Overall.. vey nice ship and very clean. The food could have been much better. The entertainment was lacking. Very easy on and off. There was lots of walking as there are only two elevators stations. Service was excellent. The drink package was easy, unlimited drinks up to $15 each. They literally ran out on day 3 of Moscato and Riesling, Bloody Mary mix, some whisky and other items which was very odd.
Embarkation
5 out of 5
Parked at Terminal 10 which was only about 200 yards from the ship and the Covid Tents. $17 per day and was easy to drop off and pick up luggage. The Covid test tents were easy to navigate and quick. Check in on to the ship was a breeze! The attached photo shows you the parking garage, the covid tents and how close to the ship all was
Ship experiences
Food and Dining
2 out of 5
Deck 16 Buffet was hit and miss like all cruise buffets. We ate breakfast in the smaller dining rooms Savor and Taste on deck 6 mid-ship, note, they had a great eggs benedict. Dinners we ate in the Manhattan dining room on 7 aft which has a nice atmosphere. The Food on the Free dining could have been much better. The Prime rib was tough. We often felt disappointed with what we ate unfortunately. They did have a good egg plant parmesean. We ate at Cagneys steak house and Teppinaki Japanese steak house, both were excellent. Everyone seemed to like all the specialty restaurants. We found moving reservations last minute was very easy if you needed.
Onboard Activities
4 out of 5
Deck 6 forward in the Attrium was where we spent most of our time for Triva and other activities. There was line dancing, newlywed games etc. Just like all cruise ships. Deck 7 has O'Sheehans which had a decent pub for menu and also a fairly large game area with a pool table, arcade and mini bowling lanes. There were several activities throughout the ship and pool area.
Entertainment
2 out of 5
First off, any activities in the Theater you should wear a long sleeve shirt and some pants etc. Many people were cold. I had to leave and change into something warmer and grab a sweater for my wife. The seats are not comfortable and the built in cup holders were in the way and the arms are steel with no padding and cold. The entertainment was lacking with the exception of Choir of Man which was EXCELLENT..maybe the best show we have ever seen on a ship.. very entertaining and fun! The other show we saw in the Theater was Company of Men.. it was difficult to watch. NCL needs to have a Magician and a better comedian show. We did watch two comedians in the Comedy club, Orlando from Boston was ok. Note: when you get on the ship, be sure to book tickets on your interactive TV for seats, you MUST do this right away as they fill up quickly. You cannot get into shows without a reservation. The interactive TV has everything you need. We missed the Neal Diamond show day one because we did not act quick enough to book reservations. We heard it was an "okay" show.
Service and Staff
5 out of 5
Excellent staff, very friendly and attentive! Best service we ever experienced on a cruise. Our room steward Alestaire was excellent. He even brought us our own coffee pot.
Ship Quality
4 out of 5
This is truly a beautiful ship but we found the layout chopped up some, There are only two sets of elevators, forward and aft so you will walk a lot so be prepared. Guest services and the shore excursions desk was located in the attriam area where game shows, music etc were always playing which made it difficult to hear or carry on a conversation. There was no real central area that we could sit and have a coffee or drink and look at multiple levels like most ships
Cabin / Stateroom
5 out of 5
We opted for an updated cabin on the 14th floor. Bigger bathroom and more storage space. Well worth the $$ We did wish we were just a bit more mid-ship which would have been more convenient to get to the two sets of elevators aft and forward. A center elevator would have been nice to have.
Ship tip
Learn the interactive TV first.. booking reservations for diner and shows and Tender tickets is done through the interactive TV. TV in general is very poor except news channels, so bring a iPad or tablet with downloaded shows if you want to kill some downtime. We listened to ebooks a lot. We also brought a small Bluetooth speaker for the balcony and played it low when we sat out catching sun. Note a PORT side cabin is better on this cruise for the way the ship docked in Dominican, St Thomas and Tortilla.
A nicer port than they used to have but very limited shopping. We grabbed a very nice island tour for only $20 per person! Bring your camera, many beautiful views. The same exact tour through the ship was $45 per person! Very safe and well organized. Its about 2 hours. They also have a 3.5 hour that includes the beach for about $30. Again the ship was about $65 for the same excursion with the beach..
Looked nice from my Balcony.. we sailed right by! This happens frequently I am told as this is a tender port and it's often to rough. Very disappointing as we ended up up have three ship days and only three ports of call. :(
Nice port, took a off ship excursion we grabbed at the Pier to a nice resort, food, drink and nice pool and beach. Paid 60 per person. Very Safe... it was about 4 hours. We seldom book through the ship.. it's the very same company and they get you back to the ship guaranteed.
Been there many times.. just took a taxi for $4 each into town. Easy and nice. Taxis are located straight off the ship about 2 blocks. Nice Cruise shops there as well. All safe..
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