gymbrat33

Have a very Happy Birthday, Cheryl!

Have a very Happy Birthday, and enjoy your dinner, Cheryl!

Have a great time! Thanks for checking in.

Have a great cruise, Carmen!

Have a great cruise, Sailingrose!

Thank you so much, Debbie! I loved the show. They revealed the real Queen's Staircase in Nassau. I took a tour in Nassau, and the tour guides pulled our leg. They told us this was the Queens Staircase. (see attached picture) This was a ship sponsored tour. http://i123.photobucket.com/albums/o306/gy...465WSNRCG32.jpg

Thank you so much for your detailed and interesting review. I love all of the pictures.

Thank you so much, Cheryl! I had a great time! JoeyandDavid, I'll be heading back from Tampa that Sunday. I'm going to try my hardest to make it. I have to check the flights to make sure that I can return by that time since it's just an hour flight.

Zebra- Give it a try. You'll love it. Start with a 3 day cruise to sample it. Suzila-The main difference that I saw is that Carnival schedules a lot of activities at the same time, where as, NCL doesn't schedule that many at the same time. Maybe it's different because I sailed on a 3 day cruise. I would love to sail on the one to Hawaii. DebbieandJerry- I have to sail to Hawaii. Hazelson-Thank you so much! Yes, I prefer the freestyle dining. I sailed on the 3 day cruise, and we were always seated immediately. The dining rooms and all of the public areas were always empty(except on the last night the casino was super crowded). At the stores there were never any lines. The day that we sailed to their private island is the day that I saw the most people(around 1,000). Deb1220-Thank you so much! I prefer the freestyle dining since you do not feel rushed, but I also like the assigned dining. The service at the dining rooms was the best I've had.

Thank you so much, Zebra! Suzila is the one that stated that they don't have that many activities scheduled during the day. The Norwegian Sky, which I sailed on had a lot of activities scheduled during the day. They have a lot of Bingo and trivia scheduled. They even had trivia scheduled on the morning of debarkation(Which was today) at 9:00 for those staying later on the ship. I also sailed on Carnival 12 times before trying another line, but that's because I had never found a better deal anywhere else.

DebbieandJerry- I'm happy on any ship as long as I'm on a cruise. When I sail with friends, I always book an inside cabin, but when I sail with my mom, she loves having her balcony. Since I've already tried NCL, I'm ready to sail on a longer cruise with them. CruisingCats-Thank you so much! I loved the Freestyle cruise and will sail with them again. The food on NCL was very good. Start booking that cruise with the credit that you have.

Keith&Rita, Thank you so much for your input. I like both free style dining and scheduled dining. I'll continue to sail on both lines. DebbieandJerry, thank you so much! I had a great vacation, and enjoyed trying a different cruise line. My mom wasn't too much of a Diva. She just missed her larger balcony cabin, and kept comparing both cruise lines while on the cruise. I told her to enjoy it because it was a different cruise line. She liked it, but likes Carnival a lot more. She loved how smooth debarkation was on NCL(it's always a nightmare on Carnival), and loved the freestyle dining. Suzila- Thanks for the heads up about the specialty restaurants. I will try them next time. The food in the main dining room was delicious. I've eaten at the Specialty restaurants on Carnival, and the food was equally delicious as in the main dining room. How exciting that you're already planning the schedule for the specialty restaurants. The sky is an older ship. It was built in 1999, and was refurbished last year so the showers have curtains. Have a great time preparing for your upcoming cruise. Jacketwatch-Thank you so much! Yes, NCL is a great cruise line, and I will definitely be sailing with them again. I will also try Royal Caribbean as soon as I find a great deal. I have always found the best deals on Carnival, and now on NCL.

LOL! That was the best life boat drill ever!

Thank you so much, JoeyandDavid & Cruisetarp! I forgot to mention that due to the weather, the Port of Miami was closed for an hour, and we left 2 hours later. We had to perform lifeboat drill inside of our cabins.

I just returned from my first NCL Cruise after sailing on Carnival 12 times. Embarkation was a breeze. Freestyle Cruising-I absolutely love it. I dined at the main dining rooms(the ones where there is no charge), and never had to wait. We were seated immediately. The food on Carnival is better, but all of the food on the ship was delicious. This cruise was so relaxing because there wasn't a schedule to follow. It was such a quiet cruise. Carnival is always so loud, but everyone on this cruise had fun, but were quiet and laid back. The balcony cabin was a little smaller than Carnival. I didn't have a problem with that, but my mother did. I was calling her a Diva and a complainer. The shows were not as well choreographed as Carnival. My nephew loved the Kid's Club. They have so many activities scheduled for the kids. When we went to NCL's Private Island, they were there with scheduled activities for the kids. He says that he loves both Cruise Lines equally. Debarkation was also a breeze. I love both Cruise Lines. They have so many similarities and differences. I will definitely cruise with them again. Let me know if I left anything out, or if any of you have questions.