We traveled as part of a family trip including two parents (60 ish), four daughters (32-40), and three son-in-laws. All but two had cruised before (on a mix on Carnival, Princess, RCCL, HAL and Cunard) but only one on NCL (the NORWAY). Most of us traveled together on Carnival Destiny for Christmas 98 with our children, so many of our comparisons was with DESTINY in mind. We went on Norwegian Sea primarily for a change of pace, departing out of Houston. We were all traveling from different parts of Canada so proximity to Houston or Miami wasn't a big issue. We all traveled on our own, with flights out of Thunder Bay, Detroit and Syracuse. One group also drove down for a mix of business and vacation. We arrived in Houston on the day before our flight and stayed overnight in LaPorte, which is near the port. Nothing fancy in LaPorte, but it is close to the terminal and there are a number of stores nearby to stock up on those last minute items. We found liquor prices there are better than Duty-Free. As this trip was a bit of a reunion, we didn't go into Houston on Sat ni, but did go down to Kemah, which is about 5 miles south of LaPorte which is a great collection of restaurants, bars and shops. It is popular, and therefore busy, but fun nonetheless. There appeared to be three chain-style hotels within a ¼ mile of each other in LaPorte: Best Western, Comfort Suites, and La Quinta. We stayed at LaQuinta - it was fair, but we weren't expecting or demanding much from that overnight. If you're looking for a large, upscale hotel, you'd probably have to move further away from the port and closer to Houston. We took a cab to the terminal, I forget the amount but cheap. The group that drove down to Houston drove to the airport and parked their car there, I think it was $7/day. They asked to park at the hotel (La Quinta) but the staff wasn't interested, nor would they allow them to leave additional business suitcases in a storage room. If you're looking for the big cruise terminal/panorama photo experience go to Miami. I say that only because the ship and terminal are located in an industrial port area. That being said, the Houston terminal only had to unload and load one ship while we were there, the Norwegian Sea, and they do a good job. Because the one member of our group had traveled on NCL before, and was a Latitudes member, he made all our cruise bookings. This didn't get us any better bargain, but did prove handy when it came time to board the ship. The waiting area didn't seem that big, but we didn't stay in there long enough to watch it fill up. From what we could tell, first to board are the wedding parties. Next to board are the Latitudes members. We were worried that only the Latitudes member and his wife would get early boarding, but they allowed all of us to board together. The catch is, you board so early that you don't go straight to your room, as it might not be made up yet. If you're looking for free welcome aboard drinks, don't hold your breath. They do escort you direct to the buffet to eat. We arrived and turned in our tickets at the terminal at 11:45. At 12:20 we were eating in the dining room. A couple of other notes on boarding, if anyone needs a wheelchair to board, walk isn't too long but does involve a long up ramp, the staff were very helpful in arranging for wheelchairs. Second point, checking in early does not mean that you get your luggage early. Some suitcases arrived before supper and some arrived after supper. Miscellaneous. There are a number of various critique points raised by various members in our group and I'll put them here (before going into the standard categories) rather than leave them for the end of the review so it doesn't finish off on a negative tone: -The NCL liquor police checked and confiscated liquor on an inconsistent basis. We had someone bring a tequila bottle on board when returning at night from Cozumel and the next day when returning in the afternoon they confiscated a bottle (returning it on the day prior to return in Houston). -If you have something fragile you wish to bring aboard or take home, suggest putting it in a hard side suitcase. This is based on previous trips and re-confirmed on this trip based on our observation of luggage handling operations while we were boarding the ship. -If you're looking for a laundry room or a room with an ironing board think again - not on this ship. -If you understand from the NCL brochures that there is a sports celebrity on each ship think again. They are only on specific cruises. -Latitudes Member only events seem to be "sandwiched" into tight timings when guests have other things that they would likely be doing. -Scheduling of events should be much better to avoid conflicts. One example of this was that to win a jewelry prize from the ship store, you had to be present for the draw (one member for the family was not acceptable). Generally we didn't have any complaint with this procedure but when they schedule it in the middle of the early supper on a Formal Night it didn't make sense to us. We generally found that on several occasions there was more than one popular event that many passengers wanted to attend but they were scheduled at the same time, when moving the schedule a little here and there would have accommodated the majority of people. We realize that there are many activities to coordinate on board but if this is your bread and butter, we're sure that the cruise director or someone at corporate HQ can figure it out. -Pool activities. There could have been more fun activities by the pool. -Temperature in public rooms. Many in our group found the temperature in the dining room and large entertainment rooms to be very cool and would recommend bringing a sweater or shawl. -Some in our group had read reviews suggesting that this cruise out of Houston was oriented entirely towards Texans. We never found this to be the case and everyone seemed equally welcome. -For a ship that came into service in 88 and was refurbished in 98, this ship seems to look much older than that. Can't put a finger exactly on what made us feel that way, but we were all in agreement on this. The good news is that apparently it went to dock for refurbishing again end-Jan 2000, so hopefully it will look much better when that work is complete. -Understand that if you want no smoking there is only one ship offering that at this time. That being said we didn't find that smoke was much of a problem on this ship and NCL does separate the seating areas into smoking and non-smoking in the secondary entertainment areas (main shows are smoke free). -Although there were very few children on this cruise (perhaps less than 20?), and none of us had our children aboard to participate in the program, the room for kids didn't seem that appealing except for very young children. That being said, perhaps the activities for older children were in other locations. Cabins. We all had outside cabins of varying types. One group had 4 adults share a room with two uppers and two lower berths. Cabins on this ship were much smaller than inside cabins on Destiny. The four adults in our group that were "roomies" together managed to get through the week, getting dressed, showered etc., without problem. A little bit of coordination and consideration was all that was required. The cabin bathrooms were small but functional. That includes the shower. There was no problem stowing the luggage and the group with 4 adults simply had their cabin steward hide a couple big pieces and bring them back on the night before departure. One complaint by all was that the cabins needed new mattresses. Ironically those that slept in the upper berths had the best mattresses - due to lack of use we presumed. One tip for those bringing their own appliances (read hair dryer + curler for those using both) - if you have a dual voltage appliance, bring an adaptor. You can use normal 110V appliances but there is also a 220V outlet on the table by the makeup mirror that is available if you can use it. Elevators. Four people is the limit. This could be a challenge for those who require wheelchair access and/or are in cabins lower in the ship. The good news is that when you take the stairs you can get a good view outside on each landing via the large windows. Dining. Bookings had been made for the nine of us to eat together. When we checked we found that we were split up between two tables. Two in our group went to see the maitre'D and he essentially said that the only table for ten available was the Captain's table, when it was suggested that would do, he laughed and said nothing doing. On the first night we ate in our assigned tables. After that another member of our group approached the maitre D. Next thing you know we are now assigned to the Captain's table. As I understand it, there is a reserved Captain's table in each Dining Room so the Captain can float back and forth between table and early/late sittings as he wishes. We could only presume that the Captain obviously didn't use his table, in our dining room, at our sitting. So, while the maitre D gets bonus points for moving us to an appropriate table, he lost those points when first approached by telling us that he couldn't move us. All in all a tip neutral event. In summary, our experience was check your eating assignment immediately and continue to push for what you had asked. There were plenty of empty smaller tables, but sorting out larger groups can be more difficult. While in the Dining Room review section, may as well move onto Food. Food was good, but not great, but then you try to serve that many gourmet meals at the same time. Most of us had better meals when ordering beef rather than fish or specialty items. I suppose if you want really "hot" food, you need to go for a smaller, more upscale ship. OK, back to the basics - we didn't do the cooking, do the serving, or do the cleaning, so from that perspective food was just fine thank you. Reviewing food is subjective, so we'll leave it at that. Our biggest complaint was in food service, most of it not the fault of the actual servers. We found it odd that the waiter and busboy weren't "paired up", as has been our experience on other ships. Here one busboy was serving two, sometimes more waiters. This made it difficult for the waiter and busboy to coordinate our orders and requests. They also seemed to have to serve more tables than they could adequately handle. Again, no real complaint about the level of dedication by those serving, but they were being asked to do cover too many tables. Our waiter was a very chatty and personable man, and although he did a good job, he did not take the same pride in his work as compared to the professionalism we have seen in waiters on other ships. Our busboy never stopped working - see previous comments about having to work with more than one waiter. I guess our only critique for him was that he must have been too busy to be able to smile now and again. One tip for new cruisers - try to arrive on time for served meals, although you may wish to wait 5 min for the initial line to dissipate and then head in to the dining room. We watched a number of people repeatedly come into the dining room 30-40 min late and then try to get through all the courses. If you're having a good time elsewhere and don't want to rush to eat, take your time and eat at the buffet. On the other hand if you do wish to enjoy your meal in the Dining Room, you'll make it easier for your waiter if you can be there on time. Dining room was always loud. Food on Deck. Breakfast on the Lido Deck was good - in particular the made-to order omelettes. Other snacks/meals we had here were inconsistent, some were terrific but then on other days you couldn't even get a decent burger. We ate most lunch and supper meals in the dining room. Compared to other ships, we found the pizza and ice cream hours of operation were very limited. Food at Midnight Buffet. We thought this was a victory of form over substance. In particular we were disappointed with the Chocoholic buffet, where all the desserts looked outstanding, but most had a bland taste. Understand that others may have a different opinion, but this was our view. Food at Le Bistro. All of us managed to make it to the Bistro for supper over various nights. This dining room is on the top of the ship by the stern and provides a great view. We found the food to be slightly better than the main dining room but not a great deal so. The chocolate fondue dessert they serve was terrific. One of the best aspects about dining at the Bistro is that it is much quieter than the main dining rooms. We were a bit disappointed in the fact that service there is quick. Hoping to enjoy a more relaxed and longer dinner in the Bistro we found that the courses arrived quite rapidly, making for a meal not much longer than the usual meal in the Dining room. If it is your intention to take your time while eating, make sure that you tell your waiter, whom in the end you tip $5 for each person dining. Mexican Night. One of the better food/entertainment nights was the Mexican theme deck party, on the night we left Cozumel. It featured good entertainment, dancing and a good Mexican late-night buffet by the pool. Don't forget to do the dollar dance. Gambling. Those in our group who look forward to this aspect of the cruise were a little disappointed in the casino. They had hoped for such activities as slot machine and blackjack tournaments, and if they took place on the ship, they never heard about it. They also found the cost of Bingo a bit pricey. Sports Afloat Program. Most of us participated in various aspects of this program. During the week there are selected sports activities and if you participate you get one ticket. At the end of the week for every ten tickets you can get a NCL Sports Afloat T-shirt. All T-shirts are XL. They have a meeting on this in the fitness center on the first night and provide a handout listing what the week's activities will be. You can participate in this program at your own level and at your own speed. It is really more about participation and meeting other people rather than a heavy-duty aerobic workout. To illustrate this, I think the couple that received the most T-shirts (three each) was Betty and Wayne who were 50+. The most common activity is the one-mile walk around the ship (at your own pace) followed by Stretch and Relax. Each one of those provides a ticket and they did that every day at 8:00 am. There was also a walk each afternoon between 4 and 5 pm. On the day we were in Cozumel they dropped the 8am walk but organized a walk from the ship into the center of town (same one-mile distance). Other activities included Ping-Pong tournament, basketball free throws, horseshoe toss, step aerobics, and boxercise to name a few. Again people of all ages participated in both aerobics and boxercise, but do so at their own level. Probably the most fun was the Wacky and Wild Olympics. If you do decide to participate in this program, figure out early what your T-shirt goal is going to be. Some in our group were not impressed when they were asked by other group members to attend some extra sports activities at the end of the week to help get "just one more T-shirt" in pursuit of the ever-increasing T-shirt quest. Spa. If you want a massage, go on the spa tour on Day one (free champagne served) and sign up. One person in our group went for a massage on Day Two and overheard someone working in the spa on the receiving end of a phone call from a new bride who was quite bitter and indignant that there were no massage appointments left to be had that week. Apparently her comment before slamming down the phone was "you just get me an appointment". Don't know what happened in the end. Our recommendation would be to go on the tour on Day One, get a free drink, and sign up if that is what you want. Art Auctions. Several of us attended these events, initially for something to do, and eventually some did make some purchases. Art is rather subjective and people buy what they like - simple as that. We can't say how the prices on the ship compare to what you'd pay on land. Some of the prices did drop as the week went on, with silent auctions and the like. The man running the auctions, Paul, was very entertaining, even for those of us who had no intention of making a purchase. Cancun. Many in our group were sitting in the art auction when the Captain made the announcement that due to the rough seas we wouldn't be going to Cancun and we would proceed to Cozumel. This was the fourth week in a row that this had happened. The seas made no difference to the ship as far as we could tell, but would make life very unpleasant on the smaller tenders from the ship to shore. I was ecstatic when this announcement was made (having absolutely no interest in going to Cancun) but as there were several people in the room who had made tour purchases and were disappointed, I kept my comments to myself. All tour monies were refunded. Around 3 pm that afternoon, when we were about ½ way between Cancun and Cozumel, they made the general announcement that at the bars on the open decks they would be serving draught beer and rum punches free for the next hour. I guess that was to try and minimize the disappointment for not going to Cancun. Not sure that did much for those that had their heart set on Cancun, or those that didn't drink alcohol. On the other hand, for those of us that didn't want to go to Cancun and did drink, it was a win-win situation. Cozumel. Most passengers were happy with the opportunity to spend a night in Cozumel partying without having to worry about leaving to get on the ship. If you think passengers were happy, the crew is even more so. Not necessarily because they can get off and shop or party, but also it gives them lots of time to find a phone and call family or friends in distant lands - calling on board ship just too expensive. We didn't find a lot of great bargains in Cozumel on jewelry, but there were some good inexpensive souvenirs to be had. On the next full day ½ of our group went to PLAYA Del SOL and ½ went to Chankanab Beach - we just used local taxis, no ship tours. PLAYA DEL SOL has Jet skis, banana boats, beach, showers and change rooms. Chankanab Park is a popular spot for snorkeling and SCUBA diving - you can rent all the equipment on site fairly cheaply. If you can find a chair, it is free (go early or late to do this). The showers are free but if you want you can rent a locker for $2. Some in our group got lucky and found some people looking for a locker as they were leaving so they resold them their key for $1 so both groups got a deal. There are some enterprising underwater photographers that will take your picture as you are surrounded by colourful fish (photographer provides fish food seconds before he snaps photo). The photos will be developed and are for sale at the point where you get on/off buses and taxis at the entrance to the park. Unfortunately some in our group wanted to try and buy a couple of these photos but the photographer couldn't find the roll that he used to take our pictures. If you want to do this, make sure you do so at least 45 min before you depart the park as they need that time to get back, develop and print etc., If you want to try something different, just take one of the many timeshare resorts sellers up on their offer. There are plenty of these operators around downtown and they will provide you a free taxi to/from a fancy hotel, free lunch, free souvenir blankets, maybe even some free tequila ? - all you have to do is be prepared to listen to a sales pitch. We didn't do this but if you want a free meal and souvenir it's an option. Based on the fact that the ship regularly misses Cancun and goes straight to Cozumel, recommend that you have a plan of what your shopping/beach/party activities in Cozumel will be if you arrive a day early. Roatan. Clearly the most underdeveloped port of call, it does have some good resorts also. The "market" is a few hundred feet from the dock is actually a collection of small huts, approximately 10' x 20' that sell various hand made souvenirs, mahogany wood crafts, blankets, T-shirts, knick-knacks, etc., We found that they weren't really interested in bargaining to any large degree. Don't think that walking beyond these shacks will bring you to a downtown with bigger and better shops - some of us did that expecting to see something better "just around the next corner" - nothing doing. You will get a good idea of the poor living conditions they have, but you won't find any souvenir type shops. In the afternoon we found a taxi (van) on our own - no ship tour- to take us to a resort called Fantasy Island. You can go to this resort, and use their chairs and beach at no cost. This was a very quiet place and apparently there was some snorkeling there but we didn't find it. Frankly we just found a nice beach with chairs, dropped anchor (cooler) and spent the afternoon right there. We later discovered that when we went back to the parking lot at the arranged time to meet our taxi that he spent the afternoon in the parking lot. As advertised in other reviews - don't forget the bug spray for this stop. Entertainment. We found the shows to be very good. Even the adult show was quite funny and less risqué than some of the regular entertainment that we saw on Destiny. The Cruise Director Paul and his Assistant, Ritch, were great. Tisa (a member of the Cruise Director staff) gets top marks for going out of her way to talk to passengers all day long throughout the cruise. She would always go find a table and talk to passengers while the other staff would hang out together. The trivia, Wheel of fortune and other games shows hosted by the Cruise Director and his staff were terrific - some better than the evening shows. We were all impressed by the girl in the audience seated beside us who would have made a great contestant on the real Wheel of Fortune TV show. When she guessed "Statue of Liberty" before one letter was turned we knew she had missed her calling. Photos. Overall we were all disappointed with the photographers and quality of pictures. First tip; if you have a large group of people (over 6) make an appointment if you wish to have a group picture taken together. On Destiny we had a group shot of 11 people taken on a formal night on a staircase with no problem in about 2-3 minutes. On this ship they won't even talk to you if there are more than 6 in a group. Too many people, no room, too hard etc., So if you want a group picture, make an appointment. When we tried to re-order a casual group shot taken on the deck when departing Houston, they misplaced the photo/negative for about 4 days. We found prices to be higher on this ship than Carnival and the quality was certainly no better. Tip Two - take a close look at what the background will be for your formal photos - if you don't like the background when you're standing there, if won't look any better on a 5x7 or 8x10. Tip Three. Bring a zip loc bag, big enough for 8x10 photos. Once your photos start showing up in the photo gallery, grab them and put them in your zip loc bag, and then leave them in the photo gallery. Do this each day and on the day before returning, go through what you want. If you don't you'll spend a lot of time trying to track down your photos later in the week as they need to put the early ones aside from time to time to make room for new ones. Disembarkation. OK, enough with poor comparisons to Destiny. NCL wins this one hands down. We were called for disembarkation at 8:30 and were standing outside the terminal with our luggage at 8:45. If part of that is due to the fact that it is a smaller ship, than so be it. This ran very smoothly, even though we non-US residents had to get up a little earlier for some additional clearances. Only minor gripe was that when we were up early for these clearances, they put out coffee while you waited and you could have it any way you wanted it, provided you didn't want any cream/milk or sugar. Conclusion. All cruises are good cruises. They vary with the people you meet and what sort of attitude you bring with you. We enjoyed our cruise but for our next trip we'll be going on Carnival Paradise to Eastern Caribbean in May. Please contact us if you have any questions.