This was a nightmare cruise from start to finish. Long lines at embarkation and NCL eliminated priority for Gold Members...only platinum and platinum plus. We entered our cabin to find blood stains on our duvet and old, yellowed, pilled bedding. The bedding was changed after I complained, but it should not have been in service. On day 3 we both got severe food poisoning. Yes, it was definite food poisoning as we travel frequently enough to know. We spent most of the next 3 days in our cabin recovering. Finally, feeling better we are excited for 1st scheduled stop, Ponta Delgada, Azores. At 7am our captain announced he could not dock the ship because of high winds. However, according to some crew members it was actually due to an engine, propulsion, failure issue that we would be informed of 4 days later after leaving Brest, France. To support the crew staffs' statement of engine issues canceling the Azores stop; we left Ponta Delgada at 7am, an hour even before our scheduled 8am disembarkation. I have been on 38 cruises and in all other weather issues the captains have waited a while to see if the weather would change before canceling a planned port. No Ponta Delgada port stop, a $200 loss on a private tour, and no UK officers to board and clear 4000 passengers prior to Southampton...it would end up being the biggest mess of the entire cruise.

We slowly sailed for 4 days to our next stop, Brest France, and waited for 2 hours in line to disembark before giving up and returning to our cabin. A good decision as it took many people 3 hours to get off the boat and then an additional 2 hours to get back on the boat in the pouring rain. Unforgivable and inexcusable as there was only 1 very, steep gangway that was to hold no more than 20 people for 4000 passengers. We watched 40-50 people on the gangway at the same time, some with walkers and wheelchairs trying to get on and off the ship...there were injuries. The horrendous failure to safely and timely disembark was later announced to us as an unexpected, low tide problem so only 1 gangway could be used. Shocking how I can find the projected tides anywhere in the world via the Internet, but the captain of a large, cruise ship was unprepared for a low tide! Additionally, Brest is a commercial port only and was not ready to accommodate cruise passengers. There were no facilities...no water, no cover, and no bathrooms for the lines of people waiting hours to re-board the ship. This became another one of the too, many execution failures by the captain and his senior crew. It was unacceptable, dangerous and all involved should be FIRED!

Shortly after leaving Brest we were informed of the engine, propulsion failure and that we would now arrive 4 1/2 hours late into Southampton. I had been very concerned about missing Ponte Delgada because NCL was bringing UK immigration officials on the ship to pre-clear UK Immigration. I spoke with many, guest service reps over our next, 4 sea days about bringing them on in Brest. I was lied to repeatedly and told they would be onboard in Brest, but it did not happen. I knew it would be a huge problem clearing 4000 people and now with the added, major delay due to engine failure; I was super stressed about missing Stonehenge...the main reason I chose this cruise. The situation was even worse than I imagined and we waited for 5 hours in lines for UK immigration, that extended the entire length of the ship and wrapped around the casino, bars, and restaurants...I have video. I booked a private tour and was told by multiple, NCL Reps that I would not be stopped from disembarking, even though NCL scheduled ALL of their tour groups with UK immigration first. LIES AGAIN and we were denied disembarkation while NCL snuck their tour groups through galleys and other restricted areas while the rest of us waited and waited and waited. Another unsafe situation as many passengers were elderly and were standing for hours with no food, water, or assistance. NCL made no attempt to provide anything to improve the level of discomfort of standing in a non-moving line for almost 5 hours. The next NCL lie was repeated by every, staff member when questioned by angry, private tour passengers. NCL defiantly stated that the UK immigration officials wanted the disembarkation of NCL tours first...REALLY??? We finally got off the ship at 4:30pm; of course missing Stonehenge and the Salisbury Cathedral. After walking aimlessly around Southampton for about 30 minutes and finding everything closed, we went back on the ship totally disheartened. Our lifetime opportunity to see Stonehenge was missed, we lost over $500 on private tours from missed ports, and we would miss our next, most important stop, Bruges, due to the engine problem and delay in Southampton. Read more