We like to cruise and would consider NCL again if we choose to cruise again. But this cruise was as I've already said left us disappointed in what we have experienced in the past on a cruise. We brought a couple with us this time as their first cruise so they had nothing to compare it to, and they enjoyed themselves and will cruise again I believe. They did several excursions as well.
Embarkation
3 out of 5
My wife is gluten free traveler so our embark time was to be real early. What we didn't know was once there we would wait almost 2 hours to get on the ship sitting around inside the NCL waiting area. We were able to board still as one of the earlier arriving passengers but there was NO need to get there that early to sit and wait while they were cleaning the ship. Why not just tell us and everyone else to arrive 2 hours later. It was my first frustration not knowing that this was going to happen when I was all ready to get on vacation, not sit around and wait with out any direction or reason given at the time.
Ship experiences
Food and Dining
3 out of 5
Food over all was good, I thought portions were small and had to ask for seconds on almost every occasion. The bars were under staffed it seems as well no matter what time of day it was. With over 2000 people on these boats there were plenty of place to get a beverage but one one or two bartenders to manage us at peak times. The rooms were very clean and kept clean of dirty dishes pretty quickly and the staff was very friendly and willing to serve us with a smile. Nice job there.
Four Seasons Dining Room
5 out of 5
This turned out to be our go to place for most of our meals, staff was great. Room kept clean. Nice place to eat.
Onboard Activities
3 out of 5
Pool was cold, over over crowded most times. Hot tubs were always full as well so didn't get a chance to really enjoy any of the water attractions to much. Boat was under construction we found out once we got on board so the golf ball driving was closed off along with half the sun deck. The Sun didn't have many extra major activities to do because of its age and smaller size. Do like all the inboard shows, activities, tales shows, and music offerings though out the evening to choose from. Nice variety.
Entertainment
3 out of 5
Stage shows every evening were well done and showcased some very talented younger performers. Enjoyed their performances and energy. Another great find was a 2 person musical couple which we tried to catch all their shows was Rox & Fer, wide variety of music talent and understanding of helpful electonics to round out their sound. Recommend them highly.
Stardust Lounge
3 out of 5
Stardust needs updating badly. Windjammer lounge was nice but to small a venue for some of the acts who were scheduled there. Observation lounge we found on our last sea day, that is a nice place to sit and relax, sorry we didn't find it earlier.
Service and Staff
5 out of 5
Everyone we asked for help was very nice and helped us directly or steered us to the right person to ask, very good staff selections. This was what helped us enjoy this cruise, the staff was very nice to everyone and would go out of their way to make sure we were having a good time.
Ship Quality
2 out of 5
This area is where I couldn't recommend this ship to anyone. I found it very weird that we had to walk through food area (buffet) to get to the pool area. Both sides of the ship it seemed you had to walk though even the sports bar to get to the back deck. Once these venues had people in them eating it became cramped to make your way though from one side to the other. Poor design in my book.
Cabin / Stateroom
4 out of 5
What we expected for size and it was OK for our needs. The only thing that was a bit tight was the shower could have used another couple of square feet of space. It was to much of an efficiency shower. :) Room was kept clean and loved the mini safes in the room.
Ship tip
Don't pick a different ship in their fleet. We have had great pleasure in sailing with NCL on a previous cruise but this ship left us short of our expectations for a great cruise.
Traffic rough to get to ship. Did the Everglades tour once back while we had to wait to fly out. This tour was fun and informational, would recommend it.
We did an excursion on dune buggy type of machines to a Jade pool to jump into. That was fun but again not what we thought we were getting. The buggies were beat, real bad condition, our guid was great but it wasn't his place of course to fix what we all thought needed to be fixed to make that spot so much better for us visitors. Had great potential to be a go to place, just needs resources I think to bring it up to a higher standard.
Very well organized. But one of the bags from the couple we travel with got temporally lost from the baggage claim area before customs.
Also we noticed Miami officers onboard after returning from an early breakfast before getting off the ship. They were diffidently checking out a passenger down the hall from us for some reason. I liked the extra security feel of that.
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