I've been on a lot of cruises...and i mean a lot...over 100 and have worked as an entertainer for some years on crystal, seabourne and ncl...so hopefully I've got a balanced view of things by now. NCL doesn't pretend to be a 5* cruise line and it isn't. Myself, my wife and our 3 kids booked a cheap holiday in peak season...only about £500 each and got a flight for only £25.00! Overall, it was quite good value for money but with hindsight, i would have preferred to pay more and get a bit more class.

THE GOOD POINTS: 1. Very quick embarkation for latitudes members. 2. The quickest disembarkation I've ever had...straight off, no queues at all! 3. Ice cream was free. 4. The gym was open 24 hours...i went at 1.00am which was great for me. 5. Cabin was cleverly designed...it had a lot of extra storage space. 6. Cabin steward was excellent in every way. 7. Kids club was open all day from 9am to 10.30pm and then baby sitting till 1.30am....this is the best times I've seen from a kids club on any ship. 8. Pool musicians were very good quality...played some lovely music...also a spanish singer with a guitar...loved him. 9. Selection of food at buffet was generally good. 10. Sun loungers around the pool were very comfy and well padded although the ones on the upper decks were more basic. 11. I liked the double beds around the shady area by the pool...pity there wasn't space for more of them! 12. Furniture around the ship was imaginative and unusual. 13. The theatre was great...really well set out with great views all around...one of the very best. 14. The shows were generally good. 15. The overall cruise price was cheap. 16. The organized 'star gazing' seemed an interesting idea...had it not been cloudy!!...i like the idea though. 17. There were NO pool games!!!...no belly flop or sexy knees etc! 18. The open air buffet at the back of the ship was a nice touch...nice to sit out at night after the show and have a snack with the breeze! 19. The lift doors were quick...i preferred this so gossiping families couldn't dawdle keeping everyone waiting. 20. This is the first ship I've seen have reduced tipping rates for kids...half price....therefore it was the first time I've left the kids tips on our account as i usually have them taken off. 21. Nice view from Grand Pacific dining room over the sea and sunset. 22. Nice seating in theme rooms like Bliss and Spinnaker Lounge...double beds and 4 posters...i thought it was great fun. 23. Bowling alley seemed to work well and our kids liked it. 24. The cool air misting over the sun best was cool. THE BAD POINTS: 1. It was way too crowded around the pools...just not enough sun beds or space. We walked around all day on the first sea day and couldn't get a sun bed for love nor money! I hated this and it was a major point for the whole cruise. You had to be out at 9.00am on the sunbeds to stand any chance. Lots of arguments seen with disputes over who had this or that sun bed first. 2. The sun bed 30 minute rule was not enforced so people just left their clothes and towels on the beds all day. By the end of the cruise i had resulted to the same...put my stuff on the bed in the morning, went out on tour, came back mid afternoon and it was still there! 3. The two pools were way too crowded....i counted 40 people in the pool at one point...my idea of a cool, relaxing swim is not being shoulder to shoulder with a bunch of big hairy Spaniards jostling you for space....and the men weren't very respectful either!! I felt like i was in one of those communal football pools that the players bath in together after a match! 4. Not enough seating in the buffet....it was bedlam and close to a riot! 5. Over 600 kids on board!! Need i say more? I know, 3 of them were mine....but i hadn't wanted another 597 to add to the ambiance! 6. Multilanguage announcements! All the time and usually in 3 or 4 languages....it was the Costa ships all over again! 7. Constant revenue touting over the speakers. 8. No free Sauna ...you had to pay to go into the spa to use a sauna. 9. Salt water swimming pools....our kids don't like them as makes their eyes sore. 10. The ship needs another pool. 11. Needs either more deck space or less passengers. 12. Gaudy carpets...especially in cabins...3 shades of blue with orange and red shells and starfish on them. The designers must have had their work cut out to blend that with the wood paneling, yellow cabin door and cerise pink headboards! 13. The ship was 2/3 full of Spanish...nothing wrong with them except i don't feel the ship knows who its catering for...spanish, english, american, german, french and maltese who got on at Malta. It was hard to make friends with anyone as hardly anyone spoke the same language....and to be honest...the cultures are very different and i don't feel it works that well. 14. Dancing with the Stars competition...the ships own professionals turned out to be anyone the ships staff could cajole into it...we had the ships Nurse, tours office staff, shop assistants, fitness staff etc...some of which couldn't dance at all...i'd have thought the ships own dancers would have had more idea and would have been a more logical choice. 15. Sick of revenue touting....even selling bingo tickets in the theatre just before the curtain went up. There was a 'pool casino' so you cold gamble by the pool, yoga, pilates, abs , cycling classes...all chargeable. 16.If you booked a massage you got free use of the spa...but only for 30 mins...should have been for the whole day as all the treatments were expensive. 17. Dance production shows need more imagination & storyline as it was really just a load of singing and dancing with little or no connection to anything. The individual dancers, singers and lighting were all of a very good standard though. 18. The huge tv screen in the reception lounge was very glaring...no one could watch it with its glaring neon psychedelic colors, heat images and electro funk clips...who this added to an ambiance of the room i'll never know. And to top it, they put the classical quartet playing in front of it. It needs something more relaxing and beautiful to watch to match the music and purpose of the room. It was so bright, people were having epileptic fits looking at it!

To sum up, the ship has a lot of good ideas and good points that i liked. The food wasn't too bad but neither was it memorable. I preferred it to the Costa ships but it was also similar in many of the negative ways. If it hadn't been so crowded around the pools and buffet...i would be recommending it as very good value for money....but as it was im more in the middle on it. I overheard two couples talking saying the ship was vulgar.....i did know what they meant when i looked at the sea of sprawling bodies around the pool, kids and burgers. And yet the ship does have some charm and innovative ideas that did impress me. Would i go again...yes for the right price but with an itinerary that attracted less of a cocktail of nationalities.