Like I said, first cruise and may be the last. Was really expecting a lot more to do on the ship in the way of entertainment. If you're not a heavy drinker it's hard to get into the spirit of things I believe (and we are not). Perhaps if we'd had friends along, or took a more themed cruise.
Embarkation
5 out of 5
Embarkation was farily easy and pain free. Did not have a long wait as they let us go ahead and enter the building long before our stated time. Very comfortable waiting area.
Ship experiences
Food and Dining
3 out of 5
Food at the Garden Cafe buffet was fantastic! My wife, who normally hates buffets, was really impressed and it was our favorite place to eat. The only meal we really didn't care for was the Brazillian Restaurant. Tiny pieces of meat, and few and far between. The main dining areas were nice and I believe the food was better than what you got at most of the speciality restaurants. We're simple folks and some of the service was exellent, but a bit "prissy", if you know what I mean. Drinks - we had the soda package and were disappointed in the selection. If you don't like Pepsi products you're in trouble! We prefer Coke products, so it was never fantastic. Also, you have to get drinks from a bar, which meant there were some long walks to an open bar just to get a soda. But did I mention the Garden Cafe was great?? LOL
Onboard Activities
3 out of 5
This and entertainment is what will probably keep us from doing another cruise anytime soon. They held a lot of silly games, like Not So Newly Wed and such. Mostly you just watch since participation was limited. Casino was OK if you like to gamble. In fairness, we never made it into the pools. Very crowded on sea days and people would reserve the lounges even if they were not around. But we spent some time at the beaches so it wasn't a big deal. I gave three stars since we didn't partake of some of the activities such as mini golf, rope course, and shuffle board, and I can't fault the ship for that.
Entertainment
1 out of 5
This was a BIG disappoinment! Very few shows, and the couple they had were so-so. Nothing like I expected. Some venues were made to sound like entertainment, but were really informational or sales pitch. I really expected many more actual shows to attend. They pushed the Art Auction (sales), but you needed big bucks for that (we watched a few items sell for upwards of $18,000). So we spent a lot of time in room watching the few TV channels they had. Again, very disappointing in this category. We were expecting the Disney World type of experience with multiple shows to enjoy.
Children's Programs
No kids with us.
Service and Staff
4 out of 5
Nearly everyone was super nice and helpful! Some of the bartenders seemed put off by having to get us sodas. Maybe they don't get the 18% on those. One guy putting out t-shirts for one of the "sales" they have got a bit huffy because I wanted to grab a couple of my size before they got snapped up. Guess he wasn't ready for us to look yet. But another sales lady took care of us. Room was ALWAYS being spruced up - morning and evening!
Ship Quality
5 out of 5
An absolutely beautiful ship! Pretty easy to learn to get around in, too. You could really tell the difference when we were docked next to a Carnival ship. The Carnival ships were much smaller, plainer, and showed signs of neglect like rust and peeling paint.
Cabin / Stateroom
4 out of 5
We had a front facing cabin on the 10th deck. Our very large window looked out over the bow of the ship which was really cool. King bed that was fairly comfortable. Everything worked fine and steward kept everything tidy for us. Our only problem (and it was not that big a deal) was that we were a long ways from the elevators, so going to anyplace else on the ship was quite a hike. But it was quiet and we really enjoyed it.
Ship tip
Choose excursions very carefully. They can make or break the experience. I would probably do more adventure types of tours. Don't worry about "shopping" excursions. There is more than enough shopping at the ports - both high end and trinkets.
I was a bit concerned about this since it was listed 1st on most dangerous ports to visit due to high crime rate. But it turned out to be just fine. The excursion we took was fun. We did the semi-submarine and shopping, but the shopping was a small town with lots of kids trying to sell you trinkets. As you can imagine - very pushy sales people - even at the higher end stores on the port.
This is a NCL only port and it was very clean, and had great beaches with good shopping. One of the worst excursions though. We did the Wildlife Viewing. We saw a snake in a tree, a couple of star fish and jelly fish. We spent a lot of time on the boat looking for manatees. When there was one it was only the tip of the nose or back - and only for a second. Would not recommend that excursion.
Mostly same high end shopping stores as in all the other ports. Pushy vendors selling souvineers. At that point we felt we were seeing the same stuff over and over. The excursion was pretty poor. We did a Day at the Beach. Rocky beach, confined to a small area of water, was not allowed to go out to reef if you didn't purchase the snorkel package. We didn't stay much more than a couple of hours.
Another nice port, but same old shopping stuff. However, some of the vendors got a bit unfriendly if you were not interested in what trinkets they were pushing. One even got a bit personally insulting since I wasn't interested in his shirts he was selling. Being a visitor I played Taylor Swift and just "Shook it Off". LOL. However, the excursion was GREAT! We did the Island Tour and had a great, modern bus and an excellent guide. Took us to a place to learn about Mayan culture that was very interesting. Then we visited the Mayan Chocolate factory. Chocolate - do I need to say more!! After that we went to a Tequila distillary. Very informative and lots of samples!! Finally, we went to a rocky shoreline for some great pictures. Of course - there were the obligatory trinket shops. I highly recommend that excursion!
Disembarkation was fairly simple, but did not go exactly as explained. You select a time and your luggage is tagged appropriately and removed the night before (unless you choose to carry off yourself). What didn't work is that they were supposed to announce the colors (each time was denoted by a color), and it was supposed to be piped into the rooms (announcements were not so you had to run and open your stateroom door to hear the announcement). That meant people were congregating in the common areas so they would know when they could leave (we did too). That upset some of the crew who were trying to control the thing, but it was not a big deal. Once your color was called you entered a large area where luggage was stacked according to your color. We found our bags right away, and it was on to Customs. Customs was pretty easy too. Then it's out the door into the real world!
I agree that cruising is what you make of it. When I was talking about entertainment I was talking about the shows. Having said that, now that some time has passed, we realize there were many things we didn’t participate in that we could have. Everyone was right about that. Once we realized this, we decided to try another (but still NCL). This time we plan on soending time at the pools and trying different restaurants, and participating in more actvities. You guys were so on the mark! BTW, we loved most of the ports and excursions, which is one if the big reasons we did a cruise. Next up - an April cruise on the Epic! Thanks to everyone fir the honest input. It was very helpful!
Your vacation is what YOU make of it. Nobody will come and take your hand to go see a show or do something else. There's a lot to do, on every cruise ship, on every cruise line. It's up to you to look at what's going on and what you wanna do. And that applies on any vacation. Cruise or no cruise. Maybe cruises are not for you.
@ Brandy For Some people, cruising may just not be their thing. If you are bored on any cruise ship, then cruising is definitely not for you. We've been on this ship and didn't have enough time to do everything. We are going back onboard in Jan to finish what we missed and to do the things we loved once again. I would recommend you try cruising on another line, if you still don't like it, you never will. Enjoy whatever makes you happy.
Next time travel with another couple or a group. We are sailing on the Escape on August 19, 2017 with a group of 80 plus with our own band for private performances. We will have a ball, can't wait!!!!
I was on the Escape in June and did all that terriesanchez listed. SO much to do onboard! We had to pick and choose some things because there wasn't enough time to do it all. It is definitely what you make of it. A fun adventurous person will have a fun adventurous time!
I don't know that NCL has all of that stuff. Maybe they do. I don't think I've ever read anything about them having any themed parties like 80's night or the glow party. Maybe a white party?...
Just curious as to what you were expecting in the way of entertainment? Did you do The Ropes Course or water slides or putt putt or the pool or the spa or the glow party or 80's night or the multitudes of games... port talks...bingo sessions... musicians... movies? Like chadley77 said, it is what you make it. You may enjoy Carnival. Their cruises are usually jam packed with so much stuff to do you can never do it all. Happy future cruising!
We've cruised with Disney and Carnival and never felt bored. I've heard a lot of people complain about NCL and their lack of entertainment. And we don't drink at all. Ever. Between games, shows, movies outside on the deck, deck parties, trivia and the spa we usually don't have time to everything we want.
Try Royal Caribbean or Carnival next time. We have been on 4 cruises so far, and I will say our cruise last year on the Norwegian Star wasn't impressive. Smaller ship that needed more updates and better food. The specialty restaurants however were very good except for the Italian restaurant.
It is what you make it. Considering you were on one of the newest Norwegian ships I would think there would be lots to do. We just cruised Carnival Magic and it was wonderful, also a big ship. Movies every night, good places to eat, shows, the casino, we were never bored. Plus we don't drink much either except for the occasional pina coladas.
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