The ship is 10 years old, and many people point out that it's aging - and somewhat dated. For me, I enjoyed every moment of this cruise. It was exactly what we needed, and the ship's staff MORE than made up for whatever "aging" the ship had. Personally, I didn't see it.
The stateroom was very nice, the ship overall was well maintained, clean and nice. The seas were rough for a lot of the time, and we definitely felt it more than we would have on a mega-ship like the Epic or Oasis - but we didn't have to deal with the many more people that those ships have.
Norwegian by far has the best staff, best service and best food of any of the cruise lines. There was never a moment when I needed something I didn't get - almost before I knew I needed it.
Our suite was never "not clean" and we never had to ask for anything in the stateroom.
Ship experiences
Food and Dining
5 out of 5
The food in the main dining room was outstanding. The food in the specialty restaurants rivals 5 star dining. Le Bistro was our choice to celebrate a special occasion, and it did not disappoint.
Entertainment
5 out of 5
The entertainment was great. Plenty of things to do, with no pressure to do any of them if you didn't want to. There was a musical venue every night to suit any taste.
The ship's Cruise Director staff (Shona and Johnny "Cash") kept it going throughout the cruise. They are awesome!
Service and Staff
5 out of 5
I can't say enough about Norwegian and the staff. Consistently better than any other vacation experience I have ever had.
Ship Quality
5 out of 5
The ship is 10 years old, and recently had some minor updates to it. It's also smaller than the new mega-ships, so you definitely feel 12 foot seas more than the huge ships.
As with many non-smokers, I wish the casinos didn't allow smoking, but they do. And it's a bit unfortunate that you have to go through it to get to the shops and the Stardust lounge, but that's really my only complaint.
That said, every area of the ship was clean, the public areas are very well maintained, and the staff is incredible. The layout can be somewhat confusing getting to the main dining rooms (especially the forward dining room), but once you're used to it, there's no problem.
Stardust Lounge has many obstructed view seats due to columns, and it fills up about 1/2 hour before every show, so uf you want to have good seats, you need to get there early.
Cabin / Stateroom
5 out of 5
Stateroom was better on this "old" ship than other new ships. Nothing to complain about here. Outstanding. Stewards were amazingly attentive.
Absolutely breathtaking views. We went on the "best of" tour. Our tour operator (Mr. Cool) was very funny, very knowledgeable, and very accommodating. There was a particularly difficult guest on the bus, and he was more patient that I ever would have been.
It was very cold when we arrived at the beach, so we didn't get to enjoy it much - but St. Maarten was one of the highlights of the trip.
The Magan's Bay "tour" was a ride from hell. The tour driver was reckless, and when we got to Magan's Bay, it was incredibly crowded. We won't do that again. In fact, from what we saw, the Port is the nicest part of Charlotte Amalie. We would likely avoid St. Thomas as a port altogether - or not disembark if we chose this itiinerary again.
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