The Crew, the Ports, the Food, the Incredible Entertainers and fun shipboard activities made this a trip to remember for a long long time!!!!
Embarkation
3 out of 5
Embarkation was rough, due to NYC being first US Stop from Europe. Coast Guard paused embarkation for detailed inspections, which gummed up the embarkation. NYC Port staff were not very kind about it, but NCL did best to alleviate issues.
Ship experiences
Food and Dining
5 out of 5
Thoroughly enjoyed meals in The Manhattan, Taste and also at O'Sheehans! Love having the O'sheehan's option! Staff at Taste were always so kind and friendly. We also ate at Ocean Blue, Cagney's and Moderna specialty dining. All were excellent! Special shout out to Ocean Blue for their awesome Basil Sorbet!!!!
Onboard Activities
5 out of 5
THE ROPES COURSE is AWESOME!!! And it is included, no extra charge-- which is also super nice! We didn't swim or gamble or do any other sport activities on board.
Entertainment
5 out of 5
Burn the Floor was breathtaking! Was not at all what I expected, and kept me enthralled from the first number to the last. So much was happening across the stage. Super high energy performance!
Nathan Phan was an incredibly talented singer, comedian, magician! We saw him twice, and they were both excellent!
Children's Programs
no kids with us
Service and Staff
5 out of 5
So many wonderfful Staff -- I Gede and Joyce in the Taste dining room, our room steward Eric, and so many others. Their smiles and friendliness made us feel like instant friends.
Ship Quality
4 out of 5
Common areas were all well cleaned and maintained. On embarkation day, it felt like there was not enough room to just relax, but as people found nooks and crannies around the ship, space to play cards or dominoes became more available. I do wish the Noodle bar was not right next to the casino, due to the casino being a smoking zone. Makes the Noodle bar unattractive.
Cabin / Stateroom
4 out of 5
Our cabin felt small, and our balcony was the smallest balcony we have ever had on a cruise ship. Recently cruised on the Bliss and on other Cruise lines and felt both room and balcony were bigger there. Eric did a great job of keeping the room clean. There were some issues with the fill valve on our toilet, which we mentioned to Eric. It continued to slowly fill after flushing.
Ship tip
Forward Elevators have square buttons and Aft elevators have round buttons. Buy a Sundae at O'Sheehan's. It will be the best $4.50 you'll spend on the cruise!
Cold, windy, difficult embarkation. Port staff were less than friendly. We did get to go to Ground Zero and also the St Paul Chapel right next to it. Very touching.
We did an ATV and Beach excursion here, and we LOVED it!!!! Highlight was a brief tour of a local country home in DR during our ATV ride. Beach was nice. Loved that there were umbrellas, chairs and snorkel gear all included in the excursion price. Water got deep very quickly, but beach was very nice! Highly recommend that excursion.
Aruba was a blast! We did not do a ship excursion -- we just rented a 4-door UTV and explored the entire island. Basically spent 5+ hours on dirt roads and trails, as wel as some paved roads. We visited the little town of Saint Nicholas and we loved the mosaic tile benches and all the street murals there. We went to the other side of the island and dirt trailed to a Natural Bridge, Gold refinery ruins, Alto Vista Chapel and then paved road to California lighthouse. Beautiful, rugged, FUN!
Curacao was a slower-paced experience for us. We went to the Hato Caves and did a downtown tour. We also did an evening tour (we thought it would be a Christmas lights tour, but it was not). If I visit again, I would not do both a daytime tour and an evening tour.
Getting to see the new locks from the viewing perspective was a treat because we had seen them from the ship perspective on the NCL Bliss in February. Also visited a native tribe community -- very nice.
We did an canal ride and rainforest excursion. It was wonderful! Took the whole day. Our Guide, Luis, made sure that everyone got the chance to see every animal that appeared -- Sloths, monkeys, a toucan, and more. The thing we loved most was there was no sense of "hurry up, we have to move on." Luis allowed all to take the time we wanted whether on the canal, in the frog displays, butterfly garden, waterfall hike or tram rides. VERY ENJOYABLE EXCURSION!
We did Georgetown on our own. We just walked up the road and went to the beach by the wreck of the Gamma. We snorkeled the wreck, saw beautiful fish and coral formations, swam for a bit, and then walked back to the ship.
We rented a Jeep with HTL on the island. It was a hardtop, two-wheel drive, and could not go off road, so that was a little sad, but we enjoyed a tour of the San Gervasio ruins, as well as a meal by the beach and a drive all the way around the Southern half of the island.
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