We will never go on Norwegian Cruise Line. Overall it was extremely disappointing. Alaska was beautiful and we had fun together with our family. We had such a better experience on Royal Caribbean a couple years earlier it apparently set the bar high.
Embarkation
3 out of 5
It went fairly smooth boarding
Ship experiences
Food and Dining
1 out of 5
The main dining rooms and free dining were extremely slow every meal. It would take 2-3 hours to have a meal. The food was not that great. Most the time we just went to the buffet if we didn’t want to listen to our kids complaining and get restless. We got the feeling they almost did it on purpose to direct more people to the Buffett. We have had much better service and food on Royal Caribbean. It was very disappointing to be on a newer ship and be so disappointed.
The Manhattan Room - Main Dining Room
1 out of 5
We tried 2 times for dinner. 2 1/2 hours and 3 1/2 hours. They were busy but not full. They were so slow they would apologize and bring us extra drinks and bread. We were literally dally asleep at the tables. The kids were so over it. The the food was nothing fancy. The staff was friendly it felt so bad for the Making excuses for everyone else.
Sugarcane Mojito Bar
1 out of 5
The virgin Mojitos were amazing! This was directly under our balcony room # 9234. When you walk down our hallway when they have live music you can hear the words and feel the base on the floor. It was very poor planning putting rooms above all these bars on floor 8. I called and complained 2 nights. The one they stopped at 10 pm. The other was during the day my husband went to take a nap our rooms was rocking. The other I finally fell asleep about midnight. They did say they would work on it and have us a bottle of wine and 4 chocolate covered strawberries. ( it was nice but we don’t drink wine)
The Observation Lounge
5 out of 5
This was our favorite spot to meet get buffet food and eat without a heard of rude people and relax.
Cagney's Steakhouse
5 out of 5
This was our only amazing meal on the entire cruise. The food was great, the service was good and quick. Sad it was only my husband and I and not our entire family.
Onboard Activities
1 out of 5
The pools are filled with Salt water which sucks. Only 1 kid pool and 1 adult pool not enough for everyone. 4 hot tubs is all in that area as well. They were always full. The water slide was cool but the were so slow to hand out tubes and seemed like we waited in line freezing in the breeze waiting to go down the slide. We saw in port the Joy has a tube elevator. Very smart! The other water slide was closed the first few days it was broken. When they opened it people including my family got stuck to in the tube and had to use the escape hatches to get out. The line for this drop slide was even worse. We were disappointed their was a charge for the Laser Tag & Go Carts. Again only able to schedule once each. Got canceled due to rain. Got just the kids rescheduled for laser tag. It was freezing and windy. The go carts with our 530 appointment we didn’t finish until 640 and we only raced 8 laps. It was a lot of dysfunction and employees and things In place that did not flow well. The mini golf is hidden once you get to it there is only 1 way to get to it but it is the wrong way. We literally had to walk in front of everyone interrupt their game then realized we had to walk back thru to grab putters and balls. No signs seriously ridiculous.
Bliss Speedway
1 out of 5
The race track is cool but disappointed they charge to race. Only able to schedule it once. Had hoped it would not rain on us. We had a 5:30 apt. By the time we got safety trained put in the car sat there forever got helmets on and raced 8 laps it was 640pm. It was fun but not worth 1 hour and 10 minutes. There has got to be a better smoother way to run the groups they faster.
Laser Tag
1 out of 5
We feel it is Ridiculous they charge to play. It gets canceled if it rains which we did. Only able to reschedule just the kids. It was cold a windy the day they played. They had fun but it was a long wait despite the appointment time we had.
Entertainment
3 out of 5
He Jersey Boys cast and show was amazing. The comic was pretty funny. The rest of the musical talent was not great. Pretty disappointed overall.
Children's Programs
4 out of 5
The younger kids enjoyed it.
Service and Staff
3 out of 5
The staff was all friendly and nice. We were extremely disappointed in the service/ time it took for each meal. We thought it would be better with the freedom dinning but it made a bigger mess with getting to shows and eating.
Ship Quality
4 out of 5
The ship was nice. It was clean. Not sure why they put the Mojito bar on floor 8 underneath a suite room with a balcony on floor 9!!! We had to call 3 times about the noise and base of the music below us we couldn’t go to sleep at night. We could clearly hear the words from the music and our floor was vibrating.
Cabin / Stateroom
3 out of 5
The cabin was nice. Having a bunk bed made a lot more space for us. We were happy with our balcony and room. I was thrilled to have a bath tub and loved that I could fill it and enjoy a nice bath.
Ship tip
Be prepared to walk a lot of steps the elevators suck!
Juneau was beautiful but we only had a few hours. It took Forever to get off the ship and get a taxi to our Kyak rentals. We simply did not have enough time.
We took the Train excursion. We met at the proper time in the Bliss Theatre for our NCL excursion. They did not let us off the ship early enough we were running to the train and the employees were irritated the ship did not get us off. We were supposed to leave at 8 am our train didn’t pull out until 830am. We enjoyed the town but unable to book any other tours they were full.
We did not have enough time in any of the ports. It was frustrating we were always the last ship into port as well. We booked this trip last minute after our son was in the hospital and sick all summer. A lot of the excursions were full. We put the boys on a cancellation list for Halibut fishing. The night before they got in. They had a great time but the guides said that NCL never fills up their boats and they frequently hear they turn people away yet they have room on their boats. So now I wonder if we missed out just because of their computer system. We had a great time but again not enough time at port.
We pull into the port as the sun sets. They offer tours that later we heard complaints of it being to dark. We got off the ship 815pm waited in huge lines to get off and have to be back by 1130pm. Had a quick tour but really was a lot of work for a couple of hours.
We paid for a transfer to make it easier to get to the airport. The line was huge and slow. We should of just cut our losses and paid for an Uber instead. It was ridiculous how many of us were waiting for the buses.
Sorry you didn’t enjoy your cruise. Venues are closed for your safety. If they didn’t & something happened to you or your children you’d be even more upset. For any cruise line do your research on what is offered & what the cost may be. It’s always laid out on their websites. They also show the deck plans of each ship to help you decide the best location for your cabin
I would suggest actually researching your cruise next time. Charges for the racetrack and laser tag are clearly noted on the site. Likewise the port times are listed.
It seems like cruising may not be for you. Many of the complaint you list are common across all cruise lines. Most people love it, but it’s not for everyone. A one-way itinerary to or from Vancouver will give you much more time in each port than a round-trip cruise from Seattle
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