Owned By A Cruise Line That Thinks Like The Airlines
My wife and I took my mom on the Getaway for their 4/7 to 4/11 cruise to the Eastern Carribean and we all have never been more disappointed. This was a first cruise for the wife and I while mom is a cruising veteran. Before I get into the details a few disclaimers. First, the opinions expressed here are just that, my opinions based on my experiences. Please do not tell me how wrong I am. Second, I understand now that this was a Spring Break Cruise. Had that been advertised or even mentioned on the website when I was making the reservations I would not have booked this particular cruise. Third, I want to make it clear upfront that the ship’s entire staff and the food in the specialty restaurants on this ship were superb so it wasn’t all bad.
Let’s start with the booking part of this less then satisfying adventure. I booked the cruise directly on the NCL website. I travel frequently and have found that booking directly with the provider usually is a lot more satisfying than through third party sites. We had a specific itinerary in mind so I looked for cruises that would meet those criteria. I picked NCL mainly because of the great reviews on this site and because of the special packages offered with the booking which led to our first big disappointment.
The staff of the Port of Miami were some of the best municipal employees we have ever encountered. Friendly and extremely helpful they made the trek down there worth it.
What a beautiful Island. The shopping area is within walking distance of the port so taking a cab is actually unnecessary. There are numerous shops and dining options all along the beach area. Great bargains and delicious food. If you like to cocktail then we recommend the Blue Bitch Par upstairs. Great view, great cocktails and a very wry and funny bartender to keep you entertained!
Not quite as nice as St Maarten but still a lot better then Nassau. The shopping area isn't as quaint as St Maarten but you can still find some great bargains. And the have TWO Harley Shops!!
Very commercialized and looking back we would have been better off taking one of the excursions or heading to Atlantis on our own. The area around he port is like being in Miami.