Norwegian is not passenger focused but wants to nickel and dime passengers for things that we found included in previous cruises with other cruise lines. Very disappointed about lack of information from Norwegian. I tried to call Norwegian several times PRIOR to our cruise and could never get them to even answer their 800#. I told my husband I wish I would have tried to to call them before booking with them as I would NOT have proceeded to do so. A company that doesn't staff their customer service properly so that inbound calls are answered and a company that doesn't communicate basic information for first time passengers, is not worth considering when looking at the many choices that are available to people that love to cruise!
Embarkation
2 out of 5
Packed like sardines into the Port of New Orleans, no good process or explanation of embarkation. No greeters when getting on the ship and no welcome cocktail. Figure out where you are, what to do, etc. Muster drill was VERY confusing and we prayed we would not have to depend on the crew for help during an emergency.
Ship experiences
Food and Dining
4 out of 5
Food was good but not exceptional. The one specialty restrauant that was above all the other places we dined was Cagny's. I had the best filet mignon ever. In the inclusive "Freestyle" dining package, the servers were slow and rude. One even told us they were short staffed which was obvious. If we asked for coffee or anything extra, the servers always forgot and we had to ask again. Freestyle dining means the servers do not get to know you like on a regular dining option where you bond with your wait staff by the end of the cruise. We will be using our cruise line of choice for future travel (Celebrity)!
Onboard Activities
4 out of 5
Looks like the typical daily cruise programs. Many, of course, trying to sell more Norwegian products and services.
Entertainment
3 out of 5
I think they had a full package but, no one bothered to explain to us that we had to schefule the shows and get reservations in advance. Other cruises we have taken, you can freely go to the show of your choosing. We ended up only going to the Rock of Ages, Dueling Piano and comedian shows. Ok but nothing over tge top.
Children's Programs
3 out of 5
No children..cannot honestly review.
Service and Staff
3 out of 5
We have been on 7 or 8 cruises. All staff on any of them work long, hard days. But we noticed that Norwegian staff seemed almost robotic. Many staff can barely speak English so we couldn't tell if they just didn't understand us or they were ignoring our requests. Many just did not seem happy. Our room steward was asked to bring us wine glasses daily and he did it once. He continally left dirty glasses in our room. He was slow to clean our room and the only interaction we had with him was when he left us a heart shaped towel and note on our final night telling us what a pleasure it had been serving us. I really felt he wanted a little extra in his tip?
Ship Quality
5 out of 5
Beautiful ship. We had the best mini suite cabin and a wonderful shower. The balcony was very small but big enough to sit on for a bit. Everything is neat and tidy.
Cabin / Stateroom
5 out of 5
Beautiful, large, lots of storage. Well laid out. We HATED the fact that we could not charge our phones and tablets if we were not in the room. We have never been on a ship that required your ship card be inserted in order to operate lights and electricity. If you don't feel like sitting around for your devices to charge, or if you forget to do it overnight, Norweigian has a plan in place to charge them for you for a mere $15 a charge. Did we say bottom line is what really matters to Norwegian?
Ship tip
Get a good travel agent or previous passenger to tell you the "rules" BEFORE selecting Norwegian. We woyld not have gone if we knew how different they are from Carnival, Princess and Celebrity.
Excellent, fun city. Took the evening Jazz, paddleboat ride - nice! Great food everywhere (Creole House). Took a bus tour around town and of the cemetaries. World War II Museum was excellent and Harrah's was fun for a quick $20 loss. Museum of Rita and Katrina was very moving. YES- lot's to do, fun and within walking distance to most.
Interesting, walked around a bit. Got off the main drag and life is rough, gritty and scary. Stay with your tour or keep on the main drag for shopping.
Excellent. All other cruise lines made us wait until a specific time. We carried our own luggage off so didn't need to wait. However we didn't realize we could do that until we fought most of the other passengers for a piece of toast up in the ship's cafe. Talk to someone before your cruise for the "do's and don'ts if you are considering Norwegian!
I have been on four other Norwegian Cruises and every night there was a pamphlet with things to do the next day and the hours of restaurants. I am going on the Breakaway February 7-17 and looking forward to it. I went online and booked restaurants ahead and as much of the entertainment as I could. I read on the website what had to be reserved and that is how I knew what to do. I have had almost all pleasant experiences on the cruises and hope this one is as good too!
I love Celebrity very much too but think you're too hard on NCL. We had several cruises with Norwegian on different ships, large and smaller, brand new and refurbished and never had such unpleasant aftertaste. All lines now tend to charge for everything, free stuff disappears very quickly but it's up to us to pay or pass. As far as not knowing certain things, many of them are spelled out on their website and everyday details are in their daily.
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