We will never go on an NCL cruise ever again. They made so many errors when we booked this cruise it was absolute agony. We would call NCL to correct a misspelled name. Half the time they would correct the spelling and half the time the name would be misspelled in a new way. And sometimes the name would be corrected but the home address would be changed. This is the kicker, it's your responsibility to make sure all the errors are corrected. Correcting errors is free up to 30 days before you sail. After that, it's $150 to correct an error. It cost us $750 to correct their errors. All cruise lines will nickel and dime you. NCL has perfected it into an art. I feel like I've been robbed. I tried to cancel the cruise when I found out they were going to charge me $750 to correct their mistakes, and I had the cancelation insurance. But, when you cancel within the 30 days before you sail window you have to pay a 25% penalty. I was still going to cancel just on principle but my family talked me out of it.
Embarkation
3 out of 5
Boarding the ship was easy. Bags were waiting at the cabin door.
Ship experiences
Food and Dining
2 out of 5
Good variety. Several different restaurants on board. All the "complimentary" restaurants have similar menus. The buffet is good with a good variety.
Onboard Activities
1 out of 5
Half of the activities are sales pitches for other services. The ship has a water slide that takes you out over the ocean. It's a nice feature and we would have liked to have tried it. You are told that bathing suits with metal and sharp objects are not allowed. We found out this includes the drawstring grommets on our suits and the plastic ends of the drawstrings. If you want to ride this slide you have to have a 100% fabric suit. The casino was good. Plenty of slots and table games. Payouts are less than in Vegas or Indian gaming.
Entertainment
2 out of 5
Most of the shows are 45 minutes long. They keep the entertainment rolling. The stage show (Choir of Man) was good. The production was excellent, actors were excellent. The theme of the show was silly.
Service and Staff
4 out of 5
The vast majority of the staff does an excellent job of providing service to the huge number of customers on board. You might run into a less-than-energetic staff member. Those would be the exception.
Ship Quality
4 out of 5
The ship is huge and the staff does a great job of keeping it clean and tidy. Plates, dishes, glasses, and cups are cleaned up immediately. The pools are heated and spotless. Lots of seating on deck and it's needed. Good seats are taken up quickly. Family cruisers are out early and get all the best spots before everyone else.
Cabin / Stateroom
3 out of 5
Small and efficient as should be expected. The balcony is small and tight. Two chairs and a small table take up most of the room.
Ship tip
We will never cruise on one of these mega ships again. Just too many people. Lines for everything and the lines are huge. Just trying to get on an elevator is frustrating. We would take the stairs to go down and used the elevator to go up. You end up getting on the first elevator that has space available, regardless of the direction it's going, just so you can get on elevator. The elevators stop at every deck because there are people requesting elevators on every deck. You'll end up missing out on half of the activities just because you'll be so tired of dealing with the crowds. When you arrive at a port the ship will dock at a location that requires you to take a shuttle to get to the port. This means more lines for the shuttles. This means lining up early so you don't miss the ship departing, loosing out on port time, which you don't get a lot of. The dock in Ketchikan isn't in Ketchikan. It's a twenty minute drive outside Ketchikan.
You'll have to allow yourself time for the shuttle which limits the time you have for excursions. The town is very "touristy". Lots of choices for excursions. Jewelry stores everywhere.
This port requires two shuttles. Shuttle from the ship to the waiting area for all the other shuttles.
Don't take the shuttle if you can walk the 1/2 mile into town. We did the Skagway White Pass train excursion. It's just okay, not recommended. The town is interesting. Jewelry stores everywhere.
Great views of the Marjorie Glacier and the Davis Glacier. Sea Otters are everywhere. Don't worry if you can't get a viewing spot at the railing. The ship will spin around 360 degrees to give everyone a good view.
Long walk from the ship to the shuttle area. long line waiting for the shuttle. There is a twenty-minute shuttle ride into town. Ketchikan is the most interesting port. This is the only place we saw eagles. Lots of jewelry stores.
This took forever. Long, long, long lines. This process was actually painful. They're gonna give you color coded bag tags with a paper telling you what time you'll be disembarking. The times are laughable. Be prepared to wait. I'd give no stars if possible.
How did names get misspelled? Did you not book online yourself? That’s such an easy thing to avoid happening in the first place. I always book online, never had any issues.
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