Limited Ship Experience

The whole check in process was quick and easy, took less than 30 minutes. There were several NCL staff waiting at the unloading area to help you with your luggage. We had already tagged our luggage so they took them from us when we got out of our vehicle. We arrived an hour before our scheduled boarding time but they allowed us to check in and board anyway. The terminal was not crowded due to the limited ship capacity limit so we did not encounter any waiting in line. Upon entering the building we headed over to the designated area for the start of the check in process and presented our photo ID, Covid vaccination record and negative Covid test results. For the required Covid test we opted for the self testing online process offered by NCL through Inspire Diagnostics. The testing process was very easy and convenient. We ordered the tests online, $45 each, and they shipped to our house in Texas in less than a week. We flew to Oahu five days before our cruise so I carried the box of tests in my carry on backpack and we took the test 2 days before our cruise. You need to set up a Zoom appointment for the testing process and verification.

Unfortunately, because of the short staffing issues, several of the dining and bar options were closed. We had read several reviews from earlier cruises about this issue but had hoped it would be resolved by the time we took our cruise. Only three of the six complimentary dining options were open; Aloha Cafe (buffet), Cadillac Diner and Skyline Restaurant. Only two of the seven specialty dining choices were open; Cagney’s Steakhouse and Jefferson’s Bistro. Only five of the seven bar and lounges were open; John Adam’s Coffee Bar, Mardi Gras Cabaret and Nightclub, Napa Wine Bar, Pink’s Champagne Bar and Ocean Drive Bar (main pool bar). We booked our specialty dining reservations online as soon as they were allowed and they showed all specialty dining restaurants were available so we thought the staffing issues had been resolved. I got on the NCL website 2 days before sailing to print out any necessary documents and discovered that our dining reservations were cancelled with no explanation or notification. I called NCL and was told that because only two of the specialty dining restaurants were going to be open they decided to cancel everyones reservations “To be Fair for Everyone”. We would need to rebook when we boarded the ship and we would get a $50 credit for our inconvenience. We boarded the ship around 2:30pm and went straight to the designated location, East Meets West restaurant, to reserve our two specialty dining options. We do not care for Jefferson’s Bistro menu so we scheduled both nights at Cagney’s. The time slots and nights that were still available were much later than what we had originally reserved. We ended up with the last 5:30 slot and a 7:30 slot. Both were later in the week but we would have preferred earlier in the week. We ate breakfast and most lunches at the Aloha Cafe. The cafe was not overly crowded and the food was always good. We always sat in the same area at a table by the windows. We had lunch one time at the Cadillac Diner and it was ok. Just FYI, the milkshakes at the Cadillac Diner are not complimentary. We ate most of our dinners at the Skyline restaurant and the food and service were great. For our two nights at Cagney’s we also had great food and service. We love fresh grilled fish and were looking forward to eating a lot of it while on this cruise but unfortunately it was only available a few days/nights during our cruise week. Most of the fish options were breaded and or fried.

The activity options were disappointing. We checked out the Basketball court, Shuffleboard, Chess on deck and the Arcade but did not try out any of them. The Arcade is not free and we thought it was too pricey. The Golf Driving Net is a very small square cage that has a few holes to putt balls in and kept us entertained for about 5 minutes. We walked through the gym and it looked like it had a good variety of options but we did not use it. We checked out the pool area at the back of the ship but did not hang out there because it is the designated smoking area. We enjoyed the main pool area and watching people play cornhole on the pool deck. We really appreciated the limited ship capacity when we spent time at the pool. On our past cruises the pool area was always way overcrowded and difficult to find a place to sit or comfortable space in the pool.

The entertainment options were disappointing. We only went to one show in the Hollywood Theater and it looked like an almost full house. I don’t remember what the show was called but it was an ensemble of 3 or 4 guys singing and dancing. It was entertaining and we enjoyed it. Most nights we just sat in Pink’s Champagne Bar for about an hour listening to a guy playing the piano and singing or a guy playing a guitar and singing and occasionally we would be even more entertained watching people dancing on the dance floor. We tried playing Bingo one night in the Mardi Gras Lounge. It was scheduled for one hour but they only had 3 games and it lasted about 20 minutes from start to finish.

All the ship waitstaff we encountered were friendly and provided great service. Our cabin steward, Chris, did a great job. The Ocean Drive Bar was extremely busy and understaffed but one of the bartenders, Susan Hoefer, always provided quality drinks with exceptional service. We were occasionally greeted by ship personel in white uniforms but did not get a good look at their name tag so not sure who they were.

The ships layout was easy to remember and get around. All the common areas and restrooms were kept clean and well maintained. We heard from a family member who lives on Oahu, that while the ship was down due to Covid NCL did some updating/refreshing to the balcony cabins and the common area decor. During our cruise we noticed they were doing some sanding and staining of wood hand rails on the outside deck stairs and painting of several of the white metal poles on the decks outside.

We had a mid ship balcony cabin, #9100. It was clean and had plenty of space and storage for 2 people. We stored our 2 large suitcases and backpacks under the bed. The bed and pillows were comfortable enough. The balcony was small but we enjoyed spending time out there. The bathroom was ok but definitely needs updating in the layout and fixtures. The shower had great water pressure. It was slightly inconvenient and odd that the light switch for the bathroom was on the outside of the bathroom and there was no nightlight. We always travel with an eye mask and earplugs and we needed both for this cruise. Our refrigerator was stocked with a few beverages (not complimentary). We had no plans of consuming the beverages but we needed the space for food items and beverages of our own so we removed them from the fridge and let our cabin steward know where we stored them. We had to call in a few service calls. The 1st call was for the shower not draining properly and the shower head was cracked so water was spraying everywhere. We had to turn the shower off a couple times during our showers to allow it to slowly drain and not overflow onto the floor. Both of the issues were fixed the next day, within 24 hours of our call. The 2nd call was for our toilet. It had been working fine but one day after returning from an excursion it wouldn’t flush. It was fixed remotely in less than an hour after placing the call. The 3rd call was because the air conditioning quit working. It was also on a day we had returned from an excursion. It was fixed remotely within an hour of placing the call. Our cabin steward, Chris, did a great job keeping our room clean but did not make any towel animals. I’m guessing we didn’t get towel animals because they were so short staffed and didn’t have the training or spare time to make them.

We didn’t want to pack up everything the night before and search for our luggage the next day so we chose to carry our luggage off the ship with us. The day of disembarkation we had plenty of time to finish packing and enjoy breakfast at the Aloha Cafe without feeling rushed. The cafe was busier than usual but we expected that since it was the only dining option available. We waited until last call to get off the ship so of course we encountered a wait at the elevators and a line at the exit but it moved fairly quickly. It took us about 30 minutes from our cabin to our transportation waiting outside.