The cruise was overall great. After all, your trip is what you make of it, despite most circumstances. I thought the staff helped me just enough on the ship. They do not wait on you hand and foot, but they do take excellent care of you. Cleanliness is important, and they did not miss a beat on that. Food quality helps to make an experience, and they did most times, but even if they did not, the service made up for it. The ship was enjoyable, with so many activities to try. The crowd was fantastic and fun; I don't think I met any strangers onboard. This specific itinerary is very dull to an avid cruiser, but I knew that when booking the cruise. Overall, it was a great time, and I would book this ship again with other itineraries.
Embarkation
3 out of 5
Embarkation was unorganized. We were not at the new NCL terminal. Our check-in line was long and moved slow. We then were shuffled into large waiting rooms with no direction or information on boarding. Then They pulled open some walkways and all chaos broke loose only to wait in more lines for getting on the ship.
Ship experiences
Food and Dining
4 out of 5
Teppanyaki lacked in the flavor department, but the cocktails were good. The Cagney's Steakhouse experience was quite poor between the waiter pouring the beer straight into the glass causing all foam, poor quality steak sauce, and only satisfactory steaks. But Le Bistro made up for that with excellent quality dishes. Q Smokehouse was a unique Texas BBQ with excellent service, entertainment, and food. The main dining did not disappoint whatsoever.
Onboard Activities
4 out of 5
Pools definitely were not adequate for the passenger ratio onboard. The hot tubs were not hot, just warm. But the laser tag is neat, go-karts were awesome, and virtual reality was a blast. The themed parties were not to miss!
Entertainment
4 out of 5
The shows on board can be dull, and there should be far more live music than NCL seems to like to host, especially in the casino, and up on deck. Even some hallway music would benefit. However, the comedian was the best. She was personable when you would see her outside of the show, and engaging during the show. Then the band in the Q restaurant that played country was unbelievable how talented they were.
Service and Staff
5 out of 5
Our steward, Joyce was excellent. She was my favorite ship employee. Very happy and kept our room clean (and cleaned quickly too!). Joyce was always delighted to say hi to me in the halls. The waiters and bar servers and everybody else working on the ship was also very helpful.
Ship Quality
5 out of 5
The ship was designed well. Common areas were constantly under cleaning to ensure the vessel stayed top-notch.
Cabin / Stateroom
5 out of 5
It was exactly as it should have been. Storage was no issue for two people having a week's worth of belongings. The beds were comfortable and we had just enough space for comfort.
Ship tip
Find the bars on deck 8 outdoors, as they are not busy and very cool to visit.
Great venues at the private resort, with one major flaw: there should be a way to use your NCL ship card for the bars on land as they are owned by the cruise line. The pool is incredible, and nice beaches as well. Tons of seating, fun excursions, and local shopping brought into the resort area as well.
Fast and easy. Only issue being that I selected a later time, as we did not need to be to our hotel yet, and the constant announcements in my room kept me awake.
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