Overall the experience was underwhelming. Alaska was beautiful. Norwegian Sun was disorganized. This was the most expensive week for a cruise. We would have thought the service would have been better. Staff provided conflicting or incorrect information multiple times. Internet services was wholly inadequate. We were glad we did not pay for enhanced service.
Embarkation
4 out of 5
Boarding the ship was fairly well organized. The delay to board was minimal although there were conflicitng instructions from the crew during the process
Ship experiences
Food and Dining
4 out of 5
Food generally was reasonable. Buffet lines were long. There are not an adequate number of tables for the passengers. Waitress in the Seven Seas our first night there was very poor. Never asked for a drink order and we never were asked if we wanted coffee or tea. Other wait staff were significantly better and did an excellent job caring for our group.
Onboard Activities
4 out of 5
Fitness center was adequate for use.
Entertainment
3 out of 5
Musicians were very good. Dance performances were not very polished. Lead singers scream-sang songs as if to see who could scream the loudest. Songs chosen for the Rock show (Tina Turner, The Who) were not well-matched to the singers. Magician, Comedian and Juggler were good.
Children's Programs
Not traveling with children
Service and Staff
4 out of 5
For the most part the staff were very attentive. We however did not receive our luggage tags for the debarking the ship. The Guest Services staff when we interacted with them were hit and miss. Several did not seem to know their job functions while others were very helpful. Could not hear or understand any announcements made if you were in your cabin. Also, the cruise director was difficult to understand even when we were in the Starlight Lounge and she was directly in front of us. She talked alot but provide no real infomation on how various processes or activities would occur (i.e. disembarking the ship)
Ship Quality
4 out of 5
There were a number of days where dirty dishes and trash were in the common areas for extended periods of time. Bus personnel were very diligent to clean tables in the dining areas.
Cabin / Stateroom
4 out of 5
Our cabin was maintained by our steward. We felt he did a good job. We did encounter trouble with the drain in the shower running very slow which was corrected after we reported it.
Ship tip
Spend the money to upgrade techology capabilities. Went from having 150 minutes to zero minutes without signing on or having my WiFi enabled on my phone. Ship's internet was essentially useless
While we enjoyed our excursion, there was no one on the dock directing people to where to go to board the launch to return to the ship. There was one 8.5X11 inch sign which we accidentially found. Meanwhile, there were multiple 10 foot flags identifying where to board the Viking ship.
White Pass Railroad was great. Logistics of getting off the ship to the station were poorly managed by the crew. Again, limited directions on where to go and what to do.
Ship arrived late. There were no announcements on where to go to disembark. We were scheduled to dock at 7:30 PM. We were finally told by a member of the crew to go to deck 6 to line up. We encountered another crew member who told us to go out the door to the left. Not 10 feet later, another crew member told us to go to the right instead. The line to get off the ship was more than halfway around the entire deck. When they did finally begin letting people off the ship at around 8:35 PM, it was another 10 minutes before the last person in line began to move. We were required to be back on the ship by 11:20 PM. Due to lack of time, we decided to remain on the ship. Were very disappointed on how this entire stop was handled and basically missed out on seeing anything.
We did not receive our luggage tags on the last evening. We were told by the Guest Services staff we could stay in our cabin until our group was called, however we could not hear any of the annoucements while in our cabin. No instructions were provided on how the debarkation process was to work.
Was this your first cruise? Sounds to me like a lot of first cruiser mistakes or misconceptions. I was on the NCL Sun a few months ago and had a great time, with great food, and even greater service. Perhaps you failed to listen or do research before and during your cruise and you expected the crew to spoon feed you information at every point. I did not experience any of your issues. You complained about and I'm by no means a cruise snob nor a cruise novice. I went on the cruise and just had a great time and went with the flow.
We did the Sun last Oct in Alaska. Felt the same Alaska was incredible. The cruise itself was such a let down. Poor service, food wasn't that good and zero entertainment. Only one show and I never saw that many walk out during the show. It was our 4th cruise 1st and most likely last with Norwegian.
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