I'm sure this cruise would be a completely different experience in spring or summer. Next time, winter departure from FL and go more south! First time on NCL and overall a good experience with the kids and large group we were travelling with. Beverage package well worth it! Price point was a great value and overall a good time!
Embarkation
3 out of 5
Confusing luggage drop off. Wasn't even sure they worked there yet they demanded tips for throwing your luggage on a cart! Long line ups inside but pleasant check in person.
Ship experiences
Food and Dining
3 out of 5
Since seating was limited to indoors, there was definitely not enough spaces. We enjoyed the food at both buffet and restaurants since we spent a lot of time indoors! The restaurants were good but service was quite slow. The 3 restaurants, Taste, Savor and Manhattan pretty much had the same menu, just different dining area. The 2 other complementary restaurants, Noodle bar and O'Sheehan's had very limited seating and saw service. Very limited for late night snacks.
Onboard Activities
3 out of 5
Kids loved the rock climbing wall and sports Complex. As the weather was mostly cold/windy except for 2 days, the kids really loved the arcade($$$$). Unfortunately, the age range of the kids club was so large and my 2 kids were at the top end(9 and 12), oldest in each age category, they DID NOT enjoy the club at all. We have been on other cruise lines where the activities were more age appropriate and the kids never wanted to leave. We found ourselves trying to entertain the kids with indoor activities...not easy with no spaces!!
Entertainment
3 out of 5
Limited complementary shows but ok.
Children's Programs
2 out of 5
The kids groups ranged from 6-9, 10-12 and 13-17. My 9 year old complained that they were playing "baby" games even though there were an even amount of all ages in her group. Rolling the ball to each other on the floor is NOT Dodge ball!! Needless to say, she didn't go back! Usually, I can't get them to leave the kids club...this was not the case. Same for my pre-teen....not age appropriate at all. Don't think I'd want her in the teen category either...huge age gap between a 13 year old and a 17 year old!!!
Service and Staff
4 out of 5
Most of the time, the staff was very accomodating and pleasant considering many passengers were grumpy from the weather and missed stop.
Ship Quality
3 out of 5
Ship was fairly clean and we was well maintained. The "dirty areas" were mainly from sloppy, inconsiderate passengers leaving their garbage in stairwells or on the floor
not a fan of the ships layout....everything at either ends of the boat. Center area was too small and confined. The Casino was basically a passage way that really didn't make sense.
Cabin / Stateroom
4 out of 5
Balcony cabin was a good size, was clean and spaces were used well. Balcony was a bit on the small side.
Ship tip
Thought the NCL app was brilliant at first but lacked some functionality. Very handy to have schedule, billing and activities accessible on app. For 9.99 per device, you could call or txt other devices on board. This would have been amazing however, it was spotty at best. Messages were delayed and calls rarely connected. Line up at guest services was always too long to go complain. $30 later...perhaps I should have.
Since we were not able to go to GSC, we docked at Nassau the evening before. We great to explore a little and arrange the next day. We were able to take the time to find out that instead of the more known beaches like Cabbage and Cable where the waves were violent, we found a beautiful quiet inlet beach, Montague.
Same comments on the weather for us last year when cruised out of NYC on the Breakaway in April. We still had a great time, but a warmer time of year would have meant more folks on the pool deck and less everywhere else.
NYC departures stink until after May. Too cold the first and last 2 days. I still like a dummy do it just so I don't have to deal with the other travel issues.
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