I usually research and select vacation options with my husband's input, but this trip was his selection and we both had a BLAST! It was our 2nd NCL cruise. We've both wanted to visit Scandinavia and Germany and while we didn't get a lot of time in the ports, cruising is a great way to get a flavor for where you might like to return for a longer visit. Copenhagen and Stockholm were my favorite, but some other ports pleasantly surprised us.
Embarkation
5 out of 5
Once I realized we were Latitudes members (having previously cruised with NCL), we went right to the fast line!
Ship experiences
Food and Dining
4 out of 5
Premium Beverage Package speaks for itself. We didn't do any specialty dining this time and didn't really miss it. The Tropicana Room for dinner was quite nice, especially with live entertainment. The Garden Cafe (buffet) is very convenient, but it does feel a bit like we're herded cattle. My one complaint about cruising is the food waste. I could give up some variety to save on waste, though I'm not sure most cruisers would.
Onboard Activities
4 out of 5
Loved the Splash H2O adult pool area with hot tubs and bar.
I competed in the Battle of the Sexes - and we women did win - but the guys cheated HUGELY! All in good fun, sure, but they got physical and knocked over one of our teammates and the ship employee leading their team kind of brushed it off.
Was very glad to see diversity - for two of the game shows (Not So Newlyweds and The Perfect Couple), a gay couple got to compete and even won one of them.
I also got to try acupuncture for the first time, which was surprising because I'm a bit squeamish with needles. (I had 3 treatments- not painful after all).
Entertainment
5 out of 5
The Burn the Floor show was fantastic! We were shocked it didn't have an additional cost. Six dance couples moving and shaking from one song to the next. I was nearly out of breath by the end (and I'm a runner!)
The White Hot Party there was a BLAST under the night sky with a perfect breeze blowing. Everyone was encouraged to wear white so we glowed in the black lights, a large screen played video clips, and the DJ kept the beat going.... for hours. (Oh, and the unusually warm weather didn't hurt a bit!)
Other entertainment was also very good, but we didn't get a chance to see all the shows we wanted to see- things filled up quickly.
Service and Staff
5 out of 5
Room steward, Michael, was superb. He anticipated our needs and learned our habits quickly. Always a smile. Nearly every staff member was pleasant and quick to help with any needs. The cruise director and his staff were a fun bunch- especially Junior, who you could find dancing and smiling through just about every task.
Ship Quality
5 out of 5
Easily navigable. I dislike having to go through the casino, shops and art area to get to some of the other locations, but I guess they have to be located somewhere. Everything seemed quite clean and well maintained, though I believe it was refurbished this year.
Cabin / Stateroom
5 out of 5
Our cabin was right at the aft end near a staircase (13th floor) and I thought it would seem loud, but we were never disturbed. It turned out to be quite handy to have the staircase right there- we used them much more than elevators. Ample room, efficiently designed for storage, and the door lock on the balcony was very well designed to open and close simply and securely.
Ship tip
Visit the included restaurants more (as opposed to just going to the Garden Cafe/buffet. It takes a bit longer to eat but it's less busy and stressful. Different restaurants have different options, so there may not always be something for everyone. Some of the specialty restaurants have free buffets for breakfast- I visited Moderno one morning and it was quite good.
We stayed a couple days longer at the end- just loved Copenhagen. We didn't do any tours, just explored on our own. Very easy to navigate, very bike friendly (like most of the ports).
No tour here- on our own. Cruise shuttle guide gave us all maps- great- but didn't know where we could try some German beer! So she referred us to the visitor's center and luckily they pointed us to a real Beer Garden. My husband, the dark beer guy, was thrilled. It was a lovely place and we sat outside in great weather. We were initially supposed to dock at the main port (closer to Berlin), which would have likely allowed us to see a bit more, but NCL changed it to Rostock months before. As it was, we had a very nice afternoon.
The tour we took here was not from the ship. It was supposed to be Helsinki highlights, including the Rock Church, and the town of Porvoo. Some kind of time crunch prevented us from seeing the Rock Church - one of the reasons I'd chosen this particular tour - so that was a bummer. But overall it was very nice. I'd like to spend more time in Helsinki.
Three NCL tours here, over two days. We were warned of long lines at immigration, going in and possibly coming back to the ship, but it really was not a big deal. They all have the routine down pat. St. Petersburg was not a main attraction that my husband and I were looking forward to, but we were both pleasantly surprised. The architecture was dazzling. The Hermitage, Church on Spilled Blood, Nave River. The shops that NCL excursions took us to were wonderful- not overly busy but well stocked with a variety of souvenirs. And oh yeah, my husband's favorite part.... the free samples of vodka!
Tallin was quite a pleasant surprise too. On our own here as well, because I'd read it is very walkable, and it is. Walking up, down, in and around the cobblestone streets and shops was so interesting.
The excursion was very nice- more cobblestone streets and shops and just all-around nice people and sights. Though we had some miscommunications between the tour guide and some cruisers and almost lost a couple folks. All worked out in the end.
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