I guess the only way to evaluate Norwegian is to compare it to my expereinces with Royal Carribean, Celebrity and Holland America. Sorry, but it doesn't measure up. I would rate it on a level of Carnival.
Embarkation
3 out of 5
Ship experiences
Food and Dining
3 out of 5
Nothing special. Some food items in the Garden Terrace seem to be recycled from the day before or even earlier.
Spiegel Tent - Cirque Dreams and Dinner
2 out of 5
It was disappointing in that I have experienced the real Cirque de Soliel.
Onboard Activities
2 out of 5
It was my opinion that the activities and general ambiance was very loud and almost hyperactive in the behavior of the staff. It was noisy beyond my comfort level and there was overlap between the activity and the remaining part of the decks. I could not experience anything close to where an activity was staged due to the loud noises.
Entertainment
2 out of 5
It seemed that the entire deck six was casino. Much to large ande noisy.
Children's Programs
Traveling alone.
Service and Staff
4 out of 5
This rating is based on the performance of my room steward and wait staff in the Taste Restaurant.
Ship Quality
2 out of 5
This probably isn't fair as my main concern is I didn't care for the overall layout of the ship and I couldn';t help but notice a little "down in the mouth" in overall appearance. I'm sure it was wonderful when new.
Cabin / Stateroom
3 out of 5
I booked the inside cabin and was very satisfied with the facility and, particularly, the room steward, Chris. He was very helpful and proficient in his function. The price-value ratio was excellent.
Ship tip
I would recommend they consider Royal Carribean and compare price versus value issues. Norwegian is not my favorite.
What a wonderful and pleasant surprise. I was concerned when I learned we would not be stopping in St. Thomas, but in retrospect I'm happy we had to make the change.
This is not Norwegian's fault, but my departure time of 9:30AM finally occurred at 1:45PM. It was apparently a Customs Issue. A lot of time with nothing to do and the crew wanted our rooms vacant to prepare for the next cruise. I felt Norwegian could have recognized the inconvenience and at lease made sure there were drinks and snacks available whle waiting in the common areas/
NCL is all about freestyle cruising. So no set time at dinner. Except if you wanna try specialty restaurants, then, you should make reservations. The dress code is less ‘’fancy’’. There’s between 2-3 Broadway style shows per week (on big ships, reservations before cruise is recommended). There’s a lot of games and dance lessons in the atrium. It’s less expensive, and often the ultimate beverage package is offered as a promo, so you’ll find a lot of young people on NCL ships. So knowing that, a lot of the activities are targeting that age group. Hope it helps. Don’t hesitate to ask if you have more questions.
I've taken celibrty and Holland America, I am planning to try Norwigian. Other than more Children on Norwigian cruise ship, what are the other difference? Thanks.
Sorry you didn’t like your cruise but I think you made a mistake by comparing with other, more upscale, cruise line. Each cruise line offers something different. That way, everybody can get a vacation that suits them better. NCL is all about freestyle cruising. Maybe that’s not for you. Maybe you should stick to Holland America. BTW I’d rather be on a cruise ship that’s hyperactive and loud then the opposite. I wanna have fun on a cruise, not sleep all day. But maybe that’s just me.
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