All in all a wonderful cruise itinerary even though 2 of the 4 ports were NCL private islands. The ship and staff were generally great with the exception of a few staff that were not what we felt were part of the NCL standard.
Embarkation
5 out of 5
Fast and easy experience!
Ship experiences
Food and Dining
4 out of 5
Did not use main dining. The specialty restaurants Were great and the dining package is a must have. The bars left a sour taste in my mouth and not from the lime juice. Primarily the pool deck and Mojito bar tenders appeared to want to harass customers more than serve them. However, the Atrium and Spice H2O bars were well staffed and where I found myself toward the end of the cruise.
Onboard Activities
5 out of 5
The side by side slides are awesome! There were so many activities sometimes it was hard to choose which ones to do. Dueling pianos, comedians, musicals, shows, "game shows", escape rooms and more. if there is something you like to do it is likely available on the Escape, even if is to just sit by the pool. Note, get to the pool early. People reserve seats, easy ones to spot are the ones with the chip clips on their towels, for the day and there little oversight of the policy against this.
Entertainment
5 out of 5
Choir of Man was amazing, must see is all I can say! The escape room experience was challenging. While I did not enjoy After Midnight, it was only because it was not my style. The cast and crew put on a great production. We loved the Standup comedians and saw several performances. Dueling pianos were different and enjoyable.
Service and Staff
3 out of 5
Waiters were great and often the best way to receive drinks. Our room steward appeared to be the only one interested in our stateroom comfort. When we arrived we had one comforter for three people. After fighting over it the first night, We called room services several times the second day and never got an answer or a response. After a second night fighting over one blanket, we called guest services and was assured by a live person that if we made sure to keep the do not disturb sign off we would get a blanket delivered, nothing arrived. Finally, after three nights fighting over one blanket I left a note in the room for our room steward to leave us an extra blanket and pillow. We had left the room for no more than an hour for breakfast and when we returned not only was aur room already done, but we had two extra pillows and blankets. I hate leaving a Low mark because most of the staff we interacted with on a daily basis were amazing but the upper level housekeeping staff, a couple bar tenders and the guest services staff made us think twice about booking a fifth Norwegian criuse.
Ship Quality
5 out of 5
Once I figured it out, everything made sense! Sometimes it was easy to get turned around and forget which direction was forward or aft, may be a few discreet signs to help direct people which direction they may want to go.
Cabin / Stateroom
5 out of 5
There was plenty of room for three adults and Elberth was an amazing steward. The room was clean and comfortable.
Ship tip
Take the time to walk the ship and get to know decks 6, 7 and 8.
This port has the same perks as onboard your ship, but the bars are far more crowded and if another ship is there it can be impossible to get a beach chair. It is not very developed yet so expect there to be limited activities.
The town outside the port is small yet spread out. I would definitely recommend the ATVs or golf cart rental if you are going to do a beach day around town. We rented a golf cart for the day and went to the beach where we had a couple drinks (way over priced) but was able to find a local snorkeling guide who took us out to a very nice reef spot where we saw a sting ray and a sea turtle. all in all a great experience. Note: the dolphin experience is operated from within the port and is completely locked by the cruise lines.
This is another NCL private island. To get to the mainland you must take a water taxi that costs $25pp. Good news is you can use your $50 shore excursion credit to cover the cost. Note however the way the water taxis works prevents you from having the time to see most of Belize in particular it is to far to go cave tubing. A very sad and disappointing choice by NCL. Either they should extend the water taxi hours to make this possible again or provide a direct water taxi from the cruise ship. Even though this a private island of NCL you do not maintain your onboard perks.
This is still one of my favorite ports of call. While the cost of local excursions has increased it appears service and the local area has improved from it as well. We walked to a zipline experience right in town. It appeared safe and the guides were knowledgeable and enjoyable. Afterwards our walking guide took us downtown to an open market and we had some local food and drink.
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