Never Again Norwegian!

This was my second cruise. My first cruise was on Holland America Line. What a difference! Day one started with a trip to the buffet where I promptly found a live bug on my plate. Gross! Went to my stateroom to find it very dusty. I ran my finger across the picture hanging on the wall....it was loaded with dust! Our king-size bed was two twins put together, so I ended up in the crack of the bed every night. Not comfortable. Day two presented me with a hair in my drink and in my food. This was turning out to be a weight loss cruise. This ship is so overcrowded that we found ourselves waiting for elevators, searching for tables while holding plates of food, which were cold by the time we did find a place to sit. We had to eat once standing up. In every lounge and common area, the upholstery had mysterious stains, either from drink or vomit. Not classy. There were several large windows that had broken seals and were "cloudy", even in the Spinnaker Lounge, which is the main viewing area near the bow. There were dusty fake flowers and silk plants all over the place. It felt like a neglected Denny's restaurant in the buffet. The food was HORRIBLE! I figured out why. The ship offers about five restaurants that are not inclusive with your ticket price. Their goal is to burn you out in the buffet with bland slop and very little variation, so that you just break down and pay for something decent. I refused. I had to buy snacks on land in Juneau and sneak them back on board. I don't want to forget that their website shows a glorious waterslide connected to the pool. My kids were so looking forward to it. Guess what? No waterslide. "We're sorry. We have removed them." Well then, remove them from your website!!! The pool was ice cold. Not heated at all. The "fine dining" is anything but fine. There is no dress code, no formal night, no standards. The food in the Summer Palace and Indigo is no better than the buffet. They just throw parsley on the plate to make it look better. Not only that, but the restaurants are just big mess halls, no partitions to reduce noise. I couldn't even hear the people at my own table. The service is just okay. The staff seems overworked due to the large volume of people on the ship. You can easily wait ten minutes for a drink after you order it. I will never, ever go on another Norwegian cruise. They could offer me a free cruise and I wouldn't go. It will be Holland America Line for me from now on. They are first class! Holland America Line is truly luxurious, but was actually less expensive than this horrible Norwegian cruise. Only fresh flowers and plants on Holland America Line, gracious and personal service, entertainment that will blow you away. On Holland America Line, I felt as though I had been plucked from the reality of this harsh world and placed on this floating utopia for a week. It was bliss. The Norwegian cruise, on the other hand, was miserable.