Like others that have posted about unknowingly booking on the Gronk party cruise, my wife, myself and our two best friends fell victim to it as well. This was our third cruise on Norwegian and will be our last.

We arrived at the port with anticipation of past experiences. Getting through check in and on-boarding was quick and easy. That's where it all went south. Walking on to the ships in the past we had been met with music, staff/crew members dressed up in festive outfits and excitedly welcoming us aboard. This time we were herded through the main door and left to figure out which way to our state rooms, which when we got there were roped off at the hallways since they happened to not be ready and would not be ready for several more hours.

We had paid the extra money for the unlimited beverage package, so we headed up to the pool deck to grab a lounge chair and enjoy a few drinks. On past cruises, waiters were like swarms of bees on hone, on this cruise, much like the American Honey Bee, they appeared to have become nearly extinct. So we spent much of our time waiting on the pool deck in line at the bar trying to fend off large crowds just to get a drink. We also quickly noticed that one of the two pools was covered with green felt lined plywood and a stage with sound and lighting had been erected. This was/is a permanent fixture on this ship so all people wanting to go in the pool and hot tubs cram in to just the one pool and set of hut tubs that remained uncovered. Not long after we steamed out from port, we and all others were asked to leave the pool deck, which was still packed with people and those who appeared to once be waiters quickly snapped up lounge chairs and stacked them up in preparation for a Gronk party that we did not have access to because we did not have the pass because we weren't told before or during our booking process that this was a party cruise. Read more