There seems to be a disconnect between the level of service offered and the ability to provide that service. The staff seems over-worked and is not thoroughly trained to offer proper service at the level that is expected when one pays thousands of dollars for a short cruise. The entertainment was so far below the standard, that is was truly embarrassing. Attention to detail, proper training and deep examination of the entertainment program would certainly help bring this experience up to an acceptable level. However, we feel that this will take some time and will be spending our travel dollars with other companies for the foreseeable future.
Embarkation
2 out of 5
There was a lot of confusion for which line to be in after security. Not enough staff to handle the amount of passengers. We stood for 45 minutes to get to an agent after going through security...and we paid extra for Priority Boarding. There was not even a separate line for that.
Ship experiences
Food and Dining
1 out of 5
Main dining rooms were under-staffed and everyone seemed exhausted. The specialty dining rooms were so under-staffed that they only could keep half the restaurant open for seatings. This caused a very limited access to any of them. Inside these restaurants, the staff was not trained for proper service. Waters were filled once and never revisited, drinks from the bar took 20 minutes to come to the table and most of the food was served cool to Luke warm. None of the recipes seemed terribly inventive and most of it could be found at your local Applebee's. For a cruise line that claims they know dining, we were not impressed.
Onboard Activities
2 out of 5
The spa and fitness center were the highlights of the activities on this cruise. The cruise director lacked the charisma to really get people involved in much outside of these. We attended a few of the "game shows" and witnessed some of the offerings in the showroom. Nothing really stood out.
Entertainment
1 out of 5
Truly, this was a surprise to us. The "headliner" on the opening night was a singer (nice voice) with a stool and a black curtain drop behind him. The music was all on tracks and sounded like it came from an old tape recorder. The lighting was not thought out and had no real effect to add. The actual show was full of mediocre arrangements of familiar tunes with zero connection to a story or anyone in the room. The only other show that we saw was the comedian, who probably hasn't done much outside of 5 minute sets on the circuit. It was pretty painful. The production show was not able to perform due to 16' waves and many safety issues. This was understandable, but perhaps a blessing in disguise after sampling the previous offerings.
Children's Programs
We did not travel with children.
Service and Staff
3 out of 5
Our steward was the shining star in this experience. He was always friendly, anticipated our needs and really showed us the value of our suite and the priority boarding package. Without him, this would be an overall 2 star experience. His name was Jonathan. The casino staff was also quite wonderful. The food and beverage department was previously discussed here and we found similar stress and lack of knowledge in several other departments including the shops, art gallery, Internet cafe and hotel front desk.
Ship Quality
3 out of 5
Solid, classic design and layout. We know this class of ship well and it is easy to navigate. The maps are very clear and it was not hard to find anything we were looking for. The ship itself was well-maintained and cleanliness was at the highest level.
Cabin / Stateroom
4 out of 5
This is a great size for 2 people. We had a wonderful balcony, sitting area and comfortable bed. Storage was ample and all the amenities were useful. We did have a broken phone and speaker in the cabin. This caused us to miss several announcements and calls from room service at times.
Ship tip
I'd say give them a little more time to figure how to come back after the pandemic. It really is a bit rough right now.
Here's another one. My last NCL cruise was in November and had a great time with great food selections, but I find it hard to believe that the food on this ship came poorly made or cold on every day, oh well, perspective I suppose.
Great review! Thanks for sharing. Last time I've cruised on NCL was pre-pandemic and it used to be my prefered cruise line. Reading many reviews from NCL nowadays and things seems to go downhill...Hope NCL gets back on track and deliver what people are expecting from them. I've sailed on her, really like that ship!
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