Okay experience, not wonderful because of the size of the crowds. I really prefer the smaller ships. They have fewer options on board but smaller crowds, and it is easier to get around and take care of your business or activities, and much easier to find parking.
Embarkation
3 out of 5
Enormous crowds, very slow process, but orderly. No provisions for Latitudes passengers--I don't know why they eliminated this feature, which makes our lives so much easier. One caveat: there isn't enough room to park all of those cars in the "Whale" lot beside the ship. The overflow went to Fulton Street, and when that filled up, moved on to the parking garage at the Hilton Hotel. Parking is expensive ($140) and required a taxi ride to and from the Hilton garage, another $30 each way. NCL has not made provisions for the parking requirements of all of these passengers. If you want to park close to the ship, get there before 11:00 a.m., before the "Whale" lot fills up.
Ship experiences
Food and Dining
4 out of 5
Poor service in Taste, average service in Savor and Manhattan, very poor service in O'sheehan's. Food was excellent everywhere except lunch at Savor, where the fried chicken left a lot to be desired.
Onboard Activities
5 out of 5
Didn't use athletic facilities (we're all seniors). We saw elaborate facilities for kids--a zip line and pool--and a lot of other stuff--pool table, ping pong, even bowling.
Entertainment
5 out of 5
Fine quality entertainment, especially Bernie Griffith, guitar player and singer, who was stellar.
Service and Staff
5 out of 5
Excellent except at O'sheehan's, where the service was a disaster because they were under-staffed. that should NEVER happen on a cruise ship, where there are thousand of staff to fill in if someone is indisposed.;
Ship Quality
5 out of 5
Exceptional cleanliness everywhere on board, typical of NCL. They go the extra mile to prevent spread of any kind of infection.
Cabin / Stateroom
4 out of 5
Cabin was well designed, excellent heating A/C system, good shower, plenty of closet space. Smaller cabin than on the older ships, where there are more drawers. We were on the port side. Cabin noise from adjoining cabin was minimal. Engine noise was muffled, didn't cause us to lose sleep. Noise of drumming from band above us was very loud.
Ship tip
Be prepared for huge crowds embarking and disembarking, very crowded elevators, long waits in line for food in Garden Cafe. This is a floating city, of about 5,000 people.
No, because we drove to it from Mississippi. New Orleans has a lot to offer--aquarium, movies, wonderful restaurants, museum, trolley transportation, jazz clubs.
We've been here before. On this cruise, it rained so hard that our excursion was canceled when authorities closed the port to water traffic. But the shopping here is first rate, and the entire area is tourist-oriented, and safe to walk around it, as opposed to other parts of Mexico, where you take your life into your hands if you leave the ship.
Belize City is beautiful and has a "tourist village" along the waterfront with excellent shopping. We went on an airboat lagoon ride and tour of the city, with a great guide and an air-conditioned bus to get us there. Well worth the price, good family excursion, very friendly and well-informed staff. Highly recommend this choice.
This place is gorgeous, like something out of a movie. We went on a glass-bottomed boat excursion which was educational and fun. Saw a lot of fish and corals, with topnotch guide.
Didn't do an excursion. We were only here until 1:30 p.m., so we spent the time shopping and walking around the huge marketplace, where we saw an exhibit of flying dancers. The shopping is varied, with prices from low to expensive. Good T-shirt shops, if you want bargain souvenirs to take home.
Much slower than on smaller ships, given the number of people to move off the ship. It was well-organized and orderly. It takes about an hour to get off the ship and get through customs.
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