FOOD THE GARDEN CAFE-Our old stand-by did not let us down once again! In fact, we liked it even better with the "action stations" and redesigned dining room. Some food does sit in hot pans like they did in the older version of the cafe (it's still pretty fresh), but now there are also stations with real live people cooking to order (hamburgers, omelets, sandwich makers, carving station, crepes, ice cream scooped along with the soft serve, etc.) They still have the vegetarian Indian options too, which was nice. It's possible to eat more healthily than in the last cafe, I think (not that I always did!). There's always a fish option, baked and broiled chicken, salad bar, oatmeal, yogurt, even sugar-free dessert options. There are also the options of hamburgers (veggie and turkey burgers can be requested too) and fries, pizza, lots of breads, soft butter, yummy desserts, chocolate fountain and much more!

The lack of trays is really okay, and for people who need help, there are NCL people around just to help people carry their meals to the table. Some people will complain about not being able to find a seat, but this really was only an issue on sea days.

GREAT OUTDOORS-When the Garden Cafe isn't open, either the Great Outdoors (GO) or the pool area is open. Sometimes they are all open or two at a time. The GO is at the back of the Garden Cafe on an open deck. It has cushioned wicker chairs around tables, a bar, and some food options as well. We were lucky enough to see a whale jumping out of the water after leaving Tortola from the GO. There's also coffee (cappuccino machines are awesome!) and ice cream. LA CUCINA-Looked promising from the dEcor and atmosphere, but the food really wasn't so good. The bread was good dipped in olive oil but the Caesar salad was kind of bland, and out of four entrEes that we got, none were really anything to write home about. The dessert was really good though. I'm pretty sure when we went on NCL 3 years ago, this restaurant was free. Of course, the wait staff was very pleasant, as usual. $10 a person surcharge and ½ price from 5:30-7:30 each night of the cruise. Read more