Well, my husband & I managed to accomplish the almost impossible! We went on a cruise without our kids! Since my youngest was born (now 11 years old) my husband and I have had 2 (not a typo: TWO) night away from both of our children at the SAME TIME! I travel without the family for work but I sleep comfortable knowing my husband is with them. But my husband never goes out of town without our kids.

We DESERVED this!

Luckily I found a Norwegian Cruise to Nowhere, aboard Norwegian Dawn, which happened to be the last Cruise to Nowhere for not just Norwegian but for ALL cruise lines. The federal government put a stop to these effectively at the end of this year. There are pros and cons to going on a short cruise but more about that later.

I’m spoiled, I LOVE Carnival Cruise Lines!! I mean, L-O-V-E them. So going on another cruise line is not something I take lightly. The main reason I booked this cruise is it practically fell on my lap. Well, not really. I saw the cruise dates almost a year ago and thought this might be the perfect opportunity to get away for a couple days and not worry about the kids missing school plus it was out of New Orleans plus it was priced at under $150 per person which is not bad for an all inclusive 2 nights/3 days getaway.

More About Norwegian Cruise Lines

If you are not familiar with it yet, the Norwegian Cruise Line is a premier cruise line, with a dozen large and modern ships in its fleet. What’s notable about Norwegian Cruise Line is its cruise feature of free-style dining. Historically, shipboard dining is structured by having meals served at preset hours. There are also assigned seating in the dining room with a dress code. Norwegian Cruise Lines offers free-style dining which matches the contemporary American dining lifestyle.

Personally my husband and I enjoy pre-set (early birds for us) dining. We love routine since we are always on the go at home. But for other passengers they might enjoy the fact they can decide where they want to dine, choose from eight to a dozen dining areas on board and also determine what they wish to eat. There are still cafeteria-style dining rooms which offer cafeteria-style already prepared food as well as main dining areas for people who like to be served with menu-based meals and full service wait of staff. The Norwegian Cruise Line also has specialty restaurants on every ship they operate at additional cost.

Norwegian Cruise Lines like other cruise lines offer a full range of on-board activities 24 hours a day. For those who are interested in staying in shape during their vacation cruise, there are fitness centers on board. Me, I enjoy learning about the ship and attending food demos, art and more. There is also the pool area, a source of live entertainment, bars, and lounge and disco areas. Even the cruise’s theater entertainment is also in the overall cruise price.

On this cruise specifically I saw very little kids. Honestly, I doubt people slept while being on this specific cruise. I saw bachelor/ Bachelorette parties, college co-eds….imagine New Orleans at Mardi Gras and we were on one giant Mardi Gras Float! I feel bad for anyone that brought their young children (I’m sure they still had a nice experience) because it was one major party, except for me and my husband who just wanted a relaxing weekend alone.

Rooms are comfortable and well-maintained. Personally, I liked the decor. My husband felt the ship was dated. For me, there was nothing extra special about Norwegian Cruise Lines during our 3 days at sea. Perhaps a 4-5 day cruise might make for a different experience but I didn’t “feel it” this weekend.

We still had a nice experience and weighed the pros & cons of Norwegian versus Carnival: Carnival won fo’ sure! I’ll definitely try Norwegian again, but this time I want to feel the “wow factor”.

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