We liked being on the islands but did not the ship. This cruise was by far the worst experience we’ve ever had. I feel like it was a waste of money. If I had it to do all over again I would not have went.
Embarkation
5 out of 5
Ship experiences
Food and Dining
2 out of 5
The specialty restaurants was fine but everywhere else we ate just was not good. We have high expectations for the food going into this cruise being our first time sailing with Norwegian and we all was let down. The food is no better than Carnival or Royal Caribbean like so many people say. Our opinion of this cruise it was much worse.
Onboard Activities
2 out of 5
Never got in the pools, didn’t do any of the water slides because of everything being so crowded. This ship does not accommodate 4,200 guests comfortably at all. The ship was so crowded it made it uncomfortable everywhere we went.
Entertainment
3 out of 5
Only got to get in one show due to everything else being booked up. It was okay but not great.
Service and Staff
5 out of 5
Ship Quality
1 out of 5
The ship was clean but the layout was horrible when it comes to accommodating 4,200 guests. I have been on some of the smallest and the largest cruise ships in the world and this ship was by far the most crowded ship I’ve ever seen. It was so bad that none of us could enjoy our cruise. I have no idea why they would do most of the shows in the atrium of this ship and expect that many people to be able to come and watch them. We not once got to watch any of them because of the crowds and chair and table hogs. We tried getting seats up to two hours early at times and still couldn’t and when we would stand at a spot waiting people would just get right in front of you and make it so that you couldn’t see. It was so frustrating for these reasons.
Cabin / Stateroom
5 out of 5
Ship tip
You better get on the ship early and book your shows if possible otherwise you will not get to see them. If you don’t like a crowded cruise ship this ship will not be for you. Don’t go on like we did thinking the food will be better than other cruise lines because it is not and you will be let down.
This was by far the worst disembarkation experience we’ve ever had. We was supposed to get off the ship and be on a shuttle to the airport by 9am. We didn’t get off the ship until 12pm due to the lines. The lines literally went from one end of the ship to the other and it was like that on multiple decks. I’m not sure if it’s always like that but that day for us was chaos and the crew act like this was their first time doing it. When we finally did get off it took an hour and a half to get a shuttle to the airport. Keep in mind our flights and shuttles was booked straight through the cruise line too. What a horrible experience.
Also I forgot to mention the food in the main dining rooms was below average the 3 nights we ate there. The dining rooms were Taste twice and Savor once. Another thing with you saying I must be use to sailing on older Carnival ships with less quality and service if funny lol. I have sailed on 2 older Carnival ships but the rest have been newer and the same goes for the Royal Caribbean ships I’ve been on. No matter which ships or which cruise lines I’ve been on the experience was better in every way on any of the 15 different cruise ships I’ve been on. I’m not sure what the deal was on this sailing but it just wasn’t good for us and I never thought I would say that about a cruise but I am now.
The review is supposed to be based on my opinion so that’s what I did. Like it or dislike it I’m being honest about our experience. Everyones opinion is different. You evidently had a better experience on the ship then we did. I had 4 more with us on this cruise and all felt the same way so it’s not just me. Everything about that cruise was even very unorganized like this was their first sailing or something. Unlike you we couldn’t get a chair at the pools even going out at 7am because of all the chair hogs on the ship. We could find a chair here and there but never enough to get us side by side. I’ve never had that problem on any other ship I’ve been on. The food was the worst we’ve had on a ship when it came to the buffet. Two of the 3 specialty restaurants we did was just okay but Lebistro was fantastic.
I've been on the Escape twice and although it does get very crowded in atrium during shows, it's not like that everywhere. I had no problems with pools, even at times was the only one in them. Also the food to be well above average. Perhaps you are spoiled Salinger on old Carnival ships and prefer their average service and quality. I sailed on one Carnival cruise and that was enough for for me. I feel if you are going to give a review of a ship, it should be based on averages and not solely your opinion.
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