Relaxation and Fun!

Our Norwegian Cruise to the Eastern Caribbean was wonderful. Although we had very little in the way of sunshine and a lot of rain it was still a great cruise. This was our first cruise with Norwegian and we were very happy with them. One of the reasons we choose Norwegian was for the Freestyle dining and it did not disappoint. The food was top notch although we had 3 dinners in the upgraded restaurants and we felt they were not worth the extra money. The Grand Pacific and Magenta dining rooms had delicious food with different menus nightly and you could choose more than one selection on each course. The Garden Cafe was the main dining area for breakfast and lunch buffet style and the food was excellent although it did not stay warm as you searched for seating each time.  The entertainment was terrific every night with one exception...the "Second City" show was a horrendous attempt at humor and we left halfway through. Terrible. The comedian, Tim Kaminsky, was the funniest we have ever seen!! Don't miss him! Also do not miss Leo, a solo act guitarist/vocalist who was an excellent singer and entertainer. We saw all of his performances in various areas and he was terrific! The on board activities were excellent and there was plenty to do which was important since there was very little pool weather. The staff and cruise director were very personable and did a good job entertaining. The housekeeping staff (our steward was Derek...the best) kept the rooms clean and tidy with both make up and turn down service and were very attentive to needs and requests.The photography staff did a great job with several photo opportunities and were very professional.

There were a few minor things that were negatives but the major complaint we had was the smoking on the ship. It was allowed on balconies (tolerable somewhat) but smoking was also allowed in the casino and the stench was horrendous even in the hallways leading to it. Inside the casino was intolerable and several other passengers expressed the same complaint to us in our conversations. Unless Norwegian goes smoke free we may have to choose another smoke free cruise line. This problem brought our rating down to a 4.