Absolutely horrendous cruise, 3rd with NCL and a stark departure from what we first experienced with them. It was bad enough to turn us off from any cruises, and we've done 7 in our life. We may go back to cruising, but only on Disney, I hear it's worth the price you pay. Everything from the entertainment to the way were treated and lied to would turn any seasoned cruiser off this type of vacation. I cannot emphasize how much we took all of this in stride and tried not to blame the staff on board but the Food and beverage manager yelling at us was unacceptable, furthermore no other staff the saw this or was informed of this actually cared. The company is operating like it's going out of business. We have asked for a full refund but have not heard back yet. Loss of money is not as bad as the lost vacation time we can not get back. I will never sail NCL again, even if it were free.
Embarkation
5 out of 5
Easy, fast embarkation, sad this was a bright side of the entire trip
Ship experiences
Food and Dining
3 out of 5
Overall good food but the last meal at Taste was poor. Food was cold for 4 of the 7 people in our group. Buffet was chaotic but the food was good there. Moderna was the best meal.
Onboard Activities
2 out of 5
Pools were jammed, the hotubs too. Two upper hotubs had space but no functioning jets so it was very much like a bath with strangers. Odd.
Entertainment
1 out of 5
What a departure for NCL. The entertainment on our past 2 NCL cruises (Joy, Breakaway) were fantastic. This was absolutely awful, we unfortunately walked out of both big shows, the deck parties were mid at best and we got smoked out each noght by the diesel exhaust flooding the back deck.
Children's Programs
1 out of 5
Our kids were extremely bored. Our 10 year old said they forced her to separate from her 4 year old brother in the splash academy. Our 7 year old enjoyed the video games.. Staff were friendly. Basically all that was offered was colouring on paper bags and video games. They went once, did not want to go back.
Service and Staff
2 out of 5
The staff we encountered was nice, our stateroom steward wouldn't do the towel animals like our friends doen the hall had. The bartenders were good but overwhelmed, lack of wait staff. I feel bad for the folks working the entry level jobs. Guest services was very poor and the Food & Beverage manager yelled at us when we asked for an explanation for missing 2 ports (he was put out front of guest services to deal with the rightfully upset passengers). I would rate the staff lower for this but 1 bad apple shouldn't spoil the bunch.
Ship Quality
4 out of 5
Nice ship overall but not our favourite. It is clean and in good condition.
Cabin / Stateroom
4 out of 5
Balcony cabin was nice, they will not let you connect balconies to your family next door for "safety reasons"? Good size. Kids loved the bunk beds.
Ship tip
Do not sail with NCL. Cancel, get a refund so you don't have to try to get it after you are disappointed. We have sailed 3 times with the and 4 with Carnival. This was the worst cruise we had ever been on. It was a stark departure from our previous 2 NCL cruises last year.
They delayed disembarking in port canaveral by nearly 2 hours. Never told why but we think it was due to credits being owed to passengers because guests services was flooded with people and they kept making announcements about getting ypur refund before disembarking. They kicked everyone out of the dinning areas so we all waited in hallways sitting on the ground until we could leave. We ended up forcing our way put. Met a family that was gonna miss their flight because they could not get off at 8am as they had planned and prepared for. It was a mess. Our shuttle driver said this was the worst he'd seen it for a cruise line at disembarking
Wow that’s insane
I have been waiting 4 years to cruise since Covid always having to cancel cruise or it was cancelled by travel agents. We were booked on the breakaway first and then escape twice.
We go in March hopefully they get the kinks out by then. Thanks for your review.
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