If your main goal is to head to warmer weather without having to drive yourself everywhere along the way, the cruise is good. Entertainment was decent, food was ok, but be careful about which excursions you book. Try to find reviews from other websites about similar excursions to be sure you are not misled or disappointed. I hate to say this, but if you want a lounger anywhere in the pool area you may need to do what many others do - get up early, put towels on your lounger(s) and show up when you are ready. There were MANY chairs with towels attached, that remained devoid of any occupancy for over an hour. Norwegian does not enforce their 15 minute policy when it comes to unoccupied loungers, which is unfortunate for those of us who just want a half hour or hour of chair time. If you are looking for fine dining, it will come at a price for a premium restaurant (Cagney's, Ocean Blue, etc.) Food in the main dining rooms is just ok. The lines to wait for entry to the ship restaurants can be very long. Even if you have reservations, you have to wait in the line with everyone else. Staff was friendly and accommodating for the most part. with a couple of outstanding folks who went above and beyond for us. Bermuda should be clearly listed as a "potential stop" as it is cancelled frequently during January and February sails.
Embarkation
3 out of 5
Embarkation was better than it used to be in terms of time. However, we were given the wrong badges, and had to go back to the desk and wait a while for the correct ones to be printed. Also, Norwegian should be announcing to passengers as they embark where their particular muster station is so they can select the correct check in line.
Ship experiences
Food and Dining
3 out of 5
Food is just ok; but that has always been the case. Only superior meal was Cagney's. Yummy and five stars! Would enjoy more chocolate dessert options in all locations, but perhaps they are trying to direct folks to the pay for dessert shop.
Onboard Activities
3 out of 5
Pool areas were difficult; hard to secure a chair anywhere in shade. Smoking side of the pool area was often unpleasant as the smoke wafted out of the smoking area into the adjacent pool chair area. Sadly, Norwegian claims to have a 15 minute unoccupied chair rule, but it was never enforced to the detriment of many. Kids areas were cute; on one port day I enjoyed the splash pad lol. We have done the ropes course before so didn't this time. did not use the fitness center.
Entertainment
4 out of 5
Million Dollar Quartet was very good! Magic show was excellent. Female enntertainer was just so so. Enjoyed the Broadway Unplugged very much. Some two and three piece bands were decent, but others were not very good. Most entertainment (auctions, bingo, deal or no deal, pull tabs, etc.) seems to be focused on earning more money for Norwegian.
Children's Programs
no kids with us
Service and Staff
5 out of 5
The employees on the ship were almost all friendly and two went above and beyond. We had a noise issue, and Shaida Downs, 2nd Stweard Pax - Deck 09 was terrific. She stayed with us to hear a repeat of the sound, and even checked in the next day to be sure the sound was gone. To top it all off, she recognized me in the Atrium and called me by name! Wow! Also excellent was bartender Heriandaru Indradarma. Over the course of the cruise, I asked for several customized drinks and even though he could have said no, he said he would try to duplicate what I wanted. Always with a smile. So refreshing!
Ship Quality
4 out of 5
For an older ship, the design was fine. Layout seemed to be designed to make it easier for people with limited mobility to make their way in a straight line from one end to the other. Common areas were clean and well maintained with exception of the mens' room on the main pool deck, which smelled and was unclean. It is a lot to maintain so not faulting them on that.
Cabin / Stateroom
4 out of 5
We were reassigned from cabin 13465 to a balcony cabin 9870. Think it was a last minute cancellation as all the original extras and paperwork in the room was for a different person. The cabin was good; typical of this year and size ship. bed was comfortable, pillows were great. Linens were decent. There was a very loud metal against metal noise when we were in cold waters that disappeared in warmer waters, but that was heard by others on our floor and side of the ship so not specific to our room. A hasty looking repair to one of the closet doors but otherwise no wear and tear visible.
Ship tip
If you are counting on seeing Bermuda during January/February, don't. It is my understanding the stop is frequently cancelled (as it was on our cruise).
Port was clean; not fancy. We took an excursion to Ocean World, which frankly was not as described on the Norwegian site. There was no teaching of dance steps; there was no chocolate tasting. The "rainforest" is an area encompassing a 10 second walk through some vegetation. The "beach" is a manmade saltwater pond of sorts, and small. The bus ride was about 25 minutes each way through a non-scenic route. For those with limited mobility, pickup location is not the dropoff location. Dropoff location is MUCH further away; you have to walk through an entire shopping area before you even reach the dropoff locaiton. I get it; they are trying to get people in front of the vendors. But there was a man with us who was on crutches and it was wrong to dump him off so far away. There are better excursions available.
The island has some gorgeous beaches, including Megans Bay. If you like beach time, this is a great island for it. We took a tour that combined sightseeing with shopping. I recommend Mountain Top in a tour as the views were awesome and while we are not really into buying clothing and souvenirs on trips, they were a very large store with many options. We had 30 minutes to spend there but would have liked more to admire the view. From there we were brought down to the main shopping district...for two hours. I guess if you love to shop that is good, but for us it was too long. Driver was a little late picking us up; some people had gone back to the ship already by other means by the time he arrived. If you can take a tour combining Mountain Top with beach time, that might be ideal.
Tortola is in an interesting group of small islands. If we had more time, it would have been fun to explore more of them. We understand yachting is a big part of their income stream and you can see why. Very mountainous island with lots of steep roads and hairpin turns. We took a tour of the island via open air bus; tour was pretty long but admittedly not that interesting. Some decent views for photos. First stop for shopping was a marina. Only 3 stores and one was closed. It was a marina which did a lot of catamaran rentals. Restrooms were not good. Second stop was down the road from a rum distillery (tour said they stopped there, but they do not. You have to walk to the distillery in the 40 minute shopping time and people were late getting back. Small beach at that stop with strong waves; a few vendors outside, with one brick and mortar store and some food and beverage options. It was a lot of time in the bus but that needed to be the case to get to the top of the mountain area for the views and photos I think.
This port was scratched from our itinerary by the captain. We were told it was due to high winds. A bit of research showed me that this port is frequently scratched, making me question why it is offered on the January and February cruises out of NYC unless it is only to make the cruise more interesting.
Disembarkation, when taking your own luggage, can be the quickest way to go. We were very pleased with the short time it took us to disembark as compared to others who had their luggage picked up the evening before.
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