Sailed on the Norwegian Sky. First time cruiser, 25 years old, and the cruise itinerary and food were wayyyy more hyped up than it should have been.

Embarkation was what I now realize a pre-cursor to a below average cruise. Security was extremely bored and grouchy. Crew welcoming you to the ship were too wrapped up in talking to each other than welcoming you aboard and administering judgy-looks. The drill before leaving Miami was unenjoyable, I know it is to be taken seriously, but we were pushed and ordered around deck like stupid sheep. The man with the megaphone for our area was unnecessarily mean and pushy, shouting at individual people in line. We couldn't wait to get off deck after that experience.

I was told by everyone I knew (and the cruise line website) to pack nice dress clothes for every dinner but I never wore more than one dressy outfit the entire week, due to dining being held in a buffet-style cafeteria where everyone wore their swimsuits or pajamas. I was supremely disappointed in the food as well as the atmosphere; the best part of the food line was the fresh fruit. I must have eaten my weight in fresh pineapple becuase it was the only thing palpable. Everything else was extremely generic, bland, and made by the mass...Golden Corral does a better job of providing hot, delicious food (if that gives you any idea.) Anyone I have ever talked to has raved that cruise food is the best food they've ever had, but I was left completely unimpressed on every level. Even though the main courses were awful, we had hope to gorge ourselves on the desserts, but found out the dessert spread was even worse than the main food line. Jello and ice cream?? REALLY?? The ice cream machine didn't even work for half the trip! Read more