We choose this cruise because we had a good experience a year ago with same itinerary...things have changed for the worse in some areas. First of all the staff, with the exception of our last night in the Manhattan room were all attentive and professional with just the right touch of friendliness and service! The ship was very clean and most of the staff seemed happy to be there and said hello as you walked by. Our room was very accesssible as it was for the handicapped and we were surprised by the size and storage areas. Our room steward Roza was wonderful.

There were two significant issues that affected our time on the ship. the first was the boarding procedure for special needs at the NYC pier. The women at the "hospitality desk" , who were responsible for our boarding were less than hospitable and helpful. We had a group of ten with three guests needs wheelechair assistance for boarding. WHat a disaster. NCL asks what time we would arrive and knew ahead of time that these guest needed porter assistance. There were 30 people ahead of us when we arrived a little earlier than our appointed time. There were TWO PORTERS with TWO WHEELECHAIRS. We waited for nearly three hours to board !!! I even called NCL and spoke with a supervisor. We barely made it to our room by sail away and missed the party on deck. What a way to start the cruise. someone needs to look into this fiasco.

Next, the food on board was terrible. I don't know what happened since a year ago but it was evident that something had changed. Members of our party ate separately and together during the week. Reports went from really bad food at Cagneys to inedible food at Taste and Savor. For example, one night they served potato soup in the dining room and was inedible, the next night they served New England clam chowder that in no way resembled that soup and appeared to be leftover potato soup with a few canned clams added. The shrimp risotto we ordered in Taste was made with uncooked white rice with two shrimp cut up in the mix. We did speak to the maitre d but it still did not fix the food issue. These are just two examples of a week of poor, tasteless meals. My roommate lost 6 pounds on this cruise!! ! That really says it all. Read more