This was my first true NCL experience; I had gone on an older ship on a charter cruise, but that experience was nothing compared to this. I thoroughly enjoyed my cruise and will definitely consider NCL in the future.
Embarkation
4 out of 5
Fairly smooth; some traffic jams due to large parties. I arrived about an hour after boarding began so there was little to no wait. The terminal in San Juan is not as nice as those in the States, so I would not recommend arriving early as there’s not a lot of seating and I could imagine it getting really stuffy in there.
Porters really expected tips. I always tip my porters, but they seemed to be demanding it when not voluntarily offered (and they counted it in front of you). My bags were delivered to my room a couple of hours after boarding.
Ship experiences
Food and Dining
4 out of 5
I really was pleased with the variety of offering and venues. I could always find something to suit my mood. The Local is open 24/7 and the wings were my favorite. Sit at the bar and get some pretzel bites too. I used my specialty dining for Food Republic. I really liked their sushi.
Indulge Food Hall
5 out of 5
By far my favorite spot on the ship. You sit at a table and order from various stations. Offerings switch for the lunch and dinner service but the items are the same each day. Stations include noodles, salads, Tex Mex, Indian Mediterranean and Latin. I loved the pad Thai at lunch and would pop in for guacamole for a snack. Dinner was a nice switch from the dining room and if you go with a group, you can do a “tasting” of pretty much everything. I really thought the staff was great here
Surfside Café & Grill
3 out of 5
This is a pretty small buffet and the offerings were hit or miss. On the plus side, you can get French fries and soft serve.
Hudson's
4 out of 5
Hudson’s is one of the main dining rooms if you are not opting for specialty dining. It is also open daily for breakfast until about 9:30 if sit-down is your thing. I ate breakfast there twice and dinner twice. Service was prompt and friendly.
Onboard Activities
3 out of 5
Pool areas are small and usually chairs are grabbed early. There are plenty of other non-pool seating chairs, you just might need to look for them but then you’ll be farther from the bar.
Entertainment
4 out of 5
For a 7-day cruise, there wasn’t a lot of live entertainment, but Beetlejuice was excellent.
Simon the cruise director had some fun trivia in the evenings and got solo travelers, they have a nightly meetup with activities.
Casino
5 out of 5
Casino is nice but this cruise wasn’t very active. The first couple of days had some pretty high limits on the tables, but then they seemed to lower to try to get more people to play. Dealers, pit bosses and hosts were all friendly.
Service and Staff
5 out of 5
I thought the staff on the ship was excellent and they were very service oriented.
Ship Quality
4 out of 5
I really liked the ship. It never really seemed crowded except for some minor bottlenecks by the Local or entering/exiting the buffet. The staff is meticulous about cleaning and I never saw a table sit with fises on it long.
Cabin / Stateroom
4 out of 5
I had a solo inside studio cabin. It worked for me - I never spend that much time in there. I had plenty of storage, but it is tight quarters. There’s not much room between the bed and the closets. Nevertheless, it was comfortable and quietly tucked away. Plus, I was just down the hall from the solo lounge where I could easily grab coffee, Diet Coke or even a tap beer or cocktail any time I felt like it.
Ship tip
Get a pass to the thermal suite - it’s well eorth it and is a beautiful oasis.
St. Sebastian feast was going on during embarkation weekend making it difficult to go anywhere due to massive crowds descending upon old San Juan. Plus, PR is pricey in general in terms of taxes and pre-cruise hotels
Not so much on the ship, but to get your Uber is complete chaos. I put my luggage out and found it easily upon disembarking as I was in no hurry to leave the ship. I had a nice breakfast at Hudsons and then left shortly after my zone was called.
We just got to the San Juan airport after exiting the Viva. We’re flying Southwest. Just found out you cannot go through the ticket line until 4 hours before your flight. NCL had us get on our transfer at 8:00, so now we’re sitting on the floor of airport for two hours. Someone said the airport can’t handle all the luggage at one time. Advise staying on ship as long as you can.
For disembarkation do you think taxi would be easier than Uber? Did you notice if taxis were lined up? We are on viva in a couple weeks and wondering if it might be easier to grab next cab available over needing to find a specific Uber. Thanks!
Thanks for your review ! You mentioned bottlenecks and difficulties finding deck chairs… I see a lot of complaints about crowded venues, how did you find it ?
*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.
