I had always regarded Norwegian as the top of the line; the creme de la creme...until Covid. We got off of our 2019 Boston to Bermuda cruise, with Cruise Next Certificates in hand, and scheduled a 2020 cruise. It was canceled. We rescheduled. It was canceled. We rescheduled. It was canceled. We went a year out. It was canceled. We were the loyal cruisers that rescheduled again & again to find price hikes & itinerary changes and no extension to our Cruise Next Certificates. Loyalty means nothing anymore. I don't believe we'll cruise Norwegian as a loyal customer again. We'll be the ones looking for the best deal regardless of Cruiseline. It's all the same to us now. To top it off & sum it up...my Wednesday night "shellac" mani/pedi (that in reality was an overpriced regular mani/pedi, sans shellac) was chipped & peeling by Friday disembarkment.
Embarkation
4 out of 5
Embankment wasn't too bad. They were questioning each other as to what was needed, but all in all, it went fairly quickly.
Ship experiences
Food and Dining
3 out of 5
Food was good. There was limited choices as the same dishes were repeated in the line.
Onboard Activities
2 out of 5
The typical pool & sunbathing were the same. There were not as many fun instructional entertainment things going on. It definitely appeared like there was a staffing shortage. No towel animals at all!
Entertainment
2 out of 5
The entertainment was lacking. It was just okay. Nothing spectacular. There is no longer a reservation process. It's all first come, first serve. We'd been looking forward to the entertainment. We actually left a few shows out of disappointment. Not like it used to be. There were very few good entertainers. Jassen was spectacular! Unfortunately, he couldn't carry it all.
Children's Programs
I did not travel with children.
Service and Staff
3 out of 5
I'm giving this 4 stars as some of the staff did their best & others, were just mediocre. The guy in Tradewinds had such an attitude! Not a people person whatsoever. I'm giving it 3 stars, tops.
Ship Quality
2 out of 5
The ship was NOT as updated as the last (2019) ship to Bermuda. It was definitely older & smaller.
We noticed that the cleaning up in between shows was much slower. The trash from previous shows was cleaned after the new shows crowd was showing up. Things were just piled on every available space & some still on floor.
Cabin / Stateroom
3 out of 5
I was truly disappointed in our aft-facing balcony. I thought we'd get a larger balcony than we did, but apparently our floor (11), has smaller balconies than lower ones. It was absolutely not worth the extra money. Our room was cleaned whenever we asked. That was definitely a plus.
Ship tip
Don't expect the same as you've received in the past. It's not the same whatsoever.
I love Bermuda, but 2 days is NOT enough time to see what you want. I paid for 3 days in Port, not 2. I was very disappointed that we only had 2, not the 3 that was originally scheduled.
This port has shopping, shopping & more shopping. The lobster roll was good, but after leaving from Boston, WHT would I want to visit Maine. If I wanted to visit Maine, I'd get in my car, not pay for a cruise!
Disembarking was horrible, even crew members were arguing amongst themselves. We waited in line for approximately an hour & people getting off of elevator were cutting in to disembark. Not happy about that!
I'm not sure why your cruise next vouchers have not been extended...We were scheduled to cruise in February 2021; our vouchers and payment were refunded; and we proceeded to wait. Two weeks ago, we booked another cruise. Our vouchers were there waiting for us with new 2025 expiration dates...
Sorry you feel your loyalty wasn’t awarded. It seems many of us feel that way. Much like you, we go with the best deal that fits our needs. Appreciate your feedback.
We went through a very similar situation with constantly rebooking cruises that were canceled and while I understand NCL was doing the best they could to be safe, the breaking point came when we were scheduled to go out of Tampa on the Dawn and less than 48 hours before the cruise they canceled. On a positive note they fully refunded our cruise to the original form of payment but in essence they held on to our money for almost 2 years. It's going to be very hard for us to go back to NCL after that.
Sorry this cruise didn't meet your expectations. Nothing is the same since covid. We are loyal Norwegian customers and really enjoy the perks. We are flexible and appreciate all the crew staff does to keep the ship clean and comfortable. Enjoy shopping around, other lines may have the same problems.
Truth is, NCL was never the "best". The main stream lines are all pretty close with slight variations and focus. Some people just need to be a fan of certain things. That's fine but they lose out on savings and experience by being "loyal" to one line. The lines have no such attachment to you. "Pay like everyone else or stay away." Welcome to the Pick the Best Option at the Time club.
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