Overall the cruise was just ok at best. Unremarkable ports, food, entertainment, ship experiences. I'm going to stay with the smaller ships where possible.
Embarkation
5 out of 5
Even though it was a very large ship, the embarkation process was the easiest and shortest of any cruise we've taken.
Ship experiences
Food and Dining
3 out of 5
Buffet was quite good. Good selection and good food. The main dining rooms were disappointing. First, the service was VERY slow. Then the food was unremarkable at best. Meat was often over done and tough and all fish dishes I had were very bad. Fishy smelling and tasting. I can't comment on any specialty restaurant because we couldn't get into any. They all were booked up.
Onboard Activities
3 out of 5
We didn't do a lot of activities, but the ones we did were ok. We didn't use the pool or sun deck areas because it was just so crowded on sea days. It was almost impossible to use those spaces. They were not a pleasant places to be on the ship. Even though there is a lot of deck area and a lot of deck chairs, there still wasn't enough to comfortably accommodate everybody.
Entertainment
3 out of 5
Most shows were typical cruise ship style and quality. The Choir of Man show was a very good show. The biggest problem was the need to make reservations and the lack of venue space to accommodate everybody easily.
Children's Programs
No kids with us.
Service and Staff
5 out of 5
The professionalism and friendliness of everyone from bar tenders to waiters to service desk staff to room stewards was excellent.
Ship Quality
3 out of 5
The ship was very clean and in excellent condition. I was disappointed that being one of newer "mega-ships" it would have had a more exciting interior design. In fact it was rather unremarkable. Also, the lack of any kind of larger interior gathering place like most of the smaller ships have at the front of the ship was very disappointing. There just wasn't any venue to just hand out and read and relax with a drink. The best feature of the ship was the "Water Front" but it was not large enough. And in a colder climate, it would not have been usable.
Cabin / Stateroom
5 out of 5
Cabin was great. Plenty of room. Very clean and comfortable.
Ship tip
Be aware of the fact it is a very large ship with lots of people onboard. Don't expect the pool/sun decks to be very pleasant experiences. Also make sure to make reservations for shows, dining, etc. as soon as possible. We were unable to do some things because there was no availability.
Again, for a larger ship the process was very easy and fast. The only issue we had is that I was stopped on exiting the ship because I had a balance on my bill where NCL owed me money. I don't know why they can't just credit the credit card and avoid this surprise. Also I should have been notified that I needed do something regarding my account before the fact.
Thanks for the heads up for reservations when on the ship first thing, also heard that the sun deck and pools are very crowded on sea days will definitely avoid that
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