Wonderful experience as always, crew is both cheerful and pleasant. Ship has everything we needed to enjoy our vacation and look forward to cruising with NCL in the future.
Embarkation
5 out of 5
Booked for a 1030 embarkation and were processed quickly and onboard shortly after the ship opened for boarding.
Ship experiences
Food and Dining
5 out of 5
Excellent specialty dining. This cruise we tried Moderno which was a lovely surprise as we have done Cagney's in the past thinking we didn't want to do 2 steakhouses on one cruise. Moderno's is a must try if you haven't been. The salad bar is amazing and the selection of "meat on a stick" is truly an experience. Everything was delicious!! Buffet was great for breakfast, although we tended to stick to the restaurants for dinner, and usually too full for lunch so we would just grab a snack plate from the buffet mid afternoon. A must try is the mini croissant rolls at American Diner for breakfast, they are stuffed with buttery scrambled eggs and cheese....yum! Loved my mudslides at the bars and lounges and always quick service no matter where we went.
Onboard Activities
3 out of 5
We never actually made it to the pools, spent the majority of our time in the hot tubs at Spice H2O as the pool area was quite busy on the hot days. Tried Rock climbing but am afraid of heights so didn't make it too far :) Did not even check out the fitness centre this cruise...much too lazy.
Entertainment
5 out of 5
Attended almost all shows onboard. Million Dollar Quartet was excellent as always (seen previously). Burn the Floor was exciting, Levity comedy show comedians were entertaining, Jassen Allen's show was worth seeing and Broadway Unplugged was very entertaining. Last but not least we definitely enjoyed the magic show by Anthony Salazar.
Children's Programs
No children
Service and Staff
5 out of 5
All service and staff went out of their way to make our trip enjoyable. I honestly don't know how they keep a smile and upbeat attitude all the time, especially with all the rude guests they must deal with each and every day. As the evening turn down service is gone on NCL, I asked for and received towel animals on my bed (I only asked for one, but Trian made one up everyday for the entire cruise!!
Ship Quality
4 out of 5
Layout of the ship was as expected since we have cruised the Breakaway Class a few times. Ship was clean and well looked after.
Cabin / Stateroom
4 out of 5
I prefer the layout of this cabin with the couch closest to the balcony. A couple of faults was no plugins close to the bed, which means phones had to recharge on the counter and my fan had to be plugged in there as well...luckily it had a long cord and reached the bed. Also the plugs are very wore out and need replacing as it was very difficult to insert the plug into the socket. Bathroom was a good size and I like that they have a retractable clothesline in the shower. Balcony was quiet small but deck 9 and 8 directly below had a much larger area. More planning required for next cruise as our room was quite far from the elevators.
Ship tip
Make your reservations early as things book up fast...you can always change them later on.
First time visiting so we walked to the National Museum & Dolphin Quest. Informative and enjoyable visit. Would loved to have seen more but only in port from 9-4.
This was hubby's birthday and as we have visited before he just wanted a beach day! Recommend taking the Water Taxi, $7 round-trip and runs all day. We opted to use Lizzy's Bar and this included 2 beach chairs, an umbrella, use of restaurant washrooms, wifi, and 2 rum punch drinks all for $10. A bucket of 6 beers was only $15. Hubby got coaxed into a foot massage...15mins and $40 later he was set for the day! Steep, but it's his birthday :)
Took a shore excursion to the Virgin Gorda Baths.....Loved this!! Was a bit worried about the trek thru the caves, however it was not that bad and this is coming from a 66 yr old male awaiting 2 knee replacements. Definitely bring snorkelling gear as there are lots of tropical fish to see at both beaches. The 45 min cruise to the island was not for the faint of heart thou as there were many in need of "puke bags" for the trip.
Love this port, San Juan is such a beautiful port of call. Do ensure you have a credit card if visiting the Forts as No Cash is accepted for entry. $10 gets you access to both Castillo San Cristobal and San Felipe.
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