Please add kids program info to the app. It was great having an app with schedules and reservations etc but it never had ANY kids program info listed. This was a huge disappointment. Service and food quality has certainly declined. Otherwise it was a great trip. Beautiful cabin and balcony, our favorite part of the ship! Didn't like the smoke in the atrium interior of ship, due to the casino. Please make all interiors smoke free. Great job handling special needs, my child has autism but had a great time! Communication was poor however... had a private boat drill but then told we didn't show up when we did. Terrible service at cagney's and said they would make it up to us but never did/no follow through. Frequency of guest services blunders was frustrating and disappointing. Love cruising and love NCL but there was a noticeable decline from previous cruise experiences.
Embarkation
4 out of 5
Special needs Access was a bit chaotic at first, the port folks didn't know what to do with us. Once we connected with the Manager, it was smooth after that. Shoreside was fantastic but there was a big disconnect with ship service.
Ship experiences
Food and Dining
3 out of 5
Compared to past experiences, service was significantly worse, especially in specialty restaurants. Cagney's was terrible service and mediocre food--a disappointment from flagship restaurant. Buffets were not overly kid friendly nor dining rooms. Don't like Pepsi, would have preferred Coca cola freestyle like RCL. Disappointed in overall food and service.
Onboard Activities
2 out of 5
Most activities were geared for older teens or adults. Other than the one, small, crowded splash pool, there wasn't much for families with young children to do together. Splash Academy was great, but shows were not young child friendly or appropriate. Age limits on all others (water slides, etc) prevented our family from doing much. Decks were crowded and lounge chairs not available except by smokers and I am allergic to smoke. The main interior stunk from casino smoke filling the atrium and whole inside. Ship needs to be non smoking especially in common areas.
Entertainment
2 out of 5
Not appropriate for families with young kids. They seemed to target the singles and young adults but excluded other demographics.
Children's Programs
5 out of 5
This was by far the best part of our cruise! Tomo and the youth staff did a great job and my kids loved most of the programs. Appreciated the secure checkin system and handiphones even though they didn't always work. These folks need to be commended because they had the best service of anyone on the ship!!
Service and Staff
4 out of 5
Room stewards were fantastic!! Missed the towel animals, guess they don't do that anymore? But our steward was amazing. Waiters were not as good as in past experiences. Ship personnel did not seem personable, friendly or relatable, with the exception of youth kids staff.
Ship Quality
3 out of 5
Pretty in parts. Hated that all main common areas reeked of cigarette smoke from the casino. With an open atrium, it just made the entire majority of the ship stink. I had my kids hold their breath when walking thru because we all have allergies to smoke. Would have preferred a non smoking interior. Pool decks and sun decks were too crowded and not enough space available for families with kids. Plenty of room if you're an adult. But if traveling with kids there were not a lot of child friendly spaces.
Cabin / Stateroom
5 out of 5
LOVED our cabin!! Balcony was the best part of the whole ship!!!! Kids loved bunk beds, plenty of room and our steward was terrific!!! She kept us clean and tidy! Size was perfect for a family of 4!
Dirty island, pushy locals, very aggressive and intrusive, rude and not much to do with small children. Pier was also a long way from town, so either you had to pay a bunch of money for a cab (twenty bucks was s rip off for a five minute ride!!!) Or hike a ways, with 2 small kids in tow this was no picnic!! Not child friendly at all.
Best experience by far! Loved the island, clean and well cared for, friendly locals, great time at Cayman turtle farm even though they said you could hold turtles and you couldn't (evidently they changed the rules) and the hatchery was closed (a bit disappointed) but we had fun anyway.
Loved that it was clean and beautiful but the locals were too pushy and aggressive about getting you to look at their stuff. Not a lot for kids to do but it was nice to see. Would have liked to have had longer in port to see more sights or do more.
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