This was my 7th cruise, and 3rd with NCL. It was my boyfriend's first cruise as an adult (he went on a Disney cruise when he was 12, which was over 30 years ago). This was our first time to Bermuda. This cruise did not disappoint either of us!
This is the biggest ship I've been on to date, yet it didn't feel like there were 5200+ passengers on board. For the price we paid, it was an excellent cruise; we are already planning another on the Encore. We loved Jacky Tang the cruise director, out of all the cruises I've been on, I have never remembered any of the cruise directors. I can't say that about Jacky, he will never be forgotten!
Embarkation
5 out of 5
I am a Bronze latitudes member so i had priority check-in. Minimal wait.
Ship experiences
Food and Dining
4 out of 5
Drinks were great, my boyfriend and i purchased the beverage package; The food was so-so. Not as good as i remembered on previous NCL ships.
Onboard Activities
5 out of 5
We played mini golf which was actually quite difficult! It was a hard course! We didn't use the pool as there were way too many people around it. It was a little too breezy and chilly to use the slide and the aqua racer (plus we were too chicken) but we watched a lot of other people enjoy it.
Entertainment
5 out of 5
Loved the Not-So-Newlywed game, i'm sure we will talk about it for years to come as will other passengers who got to know "Mr Pickle". Jacky the cruise director was great, so funny, so articulate, very entertaining. We went to Howling at the Moon dueling piano show, we could have sat there for the full 4+ hours they were performing that's how great they were. Choir of Man was phenomenal, we already downloaded their album. They are a MUST SEE!
Children's Programs
We didn't have kids with us
Service and Staff
4 out of 5
Waiters were attentive for the most part, tho there was a language barrier at times. Bartenders in the Atrium bar were amazing, taking 5 or 6 key cards and remembering what each passenger ordered. Our room steward Samanta was non-existent, this is what I found disappointing. The room was not clean, had not been vacuumed, shelves were dusty and dirty, hair in the shower, flat sheet on upside down and tag was in my face. I know it does not matter much as we are not in the room a lot however, we had a balcony so we were in the room more than usual. We paid a lot of money for this cruise and keeping the room clean would be one of the easier things to do compared to what the bartenders and wait staff does.
Ship Quality
4 out of 5
Layout was a little tight, public areas too small for the 5200+ onboard. I could see streak marks on the walls from when they were wiped down. My other NCL cruises (Pride of Aloha and Pride of Hawaii) had much better design and both were cleaner but that was 12 years ago. A lot has changed in the cruising industry.
Cabin / Stateroom
5 out of 5
It was your basic stateroom. Small but we survived! Balcony was nice, we booked it based on a balcony room i had on Disney Fantasy 3 years ago.
Ship tip
Get on board as early as you're able to, and check out where everything is and which areas tend to have more traffic. You will be glad you did. Make sure your stateroom door closes completely, sometimes ours didn't. Don't bother calling guest services, you are better going down to deck 6 in person, they don't answer the phone. And don't forget to "washy washy" and use the antibacterial liquids wherever you see them; i washed my hands no less than 10x a day and i am just now at the start of a cold so beware of the germs!
Clean, safe, people were very friendly and very helpful when we had questions. Beware of the blonde employee in the Rum Cake/Glass Blowing factory, she talks and talks and works slowly and ignores the 25 person deep line. We had put rum cake on reserve and she said to come back and pay for it after we finished shopping. We waited 10 minutes and she was still on the same customer so we left without the cake. The only excursion we booked was Goslings Rum Sunset cruise and it was well worth it. The staff on the boat were funny, cordial, polite, attentive, indulgent. Couldn't have asked for a better crew of people. The rum was good too, we bought 4 bottles of it once we were back on the ship so now we can have dark and stormy's until the bottles are empty!
*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.
