My overall review is simple. We joined this cruise to attend a cousins 30th birthday celebration. I also traveled with a first time cruiser and what I have experienced on past cruise ships is not what I experience on this cruise NCL/breakaway. The cruise staff were thin and rushed which made the service we received feel cold and rushed or forgotten about. The breakaway ship was clean and put together well but as you looked closer throughout the week areas and items were worn and needed replacing or fixed (couches, tables etc). Time spent on the islands were just not enough specifically I am referring to st thomas and ncl's own island. Would I go on a cruise again YES in a heart beat (we had a blast) :) but I would look closer at the cruise line/ship first.
Embarkation
4 out of 5
overall it good; however when asking questions outside of them just checking us in the staff were not able to answer the questions. At least that was my experience with the young woman we had. Just want to note she was pleasant.
Ship experiences
Food and Dining
4 out of 5
Food was delicious in all three areas. The service could have been better. Buffet food was really good and plenty of options to choose from. main dining food was also delicious and plenty of options to choose from as well however the staff overall were in full force Hussle mode. Because of that it made the overall experience feel rushed and at times once they served you they didn't come back and check on you until the next course was ready to be served (not enough staff). The specialty restaurant experience was awesome in regards to both food and service.
Onboard Activities
4 out of 5
activities we did... Pool time once we found the adult pool the experience was awesome just feel they should have provided more shade/umbrellas for patrons. Bingo was very fun and moved at the right pace. Fitness Center was clean and nice equipment depending when you went it was busy. Not enough room in the free weight section.
Entertainment
5 out of 5
overall very talented staff. The volume could have been toned down in the open areas (i.e atrium)
Service and Staff
3 out of 5
overall okay but could have been better. I haven't cruised in 15 years but I remember cruising to always be exceptional service and this was not that. Customer service desk too much of a language barrier and left you feeling like they did not understand what you really needed. bars way to congested and not enough servers waling around to help with the lines for drinks. Bar tenders were more on the cranky side but I can understand that when you were dealing with the volume of patrons wanting drinks. Room attendant.... big disappointment here. Not sure who my main person was only remember seeing him once by chance when we first entered our room did not check on us again to see if we were satisfied and needed wished anything different... :(
Ship Quality
4 out of 5
Ship was overall really cleaned but a little run down meaning fabric on chairs really warn and numerous times throughout the week the toilets in various areas were not working. Only happened to our room once; however others were not that lucky and you knew about it.... layout was really nice and easy to find things
Cabin / Stateroom
3 out of 5
only giving a okay because size was fine and our cabin attendant did make our bed and make sure we had clean towels each day; however I can only compare to what I have experienced on past cruises and I was sadly disappointed. I am not even close to being a high maintenance person but I miss being checked on to see if I required anything also what happened to the fun towel animals. NOTHING :( I could have had an additional towel and the extra hangers that we put on the floor they could have taken away on day two. Only saw out cabin attendant once when we walked in our room day one and it was only for maybe 2 minutes :( Disappointed. They were stretched way tooooo thin.
Ship tip
overall a lot of fun but the crew appeared to be on the thin side which means they were on the go non stop and were not able to provide you the full cruise experience I was accustomed to and expected. That is not their fault but leaderships fault. Other patrons said to try the BLISS. I would definitely cruise again but will need to research cruise lines and ships better
Not much to offer and really didn't feel safe enough know the issues with Haiti. That is more on me and my comfort/risk level. The port overall was clean and I did like the pool area. Wish i would have known about it prior to getting off the ship.
NOT ENOUGH TIME............. Felt the day was a waste:(
St Thomas is one of my favorite stops and wish I could have shared that experience with my boyfriend....
Tendering transportation SUCKED! toooooooo long OF A process for the amount of time given to be on the island:(
Time on Island SUCKED! too SHORT
The island overall BEAUTIFUL and food yummy but we felt rushed:( We wanted to spend more time there.....
I was on this same cruise/ship in April 2024. I agree with most of the comments. Cruise Lines and ships vary in quality and experiences. This one overall is average.
Appreciate your detailed review. Yes cruising has changed significantly in the last 15 years. I remember when the joke was that “ when you got up in the middle of the night, you’d come back and find your bed made”.🤣 Did the time in St. Thomas change from when you booked? If not, then next time be sure to check when you initially book in order to have sufficient time in port. We have eliminated a particular sailing because of that. We too are not planning to venture out in DR because of Haiti.
We still enjoying cruising it is different since Covid. Most cruise lines have cut back to one a day housekeeping. To my knowledge, only one cruise line still does towel animals regularly. My son request them when he sails and always gets them.
The carribbean ports are not as clean and visitor friendly as they were 10+ years ago.
I hope you did enjoy your cruise.
Seems to be a normal set of complaints. Unfortunately, given the international scene with politics and disease scares, the cutbacks on staffing, especially the experienced ones, will result in massively reduced service as the people try to service many more rooms and venues than in the precovid days. Sigh.
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