The ship condition is fine considering its age. Most public areas are clean but some are not. I could see dirt on gym equipments which I did not see when I was on this ship 2 years ago. Overall it was okay.
Ship experiences
Food and Dining
1 out of 5
It appears NCL goes extra length to cut cost. Food quality has gotten worse compared to what it was on the same ship 2 years ago. The part I liked the most was fresh fruits - plenty of them. The Garden Cafe is always crowded and it seems like people fight for food. Main dinning rooms are okay but the waiting time is very long - approximately 30 minutes to get your food. Food choices are limited and the quality is not there. Desserts are not that great - cheap stuff. I appreciate the fact NCL is not very pushy compared to Royal Caribbean when it comes to trying to sell you alcohol in the main dinning room. For specialty restaurants, they were not worth it. The all you can eat sushi was a bad deal. My group ordered sashimi and were told they were not available. Why then did they push so hard for all you can eat sushi? It was a scam! The Chinese restaurant served poor quality food as well - You can only order 1 entree and the food was salty and not fresh. It was overprice. Don't eat there
Entertainment
1 out of 5
Do not book the Hiking to Waterfall in Samana. It is the most horrific experience and it is a scam. You will be hiking for 2 hours in the slippery mud and won't be seeing things they describe in the tour guide info. The trail was full of horse waste and stinks very bad. Once you get to the small waterfall, you will not want to jump into it because it is muddy and contaminated w/ horse waste as well. Do it if you want to be infected w/ some rare bacterial infection. When I raised my concern w/ Excursion staff, I was told "you paid for it, too bad". There was no reasonable compensation or even onboard credit for the horrible tour they sold me for $69..99/person. DO NOT BUY THIS EXCURSION.
Service and Staff
1 out of 5
I went on this same ship 2 years ago to Alaska and my experience w/ staff was absolutely positive. This time, it is a direct opposite! Concierge and Excursion staff were absolutely discourteous and rude! They gave different answers to the same question i asked. The cruise consultant, Jorge, was very rude. He half-heartedly answered my question while watching You Tube video and laughing. He hurried to direct me to another person saying it was not his job. I have to commend the staff who took care of my room. They worked super hard and I tipped them extra to show how much I appreciate them.
Ship Quality
3 out of 5
Cabin / Stateroom
3 out of 5
The room is good since I got window room. NCL has gone cheap by stop giving chocolate mint at night and provide generic brand shampoo and body wash. I have to give NCL some credit still since Royal Caribbean does not provide shampoo or body wash.
I thought Pirates of the Caribbean no longer exist, but they DO. People here are so rude and mean, especially the vendors. You don't want to mess with them. Some restaurants charge $1.00/person to use their restrooms. They just want your money and they don't care whether you come back or not. This place makes me appreciate people in Mexico so much. It sure is day and night.
If you love jewelry shopping, this is the place to visit. They have so many jewelry stores and so many selections to choose from. I will come back to this island, but not on a cruise.
NCL is working on making the island more enjoyable. At this point, there is nothing much to do. The water slide is so ghetto. Someone stands on top and spray water on you so you wont get stuck along the way. It is not a good location for snorkeling since there are not enough corral reefs around. It is rather a boring location!
Waste of time. Horrible HIKING TO THE WATERFALL excursion! Big rip off ever. You pay $69.99/person for nothing. You will see nothing other than horse waste the whole trail. You smell it for the whole duration of the excursion.
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