We have taken probably over 20 cruises. This was the worst experience we had. We could not wait to get off the ship; and that has never happened before. We even skipped the free dinner on the ship before leaving because we wanted to eat real food off the ship. We will not be taken NCL in the future.
Embarkation
1 out of 5
Even though they assigned a 30 min window to check in, we stood in a line OUTSIDE for 1.5 hours.
Ship experiences
Food and Dining
1 out of 5
Almost no food was actually cooked on the ship; even french toast and pancakes were factory made. They did not have enough seating. The "open" seating in the dining room for lunch (no reservations for lunch) was open only between noon and 1:30pm. We showed up at 12:05 and were told that they were full; we went up to the buffet, and we could not find an open table. We went to Local Bar (the only other free food option); they asked if it was OK to put us at a high chair bar counter even though they clearly saw we were with a wheelchaired 91 year old lady.
Onboard Activities
3 out of 5
Entertainment
4 out of 5
The performers (both shows and bands) were all above average for cruises. They did full brown musicals (2 in 5 days). We enjoyed them. However, if you are not into musicals, they are too long. We saw quite a few people leaving after an hour. They came to see a 45 min cruise show and were not expecting a 90 min long musical.
Service and Staff
3 out of 5
Ship Quality
1 out of 5
The ship was clean; that was not a problem. The design of the ship, however, was greatly contributing to how crowded the ship was. As we mentioned at the food section, there were simply not enough seats for everyone to enjoy complimentary meals. There were lines everywhere.
Another major problem was the fact that they made the ship so tall. The ship has 19 floors with the buffet on the 16th floor. The ship has only 2 elevator banks (vs normally 3). Because for most people it is not reasonable to walk up over 10 flights to move around the ship, almost everyone uses elevators. Having only 2 elevator banks, the elevators were packed all the time,
We spent so much time looking for seats, standing in lines, waiting for elevators.
Cabin / Stateroom
4 out of 5
We had a wheelchair accessible room. It was clean and large enough for a wheelchair to move around.
We were so unhappy with the cruise that we requested to disembark when we docked at Vancouver as a "port of call" without waiting till the next morning for official disembarkation. First we had to stand in line at the customer service to do the request. When we were leaving the ship, we still had to wait at the exit for them to process our disembarkation.
I was on the same sailing. We had a great time. But, you're right, it was definitely busy. Buffet needs to stay open later, other dining rooms were slammed with walk-ups. Embarkation was super delayed, but it wasn't NCL's fault it was the Coast Guard. That being said, it was pretty crummy to just make everyone stand outside in a huge line, in full sun, for hours. Families with kids, and older passengers, were really feeling it and it sure didn't start the trip on the right foot.
I think people leaving the musical early was because they had someplace else to be. I've never been to a 45 minute musical, personally. I feel only the reviewer felt it was too long. I think if you have money and time to go on a cruise, you should not expect everything to go your way, and just be grateful to travel by sea.
With the exception of ultra luxury ships, I don’t know if any where all of the passengers can sit down to eat at once. If you go at a popular time, you may have to wait. Go as soon as they start serving if you want to guarantee seating.
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