this was to be a special once in a lifetime cruise.We did have a great cruise even thought we had many issues with our dinners and excursions. many of the onboard activities were shut down at weird times or not open at all. service in certain areas was hit or miss. the ship was very disorganised and we had charges on our account that were not ours. I'm not sure we would cruise norwegian again. the most popular spot on the ship often closed early. the last several days we were served our food and everything was removed from tables and washy washy. i do not understand the paper straw policy when they serve your drinks in plastic glasses and you can get plastic straws at starbucks. they ran out of some of the fruits very early in cruise and did not get any replenishments for them. as we were further in the cruise food and service diminished greatly. there were only 2 small smoking areas on the ship of 4500 and about 500 people would crowd into the area. they shut down those areas during fueling(i understand completely why) but offered nowhere else to smoke except for off the ship which you could not do unless paying for a shuttle in many ports.
this Cruise was geared to wards the senior crowd as most people were over 70 years old. we had at least 3 medical emergencies and one day at sea was cut short so we could get to the next port to get the person off but the rest of us had to stay on the ship in the port, another port we had 2 emergencies one when we first arrived and then as we were leaving the port we had to turn around to get someone else off the ship . as i stated earlier i'm not sure we would cruise with this line again. we expected much more based on a previous cruise with the same line
Embarkation
3 out of 5
long wait to board the ship our loading time was 1030 but we did not get on till after one.
Ship experiences
Food and Dining
2 out of 5
we had great service at spice H2o and the Local but other venues were severely lacking. the food at the buffet was lukewarm at best and was not appealing we refused to eat there after several guests took food and then put it back . people were touching the food with hands instead of serving utensils . I watched a woman pick through the bread and choose a piece using her hands. i told the staff and they only took top piece off and put the rest back for others to eat . room service was hit or miss. they would show up early and blamed us. they ran out of bananas on day 4 and told us not to ask anymore for them. As we were on the ship longer and longer the food quality dropped significantly. We ate at tepenakis(SP) twice and had horrible experience as the chef was miserable and would not put on a show. he mumbled and when we asked him to speak up he was put off. we complained to management and they gave us a 3rd dinner there as we used 2 of our specialty dinning dinners there. the Q smokehouse was great. the food was delicious and the live band was very enjoyable. Taste dining room was not what we were expecting as the service was very slow and the food was subpar . after the bad experiences at several resturants we decided to return to the local as that was where we had the fastest service and no issues with the food. we did eat at the Manhattan room the last night of the cruise and the food was good . the a la cart restaurants were over priced and offered nothing overly special we did 5. we ate at Q smokehouse ,Ocean Blue, Cagneys and twice at Tappinakis. out of those we would eat again at Q
Spice H2O
5 out of 5
this was our usual hang out spot. Job,Chris and julius were great keeping up with everyone's orders. they remembered our names after the first day and what we liked to drink. julius kept forgetting the lime for a drink . the area was very small for smokers considering the size of the ship and it closed early many of the nights.
Teppanyaki
3 out of 5
this one was both great and horrible on same trip. we ate there 2 nights using our dining package, both nights we had the same cook that did not put on a show at all and when we asked him to speak up he was put off . the food was excellent. we contacted the restaurant management and told them about the 2 experiences we had they fixed the problem and gave our entire table another dinner for free which was a 1000 times better that other dinners
Garden Cafe
3 out of 5
the food was disappointing and we decided not to eat there again especially after they started to serve us as the lines were long. the pizza there left a lot to be desired. the nice thing was we could make our own salads in the beginning
The Local Bar & Grill
5 out of 5
this was our favorite free restaurant. we rarely had to wait for a table and both service and food were fast and excellent. the only complaint we had was when there was something going on in the atrium we had to sit in the back so we could hear each other talk
Q Texas Smokehouse
5 out of 5
this was by far one of our favorite places. we loved the live country music and the food was excellent. there was way too much but thats the way cruises are
Cagney's Steakhouse
5 out of 5
the service and food was great . like all of the other restaurants they offered too much food.
Onboard Activities
3 out of 5
everytime we tried to use the slides and the Spice Hot tub they were closed so we finally were able to go in on the last full day at sea they closed the slide as my husband was walking up to it and said they would be closed for several hours during the hottest part of the day. the main pools were very small
Casino
4 out of 5
we spent alot of time there as it was one of two places you could smoke. several of the staff members were very friendly and helpful but if they were not there service was lacking and same with cleanliness
Entertainment
3 out of 5
we enjoyed Q smokehouse live band, footloose the show. the music in the atrium was too loud and when we were eating at the local we had to sit in the back so we could hear each other speak. Elements was a huge waste of time for us. the was no speaking or singing just music and it was not as shown on tvs around the ship . we could have missed that one and not been upset about it
Service and Staff
4 out of 5
the service at spice was amazing JOB,Julius and Chris(bartender) were amazing. Job remembered our names and drinks after the first day nd he would go above and beyond to get you your drink . JUlius always forgot hubbys lime for his drink.
Ship Quality
3 out of 5
it took a lot of time getting around the ship as the elevators only went to certain areas and floors. the casino was not the cleanest if 2 of our favorite workers were not there. the casino smoking room door broke down and was not fixed for duration of cruise. there was a increase in washy washy so staff were removed from their areas to stand at entrances to make sure people washed and a lot of people did not.
Cabin / Stateroom
4 out of 5
our cabin was ok. not sure why it was an upgrade from balcony it was exactly the same room. our steward was friendly the first week and as we sowed down the tipping his service and friendliness slowed down also. some days he left dirty toilet and sinks when he was done in room . the room was below the pool deck so all night we could hear them dragging the pool chairs across the deck. we could hear the bucket dumping the water all night. the beds were very uncomfortable and there was a ridge where they pushed the 2 beds together. there was no real table to place items unless you wanted it in walking area. the balcony was ok but it had not been cleaned from previous guest as there was toe nail clippings on the floor.
Ship tip
research to see if this ship is for you as this cruise was 95% of the people were over 70
the port was old and needed work, we had to be shuttled to the port and then we did the blue line walking tour. alot of the blue line was faded and you could not see where to go anymore. we ended up in a unsavoury part of town without realizing it so we retraced our steps quickly.
the port was ok except for the locals bugging you to buy something or get a ride. we went across the road and explored the fort which we found interesting
this port was for commercial vessels and we had to take a shuttle to our bus for our excursion. the excursion was horrible. we did the antigua walking tour. we were told this would be ok for someone with mobility issues but it was not. the streets were cobblestone and uneven. the bus ride to and from excursion was scary as the streets were too small to handle the size of bus we were using.
bad. this was yet another commercial port that you could not walk off the ship. you had to take a shuttle to a drop off point then do your trip to town. we did the Tarcoles River ecoCruise adventure which was not as described this should have been labelled as a birdwatching tour because that was all we did, they gave a pamphlet as to which bird we would see. we spent more time getting to excursion than what we spent on small boat. as for the tropical fruit buffet that was supposed to be included it was a banana and a piece of pineapple. this excursion was way over priced and badly described. we did not see any iguanas or Jesus Christ Lizards . there was not any time to wander around.we spent more time on bus that tour .
there was no port but the transit was a highlight of the trip. we could see the full transit as we went during the day. the only issue was that they started the transit 2 hours earlier than was stated and we got the announcement over the P.A system at 5 am in the room. this was after waiting until 230 am to go under the bridge of america
this was our favorite port and would have loved to spend more time there. a very short distance from the ship was a beautiful jungle area with many exotic animals like macaws,parrots,iguanas,sloths and monkeys. there was several places to grab a bite to eat and do shopping.
the port was ok. our excursion was horrible as we got off the ship 1.5 hours late and the exucursion was supposed to leave at 9 but we did not leave until 1030 and once on the bus we were informed that we would not be spending as much time on excursion as promised. they cut it down to 1.5 hours instead of 3. we did a quick airboat ride through the glades and a very brief crocodile show then we were told to get back on bus because several people had early flights eventhough it clearly stated that you could not do this excursion if your dlight was prior to 6 pm . when we were told to get back on the bus we were not given anytime to even get a drink or use washroom before being shuttled to airport . the guide blamed NCL because the disembarkation process took to long and NCL blamed Customs. we felt that the tour should have been reimbursed as it was not what we paid for
horrible. we were doing an excursion and were told that we had to be off ship at 8:15 but was not able to get off until 10:15 and had to search for luggage once we actually got of the ship. using the excursion tags made no difference as our luggage was scatter through the terminal and not where they were supposed to be .
any cruise that's longer than a week will have mostly older passengers because they are obviously retired and can take that long of a vacation. people under retirement age usually can't take off work for that long. 🤷♀️
*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.
