We are avid cruisers in our late 30's, and NCL is our preferred cruise line specifically due to it's freestyle cruising program. Overall, we are still satisfied, but with every cruise, we walk away a little less happy with NCL. Maybe because we cruise often, we are starting to see more of the "cracks", but for now, we are taking a break from cruising. Or booking our next one w/RCCL.

That said, this was our freebie cruise from the BOGO promotion last year. Since we had to fly in the day before and stay overnight, our expenses were higher than if we had sailed on a 7 day out of TX, but going to different ports is always a plus, so off we went! By the way, this is the perfect cruise for first timers.

We expected an older, smaller ship. It is clearly showing signs of age - NCL needs to work on that. However, this is a churn and burn cruise, so again, not surprised. We were surprised at the extra-aggressive bar servers who attempted to up-sell every chance they had, even when politely told no thank you. We were also surprised that our room steward clearly didn't clean the bathroom daily, or even upon check in, where we discovered a razor and bobby pin from the previous occupants. The sofa was also dirty, or just needed replacement. Beds were a little too firm, but at least they weren't sagging in the middle like on the Jewel a few months ago. Read more