dining room table 101(I finally got a table my TA requested). Our waiter Gokhan was simply the best. He knew what to recommend and service was superb. The only unpleasant meal I experienced was the evening I did not follow my waiter’s recommendation. For most cruises, I try and avoid the buffets for breakfast or lunch, but for this cruise I broke my rule more than once and ate at the breakfast and lunch buffets often. The variety of food at the buffets (Mermaid Grille) was wonderful, plentiful and very tasty; the lines were never excessively long and usually moved quickly. The breakfast and lunch menu in the dinning room was almost identical to what is usually being served at the Mermaid Grille. My only complaint was the nightly announcements by the maitre d’ and the nightly waiter dancing and singing. Once or twice is entertaining, but doing it every night became an annoyance. I did not eat at David’s supper club as I thought the price of $25 was a bit steep, but one member of my party did eat dinner at David’s supper cub and thought the meal was wonderful. Public Rooms: 4 stars here. Simply beautiful and well laid out. The ship was decorated in a Renaissance era motif with touches of ancient Greece and Rome. The ship was easy to navigate and you never felt the 2000+ passengers on the ship. I was disappointed in the duty free shop on board as it was out of stock on numerous liquors I wished to purchase, but prices on other items were competitive and the personnel were nothing short of wonderful. Rest rooms were easily marked and easy to find and the elevators were plentiful and always operational. Entertainment: 2 1/2 stars – room for improvement In the evening you will find music at a variety of locations throughout the ship. There was a piano/singer who had about a dozen regulars in the piano bar, a good guitar player in the casino and Atrium bar, but with all the traffic they are both hard to hear! In the Butterfly lounge there was a band that would put the best of us to SLEEP! The disco is reserved for teens early in the night then after 11:30pm it switches to 18+, playing techno/rap music. My biggest complaint was that there was nowhere to dance and listen to fast paced disco/rock and roll music for the 40-50yr old crowd. Karaoke was featured nightly and very popular with the guests. A major disappointment was the lack of night time shows. On this cruise there were only 3 nighttime shows (Las Vegas type) at the Taj Mahal lounge. Even though all three shows were excellent, the remaining nights featured a passenger talent show (I guess this is a way to save money) and a poor singer – I walked out mid-way through with numerous other passengers. Excursions: No rating The pride stops at three wonderful ports but I never take the ship excursions as I find them too expensive. I can usually do my own excursions, visited the same places (or better) as the ship’s excursions, and save a lot of money. In addition, I do not like the “cattle” feel you get with the ship excursions. However, keep in mind that my excursions tend to be on the more adventurous side and not for everyone. Activities: 3 stars I did not think that the ship offered as much of the area of daytime activities as I had previously experienced on Carnival. The usual Bingo and a few poolside trivia games were held, but the cruise director seemed lacking in overall activity enthusiasm. In the few activities that were offered, due to the large number of participants (I can imagine a large number participated at each activity because they didn’t have a lot of choices), a lottery had to be held, which eliminated many anxious passengers right off the bat. Disembarkation: 5 stars Considering the disastrous embarkation, all I can say is a GREAT ending to the cruise. Basically you leave depending on your connecting accommodations. You get a specific tag color based on your connections and deck, but you do not need to leave the ship immediately and can wait in many of the spacious public areas. Carnival also encourages you to carry a bag off the ship. But what was most surprising was that the main dining room and Mermaid Grille were open until 9:00am for the normal breakfast (others cruises served an abbreviated meal within a very short time frame). The disembarkation was one of the smoothest disembarkations ever. Overall: This is a very nice ship with a terrific itinerary. Carnival seems to be working hard, but seems to miss on the small items that make a huge difference. As an example, I found that there were far too many announcements on board and that the announcements where constantly promoting/hawking Carnival products. In addition, during the final disembarkation briefing, the cruise director kept promoting himself and the cruise staff in hopes of receiving a high rating from passengers. I found this tasteless. My only bad service experiences were from the photo staff, who were pushy, and the casino bartenders who were plain rude and could not prepare a drink to save their lives. I was so pleased with my service that I tipped my wait staff extra. Besides the minor negatives I mentioned, I think everybody needs to consider this ship; it was one of my best cruise experiences to date, and I would not hesitate to recommend this ship to anybody. Happy sailing!

My cruising group consisted of: my wife and I, my eldest daughter (who is about to become an officer in the US Army), my youngest daughter and a very good friend of mine along with his wife. Our age range was from 56 to 27 and all were seasoned cruisers with NCL. In my review I will rate each review category with my own arbitrary experience using a rating system from 1 to 5; 5 = Outstanding, 4 = Excellent, 3 = Satisfactory, 2 = Marginal, and 1 = Unsatisfactory. In general I am not easily impressed, I like to stick to the facts, but I also try to provide a neutral point of view so that you may draw your own conclusions. This particular review may be a little long but there is a lot to say about this ship and itinerary. Embarkation: 4.5 Stars NCL has online registration that includes e-tickets. You just print out the forms and have them checked at the pier inside the main building. At check-in I used the Latitudes line – it was very short and moved fast. NCL does not take the top registration form away from your e-docs, rather they photo copy this form on a machine that is shared with a number of other check-in agents, so our only wait was for our check-in agent to get his turn at the copy machine. Then you go upstairs in the main terminal to hand in your pre-registration form and will get your actual room key card, you then have a very short wait (2-3 minutes) to get your photo taken and then you board the ship. I arrived at the pier at about 11:00am and was on board in less than 35 minutes, everything moved very fast. Note: you will get your room luggage tags along with your e-docs, if you decide to use these instead of the ones sent to you in your cruise packet, make sure you print them on heavy duty paper and laminate them with packing tape so they do not fall apart during the luggage handling. Cabins: 4 Stars Our entire group had Inside Cabins, they are a little smaller than other ships I have sailed(143SF), but well laid out and THE QUIETEST cabins of any ship I have ever sailed, it was GREAT for sleeping, plus no announcements were piped into your cabin, big kudos to NCL for their soundproofing. The cabin was equipped with a small fridge, a combined his/her’s closet which I did not like as I enjoy the separate closet arrangement, and an easy to use room safe. The storage space was adequate, however my one issue was with the bedside tables – they don’t have any drawers and are flimsy and open ended – which made them pretty useless for the usual nightstand storage. There was a TV and it showed limited programming but a good selection of relatively new movies throughout the cruise. Additionally, I missed the TV feature (on newer Carnival ships) of being able to view my room bill and the daily dinning menu. The cabin bathroom was nicely laid out however; the “Commode” will be a problem if you are over 6ft tall as it sits at an odd angle. The shower was spacious (for a cruise ship) and it had a door instead of a curtain, which was also nice. You are supplied dispenser soap and shampoo but NO other amenities such as toothpaste, shaver, etc. (NCL should consider supplying the toilet accessories as they add a very nice touch). Be warned that the dispenser shower soap is not the most effective method of cleaning – bring a shower puff or your own soap! Our cabin steward was fine; he did the basic twice a day cleaning and had a few smiles in the hallway. Overall, nothing special or out of the ordinary about room steward service. Two members of my party complained about the bed mattress and said that it was the hardest and most uncomfortable of any cruise ship (this was a younger and an older person’s assessment), personally I thought it was adequate but could use improvement. Dining/Food: 4 Stars “Freestyle” cruising is the concept that NCL promotes and the idea is that you can dine wherever, whenever. What you need to know is that all this “Freestyle” comes with a not-so-free price tag. For free, besides the buffet and the two main dining rooms (which have identical menus, just different decor) you have a choice of an Italian and a Spanish/Mexican Tapas restaurant (I did not eat at either the Italian or Tapas place as my research had indicated they were both just “ok” at best). For a cost of $15-$20 + per person you can eat at your choice of five specialty restaurants (Le Bistro-French, Cagney’s-Steak house, Chin Chin-oriental fusion, a Sushi bar and a Japanese Teppanyaki place). Depending on what you order in these restaurants there may be an additional charge for the “upscale menu”, so your bill could be $40+ per person. I ate at Cagney’s the first night because I had a 2 for 1 coupon. We made reservations the minute we walked on Board and had no issues getting our time slot for 6:30pm. The food was very good but the service was extremely slow – we finished our dinner at around 9pm! Later it was explained that the staff was short handed that night but I thought almost 3 hours for a party of 6 was out of control. At the Latitudes party my daughter won a free dinner for two at Le Bistro, so our group ate there one night during the half price happy hour and the service and food were excellent – we were in and out in less than two hours. The other 7 nights I ate in the Tsar’s dining room because it had a nicer view – huge picture windows where you could see the sunset and twinkling lights of the ports as we departed. I found the food and service to be excellent – I would not hesitate to recommend eating in the main dining room every night; save your money for other things! After/between normal dinner dining hours there is a very nice (and free) small restaurant/snack area called the Blue Lagoon (a waiter will take your order and you order from a limited menu) – they serve great hot wings and fresh fish & chips. During dinner hours they serve the Tapas menu. Additionally, the Blue Lagoon is also a great secret for a quiet breakfast. Even though the breakfast menu is limited, I found it to be the perfect setting, never crowded and chaotic like the buffet. The buffet on deck 11 was excellent – the selection of food for every meal was great. For breakfast they have waffle and omelet stations as well as a variety of breakfast items, excellent lox and Eggs Benedict that some members of my party swore by. For lunch they had a variety of hot items, a sandwich bar, salad bar, make-your-own soup and stir fry stations, make-your-own pasta station, pizza and calzones, burgers and fries and sushi. Soft serve ice cream with toppings is also available and free daily – a nice touch. In the buffet, the food islands organization and display is done well – hardly ever felt crowded or had lines. However, a huge negative of the buffet on this ship is there are no trays to carry your food, this is a major inconvenience, as you cannot carry more than one plate at a time and certainly not a drink so you have to get your plate, set it down and pray that the wait staff does not take it while you go back for a drink. Unless you are eating with others and ask them to watch your plate, this becomes a big hassle and many passengers felt the same way – I would often watch some passenger’s plate while they rushed to the drink station. In addition, the seating area tables are very close together and you get to hear everyone next to you. Per the Freestyle dress code, no jeans or shorts are allowed during dinner in the main dining rooms (they enforce this so be forewarned), but jeans are allowed in the pay restaurants (money always talks). I would say about 75% of the passengers were nicely dressed during the evening hours. When I walked by the buffet at night there were people eating in shorts. Also, at the buffet, shirts are required – no bikini tops or shirtless men allowed. Another negative of the Freestyle concept that I do not like is the wait staff rotation. They are rotated nightly between stations in the main dining rooms, so if you want to sit at the same table hoping to get the same waiter two nights in a row it is impossible. I personally do not like this; I like to get to know my waiter and vice versa; it makes for a smoother and more pleasant dining experience. To insure that my party of 6 was always seated together for dinner, a non peak dinner time (same time every night) was reserved with the maitre d’ on the first night. The first two dinner seatings, although we had a lovely table with a view, we found the service to be just average. On the third evening we found a waitress team (“Vi” from the Philippines) that was head and shoulders above others and we demanded to be seated at her table from then on. Of course, our demand was met with a smile from the maitre d’. As a matter of fact, the service from the maitre d’ was probably one of the best experiences we have had on a ship; all our demands were met with a smile and “no problem;” she even visited our table nightly to check on us. Perhaps it was because it consisted of an all-female team? Note: if you enjoy wine with dinner, be prepared for sticker shock as the wine prices are high. NCL did not offer the buy five get one free, instead it was buy nine get one free – not exactly an amazing deal by anyone’s standards. Public Rooms: 4.5 Stars Simply beautiful and YES Non-Smoking with the exception of the casino. This was the first ship I have ever sailed that smoking was only allowed in the casino (and of course, outdoors). The ship was nicely decorated and in tip-top condition. There was plenty of space to move around and you never felt crowded even with 2000+ people on board. The ship was designed with the 5th and 6th decks as the main hubs of activity, i.e. shops (located in the aft area), lounges, photo gallery, reception, etc. The Casino is located on deck 6 mid-ship, however unlike other ships where you have to walk through the casino to get to other public rooms, the casino has one entrance in and out, so if you are walking down the hall, you can enter the casino or choose to keep walking past it. Additionally, there is also a high wall blocking the casino from passenger view and preventing the smoke from filtering outside. The only problem with this design is that the casino is VERY smoky – more so than on other ships, but I guess you can’t get it all. The duty free shops on board were well stocked and I enjoyed window shopping. Restrooms were easily marked as was each deck with signs, arrows and maps. It did not take long to figure out the layout and if I was unsure, the maps were always there when I needed them. Elevators were plentiful and were always operational. The gym was free; however there was a daily charge to use the SPA (an area with various whirlpools, steam rooms, saunas, showers and tile lounges). The gym only offered one bathroom for each gender, one shower and a steam room for free. To use a sauna or a spacious bathroom you had to pay for the one to use in the spa – $20 per day! I found it outrageous that to use a sauna I have to pay a daily usual fee. Note: internet service prices are VERY high on the ship – $.75 per minute! Entertainment: 3 1/2 Stars Room for improvement here. In the evening, you will find a guitar player near the “Bar City,” he played Spanish type music and had a regular following, listening to one or two numbers was nice, but it got old fast. In the Fyzz Lounge, before the disco started at 11:30pm, there was a three piece band that should have had a neon sign saying “WE WILL PUT YOU TO SLEEP,” need I say more? At the Spinnaker lounge on deck 11, there was a livelier band, it OK and the best of the three mentioned. A few nights I stayed up late for the disco which was held in the Fyzz lounge but it was never very crowded even though it was the best place to dance. The DJ was very accommodating in playing a variety of songs, but NCL has strict policies on the types of music that the DJ can play (absolutely no hip hop or rap) and even stock, interesting policy and it made many of the passengers (the few that even went to the disco) upset as a result. The DJ played everything I requested so I was a happy camper. As with other NCL ships, the Spinnaker Lounge is definitely the best place for the disco but for whatever reason they choose to have the band instead of the disco, which is a major downfall. The shows on board were held at the very lovely Stardust theatre, however as a frequent guest during all ship shows, I was very disappointed in the nightly offerings and left quite a few of them early. They featured the usual dance musical, boring, but I did enjoy the comedian/juggler. The “cirque” show was VERY nice and a must-see! On one evening they had an improv comedy show and is THE WORST show I have ever seen, many people left in the middle of it. However, the next night that same improv group had a passenger interaction show in the Fyzz Lounge and I have never laughed so hard in my life, so maybe they should just make the Theatre show a passenger interaction show. I will give HUGE thumbs up to the entertainment activities done by the cruise director’s staff, the theme nights were great fun and the karaoke was well done. Excursions/Ports: 4 Stars As a rule I rarely take ship excursions, but in Antigua I really wanted to do yacht racing and NCL now has the monopoly on this – you have no choice but to book the private excursion through them. It was $699 for a total of 6 people, so you could divide the cost up between your group, but it was still a bit expensive ($20 more than you would pay booking it on your own). All the arrangements made by the ship were up to par and it ran smoothly; the actual excursion itself was also good fun and I would highly recommend it for those physical enough to take it. Note: this excursion is listed as a level 1-2 when it comes to adventure and risk, let me warn you it is a level 3+. At all the other ports I did on my own exciting and unique adventures – email me for details or read about the ports on my website. Activities: 4 Stars A variety of daytime activities are offered throughout the cruise. From the usual trivia to the Very Expensive Bingo (Bingo on this cruise is more like a poor investment choice rather than a lighthearted numbers matching game – cards for the games start at $29 and get into the $100s). NCL is now promoting this small handheld bingo computer that allows you to play 100 + games simultaneously for a cost of $100+. So if you are like me and want to buy a card and have some fun, you basically throwing your money away and have very little chance since your one card with six boxes is competing against people with 100+ cards. In an effort to make money, NCL has taken the fun out of the game for the casual player – you can have more fun at the casino for that much, so if you want to play Bingo plan on $100 every time! The popular not-so-newlywed game, liars club, margarita and martini tasting (great deal for $15), etc. were all good fun. They had two late night activities – after 11pm – that were very entertaining – a risqué game show the second to last night and “Full Monty” type show mid cruise. They were the hit of the cruise (note that they WERE risqué and only 18+ allowed but still VERY fun for the passengers) and fully packed the Spinnaker Lounge. There did seem to be a LACK of activities during the final day at sea and a lack of consistency in each day’s events. You would have a day or evening filled with activities all bunched together, and then you would have a lot of dead time where you had no other choice but to hear about the art auctions over the loudspeaker. Sometimes activities were offered between 6:30 & 7:30pm, a time where many people eat dinner and this was quite annoying. Huge kudos to the cruise director Julie and staff, a very friendly bunch always visible and organized (with the exception of the lady who did the Charades game one night). Disembarkation: 4 Stars You leave when you want to depending on your connecting accommodations. Breakfast buffet is open till 9:00am and you have limited room service available that morning. Prior to disembarking – a few days before – you get specific luggage tags color based on your transportation connections, and then you wait in your staterooms until your colored tags are called. You can also choose to self-disembark where you carry your own luggage off and are the first off the ship – I prefer this method rather than searching through piles of luggage and putting my bags outside my door the night before. It was smooth and quick – we were off the boat in less than 30 minutes and easily found a van that took us to the airport. However, everybody does need to be off the ship by 10:30 so you can’t hang around that long. Note: the Miami airport was VERY crowded the day we docked and a madhouse in terms of check in and lines everywhere, so make sure you allow at least two hours at the airport prior to your flight! Overall Thoughts I loved this ship and it had an itinerary that is not to be missed, in fact I loved it so much that I plan to sail the identical itinerary again! NCL also seems to promote and reward the Latitudes Members, however I was very disappointed by the way NCL is starting to nickel and dime passengers – shame on them when they could become tops in the industry! Tipping at the end of the cruise follows the standard of it being automatically added to your room bill each day. All this talk about lack of service since tips are automatically charged to your room is just not true! The entire staff from the busboys to the officers seemed very friendly-everybody had a smile and was willing to help. Bottom line, I would not hesitate to recommend this ship to anybody, pack your bags and book this ship!

Embarkation: 4 3/4 Stars I did all the pre-registration and Credit Card hoopla prior to port arrival. With my one printed form in hand, my wife and friends (we were a party of eight) arrived at the main port building at about 10:50. We dropped our luggage at the main building entrance and stood in line as you are not allowed inside the main building until 11:30 (I emailed many folks asking when you can actually enter the main building and never received an answer). At 11:30 the doors opened and the lines moved fast. One couple in my party were platinum members and we stayed in their line, but it was no faster than other lines. Another couple in our group went to the normal passenger line and were done almost at the same time. I was on board in less than 5 minutes. Cabins: 2 1/2 Stars Since I spend so little time in my room I always book the cheapest cabin – no need for more expensive, upgraded rooms for me. I received a large inside Cabin on deck 9 which was almost identical to my RCL VOS ship. Alas you are able to control on board announcements that are being piped on the ship in your cabin, not having a small frig is an RCL negative. The storage space was a bit tight and the TV showed limited programming. You are able to view your room bill on the TV but unable to see the daily dining menus. My wife and I did not like the way the shower was laid out with the shower curtain around it, even though there was a drain around the shower, water still would splash and get the rest of the bathroom floor wet. You are NOT supplied small amenities such as toothpaste, shaver, etc which I have received on other cruise lines. Overall, nothing special or out of the ordinary. Two couples in my group had balcony cabins and they were happy. Dining/Food: 2 1/2 Stars Aboard the AOS, there are two dining rooms, a buffet “Windjammer cafe”, a number of small places for snacks or a burger, “Johnny Rockets” and a specialty restaurant “Portofino”. I ate all my dinners in the main dining room and did not eat at the specialty restaurant “Portofino” as I prefer to save the cash. I ate lunch at “Johnny Rockets” (there is a service charge of $3.95); the burger was nice but I have had better. The food at the “windjammer café” for breakfast and lunch was “below average”; I found the selection to be unimaginative and lacking in quality. Breakfast in the dining room was much better than the buffet. In the dining room your eggs are cooked to order, my only disappointment was that the “chef’s special” was only offered twice. Word to the wise: The chef special is GREAT (once it was chocolate chip French toast- ooh la la, very nice- 5 stars on that). The same goes for lunch in the main dining room. Ask for the “Chef Special”. Personally, I would recommend you eat all your meals in the main dining room and avoid the buffet. At dinner, the menu has a large number of items from fish to the non-meat Indian vegetarian items. Even though the food was tasty I have had better. I thought that the food on the 3rd and 4th nights was superb, but I did notice that RCL is cutting back in every way. As an example, instead of Lamb Chops you get Lamb Shank and filet mignon and beef wellington are no longer offered. Additionally, my waiter informed me that Lobster is not offered on Mediterranean cruise ships. Is this a sign of things to come, is RCL cutting back too much. I think the food is much better on other cruise lines, including the overall selection. If you are a wine drinker I suggest you buy the wine package before you board. You can do it on the internet to get a 25% discount. The wine selections are overpriced, but it will save you a few dollars. Public Rooms: 5 Stars The promenade is simply magnificent; what more can I say? It is a great concept and I enjoyed walking around. The ice skating rink is lovely and so is the theatre. I found the ship to be basically non-smoking everywhere with the exception of the casino and outdoors. There were a few areas on the ship that I found to be confusing such as getting to the lovely Blue Moon Bar. The Solarium pool and deck are great adult hang outs; I found it to be much nicer than the outdoor pool area. Like all cruises, the usual save a deck chair with a towel trick lives on. Entertainment: 2 1/2 Stars Nightly entertainment is held at a huge theatre, with the usual Broadway-type performances, comedians, and jugglers. There was a great Beatles cover band which I thoroughly enjoyed. Some of the shows were excellent and some were below average. The Ice show was GREAT and was one of the best shows I have ever seen on a cruise ship. The ship musicians/music were poor, including the piano bar on deck 6 and the guitar player in the smoke-filled pub. There was a small 3-piece band that you could hardly hear on the promenade deck and there was nowhere to dance. The disco got started at about 10:30pm every night, but it was mostly hip-hop music except for the one 80’s night. On the promenade they had a 70’s themed party and dance which was great fun for about 20 minutes. Afterwards the crowd was expecting more of the same 70’s music in the disco, but a lot of people were disappointed to discover reggae was being played. Latin dance music was played nightly in the Blue Moon bar and was a very popular and crowded bar most nights. Karaoke was well done and very popular, but was only held once for adults and that was the night of the “idol type” contest. The other two nights it was family Karaoke so the kids where there as well. The Karaoke idol contest finale was great (the person who did the James Brown impersonation was fantastic and should have won). Excursions/Ports: 3 Stars We stopped in Aruba( I love that island), Curacao(wonderful), St Marteen( a very windy day) and St Thomas(been there often, done that, boring)- email me for details or read about the ports on my blog (www.cruisingbob.com). Activities: 3 Stars The usual wide variety of activities is offered from trivia to bingo. Once again, I thought that the cruise staff conducting the activities were simple wonderful, however, I did not like the way the activities were scheduled. They were either bunched together or spaced too far apart with too much dead time, especially after dinner. On three different evenings I was “BORED”. The rock climbing wall, Ice skating arena and in-line skating is great fun but they are closed during shore days. Disembarkation: 3 Stars I have been spoiled by other cruise lines and I found the disembarkation on this ship to be the usual mass confusion with dozens of announcements. Breakfast buffet and the dining room are open till 8:30am but you must clear your cabin by 8; 00am. Prior to disembarking – a few days before – you get specific luggage tags based on your transportation arrangements and then you wait in the common areas. Overall Thoughts I want to be up front and say that the service and the cruise staff were wonderful. From the captain of the ship (very friendly and issued hilarious announcements) to the terrific bus boys, the entire cruise staff was very accommodating. The tipping procedure is rather archaic; if you want to charge your tips to your room bill you first fill out a form saying that you will have tips billed to your cabin. Then you are given vouchers which you put into an envelope to be handed to your service staff. Why not just charge my room? If I want to give extra I have that option. I was extremely disappointed at the poor planning of the activities and due to staff shortages, shore days are dead aboard the AOS. RCL seems to be making cuts everywhere and I feel like I was nickel-and-dimed at every turn. I have always wanted to sail on a “Voyageur class” ship and I am still uncertain if I would rather sail the smaller ships, i.e. 2400 passengers max. Bottom line, I will more than likely sail RCL again if the cruise price is tempting enough, but I would rate them(RCL) on par with the competition. There is no such thing as a bad cruise! Post your comments on my blog. Happy cruising.

RCL- Vision of the Seas 7 day Mexican Rivera Cruise number 17 and my 1st on RCL; my review will be short and to the point. Each reviewed category will be based on my own arbitrary experience using a rating system from 1 to 5; 5 = Outstanding, 4 = Excellent, 3 = Satisfactory, 2 = Marginal, and 1 = Unsatisfactory. I will try and stick to the facts while attempting to provide a neutral point of view so that you may draw your own conclusions. Read my bog of adventures on www.crusingbob.com Embarkation: 4 3/4 Stars I did all the pre-registration and Credit Card hoopla prior to port arrival. With my one printed form in hand, my wife and I arrived at main port building about 10:50. Dropped our luggage at the main building entrance and proceeded. Since I was early I was in no rush I was surprised to find no lines, in less than 3 minutes I was given a number for boarding. All I had to do was wait till the ship was cleaned, the waiting area was air conditioned and there where some snacks (I just admired as the crowds gathered to load up on free food). At about 11: 35 I was told I could board, after passing through a rather annoying/unnecessary harassment of the traveler security check, I was on board by 11:40. Cabins: 2 1/2 Stars I usually try and book the cheapest cabin, no need for all the expensive rooms since you spend so little time in your cabin. I had an large inside Cabin on deck 3, the cabin was a little smaller than other ships I have sailed, I only had two complaints; NO SMALL Frig and announcements were piped into your cabin, regardless if they where general or not. The storage space was a bit tight, there was a TV and it showed limited programming I missed the TV feature (on newer ships) of being able to view my room bill and the daily dinning menus on TV. The cabin bathroom was nicely laid out however; the “Commode” will be a problem if you are over 6ft tall as it sits at an odd angle. You are NOT supplied small amenities such as toothpaste, shaver, etc. Overall, nothing special or out of the ordinary. Dining/Food: 3 1/2 Stars The Vision has one dining room “Aquarius” and a buffet “Windjammer cafe”; there are a number of small places for a snack or a burger. The food at the windjammer cafe for all three meals was “average” at best; I found the food selection to be unimaginative and tended to be more of the bulk vice high quality. Breakfast in the dinning was much better than the buffet, eggs are cooked to order and everyday there is a chief special which I tried and it was tasty( one day is was pancakes filled with raspberries and strawberries/very nice/5 stars on that). The same goes for lunch in the main dining room, so I would recommend you eat all your meals in the main dinning room. At the dinner, the menu has a large number of items, from fish to the non meat Indian vegetarian, even though the food was nice and tasty I have had better. I thought that the 3rd and 4th nights’ on the cruise the food was superb, just my own discriminating taste. If you are a wine drinker suggest you buy the wine package before you board, you can even do it on the internet and you get a 25% discount. Public Rooms: 3 1/2 Stars Even though this is an older ship it was very well maintained and the color scheme on board where lovely. Basically Non-Smoking everywhere with the exception of the casino and outdoors. The usual design with the 5th and 6th decks as the main hubs of activity, i.e. shops (located in the aft/middle area), lounges, photo gallery, reception, etc. There where a few areas on the ship that I found confusing, as getting to the Viking lounge. Due to the cold weather the Solarium pool and deck was heavily utilized and I found it to be very nice vice the outdoor pool. Beware the usual towel on the saving the chair lives on. Entertainment: 2 1/2 Stars Nightly entertainment is held at the “Masquerade”, from the usual Broadway type productions to singer impersonation to the magician. Once again, I thought some of the entertainment was excellent and some below average, my big issue with the entertainment was the Masquerade theatre was just too small to accommodate the number of guest, so unless you arrived 30 minutes before show time, you where pressed to find a place to sit. The on board ship entertainment was lacking, the usual piano bar on deck 6, in the atrium there was a three piece band that was OK and at the Enchanted evening lounge there was a three piece band that was fair at best. The Viking Lounge (confusing to get to) featured disco starting at about 11:30pm, and the DJ was accommodating. The cruise staff put on a number of theme shows which where very good and fun, but all started at 11:00pm. So if you where on the go most of the day like me, I started to wear down about that time. The karaoke was well done and very popular, but was only held on three nights with the longest session being the final night when attendance was small. Excursions/Ports: 4 Stars This Mexican Rivera itinerary is one of my favorites as I have done it four times. As a rule I rarely take ship excursions, in Puerto Vallarta I was unable to book the “outdoor adventure” directly with the vendor (30% cheaper than the cruise ship for the same thing) so I booked this through the ship. This is an extremely exciting high adventure excursion where you will sample a variety of activities and you should be in decent shape as there is some steep uphill walking. Note: this excursion is listed as a level 1 when it comes to adventure and risk, let me warn you it is a level 3. At all the other two ports I did on my own exciting and unique adventures – email me for details or read about the ports on my blog (www.cruisingbob.com). Activities: 3 Stars The usual wide variety of activities is offered throughout the cruise. From the usual trivia to bingo to battle of the sexes. Once again, I thought that the cruise staff conducting the activities where simple wonderful, however, the activities where not spaced correctly, either bunched together or just too much dead time especially after dinner, on three different evenings I was “BORED”. The rock climbing wall is fun, but due to bad weather it was closed on the last two days at sea. Disembarkation: 1 Star I have been spoiled by other cruise line; I found the disembarkation on this ship to be the usual mass confusion with dozens of announcements. Breakfast buffet and the dining room are open till 8:30am but you must clear your cabin by 8; 00am so you figure. Prior to disembarking – a few days before – you get specific luggage tags color based on your transportation connections, and then you wait in the common areas. Overall Thoughts I broke one of my rules of cruising “avoid older ships” when I picked this ship. I love the Mexican Rivera itinerary but the ship was average. I would like to emphasize that the SERVICE on this ship to include all staff members was SUPERB, everybody I encountered had a smile and a can do attitude. The tipping procedure is rather archaic in today’s cruising, if you want to charge your tips to your room bill, you first fill out a form saying that you will have tips billed to your cabin, then you are given a number of vouchers which you put into separate envelope and then give the envelope to your service staff, why not just charge my room? if I want to give extra I will do it. Bottom line, I plan to try RCL again, but so far I would rate them par with the competition. There is no such thing as a bad cruise! Post your comments on my blog. Happy cruising

I found it cheaper to fly into ft. Lauderdale (there was four of us), we got a private car at the airport to take us to the port, this was the cheapest way much, easier and less costly than the shuttle or a cab and easier then the light rail. Spit four ways it was $20PP including tip. Embarkation: A piece of cake. NCL has online registration that includes e-tickets. You just print out the forms and have them checked at the pier inside the main building. At check-in I used the Latitudes line – it was short and moved fast. You go in the main terminal to hand in your pre-registration form and you will get your actual room key card, you then have a very short wait to get your photo taken upstairs and then you board the ship. I arrived at the pier at about 11:00am and was on board in less than 30 minutes, everything moved very fast. They welcome you on board with FREE champagne and OJ. Cabins: I had an Inside Cabins on deck #9 in the aft(got a great price and saved a ton). It was a little smaller than other ships I have sailed, but well laid out and quiet; I did not notice any difference in the new 2.0 freestyle mattress upgrade. There where very few announcements piped into your cabin. The cabin was equipped with a small fridge, a combined his/her’s closet which I did not like as I enjoy the separate closet arrangement, and an easy to use room safe. There was a TV but it showed limited programming and had very poor selection. I missed the TV feature (on other lines) of being able to view my room bill and the daily dinning menu. The cabin bathroom was nicely laid out however; the “Commode” will be a problem if you are over 6ft tall as it sits at an odd angle. The shower was spacious (for a cruise ship) and it had a door instead of a curtain, which was also nice. You are supplied dispenser soap and shampoo but NO other amenities such as toothpaste, shaver, etc. (NCL should consider supplying the toilet accessories as they add a very nice touch). Dining/Food: “Freestyle” cruising is the concept that NCL promotes and the idea is that you can dine wherever, whenever. What you need to know is that all this “Freestyle” comes with a not-so-FREE price tag. The only for free restaurants are the; garden café buffet (which has a SUPERB lunch selection that is the BEST of any ship I have ever sailed), the two main dining rooms (which have identical menus, just different décor/I thought the food in the dinning room was well above average and the service excellent except for the second night ( you have been warned) and the small blue lagoon snack area which is a hidden gem especially for breakfast. For any other restaurant you have to pay a fee, so much for FREEstyle. You have a choice of an Italian $10 fee (I did not eat there but all the reviews from fellow passengers said the food was not worth it. A Spanish/Mexican Tapas restaurant $10 fee (I ate there one night and it was not that good and not worth the cost, well below average) but the Margarita drinks at the tapas bar are good. For a cost of $15-$25 + per person you can eat at your choice of five other specialty restaurants (Le Bistro-French $20, Cagney’s-Steak house $25, Chin Chin-oriental fusion, a Sushi bar and a Japanese Teppanyaki place $20). Depending on what you order in these restaurants there may be an additional charge for the “upscale menu”, so your bill could be $45+ per person. I ate at Cagney’s the first night, it was very good and one night I ate at Le Bistro (I thought the food at Le Bistro was fabulous and the only one restaurant on board that might be worth the fee). The rest of the nights I ate at the dinning rooms, I would suggest perhaps one specialty restaurant and the rest in the main dinning rooms, just personal choice but this “for a fee” rubs me the wrong way, yet it is anytime or whenever but pay us. You can say all you want about a nice restaurant, but I paid for a cruise and do not want to get stiffed again. If you arrive in any of the main dining rooms between 6:30-7:30pm which are peak times expect to wait about 15 minutes, once again except for the 2nd night which had very long wait times in excess of 45 minutes. NOTE FOR PARENT WITH CHILDREN; there where about 400 kids on this sailing and the age range was 2-6 yrs old, PLEASE be considerate of other guest when bringing your kids into the dinning room and specialty restaurants, shame on the parents who allowed their kids to run around disturbing other guest and for us having to listen to kids scream, I also blame NCL who refused to press the good behavior required in the eating establishments, Enough said! Public Rooms: Simply beautiful and YES Non-Smoking with the exception of the casino. This was my second visit to the Jewel and it was in tip-top condition. There was plenty of space to move around and you never felt crowded even with a full ship. The ship was designed with the 6th and 7th decks as the main hubs of activity, i.e. shops (located in the aft area), lounges, photo gallery, reception, etc. The Casino is located on deck 6 mid-ship, however unlike other ships where you have to walk through the casino to get to other public rooms, the casino has one entrance in and out, so if you are walking down the hall, you can enter the casino or choose to keep walking past it. Additionally, there is also a high wall blocking the casino from passenger view and preventing the smoke from filtering outside. The duty free shops on board were well stocked and I enjoyed window shopping. The gym was open 24hrs, but to use a sauna or a spacious bathroom you had to pay for the one to use in the spa – $20 per day! I found it outrageous that to use a sauna I have to pay a daily usual fee, so much for FREEstyle. Note: internet service prices are VERY high on the ship – $.75 per minute! Entertainment: In the evening, you will a lot to keep you busy, from a piano and guitar player near the “Bar City,” to the highly popular and nightly “Karaoke” in the Fyzz Lounge(do not miss NCL idol contest), the disco played at the “Spinnaker ” on deck 13 at various times. There are also two other bands that played throughout the ship and supplemented the theme nights. The disco DJ was very accommodating in playing a variety of songs that I and other guest requested, so there was plenty to do and dance to. The shows on board were held at the very lovely Stardust theatre, however, as a frequent guest during all ship shows, I was very disappointed that I always had trouble getting a seat, I guess with a full ship you will need to get there early. Shows featured the usual dance musical, I did enjoy the comedian/juggler and the “cirque” show was a must-see! A nice new feature was on the last two sea days, open seminars hosted by the different performers where held, I attended the juggler seminar and learned a little, good and knowledgeable fun. In addition, I found the entire cruise staff very accommodating and just a fun group. Excursions/Ports: I rarely take ship excursions, so I did all excursions on my own. Through Cruise Critic I met some wonderful people that I hanged with, about 43 of us went to ‘Playa Rincon” a very nice beach in Samana, do not waste your time with any snorkeling in Samana. In Tortolla many of us went to “The Baths” simple wonderful, and if you have a group of 10 you can rent a boat on the pier that will take you right to the beach for the same cost as “Speedy” which was a small hassle. The snorkeling at the Baths was fantastic and the island was great. In Antigua yet another group of us went kayaking and swimming at a private beach with South Horizons, very lovely place. In Barbados yet again some of us went to swim with the turtles with “Thriller” very interactive and everyone was talking about our experience, the other excursions in Barbados went to an area that was windy and not much visibility so they did not interact with the turtles. Finally in St Lucia, some us went with St Lucia Frank to the “natural mud Baths’ which where a hoot and then to Jalousie (think I spelled it wrong) where I might have experienced the best snorkeling in my life. To all the CC folks I met, I hope to see you all again it was a real pleasure. Activities: A variety of activities are offered throughout the cruise. From the usual trivia to the very Expensive Bingo (Bingo on this cruise is more like a poor investment choice rather than a lighthearted numbers matching game – cards for the games start at $39 and get into the $100s). The popular not-so-newlywed game, liars club, margarita and martini tasting (great deal for $15), etc. were all good fun. NOTE: Many of the people I met and hung out with had kids in the children activities and said how happy their kids where. Drink prices on the ship started at$9+, I do not drink beer but some of the guests informed me that that was the only good deal. The dinner wine bottle started at around $30 for a bottle that would cost $8 state side, someone is making money. Disembarkation: You leave when you want to depending on your connecting accommodations. Breakfast buffet is open till 9:00am. Prior to disembarking – a day before – you get to pick a specific luggage tags color based on your transportation connections, and then you wait in your staterooms until your colored tags are called. You can also choose to self-disembark where you carry your own luggage off and are the first off the ship – I prefer this method rather than searching through piles of luggage and putting my bags outside my door the night before. Everybody does need to be off the ship by 10:30 so you can’t hang around that long. My disembarkation was smooth and quick – we were off the boat in less than 30 minutes and easily found a cab that took us to the airport. Note: I flew out of Miami airport vice Ft Lauderdale due to ticket pricing. Overall Thoughts: I loved this ship and it had an itinerary that is not to be missed, in fact I loved it so much that I that I sailed the identical itinerary and ship! NCL is trying to promote and reward the latitudes members, however I was very disappointed by the way NCL keeps talking about “FREEstyle 2.0” whenever/whatever yet is nickel and dimming passengers on every turn – shame on NCL when they could become tops in the industry. I personally LIKE NCL and I think this FREEstyle has something to it but I just think it needs to be better though out! Tipping at the end of the cruise follows the standard of it being automatically added to your room bill each day. All this talk about lack of service since tips are automatically charged to your room is just not true! The entire staff from the busboys to the officers seemed very friendly-everybody had a smile and was willing to help. Bottom line, I would not hesitate to recommend this ship or NCL to anybody, pack your bags and book this itinerary! Post your comments

Embarkation: From the airport booked a shuttle and shared with other couples(big savings), check-in was simple you drop off your luggage at the terminal building entrance had the pre cruise registration ready and you are good to go. Cabins: Booked an Inside Cabin on deck #10(aft), a tad small at 146 sq ft but well laid out and quiet; the bed mattress was very comfortable. Cabin was equipped with a small fridge, a combined his/her’s closet, room safe and TV (not able to view your room bill and the daily dinning menu). The bathroom “Commode” layout will be a problem if you are over 6ft tall as it sits at an odd angle. In the shower you are supplied dispenser soap and shampoo but NO other amenities. Dining/Food: The ship offers a variety of restaurants but the only free (no extra charge) ones are the two main dining rooms (Indigo & Summer Place) the buffet and the small light menu “Blue Lagoon”. Let me start with breakfast; Blue Lagoon is the place to go for a quite cup of coffee but has a limited menu, I loved eating BK there and watching the ocean. The buffet for lunch is filled with many choices but you will need to hunt hard for a table. For dinner I opted for the “FREE” MDRs and rotated between the two, the food was average some nights better than others. For a special treat I ate at “Le Bistro-French” and paid the $20PP charge, it well worth the price for a special meal and it was the best meal I had on the cruise. I also tried the Italian (can not recall the name) “FOR A FEE” fare but it was average. Be aware that drink prices are very high so look for the daily special or ask for the house vintage. Overall food was average perhaps a little weaker than other lines (except for La Bistro). The wine package is pricey. Public Rooms: This ship is very well laid out and is just the right size (in terms of passengers) but does need a facelift. I never felt crowded even with a full ship, the ship is designed with the 6th and 7th decks as the main hubs of activity, i.e. shops (located in the aft area), lounges (loved bar city), reception, etc. Walking through the casino had the standard smoke smell but not strong. The gym was not open 24hrs, and the spa etc came with a price. The usual classes for a fee were offered. Note: internet service prices are – $.75 per minute with three packages offered. Entertainment: Most excellent, in the evening, you have three areas to hangout and listen to music, a piano player (bar city), a guitar player in the atrium and he rotated to the piano bar and a very good band at the Spinnaker (deck 13). I enjoyed all the music venues and the ship seemed to offer a lot of variety. The evening’s shows were SUPERB! For the hilarious magician to the four seasons show I attended every show and was very pleased (I usually never go to every show). “Karaoke” is alive and well and offered at different times along with other fun shows to include the wildly popular “dance with the staff” contest. Activities: A variety of activities are offered throughout the cruise. From the very popular trivia which is offered at different times and a very interesting visual game is also offered to Bingo, the not-so-new marriage game and many more. A number of athletic activates were offered such as; volleyball, 3 on 3 hoops, table tennis, rock climbing this ship will keep you going and going. The entire activities staff was very accommodating and Julie the cruise director was marvelous. Excursions: I did all the excursions on my own and go into great lengths so look search for my blog. There was one MAJOR snafu in a port, NCL had listed that the stop at Huatulco from 8am-5pm, this was reflected on the NCL website and our tickets, the night before we arrived Huatulco it was noted that the stop was from 8am-1pm, this was a huge shock to me and many other passengers as we had received no warnings, apparently the stop was always scheduled from 8 – 1:00, lack of communication at a large scale continues to prevail everywhere. Look at the blog for more details. Disembarkation: The was my only unpleasant experience, initially the ship computers failed which caused a huge delay then it was followed by another issue at US customs which seemed to be more of a nuisance than anything else, standing in line for over 2 hrs is unacceptable regardless. Overall Thoughts: The cruise exceeded my expectations in every way. The ports are great, the staff on the ship was wonderful and seeing the Panama Canal and experiencing the marvels of engineering was a memorable experience. Great ship start packing now!

Ship docks in a lovely setting in a very small town. Briksdalen Glacier is the main attraction but is 45 minutes away by bus. Wanting to do something unusual, my wife had arranged for our group to paddle out among the icebergs on the Briksdalen Glacier Lake, which is at the tongue of the Briksdalen arm of the biggest glacier in Europe (Jostedal Glacier). We had a beautiful and amazing ride in a small van up to the Briksdalen Adventure Park area where there is a nice souvenir shop and facilities and if you have a large enough group and pre-arrange it, you can do things like Viking bowling, archery, axe throwing, climbing towers. However, we had chosen paddling in the lake and so our group began our nice hike up to the tongue of the Glacier. Hike was medium activity level along a decent path – about 3km; we passed several areas of waterfalls and whitewater before arriving at our destination with our guide. However, on arrival, we were told that due to high winds, we would not be able to paddle on the lake. We were all disappointed but agreed that the winds were excessive; although our guide was very informative about the glacier, he did not charge for the activity since we weren’t able to paddle. We did tip at our own discretion. Cost for the transportation was 250 NOK pp; our contact for this was: frode@briksdalsbre.no; 47+90 13 8308. Back in Olden by 1pm, we decided to rent bikes and bike around the town of Olden. Brilliant decision with very decent bikes and bike paths! Evidently, there were some good sales being held at a local store, but by the time we got back to the center of town, we discovered the main shop with the great bargains had already closed – very early! Another amazing little town in Norway!

Lovely town, we lucked out with a beautiful sunny day of about 68 degrees. As you leave the ship, you are handed a map of the town by tourist “ambassadors” who are on the streets near the harbor, and there is also a tourist office about a 5 minute walk from the dock. To get to the center of town from the dock – simply walk along the channel right in front of the ship, to the main harbor. There is an ATM in the ‘mall’ in the city center if you need cash. My wife and I decided to first walk to the Aksla Mountain with the Fjellstua viewpoint on top, walking up the path with the 418 steps. The path/steps are zigzag, and not difficult a climb, although it is a medium fitness level of activity. After climbing the steps, we went back to Charter@62.no (a business on the water, also in the city center, where you can get active tours/excursions or rent bikes and kayaks). We rented bikes and then headed off to the Sunnmøre Museum, which is a history of Alesund and its people from the Stone Age to the 1900s. 45 minutes later, after taking one wrong turn, we arrived at the Museum. Entrance to the museum was about 80 NOK pp (about $13 USD). Sunnmøre is an outdoor museum of cabins and boats that have been well-preserved and/or restored; it is also an activity center/park with some hiking and boat rentals available. After walking around, grabbing a bite to eat, seeing the Viking ship and boat collection, we headed on over to the “Borgund Stave” Church which is the most popular place for weddings in the area. It was actually located near one of the hiking trails of Sunnmore; we must have seen at least 3 brides in the short 30 minutes we were there. We then biked back to Alesund and around the city center for a brief look at the town (very busy with pedestrians!) and then biked to the small red lighthouse at the harbor entrance before returning our bikes and walking back to the ship.

A tender port but due to low winds and calm seas we docked on a lovely sunny 65 degree day. After much research, we chose to do a ship’s excursion in spite of our stance of trying to avoid ship excursions – the private excursion was identical in price and proved not only to be a hassle in arranging, but we were advised by the locals to go with the ship since bad weather is more likely than not in Norway and the ship would wait for us if we were with the ship’s excursion vs private. Like cattle, we were loaded onto one of the many buses and began what I thought would be a standard touristy trip, only to be amazed with the unbelievable scenery along the way to North Cape. The trip took approximately an hour, including a quick stop at a local Sami area for pictures of the culture, native dress and reindeer which were roaming around the hills eating and gazing at the tourists. When we arrived at North Cape, we were told that we could take ‘ANY” ship excursion bus back into town, allowing for about an hour and a half at North Cape. The day was picture perfect but very windy at the top of the world! In spite of our expectations and all our research that this would be a dreaded tourist trap, the whole experience totally blew us away – the view and feeling of ‘having arrived’ at the northern most town is hard to describe. There are a number of view/lookout points, and the underground chapel, lounge (where many weddings are held!) and “kings view” are stunning. The museum and souvenir gift shop were nicely done, and we did the touristy thing and mailed postcards to our family from the top of the world. Back in Honningsvag, we walked around while waiting for our reservation time at the “Artico Ice Bar” which we arranged on our own. The bar is located 300 meters from the pier and very easy to find. Make sure you have a reserved time as entrance is limited! The inside of the Ice Bar is very nicely done out of local ice from lakes, broken down each year and rebuilt again, making each year a unique design. After crawling through the igloo and ‘sledding’ around inside the ice bar, we still had enough time to explore the small town before returning to the ship. The town even though small has some interesting sights to include the only building surviving the Nazi burning of the entire town. The whole day was absolutely a one of a kind experience

Embarkation: I was boarding (in Valparaiso) on the second leg of a 40+ day voyage so it was not the normal mass confusion – even with the computers down, processing moved quickly. Now the UGLY: once you finish the check-in, you board a bus to take you to the ship – the bus had NO A/C and it was hot. Once we arrived at the ship pier, the lines were very long due to both embarkation and returning ship passengers, and we were standing in the hot sun. Carnival had one security machine going which made the boarding of passengers a snail’s pace; what I could not understand is why we went through a security check before boarding the bus and then repeated the security check boarding the ship. Cabins: Booked an inside cabin and was happy with the space. The room was nicely decorated and through the TV you can order pay per view TV movies, check your ship charges, view different dining menus, plus order room service. The bathroom had nice soap and shampoo stocked dispensers as well as some nice complimentary toiletries. Dining/Food: Superb; I am not a big breakfast person so I used room service, stopped at the Lido buffet and went to the dining room for a brunch. All were good but it now gets better: I am not crazy about buffet lunch but the Lido offerings for lunch were nice; besides the usual normal fare there is an Indian buffet station that was yummy and an excellent made to order sandwich (corned beef/specialties) station on the opposite side. These two stations were my hangouts. The pizza station was also good but it even gets better. I was sailing on a 13Night cruise and was planning on eating at the steakhouse a few nights, but I saved my money – dinner in the main dining room was superb! Every night it featured a different menu (one side is the daily fare), and the choices were excellent to superb; I think I was only disappointed on one occasion. The appetizers were yummy to include 3 nights of different escargot offerings; in addition, our service was outstanding. I chose “Anytime Dining” and it worked well but could use a few improvements. Public Rooms: Very nicely done! The ship features a lot of pink but is not overdone, the 4th and 5th decks serve as the main hub of activity; i.e. with shops, casino, lounges, photo, and library – main traffic area. A HUGE TV screen is on deck #10 overlooking the pool. This screen displayed various scenes of aquatic life during the day, but evening showings included movies with popcorn if you could eat another bite. Entertainment: You will find music playing at several locations throughout the ship. There is a piano bar, variety music in the lounges, and Karaoke is featured nightly. The Atrium features music (different bands on the ship rotate) and plays till midnight. During the afternoon the Atrium is alive with live music and I noticed many folks dancing away in the afternoon. The disco played a good selection but was empty on most evenings and the casino Texas Holdem table always had a wait list. I was disappointed in the shows offered which consisted mainly of dancing. A fun night was the final “Legends Night” where some ‘wannabee’ Karaoke passengers performed and had a ball. There were numerous comedy shows which I did not attend. Ports/Excursions: My biggest issue with this sailing: the ship was late at every port even though we arrived at least an hour prior to scheduled time. We were late in clearing or something; didn’t always know what but this impacted all the excursion times. In addition, at both tender ports there were not enough tenders which caused more delays and impacted two of my excursions. I could rant and rave but Carnival needs to take a hard look at its procedures and how it communicates to its passengers. I did my own adventurous excursions that are not for everyone. Activities: The variety of usual ship activities (trivia, bean bag toss, etc.) are offered, but not much in terms of athletic activities except for the daily ping pong tournament. Bingo is promoted at different times so there is more than enough to occupy you, and you can always attend the art auction and drink free champagne or window shop in the mall/shops area. Disembarkation: A disaster. You get a number to place on your bags which indicates what time you can disembark; however as per norm on this ship by now, disembarkation started late, and to make matters worse, passengers needed to board buses to another terminal which was too small to handle the numbers of passengers, and it got worse – enough said! Overall: Very nice ship, terrific itinerary, great service, and wonderful staff – what more can be said. Carnival seems to be working hard trying to come up with new and innovative ideas; had it not been for the above mentioned issues, it would have been a perfect cruise. I was told that the average age on the ship was 70+ so I think there was less than the normal Carnival energy level; however, the cruise staff was superb and did everything possible to keep passengers happy. Cruising the Straits was a once in a lifetime experience; I think everybody needs to consider this ship and its itinerary.