Ok, lots of bad and good stuff here. For me, I wouldn't go on another NCL cruise because the food quality matters to me. It is also ridiculous that you pay for a drink package, and they start running out of types of alcohol halfway through the cruise (literally no vodka by Friday). I wouldn't suggest the cruise for family that have kids under 12 either.
Embarkation
4 out of 5
They had a limited staff checking people in early in the morning. As more people showed up for work then the line started to move quickly.
Ship experiences
Food and Dining
1 out of 5
1st, don't expect to get a mimosa in the morning. They do not offer them. Worse problem is that they started running out of alcohol on Wednesday and it just got progressively worse (both hard liquor and ~$70 to $100 wine bottles). We paid for the drink package too. If you check NCL reviews you will see that this is a habitual problem. The main buffet food was comparable to a college cafeteria. The quality of the paid for restaurants are poor. You get a better meal at Applebee's.
Onboard Activities
2 out of 5
There is no pool for just adults. The adult hot tub is nice but its open to everyone at 7pm and the kids start showing up because it's the only hot tub that is actually hot. All the hot tubs in the main pool area are actually cold. The lifeguard told us that they hear the complaints from everyone and told us to go in mass to complain.
Entertainment
3 out of 5
The only sow worth seeing is the Beatles cover band. They were amazing but everything else was less than entertaining.
Children's Programs
1 out of 5
This was horrible experience. The "Splash Academy" for 5 to 12 years old was closed more than its open and only sits 40 kids. At one point, they stopped the older kids from playing video games and forced them to play a counting game with the 5-year-old kids.
Service and Staff
3 out of 5
The room stewards are good. Waiters are clueless about wine. They ran out of a $79 bottle of wine and brought us back a $359 as recommendation. The spa is top notch but I have never had a bad experience from a spa on any cruise.
Ship Quality
4 out of 5
The ship design and cleanliness are good.
Cabin / Stateroom
4 out of 5
The cabins are typical cruise cabins.
Ship tip
If you are a foodie, care about getting a better meal than Applebee's, or want to have your drink available the entire time on the ship then this is not the cruise line for you. Also, if you want your 5 - 12 years old to be enjoy a full day kids program that this not the cruise line for you.
Bermuda was beautiful. We didn't use NCL for any excursions. It would have been helpful if NCL could have more details about getting around the island.
We had great food on the Joy out of Miami in April, literally the best yet of 5 NCL ships and they were all good. In particular LeBistro on Joy was outstanding.
They are trying to make up for lost time during the lockdown..charging more for less. Hopefully this will improve as we go. No excuse for not having basic liquors.They don't seem in a hurry to fully stock with liquor. Certain ships do not have certain liquors. Hope it was an ok cruise. Thanks for the review
@njcruiseguy Food used to be the highlight of a cruise vacation, but as ship capacities increase and prices decrease, the food quality had gone way down. Some of it isn't much better than cafeteria food at this point. But, when you're paying $65 a day for a room, entertainment, transportation, waterpark, gym, etc, AND food, what kind of quality do people expect to get?
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