We arrived at the pier shortly before 12 noon, dropped off our luggage except for our carry-on bags. My son and I proceeded to the parking garage after leaving his fiancEe, her daughter, and my fiancEe at the drop off area. We waited for the shuttle, which never came, to take us back to the ship. We ended up walking back to the ship. We entered the pier, went to the security check point to find out that we had to return to the entrance to fill out boarding cards for Tortola. After filling out the cards we checked in and boarded the ship. Really a magnificent ship. We then went to our cabin, which was very clean. It was a little difficult to find because for some reason NCL doesn't have the odd numbers on one side and the even numbers on the other side like most of the other cruise lines. After dropping off our carryon bags, we went to the buffet to meet the rest of our party (17). The buffet left a lot to be desired. The life boat drill was organized mayhem. That night we went to Le Bistro (extra charge). The food and service were both excellent. We found out that if you ate there between 530 PM and 630 PM it was half price. We all had coupons for 2 for 1 dinning for the first night which we told, could not be used if you were getting the meals for half price. We found out that was not true and you could use the coupons. On subsequent nights we ate at Cagney's Steakhouse (extra charge), Chin Chin (extra charge), Mama's Italian Kitchen, and Tango's. Cagney's was so good that we ate there twice. The service at Chin Chin was good but the squid was greasy, the Singapore noodles were tasteless, and the Hot & sour soup was very salty. The duck was excellent. The service at Mama's left a little bit to be desired. I ordered a first course and a second course which were both served at the same time. When I told the waitress that they weren't supposed to be served together she had no idea what I was talking about. The food, however, was very good. Tango's was just okay. Not bad, but not great. We wanted Tapas' but were told that you had to sit at the bar and order a drink in order to get tapas. The food and service at the specialty restaurants overall was good, but why should you have to pay extra to get the food and service that you expect to get on a cruise. We ate at Tsar's Palace on the second night for the "Seafood Extravaganza". What a joke. I am allergic to citrus, so I told the waitress. She got a supervisor, because she had no idea what I meant. The supervisor said she would make sure that nothing that I ordered would have citrus. Well, the seafood cocktail was served with a big piece of squeezed lemon in the center. I sent it back and was served a seafood cocktail with no sauce. Why couldn't they bring me, or just mix some horseradish, hot sauce, and ketchup? The soup was supposed to have lump crabmeat. I couldn't locate it. It did have what appeared to be and tasted like imitation crabmeat. The main course, pasta with seafood, consisted of a few shrimp, scallops, and something that was supposed to be a lobster tail. We went to Azura's one night. The service was good, but the meal itself was anything but good. The shrimp cocktail was made up of bay shrimp. (The kind you use for shrimp salad). The waitress did bring me a dish of horseradish, ketchup, and hot sauce. I ordered the coq au vin. The chicken was dry and overcooked. But, I guess that is better than undercooked. Breakfast at Tsar's Palace was a disaster. We never got out of there in less than one hour. One morning it took two hours. The food was cold and sometimes you didn't get what you ordered. Two days before the cruise ended they ran out of cream for the coffee. Some mornings they had to send someone to the buffet to get bran muffins. Breakfast at the Blue Lagoon was much better. Only problem there was the limited menu. Now we come to the buffet. Cold and tasteless food. I had a salad one day, but the bottles of salad dressing were empty. When I mentioned it the person at the salad bar he took the empty bottles and that was it. The Italian sausage was nothing more than hot dogs cut up in an Italian style sauce. But, the big problem was that one day a woman was changing her baby's diaper on a table at the buffet and none of the crew members said or did anything about it. The chocolate buffet, YUK. Everything I tried was stale. The bars were overpriced and served a miniscule amount of liquor in the drinks. The theater is not handicapped accessible. I am visually impaired and have mobility problems and, must use a cane to walk. In order for me to see the shows I have to sit in the first few rows. However, getting up and down the stairs in the theater is extremely difficult for me especially when the ship is rocking and rolling. I almost fell twice. I mentioned my problem to one of the cruise director's staff and he told me that the handicapped section was at the top of the steps. When I told him that I couldn't see the stage from there he said he would help get down the steps. That would've been great if he were at the top of the steps instead of in front of the stage. The entertainment was great except for the production shows which were too loud. The comedians were fantastic, the singer, Gabrielle Lee was super. We spent every evening listening to the Spanish guitar player, one of the best solo performers that I have seen on a cruise ship. As far as the ports and sightseeing well here goes; Samana: A slum, open sewage, disgusting port. I wouldn't get off there again. Tortola, Antigua, and Barbados all worthwhile seeing. St Lucia. We had prebooked our sightseeing tour, Pirates Extravaganza with NCL before we left on the cruise. We received our tour tickets at the tour desk with instructions to meet at the theater at 1145AM on the day of the tour. We showed up with everyone else that was booked o n that tour only to be told the tour was cancelled and had been cancelled since the day we sailed from Miami. We then asked to be booked on another tour but were told that everything was sold out. When we asked why we weren't notified earlier we were told that there was a notice delivered to our cabin informing us that the tour was cancelled. None of the people there ever received such a notice. I asked to speak to the Tour Manager, but was told he would not be available until 4PM. I went to the tour desk, with several other people, and we were told that the notice was in with the tour tickets. Again, no one ever received such a notice. At 4PM I went to the tour desk to speak to the manager. He told me that the notice was delivered to each cabin (conflicting stories) and someone must have removed the notices from each one of the cabins and he was going to review the security tapes to find out who removed the notices. He then told me that I should have gone on shore and booked a sightseeing tour with one of the tour operators that are on the pier. They make a big deal of emphasizing that you should only book your tours with the tour desk on the ship so that you are booked with an operator that is insured and just in case the tour is delayed the ship will wait for you. When they (NCL) screw up it is okay to book on your own. The manager was very rude and nasty and acted like it was our fault. He asked what I wanted, so I said that since everyone that was booked on that tour lost a day we should receive some sort of compensation. I suggested a $25.00 per person onboard credit would be a nice gesture. He just turned his back and walked away. I have a lot more issues to take up, but I feel that this is long enough. Would I book another NCL cruise or recommend NCL? I doubt it!!!

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