My husband and I travel extensively but have never been on a cruise. We had heard good things about Norwegian and decided to book with them. We wanted to go on the Dawn but it ended up being more convenient to go on the Norwegian Spirit. First off, this was the most expensive trip we have ever gone on and it was the absolute worst. FOOD POISONING AND BED BUGS were but a small part of our trip!
Embarkation was fine. The people working in the terminal aren't exactly rays of sunshine but they get the job done. We had all of our luggage by 7 that evening. We had a balcony room. The room itself was comfortable. The balcony was filthy - you couldn't enjoy the view because the Plexiglass had some scummy film on it. We mentioned it to the reception and they told us they clean them during port days. That's true but evidently they don't do the 11th floor. The ship itself shows wear but is nice in general. Windows and the specialty restaurants are very nicely decorated and aesthetically pleasing.
They have the nerve to charge you $69 per person for the unlimited soda card - too bad you can't ever get anyone to serve you any. When you do, it's either warm, half full or they forget. If you don't drink alcohol, you're out of luck. They ignore you. If you don't have the soda card, you end up paying $2 something a can. Like I said, we're first time cruisers but shouldn't soda be included with the fare?