This was our third trip to Panama via Norwegian. We traveled as a group of 5 couples. There was a coast guard inspection on the day of our embarkation which slowed the process down, but in general it went smoothly.
We feel that the cruise director is the heart of the ship, planning events and making the ship fun and entertaining. Unfortunately, our cruise director was not that good. The cruise was very low key and lacked a really happy vibe which Norwegian is known for and what we experienced on other cruises.
The food did not meet any of our expectations. The buffet offered the same food quite often and the desserts very rarely changed. Specialty dining we would consider as being the worst. The only one we all enjoyed was Cagney's We avoided the main dining room because it took a minimum of 2 hours to get out, and the food was sparse.
Excellent cabin, close to elevator, quiet and on the starboard side. Just the little bit of extra space makes a huge difference in comfort.
Cabin steward was totally on top of everything and we lacked for nothing. It was perfect. So perfect that this was our third stay in the same room.
The pier is sooo long. An island made for the cruiseship. There is a beach area and a couple of shops. Not worth the walk, and would not bother to get off the ship again.
Costa Maya is another port made for cruisers. It happy and very visual. a couple of large pools fill the space with lots of the usual shops all around. Be very careful when buying jewelry. Most of the stones are fake and some of the so called silver is really stainless steel. Stick to t-shirts. They have a great variety.