This was my first time on NCL, and though I was not really impressed, everything overall was fine. If you can do without the technology, it will be better as there seem to be constant issues. Out first night on board we had REALLY rough seas, passengers and staff said they haven't experienced it that bad before. They put out "barf bags" on the stair railings for passengers, and we needed them! I think I personally would enjoy the voyage LESS if I did not stay in the Haven. Unfortunately, on most cruises, this is prohibitively expensive.
Embarkation
5 out of 5
Easy, but more waiting than I expected for Haven guests. Once on board, if you order any drinks while in port, there is an extra tax charged. Not a big deal, I just wish they had told us about that.
Ship experiences
Food and Dining
5 out of 5
We mostly ate in the Haven Restaurant, which is good, but has the same menu every day. The buffet is convenient, but I am not fond of the food or the noise and people congestion. Cagney's was wonderful. Food Republic was disappointing, service was slow, food was good, but they forgot two of our items, which I cancelled after waiting so long. There were a lot of apologies for delays, food items on the menu not being available, and finding the wine we ordered, and this was in the Haven restaurant. I really enjoy the fresh squeezed grapefruit juice that they say they have, but I could only get it twice during the voyage.
Onboard Activities
3 out of 5
We mostly did Trivia, which was frankly disappointing. Large crowd, poor questions, staff emcees were not entertaining at all. We did a wine tasting at the Cellars, which was probably the highlight of our time on the ship. We spent a lot of time at the Concierge desk getting help and getting questions answered.
Entertainment
4 out of 5
Foot Loose was well done and quite entertaining. We visited the Cavern Club, but it was SRO, and we left after getting annoyed looks from seated passengers.
Children's Programs
Did not travel with children
Service and Staff
4 out of 5
Service was fine, not particularly outstanding. Concierge Desk personnel really tried to answer my questions, but I often had to repeat or rephrase in order to get any kind of an answer. But they really tried!
Ship Quality
5 out of 5
It was easy to navigate around the ship, and everything looked clean.
Cabin / Stateroom
5 out of 5
We had an upgrade, so we were actually in cabin 15132, which was spacious and comfortable.
Ship tip
Internet is spotty, even with a package. You will need to log in and log out to use it. The onboard wifi also requires frequent rebooting, and the NCL app often has incorrect information. The Daily planner was the correct one only twice during the trip. If you can do without your phone and technology for a few days, you will have a less disappointing experience.
This is a beautiful port compared to many I have visited. We did the Caves and Waves excursion which was very nice. The Crystal Caves were beautiful, though smaller than I had expected. We then went to the beaches out on the far end of St. George parish. It was warm and enjoyable, even though it rained off and on while we were there. The next day we just walked around in town, and happened to find the Beach Club, which is a hidden beach 5 minutes from the ship. For $15 you can use the beach, the bar, and the restaurant, and you can rent chairs and umbrellas. No need to do an expensive excursion to get to other beaches.
There was some confusion as we wanted to stay on the ship as long as possible, but didn't know what time we needed to get off. We stayed in the Have, which has "Priority" debarkation gold tags, though they never called for gold - presumably because you can go whenever you want. We basically got thrown off the ship after all the other categories were called and we were still hanging out. I knew we would be waiting quite a while for our ride home with Yankee Trails, so wanted to stay warm until the bus arrived. This was not the case, we were ushered outside to wait. Then there was a lot of confusion as to where to get the bus - or really, where to wait for the bus. Luckily it was not too cold outside while we waited, but in colder weather, this would have been quite unpleasant.
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