Amenities for the lucky few

Well, as a teacher we're told to start out with the positive so...A to entertainment, if you were lucky enough to get it (who knew reservations are supposed to made at complimentary events). A to cleanliness of ship. B to food in common areas. A if you pay more for upgraded restaurants. Bar staff, especially in the Atrium, were excellent. Wait staff were much better in the upgraded restaurants. The excursion staff followed their own agenda even though it was opposite of our request (fail)! Why poor rating if mostly good service? Not enough ship for the number of passengers. You get closed out of everything complimentary. You can't find a chair anywhere you want to be. If there's a band, the 100 seats are being saved. If it's by the pool, forget about it. I never got a toe near the pool as its capacity overflowed at under 100. With 5,000 passengers on board you had to pay extra to breathe. We paid $400 extra to gain access to spa pool, which sufficed at getting us wet but became unbearably rowdy with the echo the last few days as no one enforces rules anywhere on the ship. We even paid for a dinner one night when we ate at a complimentary restaurant because they added a section to the menu that isn't included. Of course no one told us until we inquired about the check at the end of the meal. Beware. If you're over 40 you can't read the menu let alone the fine print. Out of 7 days we got off the ship only twice. We couldn't early morning tender at the private island because NCL's spot wasn't as calm as the Royal Caribbean's spot who managed their tender that morning just fine. Nassau being an hour away would have been a nice fix to this problem but they drove in circles until 6pm so they didn't incur an additional charge above the 24 hour slot that was already scheduled. A glorious day stuck in a heated spa pool after a near stampede exit from the auditorium where they were holding the 200+ people scheduled for excursions when the cancelation was announced. Not to worry the cruise director got out in a flash. Overall, the price we paid for a chance at a vacation was too high only made ridiculous after the extra costs. I want my spring break back! D+