Our first time doing a short one week cruise. I'd recommend this cruise to people who want to enjoy sunshine, warm weather, boat amenities, and have a restful enjoyable vacation and fun time with friends/family. Snow Birds would love this cruise. My preference as a retiree is a longer two week cruise. It's hard to take advantage of everything on board in only one week.
Embarkation
5 out of 5
easy and well-organized
Ship experiences
Food and Dining
5 out of 5
All excellent except that we never could get into the Oceans Blue specialty restaurant even though we put our names down on the waiting list and checked with the host every single day of the cruise.
Onboard Activities
3 out of 5
casino - I wish it was all non-smoking. Also the layout of the casino on the Getaway has guests walking through the gambling areas to get from Point A to Point B. It seemed like a giant walkway instead of a designated casino space.
Entertainment
4 out of 5
Entertainers were excellent . This is our third NCL cruise and the only one where we have had to make reservations to see a show in the big Theater. Also the only one where we have had to pay extra to see a show. Cirque SteamPunk was fantastic and worth every penny. Wine Drinkers Musical - food and wine were excellent but the show was kind of corny.
Service and Staff
5 out of 5
All good but not as personalized as when we've gone on smaller NCL ships on two week cruises. (Jewel and Sun)
Ship Quality
5 out of 5
Never really found a good lounge to just sit around and relax with some peace and quiet. and enjoy the view while cruising. Pool and lounge areas seemed small for so many passengers.
Cabin / Stateroom
5 out of 5
Always clean. Seemed smaller than mini-suites with Balcony on previous NCL cruises- Jewel and Sun.
Ship tip
Make specialty restaurants well in advance. Book the shore excursions so you don't get stuck in the very touristy areas right off the ship - that's no way to learn anything about the places you are visiting.
We stayed three full days in New Orleans prior to the cruise. Don't miss this fantastic city so full of fabulous food, music, and history. Very easy to find great walking tours, plantation tours, etc.
So many vendors and Tour Companies when you first get off the ship. Poverty and infrastructure might be shocking to many travelers. Excellent Shore excursion - Roatan by Land and Sea. One hour bus tour - learned so much about this island off the mainlaind of Honduras. Then one hour snorkeling plus lunch. Great way to get an authentic, not too touristy, experience here.
NCL Placencia Lagoon and Manatees 1.5 hour Boat Ride excursion. Wonderful Tour Guide but a big disappointment in only seeing one manatee snout and a bit of the back of one manatee - for a split second each. Very elusive shy creatures - almost impossible to see in the wild. Either book a more inteersting excursion or take advantage of the absolutely fabulous NCL Private Island Beach Resort here. Hundreds of lounges on the beach, warm tropical water, big beautiful pool. Be sure to spend some time here - maybe even all day unless you're dying to see the real Belize.
Do a shore excursion. This port is ultra-touristy!!!!! Just shopping and quite a few restaurants - jampacked with 4 cruise ship passengers!. Tiny little beach area next to the ship. Enjoyed the Aztec Flyer performers but that was just luck. Very small Swim with the Dolphins area - I think it might be better to do that somewhere else.
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