It was my first Norwegian cruise and I was truly disappointed. I could not believe how overbooked it was in a pandemic and with the lack of staff available. The communication around the closure of the kids area was super late. If you know it'll be June 2022 until it opens, market it correctly. Also, if you promise additional kids activities, fulfill your promise. The process to get in and out of the boat was chaotic and unsafe. I probably won't take another cruise from this company. Very disappointed!
Embarkation
1 out of 5
Norwegian overbooked and was overstaffed. It took us over 6 hours to get onto the boat. The kids were hungry, the parents were tired, and the elderly needed to take medications. Nothing but hot chocolate provided. There were massive crowds when we are still living in a pandemic. We had scheduled times to board but those were disregarded. Also, we left the dock 8 hours late, making us miss our first stop at Virginia Beach
Ship experiences
Food and Dining
2 out of 5
Every complimentary restaurant had the same food every night. The specialty dining was a little better. The Garden Cafe buffet did not have much variety either. I felt like we ate the same food every day/night. It was sickening towards the end of the trip.
Onboard Activities
1 out of 5
The kids clubs were closed but they did not tell us about it until a week before we left. The staff all knew that they would not open until June 2022 but Norwegian decided to keep it a secret from their passengers. They promised us extra activities for the kids to make up for it, but it was basically nothing. Most of the amenities were closed off often as well because they did not have staff to assist (things like the rope climbing). So even though we paid a fee to be on fancier boat, the activities were not always available and we often missed out.
Entertainment
3 out of 5
The shows were more for adults. It wasn't family friendly, which was super disappointing. And the ones that were did not have a lot of space and would get booked pretty quickly.
Children's Programs
1 out of 5
Horrible!! usually my kids have tons to do so I can sit back and relax. Not on this cruise... i had to entertain my kids the entire week. The kids rooms were close. The arcade was small and half the machines did not work. Plus, when you tried to redeem the tickets, the prizes would sell out so quickly. Also, the lines were ridiculous to attempt to redeem tickets. Not enough kid-friendly activities due to the understaffing as well.
Service and Staff
3 out of 5
My room was NEVER vacuumed. I was annoyed that they would just change the towels and leave. Again, it's a pandemic. I want to have some cleanliness. They didn't even wipe down tables. I was disappointed. Plus, being understaffed made service slow
Ship Quality
4 out of 5
Overall, the ship was nice. The rooms are really small though. I took a balcony thinking it'll be more spacious, but it was super tiny compared to Royal Caribbean. Overall, there wasn't trash anywhere but things weren't being wiped down at all and social distancing was def an issue.
Cabin / Stateroom
1 out of 5
Super tiny for a balcony room. The cleanliness could have been way better. No wiped down tables, no vacuuming, etc. I was disappointed
Ship tip
Run!!! Maybe if we can get through this pandemic, things could be different, but for now, book elsewhere!!
The port was not set up well. We had lines all over that required us to wait outside in the cold for hours, only to circle around on the inside. They also kept checking the same documents over and over again at each checkpoint. It seemed very unorganized and the amounts of checks did not make sense.
I would be upset about the kids club being closed too. Our kids love splash academy, and that allows us to have some adult time as well, all in the same vacation!
When booking a stateroom you can check the size and location to make sure it's what you want. Some balcony rooms are larger but more expensive. I'm also surprised that a taxi is the only way to go in Bermuda. Unless everything has changed in 3 years since my last visit, there's an inexpensive bus that'll take you anywhere you want to go.
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