Will think twice before booking with Norwegian again. The Mandara Spa package is what saved this cruise from getting a lower ranking. We will look at a smaller ship for our next cruise and likely return to RC brand.
Embarkation
4 out of 5
It took 2 hours from airport to terminal due to traffic and tunnel closure.
Ship experiences
Food and Dining
3 out of 5
The food was great. The garden cafe was quite good for morning buffets. The main dining rooms were quite a wait since they did not take advanced reservations and service was slow. If you wanted to see an early show you needed to eat at 5:30 to be out in time. Specialty dining was very difficult to reserve, unless you are on the ship the first 1 after boarding, your dining times are limited to 5:30 or after 9:00. We had a specialty dining package for 4 nights. We were only able to advance reserve for 3 of those and just showed up at 5:30 for the 4th. The restaurant manager at the 4th (Ocean Blue) was not too friendly and made a point that we did not have reservations. It seems that people get onboard and book all the dining times, but in many cases never show up. Anytime we specialty dined there were always empty tables, but no reservation times to be had. Very poor planning on Norwegian's part.
Onboard Activities
4 out of 5
We are older so we did not take in all the activities that are available for kids. Regarding the pool, it was incredibly small for that size ship. By 10:30 am it was filled with already drunk people, every square inch. Since we upgraded to a spa balcony stateroom (glad we did that) we spent a few hours each day in the spa. That was soothing and relaxing. The fitness center was well equipped but crowded, best to go there mid afternoon.
Entertainment
5 out of 5
The shows were great. Again, those that required reservations were had to get into and reserve even mid afternoon on departure day.
Service and Staff
4 out of 5
Service was good but not great. Too many patrons and too few staff. Our room steward did a good job, but it was Wednesday before we figured out he was the room steward. He never introduced himself.
Ship Quality
2 out of 5
Pool is too small. Some of the specialty dining venues on deck 6 that had atrium seating reeked of casino smoke. They need to work on their ventilation systems as the smell was bad from smoke that would carry up three levels. Our stateroom however was very nice and spacious with lots of storage and a nice bathroom.
Cabin / Stateroom
5 out of 5
Spacious, great bathroom and plenty of storage.
Ship tip
Do early boarding, we were not able to do that due to our flight times. Book you dining and show reservation immediately upon boarding. They have a location you can do that, the touchscreens did not work half the time.
The port was not that beautiful. The excursion OK. Magen's Bay. The water was beautiful. The beach was nothing special, Florida beaches are better. And very crowded with tourists.
This location was awesome. No shortage of chairs. Paid $29 for an umbrella set-up. Definitely worth the cost. Beautiful white sand beach. Food options were good as well. Probably the best off ship day we had.
Organized chaos is the best way to describe disembarkation. It took 3 hours from the time we left our stateroom at 8:15 until we exited the terminal. And we were one of the earlier groups to disembark due to our pre-reserved transportation to the airport through Norwegian. I feel sorry for the late ship departure folks.
I’ve always been able to book speciality and MDR dining from 90 days out. The reservations appear in your cruise planner on the app and on your TV but unfortunately they can’t predict who won’t actually use their reservation, and some people don’t have the decency to cancel if they’re not showing up. That’s why it’s best to try your luck with dinner and shows anyway.
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