Disappointing. Not as much fun as many other cruises we've taken. Where Was The Afternoon Tea on Sea Days? Why were there no on-demand TV shows or movies, without paying $10? Everything on the ship seemed to be set up to nickel and dime us. 13 day cruise, and NO self-serve laundry machines. The only option was expensive Laundry Service thru the ship.
Embarkation
3 out of 5
Longer lines and slower service than I'm used to on other cruises, or at other ports. There are better/faster/more efficient ways to get that many people on the ship.
Ship experiences
Food and Dining
3 out of 5
The main dining rooms were just fine. We didn't use the specialty restaurants. The buffet was generally quite good. The "Irish Pub" wasn't much of a pub, and was distinctly not Irish.
Onboard Activities
2 out of 5
There were fewer activities we wanted to do than on other comparable cruises. The Pools were crowded and small. The fitness center was adequate and on a par with other ships and cruise lines.
Entertainment
3 out of 5
The Magician was great. The comedy was mediocre, one was poor, one was meh, one was good-not-great. The Dancing shows were not to our taste. The Broadway singing show was pretty good. Nothing knocked my socks off, and that's not my usual reaction to cruise ship shows in the main theater.
Service and Staff
5 out of 5
Your staff was all first rate.
Ship Quality
3 out of 5
Layout was odd. Not enough pool space for a ship that big. Gym was hard to get to. Common areas were generally clean and well-maintained. Ship felt dated.
Cabin / Stateroom
4 out of 5
Very clean. Steward was first rate. Layout of the room was odd, and the space around the commode was unusually tight. Balcony was larger than I expected.
I don't consider Civitavecchia to be Rome. Too far away. It was a nice town, we found a great little pizza place and found and excellent AirBnB within walking distance to the shuttle.
None of the excursions seemed interesting enough to pay the steep prices for them. We'd just done Roman history in Rome. I didn't need another dose in Spain.
We've done over 10 cruises. The only two where we felt herded off the boat, standing in slow moving long lines is to NCL cruises. It has to be intentional, and we won't be back.
Congrats on your impressive lack of research before the cruise. No NCL ship has self service laundry, which is also the case on many other lines. Afternoon tea? Not sure where you even got that from. Try Cunard if that’s your thing.
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