Loved this Cruise

This was our first cruise on Norwegian after four previous cruises on other cruise lines. We were extremely pleased with all aspects of the cruise, with a few minor exceptions as noted below. 

Our inside stateroom was small but just right for us-  sufficient closet space and drawers.  The bathroom and shower were  sparkling clean and the service we received was outstanding.  It was very helpful to have printed materials left on our bed every evening describing details of the next day's events.

There were so many things we loved- here is a sampling:

The food in the Raffles buffet was really fantastic- with a good variety of delicious meat and fish items, seafood, a big salad bar, crepes made to order, lots of fruit and desserts. Breakfast included made to order eggs, loved the muesli- a lot of variety.  We were less impressed with the food in the complimentary restaurants, mostly because ordering from the menu lacked the variety that was available in the buffet, and partly because the food was just not quite as tasty. Nevertheless the special feeling of being served a several course meal by dedicated serving professionals made a few restaurant meals a must for us.

My husband and I love ballroom dancing, and much to our surprise we found ourselves dancing to live music every evening in the Galaxy lounge- often around sunset.  What a treat, and very romantic.

We attended the shows which were put on twice every evening.  The violinist, Bernadette, was my favorite performer- she was just amazing, and the music was awesome!  We also loved the stage performances by the magicians, the acrobats, and particularly the cruise players.  On a couple of occasions the sound system was set way too loud to really enjoy the performances. That was a bit disappointing. But all in all, the entertainment was very enjoyable.

This cruise had stops at different ports every single day- we were a bit worried that it would be too much, too tiring.  But actually we really loved the daily routine we fell into where we got to explore new vistas and cities, and then return to the ship for dinner and dancing and onboard entertainment.

We went on a full day excursion from Livorno to Florence, where we saw Michaelangelo's David and had a walking tour of the many other highlights of this amazing city.  The tour guide was excellent, and provided sufficient shady spots and bathroom breaks to make the tour a pleasure.  Norwegian Cruise Line staff were really good at organizing and informing everyone about what to expect.

Cannes was one of my favorite spots.  There was a bit of a wait to take the tender (small boat) into town, but after walking a block or so we came to the most amazing shopping area with dozens of clothing stores, shoe shops, pastry shops, etc.  I bought shoes there within the first few minutes of arriving!  

We took a tour train to the Notre Dame Basilica in Marseilles, and got on a Hop-On, Hop-Off bus in Barcelona and Malta.  We paid for these after we got into the cities.  We found this a good way to get a perspective on these places that you can't get from just walking.

Palma, Mallorca was really beautiful- we found ourselves in some lovely quiet narrow back lanes (the restaurants and pubs were still closed), which we followed for blocks before we found our way back out to the main streets.  Very enchanting.

In some of the ports, there was a charge (up to 15 Euros each) to take the shuttle bus into town- it helped us to know about this from prior reviews, because the Cruise Line didn't really tell us about these charges until the day they happened.  It really was worth it to use this service, so go prepared to pay a little extra.

We took the "Pompeii on your Own" excursion, which was essentially a short (guided) bus ride to and from the site- it seemed a bit expensive ($38 each), especially since we also had to pay $13 each to get in to see the Pompeii ruins (another fact we found out at the last minute- not sure why the excursion description did not inform us of this).  Fees can be paid with credit cards, so that helped.  We were awe-struck with the Pompeii experience, well worth every penny!  Going early in the morning allowed us to avoid the afternoon heat, (there is shade from the buildings almost everywhere, but take water- it is hot!) We were back on the ship in time for lunch!

At the end of the cruise we were dreading the prospect of hauling our luggage on the shuttle, the bus, the train, the bus or taxi, and then the hotel shuttle - and we wanted to spend our last day in Rome seeing the sights! We had booked a room at the Hilton Airport Hotel- (expensive, but convenient).  We decided to invest in a "transfer tour" which took us (and our luggage) from the Cruise Ship's landing spot in Civitavecchia into Rome- to see the Colliseum and the Vatican, and then drop us (and our luggage) off at our hotel!  This was expensive, but we have no regrets at all.  It was such a relief to not have to juggle our luggage on the last day.

All in all, we were extremely satisfied with this vacation, and we can't wait to cruise on Norwegian again.