This cruise was so that three of us Vietnam vets could get together with our Vietnamese interpreter from years ago. Since we had our handicapped daughter on her first cruise, we didn't partake in many activities as we normally do, but she had a great time and that was the main thing.
Embarkation
5 out of 5
We thought the process wwent pretty smooth, although we had wheelchair assistance and we felt that they should have let the wheelchair crowd it aboard before beginning the general boarding. We were still riding elevator and mingled wit many regulars coming up the stairs and escalators. I'm sure the regulars thought we were in THEIR way as well.
Ship experiences
Food and Dining
4 out of 5
We always enjoy the dining experience, although after a few days, it all seems the same
Onboard Activities
5 out of 5
Having our handicapped daughter with us for her first cruise kind of limited what we were able to do but my 5-stars are based on what I witnessed with other passengers who all seemed to be having a great time
Entertainment
5 out of 5
We really enjoyed
Service and Staff
5 out of 5
Contrary to some negative reviews that I read before we left, we felt the service received was excellent. I'm thinking that many of the negative reviews are from the folks that cruise a lot and their expectations are maybe a little unrealistic and greater than the normal cruiser
Ship Quality
5 out of 5
Very nice for such a huge ship
Cabin / Stateroom
5 out of 5
Our cabin was a little smaller than mini suites that we've had on other cruise lines but it was sufficient. always kept clean and Bryan went to extremes in assisting with my handicapped daughter and making sure to have the room made up by 10 every morning so it was ready in the event that we needed to keep her in there. Also, again I have to make a comment about some reviewers that complained about the smallness of the balcony. Yes, the balconies are narrow, but I'm not quite sure what they wanted to do on theirs. Plenty of room to sit and enjoy the sea, or stand and hang over the rail. Not enough room for a game of horseshoes or badminton, but there were other places on the ship that might accommodate that.
Ship tip
Just a reminder that pre cruise information on the NCL website and app are a little confusing when it comes to checking in and the gratuities/service charges. They might seem kind of contradictory as they say they aren't mandatory but then yo have the ability to prepay them. IF you DON'T prepay them, the charges re added to your onboard ship account. I would call that mandatory fee. The service charge IS shared with cabin stewards, and all personnel who service the public. If you are one that is used to leaving a tip in the cabin for your steward, be reminded that he has been tipped already. IF you got top rate service, you might want to leave a little something extra, like we did. Also, if Im on a cxruise and have the same head waiter, maitre de and servers, we usually give them a little something extra. On this free style cruising, we had different personnel every meal so we left nothing extra.
We stayed with friends for three days prior to cruising so we made a few stops. Only thing I had against it was that I got double charged for parking and am having a hard time getting in contact with the parking authority to get reimbursed
Even though we had wheel chair assistance, we had a hard time getting to the designated meeting spot as the elevators from buffet to deck 7 were locked and we had quite a run around trying to get there. I think this needs to be explained to the handicapped better. We weren't the only ones. Once we got there, it worked out fine
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