There were many things we weren’t notified about before our trip. NCL told us after embarkation that an entire restaurant would be closed for our entire experience (East Meets West) and that the Hollywood Theater would be closed to the general public many nights for a private gospel choir group from California. These both effected our experience greatly and we received nothing in return. However we were able to see the Nepali coast, which is a stop that is frequently canceled on most other sailings.
Embarkation
5 out of 5
Fantastic and quick because of our suite status! They were giving us food before we even got on the ship!
Ship experiences
Food and Dining
3 out of 5
Overall everything was very medium or bad. MDR and Aloha Café were extremely hit or miss. Cadillac Diner had very slow service and medium food. East Meets West was closed for our experience unfortunately. Key West Grill and Cagney’s both had the best food we experienced, but the menus for both stayed the same throughout the cruise.
Liberty Restaurant
3 out of 5
Hit or miss
Cadillac Diner
3 out of 5
Slow service and medium food
Aloha Café
3 out of 5
Hit or miss
Onboard Activities
2 out of 5
Most events and activities on board were quite a stretch. They tried very hard to make interesting activities and I appreciate that, but most activities didn’t seem interesting.
Overall this ship serves as a floating hotel and less as a cruise ship, so the activities don’t have to be interesting.
Entertainment
2 out of 5
Entertainment was a let down. You start to get tired of hearing Denton on Guitar and DJ Hubb for 4 hours every day.
Comedian Andy Beningo was very good and he is what is saving this rating from a one star.
We were notified when we embarked that a large gospel choir group from California would be using the Hollywood Theater most nights and outside guests weren’t allowed. It would have been nice to know this before embarking or else we would not have scheduled these dates.
Children's Programs
2 out of 5
The teen of the family enjoyed most of The Entourage activities. However he made comments that the supervisors struggled with classroom management and keeping control during activities. When control was lost, the supervisors would then give up on the activity completely, or send the kids on wild goose chases just to get them out of the club space.
Service and Staff
3 out of 5
Housekeeper Benson and Butler Maria are amazing!!!
Other staff were as hit or miss as the food. Sometimes you would meet a crew member who loved their job and would be super friendly, other times you would get a crew member who was super uninterested and would color on coloring pages while on shirt in the MDR.
Ship Quality
4 out of 5
Prepare for a small ship! It’s very well kept and the latest renovations look great! There are a few spots that aren’t serving a purpose but have potential to. Examples of these spaces would be the conservatory, deck 13 foreword, and the far foreword and aft ends of the walking track on deck 6.
Cabin / Stateroom
5 out of 5
This was the BEST PART OF THE CRUISE. Our suite cabin was amazing and we literally spent all of our time on the large and spacious balcony.
Ship tip
Book excursions early!! We booked our cruise very late and could only book 2 excursions because the others were sold out!
Appreciate your detailed feedback. It’s almost impossible to find out ahead of time (before final payment especially) that a large group is on a particular sailing (at least that’s true on Carnival and Princess). I wish we could, because some of them treat the ship as theirs and the other thousands of passengers are in the way. It’s happened a few times. Sorry it happened to you. Glad you enjoyed your some of the beautiful ports.
It’s pretty bad closing off some of the ship to the general public and giving you no warning. At least you managed to enjoy some of the cruise and the ports, thanks for your review.
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