Overall, we're very pleased with our experience and want to hold on to the happy memories but it's hard to ignore all the negative things and realistically I think it's better to point these out in a review.
Embarkation
5 out of 5
No problems. Everything was signposted and we did not have to wait too long. We were in the 2PM-2:30PM time slot.
Ship experiences
Food and Dining
3 out of 5
We were honestly not super impressed with the food. We ate at 4 specialty restaurants, all the free food halls, buffet, sit down restaurants and it was never exceptional. Our best meal was in Los Lobos and our worst meal was in Onda but that was mostly because the service was so terrible. I felt in Hudsons that the tables were so crammed together. The servers had no where to walk between tables. I was very pleased with our food quality from Hudsons. The food on the ship was good overall but not what you would hope for. If they improved the food quality I would return but this is a deal breaker for me. Definitely heard a few people who were also unhappy with the food quality overall.
Onboard Activities
4 out of 5
Weather aside, most of the onboard activities require extra money which we weren't crazy about. Obviously some are okay like the spa, arcade and the casino but I definitely feel nickel and dimed overall by NCL. The vacation vibe is ruined by every staff member always pushing to sell you something. It's very disingenuous. Especially walking into the spa and you have about 4 people waiting before reception asking if you want to book a massage. Just let people book what they want at their own pace.
Entertainment
4 out of 5
We loved the Summer: Donna musical and many of the evening shows in the theater. We were SO disappointed by the comedian who was placed in the improv theatre a few times. We got there 30 minutes early and the room was spilling over with people. A few people were complaining to staff management I believe. I do think they tried to rectify the problem but hopefully this will be worked out in the future because it was not a good arrangement. We never saw her.
Service and Staff
3 out of 5
Okay, obviously you interact with many different staff members on these cruises and we are hard working individuals and I am familiar with the service industry dynamic (not on a cruise of course) but many members of the staff to me seemed to be burned out. I felt really sorry for many of them. Our worst experience, which was on my partner's 40th birthday unfortunately, was the service we received in Onda restaurant. The server was on another planet. While taking my order he was staring at the people at another table. And then he closed my partners menu and took it from him before he could even order his food. It was bizarre, he just seemed so tired. He never acknowledged my partners birthday which was not a big deal but at least the woman who sat us down said happy birthday to him so they were aware. I don't know. We laughed about everything later and obviously tried to just dismiss everything as unlucky but we definitely noticed the unhappiness of some other staff members onboard. They are very pushy with selling things and it is off-putting. We are happy to buy things and spend our money but not when the people seem so desperate for it. Are these people making no money? We were genuinely just curious about the whole operation. Please NCL give these staff members some love. Also, did not love all the camerapeople overasking about getting a picture. When you walk off the ship, I don't mind being asked once, but dodging several cameras in a row is not very pleasant. Again, its just pushy with all the sales.
Ship Quality
5 out of 5
Loved it. Beautiful.
Cabin / Stateroom
5 out of 5
10/10
Ship tip
Be ready for crowds especially at the water stations in the buffet area
So disappointing. Prebooked the hop-on hop-off bus which we waited for almost 2 hours because they don't do digital tickets even if you pre-book. Then the bus ride was so short and we realized it would have just been better to walk. The town is swarmed with people from the cruise and it's so tiny that it just seems bizarre with all the people.
Walked around and visited the Van Gogh museum which I pre-booked and was excellent. Definitely look up the ratings before eating somewhere because the food in Amsterdam is to die for so don't miss it. Street vendors in tourist areas are probably a waste of money and there are SO many amazing places to eat down cute little alleys.
Chaos. No signs, so people were panicking about where to go and what to do and scrambling all over each other. Such an easy fix with a couple extra signs. The day of traveling is obviously going to have a lot of stressful people so why not ease some of that stress.
We went on that cruise last year and had a fantastic time. The food was excellent. We never at the buffet but loved local and area you ordered on tablets was our favorite for lunch.
Appreciate your detailed feedback. Sometimes there is a cruise that every little thing seems to go awry (we’ve had three). Sorry this was one for you. Glad you still managed to enjoy your cruise.
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