I typically cruise on Celebrity but wanted to give NCL a try since the sailing date for this particular itinerary worked best for the group. The ship was newer so I figured I could not go wrong.

First the PROS. I stayed on a Spa Mini Suite cabin on deck 14 middle, which was excellent. It was just the right size but the bathroom really impressed me, particularly the size and amenities of the shower. The cabin attendant was excellent and worked around our schedule. Storage in the cabin was nice and the room was always immaculate even after we left it a mess. The food (both quality and offerings) in some of the restaurants was great, particularly Cagney's (specialty), Taste and Tropicana (general dining). And service at Cagney's was incomparable, especially in light of the horrible service at another specialty restaurant Le Bistro. The professional nightly shows were amazing, whether Burn the Floor or the Cirque or the Magician. The staff throughout the entire ship was very friendly and knowledgeable with the exception of some folks down on the deck 6 customer service. There were plenty of bars throughout the ship, which when combined with the ultimate drink package made it for a very enjoyable experience. The tours were pretty good and the tour guides pretty knowledgeable with the exception of Finland. Overall, the ship was very clean across all public areas.

Now the CONS, and there were plenty of those. For a 4000 passenger ship that often sails the Caribbean, the pool deck was tiny. Not sure how they would accommodate those many passengers in sunny/pool weather days. Thank God it was chilly during this voyage so I was able to pretty much stayed out of the pool deck. There were too many kids on this cruise, which when coupled with the lack of rules enforcement by both crew members and parents made it the whole experience excruciating. Kids were in the adult pool, jacuzzis, bars etc. For a 4000 passenger ship, the fitness center was a fraction of the size found in similarly sized Celebrity cruise with far fewer passengers. Compounding the problem was the # of KIDs under 16 years old that were allowed to come into the gym and get in the way of people actually trying to work out in an already overcrowded facility. Food (quality and service) at some restaurants was pretty bad, including Savor, Le Bristro, O'Sheehan's, Garden Cafe and a couple of others. Read more