In spite of the slow boarding and slow disembarkation, we would do the cruise again in a heartbeat. Overall, I'm not sure if NCL could have done any better of if it was just unfortunate timing. Of course, I could have scheduled my own flights but have a hard time passing up a bargain.
Embarkation
3 out of 5
Not sure who was to blame for some of the hassles with this boarding. Prior to boarding day, the berth was changed a couple times. The end result is that the passengers had to first go to the LA Cruise Port and then be bussed to the berth at the extreme west tip of the port. Net result, we did not actually set foot onto the ship until 15:30 even though we were in the 10:00 check in time. The unusually cold, windy rain didn't make matters any easier for the cruise line/staff/guests either.
Ship experiences
Food and Dining
5 out of 5
We ate almost every dinner in the complimentary Manhattan Room. The servers & staff did a fine job. Food quality & choices were excellent. We ate every breakfast & lunch at the complimentary Garden Cafe. Again, the large number of choices were excellent, quality & service were great. I especially appreciated the smoked salmon, eggs benedict, prunes, hot cereal, pretzel balls, the various panini's, and one lunch that served some wonderful Indian baked salmon.
Spice H2O
5 out of 5
This is kind of a hidden gem that many of the guests never find. It is a complimentary large hot tub and bar on deck 17 aft, for adults only.
Onboard Activities
4 out of 5
My wife & I did a number of activities. I did the go-cart track twice (would have done endlessly if it were free!), we did some putt-putt golf daily, I also liked the hot-tubs & the pools. I did do the gentler water slide; I wanted to do the FAST slide but was denied entry since I couldn't remove my wedding band (on for 38 yrs). We were somewhat disappointed with how the trivia events were held. Only the progressive trivia (4 days) was conducted in a dedicated venue. Just about all the other trivia events were held in the noisy atrium. We did really like the self-directed events and thought it was a GREAT idea. We participated in several - car enthusiasts, RV group, & business owners. There were several others available and a great idea - thanks NCL!
Entertainment
4 out of 5
My wife absolutely enjoyed Footloose & Elements. I'm not into that kind of stuff so didn't attend. However, it is obvious that the staff & performers worked very diligently to provide the best shows possible. The gymnast couple from Ukraine were outstanding. I attended almost all of the "family friendly" (early shows) of the comedy acts and would give them all pretty much a "B" grade - good but not outstanding. The magician was pretty darn good - can't imagine how he did it.
Race Track
5 out of 5
I loved this thing and would have done it non-stop if it was free ($15/ride). My advice is to "put it on the floor" and go for it! Don't forget to drive "two-footed" (not good in normal driving) so you can brake hard when needed. Slow drivers need to STAY RIGHT to allow others to PASS ON THE LEFT!
Service and Staff
5 out of 5
We were impressed with the sincere dedication of this entire crew. Almost every single one of them seemed very motivated to make this the best experience possible for the passengers.
Ship Quality
5 out of 5
Always clean and constantly maintained. I don't know how anyone could have done any better.
Cabin / Stateroom
5 out of 5
This cabin is the very forward & central cabin on this deck. We were pleasantly surprised how much we liked the cabin. The sloped exterior of the ship meant this cabin had a nice bench and cabinets under the larger window that faced forward. It provided for an excellent space to dry clothes, sort papers, & just extra working space. The only down-side some may not appreciate is the distance to the stairs/elevators since the cabin is all the way forward.
Ship tip
If you'd would like to do the FAST water slide, make sure you're able to remove ALL rings/jewelry (or get resized) before boarding the ship.
Didn't do any excursions since I've been to LA many times in the past. Apparently this port can only accommodate one large cruise ship at a time. There was another cruise line ship docked at the terminal so our NCL was tied up at the extreme western dock, out in the open. No idea who schedules in the ships or who gets dibs on the best location so I have no idea if NCL is to blame or if it's just chance.
Although this was a tender port for us, the waterfront town is easily accessible on foot with nice shops & restaurants. We did the whale watching excursion with NCL and it was awesome.
This port allowed our ship to dock at the pier. We did the NCL excursion to the baby turtle farm so we immediately boarded a coach for about an hour drive to the location. For me, the turtle farm seem to lack academic gravitas. The proprietor was introduced as a "marine biologist" but his academic credentials were never mentioned (and we were told he doesn't speak English). In spite of that, my wife absolutely LOVED the opportunity to release the baby turtle into the ocean and was probably her favorite activity of the entire cruise.
The immediate port area was pleasant with some nice within the port complex. However, beyond the gate, it was very commercial (coal terminal). I did the NCL excursion to the coffee plantation, about a 2 hour coach ride up into the mountains. It was apparent that the people live quite modestly. Once past all the commercial areas, the countryside itself was pretty. I'm a coffee lover so thoroughly enjoyed seeing the 40 acre coffee plantation. The farm guide was excellent and the woman owner greeted us in person. Afterwards, had "free" coffee and opportunity to buy some to take home.
Our ship was able to dock at the pier but it looks like the city is building a huge, new cruise terminal which is not open yet. Because of the construction, passengers were not permitted to walk through the terminal but were provided a complimentary shuttle bus ride to the area of shops & restaurants, about a mile away from the ship. Since it was Sunday morning, many of the shops (and all the restaurants) were closed as the majority of the people are Catholics. My wife got a few souvenir bracelets. We did not do any excursions at this port.
For me, the transit was actually a little under-whelming. We did the "new" locks so crossed 3 going up and 3 going down. Although the canal itself is a wonderful engineering accomplishment, I've traveled locks before in a ship and didn't find it stunning. I was somewhat surprised at the lack of ships we saw in the canal although there were probably 50+ at anchor at either end of the canal. The guide that came on board explained what was happening as we transited and was interesting.
Our ship was able to dock at the pier. I would estimate that the visitors' center was about a 300 yard walk from the ship. A complimentary shuttle was also provided but we walked. The visitors' center had several shops and lush tree growth that had a wide variety of colored birds, peacocks, and small monkeys (tamarans?). I got a nice men's tropical shirt for $23 and my wife bought some jade. We did not do an excursion at this port. I tried to see if I could walk past the gate but was waved back by the security guards.
This was a tender port for our ship. Nice area of shops in the immediate terminal area. Immediately outside the gate was the downtown area that was loaded with even more shops, all easily within walking distance. We did an NCL excursion to the turtle sanctuary. This place seemed far more academically credible than the previous turtle farm we visited in Acapulco.
I don't like to be a whiner but I probably should have rated this as one-star (terrible). We were told CBP was doing "face to face" interviews at customs. Our flights were arranged by NCL and we had a very late flight (8:00 PM). Understandably, we were one of the last groups to exit the ship which ended up being 10:30. We then queued for 2+ hours (mostly outdoors) until we finally got on the NCL scheduled coach for the airport. It was a LONG wait at the airport and we finally arrived at home at 3:00 AM (no earlier flights were available at this airport - Miami).
Appreciate your detailed and informative review. I think I might get a ring that can’t be removed (I’m not a fan of slides😳). Glad you enjoyed your cruise in spite of the embarkation and debarkation.
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