I was pleasantly surprised how much I enjoyed my first cruise. Not having experienced the age of cruising that didn't require reservations for everything or a cruise line where everything was included I was generally happy with the experience for the price of this cruise. The meals and entertainment at home alone would have cost as much as I paid per day.
I can also see how some people don't like the big ships, because you likely won't see the same people over and over and won't make the same friendships like you would on a smaller ship or a cruise where you get seated with the same people for dining each day. I guess I don't know what I'm missing just yet.
Embarkation
5 out of 5
Embarking in Vancouver was easy and painless. Dropped off the luggage, got checked in, and then wandered around the city for a few hours before going through security to board.
Ship experiences
Food and Dining
5 out of 5
Never having been on a cruise I had low expectations for the food. We ate at the buffet a few times, which wasn't bad, but what stood out was the food at the complimentary restaurants. I was surprised at how quick the service was and how the food always arrived hot and well presented. The friendliness of the waitstaff did vary a lot. They were all quick and attentive, but some really were friendly and personable while others seemed quite distant.
Onboard Activities
5 out of 5
There's so much to do on this ship. I never felt like I had the amount of downtime I had expected to have on a cruise.
The go-karts were a lot of fun, but the wait, even with a reservation was longer than I expected (about 1 hour). And driving them is like driving on the road, there will be that person that tests your patience by driving slow right in the middle of the track so it's extremely difficult to pass them.
The putt putt golf was fun, but isn't very long and depending how the wind is blowing will leave you smelling the exhaust from the ships engines.
There are 4 ping pong tables and usually at least 1 or 2 of them were free when we wanted to play. And if you're up for some entertainment wait for the drunken people to play.
I really liked the bowling, but NCL does like to charge for things and this one was $6 a game per person. We played once and I would have loved playing more, but that's kind of steep for a game that you'll most likely finish in 5 minutes if one person plays on one lane and the other on the second one.
The gym was also very well equipped and everything I used was in good condition and clean.
Entertainment
4 out of 5
Loved the comedy shows! Even though the reservations were already taken I was able to get in each time if I got in the standby line about 30 minutes before the show. The theatrical shows were also very well done and although we had reservations there appeared to be a decent amount of seats open if someone on standby wanted to get in.
Service and Staff
3 out of 5
Our room steward was very friendly and would greet us every morning and leave beautiful towel art on our bed in the evenings.
Some of the other staff was of vary degrees of friendliness. Sometimes we'd have someone excellent in the restaurant one evening and the next someone who really didn't have much of a personality. Same with the bar staff. There were a couple who were friendly and outgoing, but most were just pushing the drinks.
Ship Quality
5 out of 5
I found at peak times you'd generally need to wait a bit at the forward elevators. I finally just got used to taking the stairs more often than not, since we usually only went 3-4 floors up or down from our room to go to the places we wanted to go. The common areas were generally quite clean and service items were generally taken away pretty quickly aside from the people who'd leave glasses randomly around the stairs or other areas where you wouldn't expect them to be.
Aside the rush after a show or the buffet in a morning before coming into a port I never felt an overwhelming crush of people.
Cabin / Stateroom
5 out of 5
The room and bathroom was much more spacious than I would have expected. It's pretty far forward, so it's a little bit of a walk from the elevator though.
Ship tip
Make your reservations for attractions as soon as you get on the ship. The Observation Lounge is a fantastic place to relax and usually is fairly quiet.
I've visited this city many times before and always love it. So much to do in the city and the Sky Train makes it easy to get around the city. If you're a nature person and love mountains there are so many good places to go outside the city, but even Stanley Park right near downtown is a fantastic place to go for an urban hike in a beautiful park.
We just spent the hours in port exploring the touristy area near the Empress Hotel. Then rented a scooter for a couple hours and rode up along the coast and through some of the neighborhoods.
Our time in this city got cut short, because of delays in disembarking on the NCL Bliss (almost 4 hours until we got off) but definitely go to Golden Gate Park and check out the museums there. If you want a great view of downtown Delores Park is a must visit location.
Disembarking in Victoria and Los Angeles was pretty fast and painless. In SF, our first port back in the US where we had to clear customs, it took almost 4 hours for us to get off the ship. I'm not sure what issue happened there, but with only 9 hours in port in a city with so much to see that left us feeling disappointed. We also go back to the ship early in case embarkation in that port was equally painful.
*Cruiseline.com is not a booking agent or travel agency,
and does not charge any service fees to users of our site. Our partners
(travel agencies and cruise lines) provide prices, which we list for our
users' convenience. Cruiseline.com does not guarantee any specific rates or
prices. While prices are updated daily, please check with the booking site
for the exact amount. Cruiseline.com is not responsible for content on
external web sites.
Contact us
Submitting...
Need help from a personal vacation planner?
Loading...
Find the perfect cruise with weekly tips and cruise deals for as little as $30/night!
Sign up for weekly cruise deals
Join other subscribers and get the best
cruise deals of the week in your inbox every Thursday.
