Had a wonderful time on the cruise. Service was exceptional and never had a bad meal or time. Very relaxing and would definitely recommend. We love the mid size ships and this one was perfect other than a few weird designs.
Embarkation
4 out of 5
NCL seems to struggle with getting people on and off the ship. However, this embarkation experience was slightly better than my last cruise. The waiting area is very small and crowded. If you lean back in your chair, your head will hit the person behind you.
I'm not sure why NCL continues to assign arrival times. They don't check them nor do they enforce them. We had a 1030 arrival time and got there right at 1030. A person with a 1200 arrival time was already seated with a boarding number of group 1 before we made it through check in. Either enforce them or do away with them.
Ship experiences
Food and Dining
5 out of 5
Food was amazing. Served hot and was tasty. The service in the main dining room and speciality restaurants was probably some of the best I've ever had on a cruise. They were very prompt and friendly.
The buffet is different! It is much smaller than I've ever seen on a cruise ship. This also limits the seating area and they types of food with each meal. The food was good, but the space could be improved. Also, NCL closes it's buffets between meals which is weird. It wouldn't be weird, except it's at weird times, like when ulmany people are re-boarding from a port and might want a snack. The Great Outdoors area always had snacks during that time, but it was basically the same thing every day.
Onboard Activities
5 out of 5
This ship has limited activities, which was fine with me. If you are cruising with kids, you might not like this ship for that reason. However, I prefer less kids, so perfect!
Entertainment
5 out of 5
Entertainment was good. Seaside Duo were amazing and the lead singer from Broadway cast was wonderful. Rest were just average but worth listening to.
Service and Staff
5 out of 5
Staff was amazing. Truly one of the best experiences I've had in the many cruises I've taken. Staff seemed happy and treated everyone well. Barwaiter Alvin and bartender Tomas in the Whiskey Bar were spectacular. They kept our cups full and treated us wonderfully.
Ship Quality
4 out of 5
I think this ship is a weird design, but I think it's only because things were added at the last dry dock. In order to accommodate specialty restaurants, part of buffet is gone, etc.
The ship was very clean and well-maintained.
Cabin / Stateroom
5 out of 5
We love balconies and have stayed in many different rooms types. This is a typical room. It is made for four, but I would strangle myself if I had four in the room. The only really bad design is the bathroom. You literally have to sit somewhat crooked on the toilet to use it because of the design. Shower is a nice size though.
The room was not the cleanest. Found trash next to the sofa and a dirty sock under the bed from previous guests, but it could have been worse.
The worst part was room temperature and humidity. It was nearly impossible to get the room cool and it always felt damp. I think it was related to cabins next to use keeping their balconies open (I peeked around the balcony divider a few times and their doors were open when they weren't even in the room!).
I called guest services and they sent someone to our room and it was better for a day or two and then was back to hot and humid again.
Ship tip
Best, kind-of, hidden spot on the ship is the Bridge Viewing Room. This place is amazing. You can see through windows directly into the bridge and there are consoles so you can see their screens. Incredibly neat. They do close the windows at night and during arrivals and departures from port. But so worth checking it out.
Haven't been to Jamaica in years because we just didn't really enjoy it before. This time, it is much improved. The port area has a lot of nice areas for shopping.
We did a Resort-for-a-Day pass (which I highly recommend) at Hilton Rose Hall. It was well worth the money.
Such a nice private island. Did not realize how close it was to Royal Caribbean's private island.
Well designed and very relaxing. Would visit there again. The only negative is the tendering (they are supposedly working on getting a cruise ship dock built). It takes so long and is hot.
Tender port, which leads to delays. We did the Turtle Farm tour. This is not the first time we've been there and a lot has changed. Not as good as it was in the past.
Easiest disembarkation ever. After saying NCL seems to struggle with this (from past experience) they did wonderfully. We did self-assist as per usual and literally walked down the stairs to the door, scanned out, and were to customs in less than 5 min.
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