We were rerouted due to a hurricane, We ended up with perfect weather in St Thomas, St marten and Nassau. Had a great time, as did our friends. We did more relaxing on this cruise than some previous, as a result of not doing absolutely everything the ship offered. Very enjoyable experience.
Embarkation
4 out of 5
We are Platinum members and could have gotten on earlier, but stayed with our friends till their group number was called. It was relatively painless, and pretty quick.
Ship experiences
Food and Dining
4 out of 5
We are not picky eaters, and not foodies by any stretch. But we found in general, that so many things, especially in the dining rooms were over salted. So badly so that during one meal in Manhattan, all 4 four of us (three different entrees) didn't finish because of the saltiness. This is the first time on any of my 27 cruises on NCL for this to be an issue. Other than that, we found everything to be top notch. Moderno was awesome, and food was perfectly seasoned there. NCL still has the best buffets among the 4 lines we have sailed. The largest selection, more international selections, and is open in some way from 6 AM to 11:30 PM. The desserts, however, although getting better are still somewhat lacking. My lactose intolerant friend had difficulty finding enough variety. And NCL still has a penchant for cheesecakes, mousses and cream cakes made with gelatin in them Yuck. If you don't have the beverage package, drinks are expensive
Onboard Activities
3 out of 5
We love the slides and the ropes course. Didn't do the mini golf (too hot) There were pool activities that were fun to watch, but found that many of the things we liked on other ships were not there. No ZUMBA or latin dance classes, for one. The pools were lovely, altho small, and when the kids' pool was closed, they spilled over into the adults' pool. The fitness Center was well used, but there were usually some machines available when you wanted them. Very few were out of service. In Spice H2o, we very much enjoyed the "water feature" which is a cool little grotto type area with waterfalls to walk under and "rock" walls to sit on in the shade. Not enough shade provided in the Spice H20 area during the day (a welcomed adult area), and there were few umbrellas to be had. Chair hogs were not deterred that I noticed.
Entertainment
5 out of 5
As per usual, the shows were fabulous. All of the musicians, singers & dancers were amazingly talented. Loved the hypnotist/comedian/magician as well as the other comedians. Don't like the smaller venues, however, as so many times we got locked out of shows no matter how early we tried to book them. They don't use Spice H2o enough, and overuse the Atrium which is unbelievably and dangerously LOUD!!! (we own a sound company. This is our business, and all of the larger main venues had sound levels at a dangerous level.) Earplugs are a must, unless you don't mind damaging your hearing. One other annoying thing they did in the theater lot was to shine the moving lights in the faces of the audience ad nauseum. We found it to be blinding, irritating and a general detraction from the excellent talent on the stage. They don't warn you about it either. Wish they used the Theater and Spice more than the Atrium. It was hard to find seats, hard to see if you couldn't find a seat, and too loud, so we stopped going to entertainment that was done there because of those issues. But the game shows are funny (if you can see - no problem hearing!) and the officer presentations like engine room, Q&A etc are very interesting.
Children's Programs
no kids!
Service and Staff
5 out of 5
All staff bent over backwards to please us, the wait staff in the restaurants were efficient and solicitous, our room steward (Doyle) was great. The officers are ever-present, and available for conversation and help with whatever your problems are. NCL wins in the officer presence department. Except for this captain. We never saw him, and only heard form him when necessary. The cruise director, Tyler, has cloned himself and is positively EVERYWHERE, including as a drummer in the Howl at the Moon dueling pianos show. The officers came to the Meet & Greet, and also attended the Latitudes party, and mixed with the passengers, handing out their business cards, asking you to call them if there is something you need. It's one of the many things I love about NCL.
Ship Quality
4 out of 5
This should be two questions. The ship is spotless. 5 stars. After being on two ships in this class , we've decided that we don't care for this design very much. As stated before, we don't love the Atrium concept, preferring the lounges and theaters instead. With the 24 hour restaurant, (O'SHeehan's), guest services, shore excursions desk, and constant entertainment, it was ALWAYS crowded. Sometimes uncomfortably so. We did like that most of the food was in the same general area of the ship (aft) and entertainment was forward. Made it easier to remember in what general direction to go. Love the fish on the carpets on the passenger floors - wish they would somehow incorporate it into the other decks as well. With such a big ship, it was easy to go in the wrong direction and find yourself on the opposite end of where you wanted to be. The casino was quite large and spread out, and of course, smoky. . There is a TV screen above the inside door of each elevator, which shows repetitious videos of food being created. Would much rather see listings of some of the main venues on each floor as that floor is approached. It would help passenger navigation and would be useful. Right now, it’s just useless repetition of food advertising
Cabin / Stateroom
4 out of 5
Spotlessly clean. It's a good size bedroom, altho there are no drawers to put clothes in - just shelves. Some of the shelves are in a curved cabinet which made the shelving less useful, and they're down below the desk/TV are, making them less accessible. The one drawer provided was a tiny one, in the bathroom, down low. The closet is adequately sized, with sliding doors. The vault is easy to use and easy to access. There were adequate narrow shelves in the bathroom as well as in the bedroom for single row items, but spots to easily store sunglasses and slightly wider items were missing. The bathroom was much bigger than that of a balcony, and the shower was fabulous. LARGE, with upgraded shower nozzles (5 or 6 altogether), with a glass sliding door. Plenty of room. Very nice double sink also, with easy to use faucets. I missed having a towel rack for the hand towel right next to the sink. You had to leave the towel on the sink. The balcony was a comfortable size.
Ship tip
Bring earplugs. Participate in as much as you can. Talk to the officers you see -they actually like it. Remember that food is aft and entertainment is forward
There were a lot of lines to wait on (we disembarked at 9 AM), and it seemed a bit mayhemic, altho it went OK. The suitcases onshore are not all together, and they don't tell you that there are several different rooms where the different color luggage tags are. You may have to go to 3 different areas of the port to find your color. Customs was a breeze. You don't even have to fill out any customs form anymore unless you bring back more than the allowed amount of items
Yes, this is exactly what I've been spouting: Vacation Mode - where you don't have to do everything offered and doing nothing is actually a preferred activity.
*Cruiseline.com is not a booking agent or travel agency,
and does not charge any service fees to users of our site. Our partners
(travel agencies and cruise lines) provide prices, which we list for our
users' convenience. Cruiseline.com does not guarantee any specific rates or
prices. While prices are updated daily, please check with the booking site
for the exact amount. Cruiseline.com is not responsible for content on
external web sites.
Contact us
Submitting...
Need help from a personal vacation planner?
Loading...
Find the perfect cruise with weekly tips and cruise deals for as little as $30/night!
Sign up for weekly cruise deals
Join other subscribers and get the best
cruise deals of the week in your inbox every Thursday.
