Misrepresentation of Excursion - (And be careful or you may get sick!)

While the cruise overall was very good, the excursion was extremely disappointing. This review will focus on that excursion and why you should NOT take it! The excursion was the Shipwreck & Coral Reef Snorkel Combo.

The description of this excursion is a COMPLETE MISREPRESENTATION – DON’T WASTE YOUR MONEY OR YOUR TIME! On a gorgeous day, we were informed by the captain of the catamaran Aristocat that “about 75% of you wouldn’t make it because the waters are too rough today” so the trip to the sunken boat for snorkeling was off. Possibly, but not probably true. I live on the Atlantic Ocean and understand the perils of rough water, but the day we were booked did not appear to be so. However, I gave him the benefit of the doubt. The captain then stated that this happens about “50% of the time”. Not great odds to make it! So he stated that NCL would refund our money (as long as we signed the back of the ticket so we couldn’t go back on it after we saw what a disappointment the excursion would turn out to be); or we could go with him and he would take us just to the reef. Also, to make up for the missing piece of the excursion, he would take us sailing. And instead of one cocktail – the rum swizzles would be unending. We decided to go because we had already scheduled our whole day around this mid-afternoon trip and figured he would be as good as his word. He wasn’t. The reef was just around the bend from where our ship was docked. There was a small stretch of beach, a few rocks, some manmade concrete walls, and very, very few fish, about 10% of what I have seen on other snorkeling excursions. The sailing trip back to the ship amounted to turning off the engine and only putting up the small front sail rather than the main sail and following the exact same path back to the ship, just at a slower pace. While the drinks were unending as promised, there was next to no alcohol in them. Plus, (as a nurse this really concerned me), the initial drinks had ice in them. When you returned for a second drink, the captain simply tipped the cup over into a big cooler of ice so that our already germy ice fell back into the cooler. Then he put the same cup back in to re-scoop ice so that everyone’s old ice, and cups that their lips had been all over, were all mixed together. Herpes, respiratory infection, norovirus  anyone??? Afterwards I did speak to two people on board Norwegian. I expressed that I understood I had signed the back of the card and wouldn’t be entitled to reimbursement but that I felt they should know about this shore excursion that their company recommends. One person referred me to another who completely blew me off. Eventually he stated that someone would be in touch with me the next day to at least discuss my concerns but no one ever did. DON’T WASTE YOUR MONEY ON THIS EXCURSION. I really wish we had just rented scooters or jet skis. We would have gotten a lot more for our money. This excursion is a rip-off!!!