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Chose NCL for it's itinerary and casual atmosphere. Checkin okay, although Latitudes priority line just as long as regular one. Despite being told cabin wouldn't be ready until 2 p.m., went there first to drop of carry-on bags. One piece of luggage not delivered until 6:30 p.m.; inconvenient but before NCL's 8 p.m. deadline.
Balcony Cabin 11590 nice size for 2 people, with small safe but no refrigerator(cabin attendant kept ice bucket full entire week). Bathroom worn, old tile, musty smell, mildew in tile grout under sink. Excellent A/C control. Sister's cabin few doors down had A/C stuck "on" until repaired in evening. Liked the bright ceiling lights, plus 2 reading lights above headboard. Only 1 110-volt outlet in room, so brought extension cord. Balcony nice for 2 people, got lucky-no smokers on either side. Everyone learned the hard way that you should snap the sliding closet doors shut, or they slam shut, like at 1:30 a.m. the first night when the ship slightly rocked. Luckily, we had calm seas and no rain.
Food: Identical menu to Pride of America in Hawaii, but disappointed nothing new to try, but quality consistently good in Windows Dining Room; only 1 night had very slow service. Met Executive Chef at Cruise Critic Meet-and-Greet and he told me NCL tries to standardize their menus. However, buffet not nearly as good as Pride of America. Slim selections of fresh fruit and salads, not nearly as many selections. Also, never found out how to order a soda at buffet area, didn't see anything setup to sell those and no waiters (maybe I just missed something). Had poor experience at Shogun Asian Restaurant. Couldn't make reservation for 6 when wanted, so we ate early and saw several empty tables at time we originally wanted. Extemely slow service and I didn't receive what I ordered (wide chow fun noodles). Instead I got another type of noodle dish, but didn't complain because we had already waiting so long to be served. One person at our table had to order a glass of wine from 4 different people before the waiter finally decided to bring it. We decided not to try any other specialty restaurants.
Entertainment: Excellent. Even though they might not have interested us ashore, the music/dancing, magic, and comedy shows were fun. The dancers in the Broadway Tunes show never stopped dancing and jumping around, don't know where their energy came from. Rock and Roll songs representing that era were mostly not big hit tunes. Best show was last night, with single Irish entertainer telling hilarious jokes and singing classic Irish songs. Family enjoyed the pianists performing in the Deck 7 Lobby area and in Windows Dining Room.
Tours: One confusing experience. In Sydney we had booked the Louisbourg Fortress tour in the morning and the Fiddle show in the afternoon. After breakfast, found a note on door saying tour operator had postponed the Fortress tour to the afternoon. Went to Excursions Desk and they wouldn't cancel my Fiddle show until I brought the tickets; this made me wait in a very long line a 2nd time. Also, another family member booked on the same Fortress excursion was not notified of postponement, good thing I told her. Finally, new Fortress ticket said to meet on the pier. Sounds simple, but turns out they didn't mean the pier in town where tenders were dropping off passengers, but the industrial coal dock pier where Spirit was tied up; I only heard this that 2nd time at the Excursion Desk. Sat on bus next to someone else who had to race back to ship on tender to just make tour. Another passenger commented they had had 3 tours in 3 days cancelled. Carefully read Cruise Critic reviews of ports and cruise tours, some are excellent and other can be skipped.
Conclusion: Was a nice cruise and guess first-timers would have enjoyed it the most. You still can't beat traveling without unpacking and worrying about meals or entertainment. Traveling in late September into early October, most passengers were elderly and saw spectacular Fall colors outside Quebec City.
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