I was on a cruise and can't wait for the next. When it comes down to it the destination and cruise line is irrelevant. Three cruises and three cruise lines later, I can't help but think many of the negative reviews are from a cynical few who let one bad thing ruin their whole cruise and their attitude just snowballs. I know there were a few times we mentioned something we didn't like, or thought they could do better, but I literally forgot what they were. Come on people! RELAX, LIGHTEN-UP, AND HAVE SOME FUN!
Embarkation
5 out of 5
Port NOLA was a madhouse, with 4000 people trying to get on the ship while 4000 others were trying to get off the ship. NCL did a great job getting people through. We were boarding group 15 and arrived in the embarkation area as they were calling group five. They were calling a new group every 1-2 minutes and were on the gangway in about 15 minutes and were booking our spa days about 10 minutes later.
Ship experiences
Food and Dining
5 out of 5
Lots of options and great food. We did Teppanyaki the first night and were seated with an extended family of five. Meeting fun people on day one is a great way to start the cruise. We loved La Cucina and Le Bistro. Great food and great service everywhere. My wife had one "bad" entree in the main dining room that she described as inedible and they immediately replaced it with something she described as outstanding.
Onboard Activities
5 out of 5
We bookended our trip with couples massages on both of the sea days. They aren't cheap, but grrrrrrrr, it's helps me get in the relaxing cruise mode that I'm looking for. We talked about doing the ropes course, but didn't get to it because there is so much to do and sometimes had fun doing nothing. WooHoo, vacation!
Entertainment
5 out of 5
Wine Lovers the Musical, Million Dollar Quartet, and Cirque were top notch. The performance and performers were what you would expect in any Touring Production, except these performers were doing it in rough seas without missing a beat! Howl at The Moon was a fun surprise.
Service and Staff
5 out of 5
The bars were busy but the bartenders did a great job. I see some folks complain about the bars being understaffed, but some of them had up to 10 people tending to customers at one time. If two bars were busy, the other 13 were not, but the busy ones were 10x better than the busiest bars on land. I think the longest I had to wait was about three minutes while they were serving someone else. I never once saw a staff member slacking off while a cruiser was waiting. Every single one of them were professional and courteous.
Ship Quality
5 out of 5
Dude, you have to learn your way around every ship. It would suck if they were all cut from the same mold. I saw no indication that any part of that ship was neglected.
Cabin / Stateroom
5 out of 5
The size was exactly what I would expect in a cruise ship. It was larger than my London Hotel room but about the same as our previous Carnival and Princess cabins with a bathroom slightly larger than all three. Our steward did a great job and even cleaned our cabin after we accidentally left our Do-Not-Disturb light on and told him "our fault and not to bother".
Ship tip
Book your reservations early and honor them. Even though reservations fill up fast they get people seated well, it can save you a little stress knowing you already have a spot reserved.
We loved NOLA and the WWII museum. We could have spent a week there. Scope out the best route to the port because construction and traffic make it a madhouse getting in/out.
Your port experience is all about what you do and not the port itself. This was our second time in Cozemel and the exact same port gets two more stars six months later. I risk "hot water" when my wife reads this, but I wasn't enthused about our excursion. I hate being late and 10 minutes before our meeting time we were still on deck 10 going back for lipstick, sun screen, a cuter hat, whatever, I forget. My arms were crossed and grumpy me was happy we were going to miss Salsa-and-Salsa. Little did I know our group would have to wait for the other cruise ship to dock and Salsa-and-Salsa would be a blast. Sorry if I was an A-hole Baby!
This was a wing-it port for us and I have no regrets. We heard the cabs are cheaper in town but went straight to the stand at the port and a private driver found us. We paid him 30 each for a private car to take us to West End. We saw some chocolate being made, walked along the street and stopped for some shopping, and had a couple drinks at the beach bar. Our driver picked us up at the far end of the street then dropped us off at his "favorite spot" on the way back (the $5 ceviche was among the best I've had) before taking us back to the pier. In all it cost us $30 plus $10 tip each. The poverty and stray dogs are most apparent in this port and I hope my cruising dollars eventually gets to the people there who needs them the most.
We read about NCL's agreement with the Gov't of Belize and knew going in that we would have to pay for drinks/food, etc. The island is beautiful and yes we had to pay for the food and drinks, but it was much higher quality than we have experienced with previous private islands. I was happy to more directly help the locals and give the ship staff a little break from me and the other 4,000 demanding cruisers.
The Chacchoben ruins were kewl and we got to see wild spider monkeys swinging though the trees. The bus was an ultra modern grade-A, the driver A, the guide A. The bus ride there was very....vanilla and made for a good 1-hour nap. I think the port facilities had the exact same shops as Cozemel and probably the same as all the other Mexican ports. The exception here was what they billed as a resort, with a pool, pool bars, and DJ that felt like a toned-down version of Spring Break. Kudos to the captain and crew allowing our visit during rough seas. The passengers from the MSC Meriviglia had to watch us come and go after they had to overnight in the port due to surf and high winds.
Pretty much the opposite of Embarkation. We waited in the Garden Cafe for our color to be called and were off in a matter of minutes. My only complaint would be directed at the port, but considering there is nowhere to expand and you have to get 4000 on while 4000 are getting off, I can't complain too much.
We are doing this same cruise at the end of February. This will be our 2nd cruise and we just love being in the sun and surf. Your review was awesome and appreciate your insight. This will be an ADULTS ONLY cruise for us and we just want to party without kids.. Lol. Keep on cruising!
Glad you enjoyed it and did your research to know what to expect, book things ahead of time, etc. In addition to poor attitudes, those that post negative reviews seem to do little, if any, research ahead of time. They complain about things that they could have easily known about - gratuity charges, drink charges, tender ports, options of things to do at the ports, etc.
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