A few issues but not enough to call it a total bust. Its been 6 years since this family has gotten away. After 7 deaths of family and friends in a two year span and the wife having a double mastectomy and getting through cancer....all but a sinking ship was a better experience for us. [which was actually a concern when one of the ships stacks blew out a burst of black smoke and then the announcement by an apologetic captain that the ship had to change course to be fixed].
Embarkation
5 out of 5
no issues
Ship experiences
Food and Dining
2 out of 5
This one is hard for me to rate. I give the buffet a 5 rating. specialty restaurants i would not even give a one rating .First night there we tried OShehans for their all you could eat ribs. After waiting 30 minutes we were approached and told ribs were no longer available at that location. We left and ate at the buffet. Our first of 3 specialty dinners was at Cagneys steak house. Total flop. Do not waste your time unless you like steaks full of fat and gristle. Applebees serves a better steak and I cant stand steak from Applebees. Second of our 3 specialty restaurants was Moderno the Brazilian steak house. Best of the 3. Excellent steak. Very very slow service. wait time between visits to the table was as long as 15 minutes. I would recommend this place as a must do as one of your dinner choices.Number 3 of our choices was La Cucina, the Italian restaurant. The family enjoyed the food here. Their portions were somewhat reasonable, except mine. I ordered the pasta with pesto. It was very good but the portion could have fit in a small cereal bowl, so small i finished it in less than 2 minutes. The head manager checked on our table to ask how it was and was told all was good except my portion was very small. He said he would bring another order complimentary from the chef. Great gesture but I laughed when the second portion was brought out and could have fit in a small coffee cup. 3 bites and it was gone.The head manager spoke to me as we left. He asked if all was good and I told him I was on my way to the buffet bar were they served large portions of pesto pasta to finish my dinner. His comment to me was "who feeds you at home". I just rolled my eyes and walked away. Last day I ventured back to O Shehans because the family wanted to. My daughter was frustrated with me as I kept commenting about our previous encounter with this place. The waiter showed up approximately 20 minutes after being seated. 42 minutes in we finally got water at the table. and 15 minutes after that i got my iced tea. 20 minutes after that I got my 6 chicken wings that was ordered at our first visit by the waiter. Avoid this place. Everybody congregates here because of its location on the ship which attracts its next victims. My advice is to do the Brazilian steak house for your 3 dinners and stick to the buffet the rest of the time.
Onboard Activities
3 out of 5
Casino was so smokey I couldn't breath. It actually permeates into the adjoining areas. At one point I notice even the casino must have realized the thickness of smoke in the room and set up what i think were air purifiers. Didn't help. I played once early in the morning till the smokers started showing up. It usually takes them a bit to get there. They eat their breakfast then congregate in an area just outside the eating area and smoke while hacking and coughing up their lungs. My wife would actually sprint through the casino area to get to the elevator. I really hope the dealers were smokers, the damage to their lungs from breathing the fog that hangs in that area is the same as smoking in my opinion. On the good side, my wife loved the spa!!!
Entertainment
5 out of 5
We hit every show. A must do. The comedian show was the best. Kids should be restricted from the late show. I believe the comedian held back because of the children there.
Service and Staff
5 out of 5
Absolutely unbelievable. My 2 sons can try the patience of even the most mild tempered person out there. I've often commented that they need their own personal maid just following them to clean up. Also the reason they had their own room. Melvin never complained. He did his job flawlessly, with a smile. I wish there was a higher rating for these people.
Ship Quality
5 out of 5
Its a very clean ship. The staff is constantly cleaning to a fault at times. Don't get up in the middle of your dinner to get a roll, your plate will be gone and the table wiped clean.
Cabin / Stateroom
5 out of 5
Very small but served its purpose. If you're not alone you will bump butts getting dressed. Hang onto something when you're flushing....you might get sucked in. First time I flushed I thought I was a goner
Ship tip
Avoid the Specialty restaurants
Don't book shore excursions with the ship..you can get the same thing done with the locals at a portion of the price. Example; on of the shore excursions is seeing the sea lions which is a boat that travels to a rock with sleeping sea lions. Orrrr you can walk ashore to the end of the pier where there was a boat ramp and give the local a dollar for fish parts and the sea lion will come up and take it out of your hand while you pet it. Then pay that same local $20 to take you in his boat for the same tour the ship does and then drop you off at the private beach. You choose but for my family of 5 this would have cost me over $500 with the ships so called shore excursions. You do the math. If you're into giving your money away, keep a stack of dollar bills and give it to the local kids that approach you looking to sell their goods. Id give them a couple bucks without buying anything just to see their smile. It truly makes their day ....and mine. I saw a little boy playing with little wooden toys at one of the shops...I bought him the toys. You can go anywhere in your allotted time. There is always someone asking to give you a ride to anywhere you want to go. My family of five took city tours, went shopping, to the beach, for less than $15 to anywhere we wanted to go. When at the shops, Always haggle prices. Never pay the listed price. When they say they cant go any lower just walk away and wait for the real deal to happen. At one jewelry shop i negotiated a sculpture down to 1/3 of its original cost, got an additional sculpture at no additional cost, a free fire opal ring and a free silver bracelet for my wife. If you're approached by those poor souls on the beach....you're screwed. I would haggle with some but my heart went out to most of them. The better solution here is to give the poor souls a couple of those dollars I mentioned earlier. Always bring small bills to the beach. There is no change for $100 bills.
its a shipping port...you arrive and get on the ship. Nothing special unless you get get there early and tour the battle ship in the parking lot. We didn't. I wanted my first drink.
wish we had more time here. The ships engine had problems and the schedule got switched to where this was our first stop. you are taxied to shore here by boat. i believe our original plan was to be here 7 or 8 hours. this was cut short. By the time we got off the ship we had approx 1.5 hours on shore. Total failure on Norwegians part but I cant fault the Cabo for their mistake.
very easy and painless. Don't be the guy that holds up the line because you didn't have enough to pay your bill. If you have a balance they are not letting you off the ship. yes this happened. middle finger up to the guy that did this...then stood there arguing about it holding everyone up.
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