Not really a review, just my opinions!

We expected a long line, since there are so many people getting on, but there really wasn't! Process was smooth and fast!

MDR, hate that it always takes 2+ hours to have a meal in it! Our starters, appetizers, soup & salad arrived bam, bam, bam, but then it would be 30-45 minutes to get the entree, and another 20-30 min after that to get the dessert menu! Was disappointed the bread was never warm. The creme brulee, which is supposed to have a HARD carmelized sugar crust on the top, didn't, was actually a bit soupy. Still tasted good, but not how it's supposed to be served! Cagney's: I don't see why everyone is so crazy about it! I ordered a steak medium well and it arrived just past medium well, on the verge of being tough. It wasn't bad enough to send it back (plus we didn't want to wait another 40 minutes to get a new one!), but I could've done better cooking it myself. And, worst of all, there is no HP Sauce anywhere to be found! They have it, but you have to ask for it specifically, which is stupid, since they have all the condiments sitting out in the buffet and other restaurants, except for that one! And instead of bringing me the bottle, they brought it in one of those little metal cups. Buffet: it was ok, desserts were great, pizza was great. Liked it for breakfast the best. But: there was never any sliced cheddar cheese, it was all Swiss, and one time Muenster. If there was any cheddar at all, it was cubed. They had a dish that looked to me like beef stew, and they had it almost every day, and I swear it was the same dish, they just kept changing the name tag. First they called it "beef goulash", except it wasn't, I don't think there was even any paprika in it, then it was "beef barley stew" then it was "Asian spiced beef", and after that I just ignored it. We liked that the silverware was already rolled into a napkin and placed on the tables, but unlike RCCL, the wait staff never got you your drinks. Le Bistro: we ate in there the first night, and was really looking forward to it because all the reviews said it was the best food on the ship. Not so. It was very good, but not great. We had a reservation to eat in there the next night as well, and we thought it might be better, but when we went along to check the menu that afternoon, it was the same one from the night before! You would think they would change it daily! We cancelled our reservation. Never got in to Ocean Blue, it was booked up already. Never got a chance to eat on the Waterfront. Last night ate in the MDR, ordered a steak, and it was much better than Cagney's! Again, had to special request HP Sauce, but that time they brought the bottle, not a little cup. Margaritaville: was disappointed that they were always closed! Only open for lunch and breakfast, sign says they close at 4, but every time we tried to get there for lunch before 4, they were already closed! We loved the small breakfast buffet though, and went there most days. Never crowded, easy to get a table, good food! We wasted our 3rd specialty dining option because we couldn't get a reservation in anywhere else we wanted to go. Glad it was free and we didn't pay for it! Moderno: didn't eat there for dinner, but they had a lunch buffet a couple of times during sea days and we went there. Only thing I didn't like, they had 2 buffet lines set up, in 2 different locations far apart. We went to the first one thinking it was the only one, and I wondered why it was only salad/cold stuff, took us a bit to notice the hot buffet on the other side of the room! The salad bar was in Moderno, the hot buffet was in Cagney's. We also went there for breakfast one day, nice buffet for that, again 2 different lines in different locations, but once you know, it's ok. Liked the breakfast better than the lunch. The Coffee Cafe in the Atrium: good Starbucks coffee, no they don't let you use your Starbucks app to pay for it. Very good chocolates as well, but the staff couldn't always remember what flavors they were. They said they change them every day, even though they looked the same every day (same designs on them) Overall, the food on RCCL is better. The bar drinks were mostly good, but apparently if you find a drink you like in a particular bar, and try to order it in another bar, they can't do it, you have to go back to the bar that has it, which wasn't always convenient, usually being on another floor. There was a certain bartender in the Atrium Bar it was hard to get service from; for some reason he kept ignoring us as long as possible. Never got a chance to eat at O'Sheehan's, it was always very crowded, seemed to me it was more drinkers than eaters. I did go in once and sat at a table and did not get waited on. After awhile, I noticed people were being seated by a hostess, so I guess walk ins don't rate. I got up and left, and looked for a sign that said anything about "wait to be seated" but there was nothing. Annoyed about that.

I bought a week long pass to the Thermal Spa Suite, only managed to use it a couple of times. It was very nice and relaxing, but on the sea days it was really crowded! Just like on the pool decks, people were saving the lounge chairs for other people, or themselves, and other people couldn't find a place to sit. Not cool! Loved the steam room and the herbal scented rain shower. Best time to go was late evening, an hour or so before they close. The muster drill as usual went on too long and wasn't very organized. Took them too long to put up signs for your category to tell you where to go. We were in one area, then they decided to put up the sign posts and we had to move to another area which was already elbow to elbow people! Too long having to stand, no seats. Too noisy, couldn't hear what they were saying.

Didn't manage to see any of the shows, but saw quite a few of the things going on in the Atrium on the big screen and in front of it. Liked some of them, but it was just WAY too loud when they had them, too much for an enclosed indoor venue! The tiny, tiny internet cafe is tucked into a corner of the Atrium to one side of the big screen, which made it impossible to concentrate on fighting with their generic computers that don't seem to be able to find an internet connection. As usual on ships, the internet manager had all kinds of excuses as to why you couldn't get online. Even though I paid for the package upgrade. The computer on HIS desk worked just fine, of course! I think they only connect that one computer, so they can show you that the wifi works and make you feel like it's just you that can't figure it out. Don't bother getting the upgraded wifi packages, it won't work anyway! We did all download the NCL app and pay the $10 so we could text each other, which worked most of the time. Also, people kept stealing the chairs from the wifi tables to move them to watch whatever show was going on, which was really annoying! I saw people on their knees trying to use the computers because there were no chairs; the crew members should keep an eye on that and prevent it! If you wanted the library/game room, you really had to hunt for it; it's stuck off in a hidden hallway off the Atrium. This was the noisiest ship I've ever been on! Hard to find a quiet place to relax!

no kids.

Again, this is just my opinion, and we've only ever been on one other cruise line, RCCL, so comparing it to that, RCCL is better. Seemed like there were always housekeeping carts cluttering up the hallway to our room. I slipped our cabin steward $20 the first day to make the towel animals, he only did it 4 times. They tended to forget to leave the daily newsletter for the next day in our room when he did the last cleaning/turn down, and would come back at some point in the night to put it in the holder outside our door. But he was nice and friendly, and did a good job cleaning overall. The rest of the ship was clean, no problems there. Sometimes the staff in the buffets would take my coffee cup before I was quite done with it, but no biggie. I had occasion to ask questions of Guest Relations a few times about ports/shore excursions but they never seemed to know the answers to any of them. Other than the ignoring us bartender and the internet manager who kept telling me the wifi wasn't working for me because I didn't buy the Premium package, the staff were all very nice, helpful and pleasant!

Did not like the ship's layout! The lido deck is too small, do they really need that many water slides taking up the room? I only ever saw a few kids on them. The Atrium looks nice, but they really shouldn't have all the shows there that they have; they have a theater, why don't they use that? Or some of the other bars? Why did they put the internet cafe there, where it gets so noisy you can't hear yourself think and people take the computer chairs to go watch the shows in? There could be a better location for the coffee shop as well, if there's a show or something going on, you have to push your way past everyone standing around the bar to get to the coffee shop. Everything was clean enough. Not a fan of the chairs; they look comfy enough, but you sink down into them and it's really hard to get up out of them. People with bad knees/backs, beware!

Very nice! There were 4 of us sharing it, and we never had a problem! Lovely large balcony! Loved the shower! Storage was fine, glad I brought a portable clothesline that sticks to the wall with magnets. Bed was ok. One big problem: I use a CPAP machine, I told NCL after I booked the cruise and they were supposed to have a bottle of distilled water in the room, instead there was a sharps container. I didn't push the issue since there is NO OUTLET near the bed to plug the thing into anyway! What do people do who can't do without using theirs? I couldn't see how it could work out safely, I had an extension cord, but it wouldn't reach, and I don't know how they would rig it up without stretching a cord across the floor and up the desk to the outlet. Someone would be sure to trip on it. Maybe next time when it's just 2 of us I will try to see what they can arrange. One other question we had: it was supposed to be a midship cabin, but it was way up towards the front of the ship. Much walking to get to. But we had a good view of the bridge from our balcony.

First time we've ever disembarked ourselves, I can highly recommend it! So much easier! They always say you will need to be able to carry your luggage up or down stairs, but there were none, there was a ramp that was very easy to roll our suitcases on. Didn't have to go through customs or anything, just walked right off the ship! Went to the shuttle pick up which wasn't long in coming, and were on our way! Will do this from now on!