Always wanted to do a NYE cruise and what not a better year than 2020! Being from California this cruise was practical for us as 1 hour flight in and 6 hour drive back to Northern California. Negatives, embarking was slow, and unorganized. Endless lines and took over an hour and half. Weather was cool, too cool for me to sunbathe, swim or use the fantastic water slides. Rained non stop in Mazatlan , sunny but not hot in Cabo , again too cold to snorkel for me. Weather was perfect in Pureto Vallarta! Most sea days were windy and cooler.
Positives definitely out weigh any negatives. Beautiful brand new ship, amazing ocean view room biggest cruise room and bathroom I have ever had. Clean and comfortable, with big picture window. Easy to navigate, I never got lost on this ship and I have a bad sense of direction. Specialty dining is really good, Get it added on with room upgrades . Or purchase a plan , like eating at a Mortons or Ruth Cris .
My boyfriend loved the cigar lounge and met buddies to smoke with . I do wish they had an R&B singer ,as music was mainly rock and pop.
My last two cruises have been with NCL and will probably go back to Royal or Carnival for variety but only a newer ship.
Embarkation
1 out of 5
Horrible, long lines that wrapped around endlessly. Food trucks were available as lines were that long ! Check in agents seemed inexperienced, needed 2 to 3 clerks to check in one family . Ship did not sail at 3pm closer to 5pm due to delays.
Ship experiences
Food and Dining
5 out of 5
Specialty restaurants are worth the upgrades, delicious food and good service. We loved the Tepenyaki, Ocean Blue . Cagneys was just okay .Buffets and main dining are satisfying but not superb
Mojito bar, A bar, and Maltings were superior drinks
Onboard Activities
4 out of 5
Entertainment
5 out of 5
Elements show was excellent.
Did not make it to Footloose, not really my kind of show anyhow.
Wish they had a jazz or r&b performers. Music seemed more geared to rock and country .
Service and Staff
4 out of 5
Alex our steward was sweet and very efficient. Go see Milan in Maltings whiskey bar , a notch above the rest of the bar tenders he knows his craft. Service in Ocean Blue on New Years eve was phenomenal! Our favorite overall specialty!
Ship Quality
5 out of 5
Cabin / Stateroom
5 out of 5
Best cruise room I ever have had. Like a mini suite but considered an ocean view . Bathroom had a double sinks, bathtub shower, comfortable double bed , we were able to walk around the room easily . There was another sitting area , with another pull out bed and curtain divider for privacy . Plenty of closets , drawers , hangers ,
Ship tip
Good ship if weather is cool , enough to do inside to keep busy !
Weather was sunny but not warm enough for me to snorkel and I love to swim . Plenty others did from our fun pirate ship excursion booked with Trip Advisor ! Scam is locals charged us $14 to take a 2 minute water taxi to get to another part of the marina and had to pay $10 to get back ! Oh well help the local economy!
Sunny and warm walked to local Walmart for some toiletries and cheap souvenirs. Ship docks in a great pier close to public beach, shopping, and spa. We got an awesome hour long massage for $30 each !! Spa Yego, friendly ladies completely legit !!
From Sacramento so nothing exciting for us, just went straight from airport to pier. Shuttle booked though NCL was disorganized, communication at the baggage pick up was not clear . Bus was over booked and some people had to wait for next bus.
Thanks for the review missy. I roll out next week. Everybody chimes in on how terrible the embarking was but over all cool trip. How was the club nights? Sound like they didn’t play much hip-hop, R&B or carribean vibes.
I to am from northern California up in Redding!! Now that carnival has a new ship i told myself i will finally try the Mexican Rivera. All I've done is the Caribbean and the booze cruise out of long beach
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