This 21 Day Mediterranean cruise was our 10th with NCL. We have had some issues with NCL over the past few cruises, mostly related to cleanliness of cabins (we had a mini suite and an inside cabin for our kids that was across the hall), and to what seems to be an effort by NCL to keep costs low by cutting things, or charging extra for amenities.

Our two sons, 12 and 16, have been cruising since they were quite young, and are very familiar with NCL's teen and children's programs. It is one of the big selling factors for us, as it always is top-notch. Our boys are expected by us to behave themselves (i.e. not running amok and being an annoyance to others), and we have never really had any problems with NCL's policies regarding children. The only issues we had with this cruise in this area was with the director of the teen program--a young man who seemed to have a perpetual case of PMS. He threw many "hissy fits" at the teens over stupid things. On his off days, a kids club woman had none of these issues with the kids, and my older son, who was in the teen program, enjoyed his time with this female leader. It was apparent to myself and other involved parents that the male leader also gave blatant preference to South American teens (he was from S.A. himself). Regardless, not a huge problem, but annoying nonetheless.

We had a consistent issue with the cabin stewards, which we tried to resolve with them on multiple occasions, then with the hotel manager. Now, I'm not that picky, but our room was quite dirty. For example, we found pistachio shells under the bed (not ours), snot on the mirror in the living area, and the room was never cleaned before mid afternoon and not turned down until after 9pm. We removed some of our gratuities as a result. Read more