This was so terrible, although it was my first cruise it is also my last. Four main ports were dropped with no explanation before sailing, and we lost a 5th during the trip. 20% of time was spent at sea although we had paid for a cruise with no sea days. The cruise was a shell of what we signed up/paid for. Nothing to do on the ship, terrible food, a ship that smelled like sewer and cigarette smoke, and satellite out (no TV or Internet) the majority of the time. The NCL app never worked the entire time. A dirty room and we even had to call to request toilet paper. The excursions were way overpriced. Disembarking at ports took as long as 3 hours. No one had a clue what was going on. It seemed all our time was spent waiting-to get on the ship, off the ship, to get a buffet seat. Unbelievably, there were never any chairs on the deck. We were anchored in beautiful fjords with incredible weather but nowhere to sit around the outer deck to enjoy the views. If this is what a typical cruise experience is, count me out!
Embarkation
1 out of 5
Stood outside in line to drop off luggage, then another huge line for security
Ship experiences
Food and Dining
1 out of 5
Buffet was horrible (raw sausage and burgers), had to go find a bar elsewhere to get juice or soda, were told we did not have a specialty dining reservation although we had proof, basically nowhere to get a late night snack.
Onboard Activities
1 out of 5
There were basically no activities. A few boring items with huge fees (e.g. bingo) but no movies, literally nothing to do.
Entertainment
3 out of 5
Saw one show that was very good, but all geared to really old people and nothing of interest to me.
Service and Staff
3 out of 5
Front desk staff very rude, other staff were very friendly
Ship Quality
2 out of 5
Terrible layout and ship smelled like sewer. Our bathroom smelled awful the entire cruise and never looked or smelled clean.
Cabin / Stateroom
3 out of 5
Overall size fine, but no chair to sit in. Beds extremely uncomfortable and were told no toppers available. Bathroom dirty and had to call for toilet paper as none was in cabin. Satellite out majority of trip so no TV in room.
This replacement port for the original Lofoten Islands was a poor substitution. Nothing to see in this tiny city. We were back on the ship wirhin an hour.
So sorry you had such a disappointing cruise. I would be upset at most of those things too. Unfortunately, you had a bad experience. We have been on multiple cruises and never had those poor experiences. You sure did pick a beautiful itinerary though!
We were on the Star in 2019 and loved it, not the biggest ship but was in good condition and the staff were fantastic and created such a great, friendly, fun atmosphere. All NCL ships have somewhere serving food 24 hours, on the Star it was O’ Sheehans unless they’ve changed that? There are many different cruise lines with many different sizes of ships with varied activities. Maybe this one wasn’t the one for you. If you decide to cruise again hope you enjoy the next one more.
*Cruiseline.com is not a booking agent or travel agency,
and does not charge any service fees to users of our site. Our partners
(travel agencies and cruise lines) provide prices, which we list for our
users' convenience. Cruiseline.com does not guarantee any specific rates or
prices. While prices are updated daily, please check with the booking site
for the exact amount. Cruiseline.com is not responsible for content on
external web sites.
Contact us
Submitting...
Need help from a personal vacation planner?
Loading...
Find the perfect cruise with weekly tips and cruise deals for as little as $30/night!
Sign up for weekly cruise deals
Join other subscribers and get the best
cruise deals of the week in your inbox every Thursday.
