Overall we will not likely be booking another NCL cruise. For first time cruisers this may be a great option or those with older/adult children.
Embarkation
4 out of 5
Very smooth, got onboard prior to our reserved check in time
Ship experiences
Food and Dining
3 out of 5
Very standard fare. Specialty dining really was nothing to write home about. Nothing was specifically bad but as a fairly seasoned cruiser I’ve come to expect a certain level of cuisine and overall NCL missed the mark by miles.
Onboard Activities
4 out of 5
The activities were plentiful but ranged more for the adult crowd, I don’t feel there was much outside the Youth clubs for kids activities
Entertainment
3 out of 5
We did not get the opportunity to see any of the shows - for being a cruise line that embraces “cruise freedom” EVERYTHING on board requires a reservation.
Children's Programs
3 out of 5
The kids club overall was a hit, both of my kids had a great time. The counselor were amazing! My only issue, and I feel it’s considerable is that the program was only available for very select times throughout the day and not every day had the same slots available. This cause significant issues with previously make reservations and even required us to have to cancel excursions that had be booked.
Service and Staff
4 out of 5
The vast majority of the staff were outstanding, always had a smile and a warm greeting. My one complaint was that when my daughter had asked one of our stewards if someone could please come pull the extra bed down so they could go to bed (it was our first night and we had been up since 3am) the steward brushed her off and said someone would be in later. I know the first day is very busy for all staff try to get everyone in and settled but by this time it was after 6pm and most guests had their luggage. We let it go, went to dinner and by 8p they were exhausted and still no bed. The next steward we spoke to was great and sent someone right in.
Ship Quality
4 out of 5
Over all the ship was very clean. The layout was nice. I wish there were more pools, there were only 2 on the whole vessel and only one of which kids could use. It became very over crowded during days at sea. Also for the number of guests on board (close to 4300), the number of lounge chairs should be reviewed. I understand space is limited but again if other areas could be utilized than guests could space out more.
Cabin / Stateroom
5 out of 5
I was quite impressed with the cabin. Staterooms are not known to be very spacious but we managed quite well with 4 people. The bathroom was especially large which I was very impressed by. The closet was large as were the shelves, allowing us to stay fairly organized throughout our trip.
Ship tip
Plan and do your research. If you have children and plan to do excursions without them, it may be better to wait to book until you know the youth programs schedule. If you have high expectations for food you may be better off looking at a different cruise line or lower your expectations for the trip.
Very impressed. We had an excursion this day and I really wish we had more time to explore the port itself. There was so much to do without having to venture out. It was very clean and welcoming.
I was very happy that we were able to visit, we were the first group in over 5 weeks that were able to tender in. With that said, the tender process was atrocious. Once again you have to reserve a tendering group if you wanted to to go ashore before 12p. By 12:30 we were still 11 groups out from our own and return time was 4pm. Thankfully we made the decision to just go down and try to get on the next group and thank goodness we did. The port itself was nice, I was very disappointed to find out after we got ashore that most of the shops were cash only and no atm onsite. But all other drink and food shops used our ship cards.
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