I wanted to put a little time between my vacation and posting about it. I think I'm hoping time would make it a little more positive. Unfortunately, I think all 4 of us were really disappointed with this one after all the hype.
It was our first time on Norwegian Cruise Line after multiple on Carnival Cruise Lines. Serious differences between the two. Norwegian really felt like they nickle and dimed you to death. They had at least 6 specialty dining places all over the ship with up charges. We tried the sushi bar and it was good. The specialty dining AND the bars ALL added 18% AUTOMATIC gratuity!!!! That meant I tipped NO ONE. At no point on the cruise did I ever think anyone warranted 18%. Service in the complimentary dining rooms was slow and the servers did not seem to care if you were satisfied with your meal.
Alaska itself was ok. I'm glad we went and can say we've been there, but I really prefer the sun and sand. It was 60 degrees or colder, rainy and WET. We went at the end of the season and that may have something to do with it, but I'm not going to try again just for better weather. We didn't see much most of the time because of fog/mist. Sometimes we were just surround by this thick fog - if you're claustrophobic you probably would have freaked out.
Our mini suite was appropriate for our family of four. The couch folded down into a bed that was not the most comfortable to sleep on (the kids were really happy to get back to their beds). Even with it folded out, we still had room to get out to the balcony. The balcony was huge with lots of room to move around. We didn't get a lot of use out of it because of weather. Even though it was right below the buffet, we never heard any noise. We were also closer to the aft elevators that were not as busy as midship. Being aft made for a somewhat smoother ride in rougher water. I will actually pick this location on future cruises.