We had a great time on this Alaskan cruise and enjoyed ourselves immensely. But, there are some areas for improvement for NCL. First, the food on this cruise was really mediocre at best. The selection was not very broad or very flavorful. We have cruised with NCL before and had great food and a great variety to choose from. Also, requiring certain attire in the Azur dining room, which is complementary, was really off-putting. I can see maybe having a different dress code for the high-end steak house, but not a complementary venue. In addition, the beverage package for soda products was great, if you could find somewhere to get a soda. During the day, several bars were closed and if you could find one open, the employees didn't seem to want to wait on you if you had one of the insulated cups. I guess they thought they weren't getting a tip, but we tip generously if given a reason. Other than those things, we enjoyed our cruise. Really good entertainment and activities and always something to do. I definitely recommend NCL. We put a down payment on a future NCL cruise and hope that one will meet every expectation.
Ship experiences
Food and Dining
3 out of 5
Just OK. Need to improve the variety and flavor of dishes.
Onboard Activities
3 out of 5
Some of the onboard activities are a little expensive. The bingo cost was a bit over the top.
Entertainment
5 out of 5
Loved the comedian and some of the dance shows.
Children's Programs
3 out of 5
We didn't travel with children so I really can't rate this one.
Service and Staff
5 out of 5
Our awesome cabin steward, Adonis was great! He always had our room straightened and clean and was so polite and friendly when we saw him. Remembering our names and asking about our day. Couldn't have asked for better!
Ship Quality
3 out of 5
The staterooms need a little updating. Our carpet was faded and ragged looking.
Cabin / Stateroom
3 out of 5
Our cabin was ok. Being a cruise ship cabin, there isn't a lot of space anyway, but with being able to store suitcases under the bed and plenty of closet and shelf space, we had plenty of places to store our clothing and other items. I give it an 'OK' because the carpet was worn and the 'couch' cover had seen better days as well. NCL could really benefit by updating this ship again.
Ship tip
I did like the fact that the didn't hound you to purchase pictures. There were several times we met a photographer who wanted to take our pic with some character or other, but we always declined and they were always respectful of that.
Our excursion in Ketchikan was OK. We went on the Alaskan Lodge and Wilderness Adventure. The cost was $179 pp which was too expensive for what we did. It is a small group excursion which we liked and we loved the crab boil, but basically we paid all that money for a short boat ride, lunch and a look at an eagle's nest.
We didn't plan an excursion for this port, so we just walked around and shopped. It is a quaint little town and we enjoyed just spending our time on the main strip through town. There was a complementary shuttle from our port to the main part of town.
We enjoyed the train trip to the summit (didn't do the entire trip to BC). Beautiful scenery and a 'mostly' comfortable ride. I will say that another train broke down and our engine had to go and pull it up the mountain, so we had to sit on the train for an extra hour at the summit. This was not a good thing. I also heard that another train had broken down the day before too.
What a beautiful clean city. There is a bit of a walk to the fisherman's wharf area, but from there you can get on one of the cool water shuttles and go to the center of the city. Lots of shops and good places to eat. You can also get bike taxis to take you around the city. Would love to go back.
*Cruiseline.com is not a booking agent or travel agency,
and does not charge any service fees to users of our site. Our partners
(travel agencies and cruise lines) provide prices, which we list for our
users' convenience. Cruiseline.com does not guarantee any specific rates or
prices. While prices are updated daily, please check with the booking site
for the exact amount. Cruiseline.com is not responsible for content on
external web sites.
Contact us
Submitting...
Need help from a personal vacation planner?
Loading...
Find the perfect cruise with weekly tips and cruise deals for as little as $30/night!
Sign up for weekly cruise deals
Join other subscribers and get the best
cruise deals of the week in your inbox every Thursday.
