This was a 5-day Western Caribbean cruise out of Miami. We flew into Ft Lauderdale the day of and immediately took a shuttle to the port (we planned to spend a day in Miami when we returned). The experience immediately started off on the wrong foot when the man taking our bags demanded tips from us. He didn't tell us tips were welcome - he took our bags from us and said "Ok, now you have to tip me, pull out your wallets" Our group would have tipped him otherwise, but this now made us unwilling to do so. However, since our bags were at his mercy we felt as though he had no choice. We had two separate staterooms and he demanded money from both groups. He also threw the trash from the luggage tags straight onto the group and littered into the wind. Not a good first impression. Our greatest disappointment came from the terrible quality of the dining experiences. We ate dinner in one of the main dining rooms for 6 of the nights on our cruise. We ate early and never had to wait for a table but the service was consistently slow. I think there is only a single night where our meal took less than two hours. Even one day when we warned that we had a show reservation and that we needed to be out in an hour and a half, we had to leave before all of our food even made it to the table. We reminded the waiter twice that we had a time constraint and he assured us we would make it, and ultimately we left early and just got a snack at the buffet later. The menu options were completely uninspiring - nowhere near as exciting as the menus that were posted online. Every member of our group had meals that were so bad they had to be sent back - and we are adventurous eaters and foodies. It takes a lot for us to not like something. Some of these dishes include: pacific hake that was overcooked and tasteless, a steak that was ordered medium but came well done with the flavor and texture of leather, "taco cups" that were the saddest excuse for Mexican food I've ever seen. This dish was literally just three Dorito chips with toppings sloppily thrown on. The meat platter served meats where most of them were available upstairs at the buffet, and the sausages were just as disgusting up there. We also ate at Shanghai's one night, where the service was outstanding but the food was average at best. The buffet was hit or miss for us. Sometimes we got great items (funny that the buffet had higher food quality than the main dining rooms). The Asian food options seemed to be standout selections there. We also had disappointing items, but would just go get new plates. After the terrible quality of food elsewhere, we were unwilling to pay more money for a premium dinner that would likely also disappoint. The entertainment quality was great, but the quantity was not. On other cruises, you may only have one option each night, but you can at least see something different each night. The Getaway advertised great shows but then there are only two options since they run multiple nights (without getting nickel/dimed into paying extra for a third show, that is). The comedy was good but the opening act did the exact same show for every set. Each comic had two sets and a theater set, which added up to three shows. But that still left two nights where there was no formal entertainment. Our cabin was an interior cabin, that was as expected and kept perfectly tidy by our cabin steward Patrick. He did an excellent job and could always remember which room was ours whenever we saw him. The ride was a little rocky at times with one of our group getting seasick one day, but I certainly would not blame that on the cruise company as they can't control the ocean. The deck experiences were alright. The pool was smaller than expected but the high number of hot tubs made up for that. The daily live entertainment and shows were decent although I did think the karaoke selections were very limited. For shore excursions, we did our own snorkeling excursion in Rhoatan. At Harvest Caye, we had just planned to do a beach day, which was good because there was hardly anything to do there. I'm surprised it is even an excursion option. I would prefer to see this island skipped entirely and have somewhere more interesting added. It was also disappointing that it was Norwegian's island but we had to go back to the ship to eat for free. Other cruise lines I've been on have served food on their islands. At Costa Maya, we did the Kohunlich and Dzibanche Mayan tours and had a fantastic time. Our tour guide Elizabeth was outstanding and provided a rich experience. It was a long drive, but her stories made it fly by. It was great to see these sites as they are very remote and I doubt I would have ever visited them otherwise. In Cozumel our group went to the Xplor park. Our guide Emilio again did a fantastic job and really went above and beyond. The park was very fun but we definitely felt rushed. We could have used an extra hour or two there. We also had the best food of the trip here with their outstanding Mexican cuisine. We tried stocking up there so we wouldn't have to suffer through another Norwegian dinner. Overall, given that this cruise was a bit more expensive that similar cruises during the same week and was on a newer ship, I was very much disappointed in the value. I think we would have enjoyed ourselves more if we had traveled with Royal Caribbean or Carnival for the week. I also didn't appreciated the constant nickel-diming from the company to pay for additional entertainment/food/services. I would not recommend Norwegian cruise lines in the future. Read Less

Firstly avoid Deck 14 like the plague !! We had 14148 (Spa Balcony) and it was by far the nosiest cabin I have ever stayed in - due to the main deck being above, along with ping pong tables, stairs to upper decks (external) and storing point for sun loungers in the evening - bang bang thud thud from 0600 until 2300 every night - eventually we got moved to 14210 - and a nice onboard credit - apparently no one has ever complained about the noise, but even the hotel director was somewhat surprised by the noise generated. Once moved 14210 was quieter, but didnt negate the noise from the pool deck - heavy footed people and kids running around just reveberates through the floor / ceiling. So where possible avoid DECK 14 (Haven suites are fine btw - further fwd and not under main deck area) Otherwise a great cruise, Casino was very smokey - unlike the Bliss which is totally smoke free. Food top notch - boarding was great and getting off was the quickest ever at Miami - leaving the ship to getting a taxi took no more than 15minutes !!! (british passport too) so well impressed with that. H2O nice place to chill out during sea days - plenty of loungers around the ship - but key spots reserved early on (like 6am) !! Brazilian and Cagneys speciality dining was excellent. Cruise director on this voyage was rather bland, and maybe over selling himself - struggled to understand him at times - and just didnt really have the flare and charisma as others on the the NCL ships. Finally, parts of the ship are showing wear and tear - toilets in O'sheehans were riddled with flies (Small fruit kind of ones) brought it to cleaners attention - but still there.....:-( I think its due a refurb this year (2019) so should bring it back up to scratch. Remember though DECK 14 avoid !!! You have been warned. :-) OH and i almost forgot - BURN THE FLOOR is an absolute MUST - so login to your cruise and reserve a seat or 2 now !! simply amazing. (Top tip try and get front row seat in centre) you will see why :-) Read Less

We were on the famous “strong winds hit a cruise leaving New York city” that was on the news the first week of March. Many injuries endured by passengers and entertainers: bone fractures, sprains and wounds. My husband and I were in our room with our children when it happened and no one came to check to see if everyone was ok after the incident. I thought of older passengers, maybe alone in their cabin, and hoped they were ok. My daughter almost slid off her bunk bed when the ship tipped to the side. Things did not get any better after that frightful night. We ended up not stopping at Stirrup Cay, as planned in our itinerary, but going straight to Nassau to spend 2 days. When you pay for a trip that includes 3 stops and you only do 2, you would think there would be some kind of compensation, nope! In addition, when you have an ultimate beverage package, you need to pay taxes on drinks when at port. Therefore, since we were at a port in Nassau for two full days, we had to pay extra taxes on the drinks. If we had been at Stirrup Cay and then at sea to Nassau the next day, as planned, we would have saved paying taxes. Do you think we had some kind of compensation for this? Nope! Big disappointment not visiting a private island (the most interesting stop of the cruise) and big disappointment having to pay unforeseen taxes, which do add up in the end... We have reserved the same trip next March, in 2020, but we will most certainly cancel. Even if the strong winds were a surprise and not stopping at Stirrup Cay a security measure, there could have been some kind of compensation. A message of apology from Norwegian and a rebate on a future cruise would have been highly appreciated. A travel agent on vacation on the cruise told us not to expect anything... Shows: excellent, especially Choir of Man, saw it twice. Food: delicious Read Less

Went on this cruise for our honeymoon Cruise was lovely but found some of staff to be rude Most of the staff on the cruise was ok but found reception to be extremely rude and not helpful The buffet food was lovely for breakfast and lunch but found the dinner was cold so had to book the restaurants Wich we had to pay for We booked 4 restaurants cost 300 dollars 4 2 people We had Japanes - absolutely outstanding Cagneys steakhouse - out of this world La cuchina - food was lovely but waited nearly over 1 hour and 30 for main course Moderno churrascaría - staff very pleasant and helpful but food was terrible I asked how meat was cooked they told me Medium rare and came out well done they severed 7 diferent types of meat from chicken to chorizo but all over cooked So the cruise itself is good just the dinner side is a Let down as you have to pay to get something decent Read Less

My husband and I really enjoy this cruise. This a must if you are looking to party in the sea! There was not a dull moment in this ship, the staff (bartenders) are not as friendly because everyone got open bar but a few dollar tip take you a long way. We stay in a balcony room it was spacious and amazing. I would not recommend this itinerary if traveling with children, this more like a party itinerary, is full all around. It was amazing i would definetly do it again for a fun weekend in the sea. The private island is a very relaxing place. The sushi restaurant is a must is very affordable the bartender Jillmet there is amazing and beyond friendly. Make sure to pack something white for the white party this is a must. Cons- food overall is not the worst but is also not the best, is very average. While in the private island we did jet ski thia was the most exiting and amazing cant wait to it again, and in Nassau we decided to rent a 4 wheeler and drive around the island, this was also very exiting! Love it!! Totally worth it get a bacony room and enjoy the views! Read Less

So, first time on NCL. It’s a booze cruise. I’m a regular on royal, and I like that line. Criticism: Nickle and Dimed, water in bottle:not included, coffee (specialty) not included, so it’s different than I’m used to. The lines for a drink are long and served in a small plastic cup, interesting. Rooms with balcony are really small! Balcony chairs no where to put feet up. You get a room cleaning ninja you don’t really meet. Good parts: short, cheaper cruise, stuff gets to your room quickly, put all the silverware and condiments on the table. Food is good, dining room seats quickly we went at 530pm, staff is very nice in dining room. Buffet has back area where the lines are short and the pizza is great. You get on the ship quickly, we showed up at 1pm party of 8. Two dining rooms is nice with a few menu differences, however desserts are not consistent in taste, better first day. Still like royal better. Read Less

Getting into and through security was the easy part,everything after that was horrible food was cold,pool area was crowded,they never cleaned our cabin but wanted to charge a service fee per person $116 for four days. All activities and shows were always booked no matter what time of day. We only went to one island given we were to stop at 2 in total. Being on the water for 3 days out of our 4 day cruise was crap. The only thing good was being able to sleep. Getting off the ship disembarkation omg was horrible we woke up at 6 to be off at least by 730am we got delayed because of customs and waited in line for over 3 hours to get off the ship. No staff was available to help with line situations people were arguing the whole time. This was my first cruise and by far the worst experience ever. I will never book another cruise at least through Norwegian. Just horrible. Read Less

-It took a solid 3.5 hours to disembark and our cruise director kept saying that this is normal -They canceled a port indicating choppy waters and we completely understood but what followed was a chain of events -They made no arrangements for any other port and no activities on board till the afternoon -Upon cancelation, they didn't make any backup plans and we remained at sea for 2 days -The staff was irritated and it manifested into anger towards many of the passengers -While we were waiting there were people who were unable to stand in the long lines to disembark and many missed their flights -There were hardly any vegetarian options and they kept asking us if shrimp would be acceptable -We callled, Terry, the cruise conierge for help since this was our first cruise but no one ever aswered or returned messages -Mandy our cruise director was not present when requested for her -At this time we feel we got swindled and they made no efforts for their paying customers Read Less

HORRIBLE EXPERIENCE! Started off from usually getting a bottle of sparkling wine in the stateroom since I’m a rewards member.. no bottle. When I asked why they said it was too short of cruise for one. Next they had us trapped on the ship the whole time since they claimed at one of two ports the waters were too rough to tender (they were just as calm the day before we were at port) they did nothing for us! They easily could have rerouted us or asked us to wait a few hours before the waters were up to their standards. They got on the intercom and said how they planned a bunch of new activities to make up for it(yeah right) I had a first time cruiser with me as well and you can imagine his first impression! He never wants to cruise again! We felt so trapped with no where to go! The food was ok but if you wanted a drink at dinner forget about it! I had to wait until I almost had my dinner before a drink even showed up! If I wanted another I had to order as soon as the first one arrived. One last thing is our room attendant was very nice but when we would leave and move the thing to “make up cabin” on 2 different occasions we came back to it on “do not disturb” and an unmade cabin and no fresh towels- I had to track someone down for fresh towels. (Probably some kids in the hall) but they should only have these buttons available from inside the stateroom so no one can change it. We are paying a service fee for what? I made my own bed 2nd. Overall I had a horrible experience I’m really not sure if I will cruise Norwegian again.... it was definitely an EPIC FAIL Read Less

20-30 minutes for a drink. Never left the ship for their "private island". Called the front desk because there was dry blood on our sheets, we could never get through, it just rang and then a message said everyone was busy, try again later. Eventually had to take sheet from a cart in the hallway. Getting off the ship was horrifying. We needed to be on the 5th floor to get off the ship. We tried to get off the ship early by carrying our own luggage off. Traffic was so backed up that we we're standing in the back of the ship, on the 7th floor stairwell. And they kept calling more groups to get off the ship. I would think just a couple weeks after crushing 2 moorings and damaging the ship, their service would be on point. That was not the case. Drink package would have been worth it if it didn't take 30 minutes to get a drink. Food was good. But I can get good food anywhere. Please do not take a Norwegian cruise line adventure.... Ever.. Read Less