This was our 55th cruise, 11th on NCL, 3rd on Norwegian Sun. We haven't cruised with NCL for six years as we were unhappy the last trip aboard the Sun. We were hoping things had improved during our absence - no improvement noted. Eight of us sailed as a group as we often do.
Boarding took two hours, one hour just to get to the cruise terminal door, then one hour to get to ship. This started the cruise off on a very bad note. Debarkation was nearly as bad. Ship was at the dock at 6 AM, the first passengers departed at 9 AM. NCL tries to blame the Customs and Immigration for the delays. Carnival and Royal Caribbean don't have any problem with having passengers depart by 7:30 AM,after arriving at 6 AM. Maybe Customs and Immigration have a problem with NCL?
Dining room dinners took one and one half to two hours due to insufficient waiters and assistants. The wait staff was running and trying very hard - but it appeared that they were at least 50% understaffed. Obviously, NCL is trying to milk every dollar they can out of the dining business. The food was good about half of the meals - very few salads (2), entrees, or desserts were offered. Another cutback on expenses? In our estimation, Free Style Dining was a disaster.
Small closet, few drawers, quiet, dirty windows. Can hear thrusters and anchor chain. Good location. Slightly larger cabin than the competition.