Expected so much more....

Embarkation was well organized. The lines moved quickly and efficiently.

Overall, the food was good. It wasn't exceptional but then again, you can not expect that with a ship of 4,000 passengers needing to be fed. I always found something to eat and it was tasty. I never walked away disappointed or hungry. The drinks were always spot on. I gave a rating of 3 stars due to the accomadations for gluten free dining. My daughter is 8 years old and has celiac disease which requires a gluten free diet. We found ordering her food to be very stressful. The meals had to be ordered 24 hours in advance. First, no one ever informed us of that. So on the first nigiht and second day, it was quite a surprise to be asked if we pre-ordered. Second, a child does not know what she/he wants for breakfast, lunch, and dinner 24 hours prior. She was pressured to make a decision and it left us with a nervous feeling hoping she would eat what she had ordered the previous day. Lastly, eating at the Garden Cafe was always a problem. There was a limited amount of options that she could have and the staff was not educated at all. Many, unfortunately due to the language barrier couldn't understand what we were asking for. Others, were just not educated about GF options. For example, we went to the ice cream bar and asked for GF options. The gentleman stated there was gluten in all of them. Really, even vanilla? Another time we asked for toast (later in the evening) and another employee stated they didn't have any and proceeded to suggest wheat bread instead!! Day 3 we met with Kent Torrino. Our trip took a turn for the better. He was AMAZING!! He was the one who instructed us to pre-order and made sure all her meals were taken care of. Although Kent was fabulous and really rescued our trip from disaster, we could not believe he did that job alone. The amount of dietary issues among 4,000 guests must be overwhelming. He went so far as to make sure my daughter had a GF cake when celebrating her birthday. I was just expecting a little piece of cake. In summary, I really wish NCL dealt with food restrictions in a much more relaxed way like other cruise lines (RC.) I felt that for a company that promotes 'freestyle dining," there was nothing relaxed or free about it when it came to my daughter's dietary restriction. However, I really hope employees such as Kent Torrino are praised and rewarded for their excellent service. He really did make our trip a little less stressful.

Slides were fun, Kids enjoyed them. The kids pool was VERY small for the amount of children that were on this ship. This was a popular week due to spring break but it was so crowded that may kids didn't even go in. I felt like the Haven was given so much room for the small percentage of the popuation they account for. The Haven pool should really be the adult pool or more of a "solarium quiet pool' the adult pool should be the family pool and the kid pool remain as is.

Entertainment was fabulous. There was a good selection of different style shows.

My kids only used the children's program for an hour on the trip but they seemed well organized and safety was a priority.

Overall, the service was good. Many places we were disappointed and felt service lacked. We had a BBQ lunch onboard instead of the private island. I asked for a gluten free bun and they stated they didn't have any. I requested they go find one! However, I thought to myself, if we were on the private island they couldn't just go up to another restaurant too find it. A similar situation at O'Shanagens (? pardon the spelling) We asked for a burger on a GF bun and the waitress stated she wasn't sure if there were any left. I again explained they would have to find it elsewhere. We felt like we were an inconvenience! Again, Kent Torrino was amazing. I can not praise him enough. Also, on our last night we ate at Cagney's Steakhouse and there was a mix up with our reservation. They were able to arrange for us to get a table. The service that night was phenomenal. They were attentive, friendly, and efficent.

The bathrooms around the ship were well maintained. The layout was fine. Some common areas such as the Atrium got very crowded during shows making it nearly impossible to watch them. I don't find it entertaining to watch shows on a large screen.

Our cabin in itself was fine. It seemed a bit smaller than previous cruises (both NCL & RC.) The problem was out cabin steward, Garfield. On the day we arrived. our room had not been thoroughly cleaned. The underside of the toilet had feces splattered all over it. The floor had not been vacummed and the counter/desk area had only been cleaned on the front side not behind the items like the coffee pot and ice bucket. It's almost like he wiped the front but not behind. I called housekeeping and requested our bathroom be cleaned again. I could live with everything else but not a filthy bathroom. No one came to our room that night. The next day, our room had been vacuumed and "wiped down" but again, the toilet STILL had someone else's feces splattered on the underside. (I have included a picture for reference) We called Guest Services and reported it. They sent us a Supervisor and he came to speak to us regarding the situation. That evening when we returned to the room, it was finally clean. We felt like Garfield did the bare minimum while we were there. My kids looked forward to the towel animals and we only got them 3 days out of the 6 nights. It's not a big deal but it makes a difference when it's missing.

It was quick and efficient.