Had issues on day one and they just haunted my girlfriend and I throughout our trip. A paid for drink package, that we had ample proof of.( email from NCL and our itemized reservation.) Couldn’t get it on our room card at the check in, computer issues were blamed and we were told to see Guest Services once onboard the ship. Here’s where it starts to unravel, gentleman we dealt with was virtually a recording. He disputed the email, from NCL Sr. VP Passenger Services. As our itemized reservation wasn’t enough proof of our claims. Finally after having all his ridiculous and vague questions answered, we got the “We can do nothing on the ship, it must come from the office” on a loop from him. Literally his response to us for the next 5 minutes. We decide to purchase the package AGAIN to avoid paying exorbitant prices for beverages on our vacation. After wasting 4 hours waiting to hear from “The Office”. We head back to Guest Services and miraculously our package was already on our reservation! A Christmas miracle! The attendant asked us why we purchased onboard, a package we already had... we had to tell the ridiculous story for a third time since check in at port. We thought the worst was behind us and we began to enjoy our vacation. Until we were greeted by some of the worst bar staff I’ve ever encountered. I don’t think they served me what I ordered until the third different bar we visited. The language barrier was ridiculous for any guest service position. It’s very frustrating to get blank stares and “ok sure” after simple questions. 2 different areas we visited failed to open at posted hours. The response we were given was, “It open when it open” in the worst broken accent you can think up. All in all, there were some great crew members who salvaged my vacation. However, they’re far outnumbered by staff who are either poorly trained or just don’t care. That’s a good overview of the negatives, I’d like to touch now on some of the positives. We found the food offerings truly awesome, dinners were fantastic, the buffet was wonderful! Our room was quite spacious and had a great view. The people watching on a 4 day “booze cruise” is some of the best entertainment you’ll find aboard. Great stirrup cay is just Ok in my opinion. It’s crowded and was like any other weekend at the beach. This was my first cruise and my GF’s fourth. Neither of us want to get back on the sun! Read Less

This was my first time riding with Norwegian. The cruise was ok. Nothing special. Barely had things to do on the ship. Would not choose this ship for future cruise. The only good thing about the cruise was the group I went with. Pool bartenders and servers were great. But the rest of the service was ok. Some servers were rude others were nice. Not accommodating for larger groups. Gave us a day at sea instead of the private island due to hurricane damage without adding any additional entertainment for us on the ship. Pools were small. Not much to do on the pool deck besides the pool and jacuzzi. Hidden fees that were not explained during checkout. Was supposed to be a party ship but it was more couples and families. Overall it was just okay. The comedy show was good. Food was average for a cruise. Needed more options for the nighttime. Read Less

You have to keep in mind that this is a smaller, dated ship. Your expectations should be equal. I only had one bad experience with LeBistro and would not recommend it. The service on this ship is top notch from one end of the ship to another. I truly felt like I was part of the Norweigan family. This is a smaller ship and the entertainment quality is not like big ships, but still pleasing. The amount of activity is enough to keep you entertained. There are plenty of games and chances for you to meet and intermingle with others. There is an average amount of shopping onboard. The photos are kept in books, which I enjoy that privacy as opposed to out in the open for all to view. There is a good amount of bars and a good selection of dining choices. The bar staff will keep you entertained. I would have liked to have seen a bigger selections of televisions only because it is football season, but they were strategically placed and I understand why. The atrium is very small and I believe during their refurbishment they should have put more emphasis on this. I believe that they could work with what they have and add more entertainment in that area. I like the fact that there were “get togethers and meets” for different groups. Embarking was confusing. There should be more announcements, more staff, and better visual signage for those who have had a long night or have difficulty with direction. Overall, excellent value for the money, fun time, and enjoyable memories. Read Less

Lets start out by saying that we know the free at sea air program is new but.... it needs a serious overhaul. They had us going from el paso to seattle then to orlando the way there. 6pm -6am . Shuttle from the airport doesn't arrive until 9 and doesnt leave until 11. No food allowance for the 12+ hours of sleepless travel and we couldn't change anything so we stuck it out. The embarkation process was the best thing. Private escort so we didnt have to wait in line, VIP lounge with snacks and refreshments expedited check in. Amazing. But they lost a couple items from the drop off to our rooms, nothing to bad but rather a small annoyance ( among many) The view from the balcony was one of the highlights of our trip. Although it is unusable for the majority of the trip. It's super windy when the boat is moving and the hot tub takes for ever and a day to fill and was way to hot even for a hot tub. complimentary bottle of champagne, everyday snacks delivered was one thing the was amazing to have but there were days when the snacks weren't allergy friendly so the entire room couldn't enjoy them. The buttler francis was amazing but the concierge rubbed us very wrong from the beginning pushing expensive villas we repeatedly said we didnt want was one of the first. The room attendant was great and very attentive to our room but had complaints from others on our floor. They stopped doing towel animals which was sad but our butler did them for us. It was a hit or miss for enjoying our balcony because spinnackers bar was directly over us and a nice quiet still night turned into an obnoxious frat party real quick almost every night. The suite is in the front of the ship and all the dining options are in the back so you had to walk but it wasn't a very big ship for it to be a problem. My main complaint/concern is that we didnt know what duties and amenities were available to us from the staff. Feeling like we didn't utilize all the perks of our room was a little disappointing. Dining was great. Cagney's had complimentary breakfast and lunch for VIPs so it was a nice place to go to have a quiet meal. Portions are perfect. Enough for you to taste the food and go through all the courses. I never felt like I couldn't make make it to desert. Con: the staff is so fast at cleaning and clearing the table that I often found that I had to reorder a course because I blinked and it dissapeared. The food wasn't exotic. It was delicious and always had a variety but there wasn't something on the menu every night that I have never had before which was a little disappointing. Entertainment was great from the comedians dancers bands and performances. Glow party was a hot mess. There were couples and trios that got way too drunk and way too inappropriate. Not sure if was a rave or a public orgie. Layout got a bit confusing because the aft had only entrances so in order to travel to ANYWHERE else on the ship you had to go a couple floors up or down then towards the front. Once you hit the aft elevators you couldn't get out of the dining area. Elevators were tiny and only fit like 4 adults before you were ontop of another person. Spa was nice but the lady who did my massage insulted my post pregnancy belly and made me cry on two separate occasions by asking way to personal questions and didnt stop. Hurricane humberto was the reason why we couldn't go to great stirrup cay which was understandable and not to upsetting and many passengers expressed how unhappy they were with the decision to take a sea day instead of spending two days at a port or rerouting us to another one. Myself included. Each person was given a 20$ credit for the inconvenience. Overall it was nice but I dont think I'll be splurging on anything over a small balcony for future cruises with Norwegian. Read Less

First, I was a single traveler on this trip. My wife had girls outing in the Lake of the Ozark so I decide to travel alone. I learned a lot about traveling alone. There are no perks for being a single traveler and what there is, is based on double occupancy. The only benefit is my drink package was based on one traveler and two. I would really think hard about booking a single cruise with Royal Caribbean again, This cruise turned out to be a humanity cruise and not a pleasure cruise. Due to the massive destruction in the Bahama, Mariner of the Sea changed it sailing itinerary and we lost our day at sea. The original itinerary was leave Port Canaveral, day at sea, Nassau, then Coco Cay. What we got was Port Canaveral, Freeport, Nassau where we spent overnight and two days then we went to Coco Cay. The reason why was, Mariner stopped at Freeport and dropped off several thousand of meals and supplies and then loaded several hundred refuges and then we went directly to Nassau to allow the refuges to disembark there. I like to commend Royal Caribbean on there efforts in helping the victims of the hurricane. My only complaint is no one knew about the changes until 30 minutes before departure. My travel agent got the memo after we left. I miss my day at sea, to me this is very peaceful but giving the big picture I understand. By the way, all of the refuges were restricted to the auditorium and was not allowed to mingle with the passengers. The refuges were taken care of. I enjoyed the Mariner of the Sea and this is the third trip on her. The staff were great and my room attended went above and beyond what he was required to do. He later received a nice reward. The food is still the same and there was not changes there. I had to laugh, when I went into the Windjammer and one of the staff I have seen before was not singing “Please wash your hands”. He recognized me and we had a good laugh when he pointed to his guitar and said that he needed a break. If you have ever traveled on the Mariner of the Seas you will know what I am talking about. The jingle is one of those songs that plague your mind and you keep repeating if over and over almost as bad as Disney “it’s a small world”. Despite the changes I am booking another cruise I just hope I get my day at sea. Read Less

My family and I wanted to take a end of the summer vacation together. We cruised August 16-19th. We honestly decided to cruise Norwegian because of the open bar, because we normally cruise Royal Caribbean but drink packages for 20 is a tad expensive. Norwegian open bar was really not worth it the staff was so rude and made the guest feel unwelcome like we were annoying them. The food on the ship was disappointing. A lot of the food was like hospital food with little flavor. The service from the staff was horrible. The majority of the staff including the bartenders and waiters was that they appeared to be annoyed by the guests and seem to have a careless attitude about providing good service. I have travelled on other cruise lines so I understand what quality customer service is and it was not there on this trip. When I would approach a staff member with a simple question no one ever seem to have an answer and the majority of the staff was not able to communicate basic english to answer questions like “where is the bathroom”? Or “what time are we scheduled to be at our next destination?” We upgraded one of our rooms to a balcony and it wasn’t worth it. The room was so tight that you literally had to jump over one bed to get in the room. I really wish I had a picture of that mess. Also, before cruising I was told I had to put a $300 hold per room. I did not have to do that my room key was disabled from making purchases which was fine I did not want to make any purchases. So if your wondering I set my payment to cash on checkin and never went to the service desk to change it. No $300 hold and cards disabled. For smokers they don’t sell Newport’s so don’t run out. Based on this experience this will most likely be our last cruise with Norwegian. Read Less

This was a last minute trip and we were able to get a cabin in a great position (9 Starboard/Aft) and perks included 1 special restaurant meal, 100 min of wifi, and drinks package. Our TA upgraded the drinks package to Premium Plus which got us the nicer brands as well as bottle water, Gatorade etc. This sailing was packed with families (last week before school starts locally) and packed with many Bridal-Girls getaways. Embarkation-- Super smooth. We were at the pier by 11:30 and they were already boarding group 2...having already boarded Priority folks. Waited maybe 10 min to board (group 13) Lunch--plenty of choices for lunch. Daily Buffet is fine. Bar service at Great Outdoors Cafe was slow at embarkation compared to our last sailing (Aug '18). Sail Away in the Spinnaker Lounge-- they have some but not all of the brands of wines/liquors on the Premium Plus Package. Still they had a few to choose from and the view is great. First Night-Dinner at Le Bistro was EXCEPTIONAL. We enjoyed our meal so very much. The service was outstanding. Food was one of the best at land or sea. The smoked duck salad is delightful. The duck is tender and moist, a hint of smoke and is perfectly pink. Escargot was delicious--plenty of garlic and butter. The rack of lamb -- ordered rare was cooked to perfection. Dining companion thoroughly enjoyed the Steak au Poive. Because we had the Premium Plus bev package we enjoyed plenty of Veuve Cliquot and an incredible bottle of Chateauneuf du Pape. The head waiter chose wisely--the wine was a perfect pairing. We were so please with our meal and wrote out cards to thank both the server and chef. Word was sent to the Chef at how much we enjoyed our dinner-- he came out to our table to greet us. A very nice and thoughtful gesture. (Chef agreed the server choose the wine well too!) Grand Stirrup Cay-- we stayed on the ship to enjoy the quiet. Tendering to the island was taking a good deal of time. From what we heard from those who enjoyed the beach--they said the beaches were very nice. Second Night- Dinner MDR -- We had a table by the aft windows and enjoyed a lovely view over dinner. Service was exceptionally good. Again our Premium + package allowed the waiter to bring us a great bottle of red which paired perfectly with the Pappardelle and Braised Short rib. We tried the Gnocchi with pesto... and they were perfectly cooked. We wished the pesto was bolder and similar to the pesto on our starter/app. (garlicky and bold with basil) The flourless chocolate cake was excellent as was the fig/apple crumble. Bliss Lounge- Went to hear the Reggae band and stayed for the "Not so Newlywed Game". Hilarious. Nassau-- Rain squalls blew through as we planned to walk into town-- so back to the pool deck for us. Once folks returned from excursions the pool deck was mobbed.MOBBED. Lines at the bar were slow and they claimed to have no Gatorade. They were so busy no one would go fetch it. Disappointed because not having Gatorade on the Pool deck (part of our bev package) --it a real "miss" in service. The DJ cranked up the music which was entirely TOO LOUD. Our phone decibel screening put it Waaaaay up there.. It was absurd and unnecessary. Third Night- MDR -- after having several great meals in MDR on our Aug 2018 sailing on the Sun... and dinner the night before being so great---our last night's dinner in MDR was a miss all the way around and an unpleasant surprise. Apps-The potstickers were yummy as were the cheesy potato app. That is where the bright spot ends for this meal. The app of Asian noodles salad was so under seasoned--it was as though they forgot the dressing. The seabass was so overcooked and VERY dry. We should have sent it back. The Calamari over orzo was ok..we had it as a side dish. Desserts were all misses, the cannolli was not nearly as decadent as a ricotta filled cannoli should be, the coconut cake had no real coconut flavor and the carrot cake was missing spices and a decent cream cheese icing. Service was good and the waiter choose an excellent Sauvignon Blanc. Stateroom-- Our stateroom seemed like it had been refurbished. The cabinets were in great shape (amazing amounts of storage) and the bathroom was in great shape. Carpets, drapes, bedding all were decent. This differed from last year's stateroom Aug '18 also on this ship. Last year--our stateroom on deck 8 was in bad shape and the cabinet drawer fronts were loose. Stateroom attendant.. rarely saw him.... Room was spotless. WiFi We had 100 min of wifi and when I tried to connect-- it was so slow/bogged down, I gave up. Turned the cell phone back to airplane mode Misses-- --At Guest Services I asked for distilled water for CPAP about 2pm embarkation. Didn't arrive. T So the next morning when we saw our attendant -he said that the Guest Services had not gotten a message to him. He fetched the water for use the other nights. --Bartenders at pool deck were overwhelmed. Got wrong orders and the bar was out of Gatorade. Bartenders had eyes and attention for the girls-trip groups in thong bikinis and overlooked others. In fact the girls in front of myself and an older woman behind me--ordered for us at the bar because the bartenders seemed to not "see" us. My traveling companion had the same problem with other bartenders as well. Hits--Exceptional meal and Exceptional service at Le Bistro. Stateroom was kept very clean. MDR Seven Seas Dining staff works hard and delivers nice service. Hit/Miss-- Kitchen for MDR--after having several great meals-- delivered one evening of almost all misses. Read Less

Royal Seas. Let me first say that there is nothing Royal about this. Don’t let the pictures of the brand new cruise ships fool you. The ship we got on was rusted and corroding away. They called us with an all inclusive package that in reality, was nothing inclusive about. We gave them a credit card number that we knew did not have enough to cover the initial $1,000 so that it would be declined and they could leave us alone. Well they had a way around that and charged it anyways so that we were way over our limit. After 6 months we decided that this was not something we were interested in. After trying to get a refund, we were refused and told basically that we either take it, give it to a friend, or forfeit the money. After some deliberation we decide to just go ahead and take it. We should have just forfeited the money. There was a bunch of taxes and hidden fees that were not included in our all inclusive package. We also paid $300 to upgrade our resort on the island so that our food and beverages were included. We set our date, book our flights ($400 extra), and arrive in FT. Lauderdale. After also upgrading the rental car (because we aren’t fitting comfortably into a Kia Rio $170 extra), we get to our hotel that Royal Seas booked us claiming to be a Ramada....yeah like 10 years ago. Let’s talk about false advertising here folks. The room itself was spacious, beds were not terribly uncomfortable, but the AC only cooled to about 78 degrees. Top that with only 4 tv stations, and the late night drug deals in the parking lot....we were not happy. Then we find out the next day our “orientation” was actually a Time Share tour. Living in a tourist town we know what a waste of time that was about to be...but they hold our Cruise tickets hostage until you endure 2 hours of “OMG it wont even cost you that much and you get this and this and this” better known as we cost more then a car payment and will bankrupt you into a contract you cant get out of. Come on Wyndham, you could have at least put us up in your “resort” to sell us a time share. After leaving 2 hours of our life that we will never get back, we call Royal Seas to complain about the accommodations, at first we get a rude little girl who very unprofessionally hangs up on us. As business owners, rule 1, never be the first to hang up. After calling back and speaking to management, they acted like they were gonna put us through to HR to put a formal complaint against that person, but we were hung up again, and only after saying they didnt have anything else available. Needless to say, we packed our bags, found the best little AirB&B 1 hour away and hightailed it out of there with our cruise tickets. Honestly, the AirB&B was the highlight of our trip. On day 3 we make our way to the port to board the ship. We get there at 11, stand in line for 1.5 hours, get charged $150 (taxes, fees, taxis, etc) and board the ship. Only to not have our rooms ready so we are forced to be around a bunch of strangers while hoarding our stuff because, well, they let anyone aboard. After barely eating a down right terrible lunch buffet, we sweat our butts off on the outside deck so the claustrophobia isn’t as bad before finally getting to go to our room...Where we promptly tried to hide in for 3 hours until the dang boat finally set sail. Let me say this right here if nothing else, they do not tell you what’s included, help you out at all, or care if you are getting everything you want out of the amenities included. We were afraid to leave the room for fear of having to be charged anything extra and at 18% gratuity alone, no thanks. Skipping ahead to the next morning (because there are just some stresses that needn’t be said) at 830 we all but ran off the ship to the hot island Bahamian air where we had to wait on a taxi to our resort. There’s our first indication that Islanders are not very friendly, especially when you’re a different skin color then them. We were ignored and left waiting for the next taxi because one female driver decided we weren’t her people. The next taxi held 12 people in it, 12 hot sweaty people, barely working AC, and a 20 year old van in desperate need of shocks. 20 grueling minutes later we arrive at the “all inclusive resort” where we were told to make sure we have a day bag packed because for 6 hot miserable hours, we would not be allowed to check into our room. At first we were excited. there was music, white (ish) beaches, and clear blue water. We found our own spot along the beach and took turns in the water (after all, trust no one, especially islanders haggling with you on the beach for Conch shells, marijuana, and Cocaine...yes, cocaine which we were offered 10 minutes after stepping foot on the beach.) 2 miserable hours later we get our buffet lunch (mediocre) and proceed to sit around for 4 more miserable hot sweaty hours before standing in line for 45 mins to get room keys. After walking to the absolute furthest room on the island we are met with a nice cool ACed room, but missing towels which an employee gave to us about 20minutes after getting in there. 7 hours in and we were already dead sick of being trapped in this resort. After looking into tours, excursions, and tourists traps (dont even ask about them unless you got money coming out of your ass because thats honestly the only way you’ll afford anything) the next day we purchased a rental car. $85 with taxes, we set off on day 2 with the resort in the rear view. While we found our own private beaches, coral rehabilitations, and deserted roads, the island is dirty, poor, and literally a living garbage can. Trash everywhere, run down buildings everywhere, abandoned hotels. It was downright sad at the state of what could have been a beautiful island. Day 3 we return the rental to an extremely rude owner who decided overnight that we were no longer worth mannerisms and check out of our hotel to get back on the dreaded cruise ship. I will say the return home was not nearly as bad now that we knew what was included but still, Royal Seas isn’t even comparable to one of those little rescue boats hanging off of a Carnival cruise ship. Before they con you into spending your hard earned money, think twice and read reviews. Splurge for Carnival, or stay away from floating death traps that hold a thousand people who would shove you overboard to save themselves and make your own way. AirB&Bs include house boats if you wanna be on the waters. Just saying. Read Less

I chose this cruise because I always wanted to go to the Bahamas and it was a reasonable price with reasonable package prices as well. I’m so glad I decided to go. Everyone on the ship was very polite and a joy to be around. We had tons of activities and things to do. Richard was a great director and the activity staff was awesome as well. Also, the bar tenders in bliss lounge were so caring and understanding. They knew when we needed drinks and when we didn’t. We all were a family. They all were great!! The staff and everyone on the ship were very diverse and we got along just fine. I’m not sure if I would want to be on a different ship for my next cruise. Can’t wait to plan another sail and see all my favorite staff members. I can’t thank the house keeping enough, they were awesome. And they kept our cabins near and tidy. They understood we were on vacation and needed to be pampered!! Such a wonderful ship to be on! I had a blast!! Until next time Norwegian Dawn Read Less

Beware of what you think you are paying for!! Most likely it is NOT SO!! So I chose this cruise being that I had the Forth of July week off from my job. This fit great in to my plans, and I didn't have to rush back to work on Tuesday...Embarkation and disembarkation were very smooth! That being said..... I didn't have big expectations for the ship, although the Norwegian Sun was refurbished in 2018 and the public rooms and cabins had the refreshed look, the feel of the ship was still old and out dated. Also, I wasn't aware that every passenger on the ship had the free drink package...so really, this is a "drunk" cruise. Beware! It felt like a half step up from a Carnival party cruise. On that note, one thing I was disappointed in was that there were no enrichment activities available during the day, such as classes or tastings, etc., that I have always enjoyed on other cruises. I believe that that this is due to the open bar policy, and Norwegian doesn't expect that a bunch of drunk cruisers would have the need for learning anything. They did have PLENY of BINGO though! yay :( I upgraded to a balcony cabin so that we could receive the "Take all" package offered to balcony guests. This is where I had the most problems with this cruise. BEWARE BEWARE!!! This offer included the top shelf drinks package, 100 minutes of WIFI and specialty dining for all nights of our cruise. There was also a $50 credit for a shore excursion for ONLY 1 passenger per cabin, but because most of the excursions cost a lot more than needed to be, we opted to not book one. The only package to be worth this upgrade was the drink package. We did enjoy top shelf alcohol (Grey Goose and Hendricks martinis, and a very nice bottle of champagne at dinner. at no additional charge!) very enjoyable! As far as the specialty dining, I made reservations for the Cagney's steak house the first night, followed by the Italian restaurant the 2nd night, and the French place on the 3rd night. After reserving these dining options, I was prompted to add them to a shopping cart, and then 'check out'. So, if you don't have the dining package like I was offered, you would see the cost of the restaurants in your cart, and have the option to pay the upgrade as these specialty places are not included in the included cost of the cruise. In my cart, however, the extra cost for my reservations came out $0.00, so no extra charge for the 3 nights dinners. Or so I thought! On the first night we had an outstanding dinner at Cagney's complete with a fantastic bottle of wine and absolutely exceptional service from our waitress Rhoda! We couldn't wait for the next specialty dinner. However, When we arrived for our table the next night at the Italian restaurant, we were informed that we had been entitled to 1 specialty dining experience for the length of the cruise and we had used that the last night, and it would cost us each $40 additional to eat there. I brought my printed payment proof document down the customer service desk to find out what was up and was told that according to my cruise card we were only assigned 1 specialty experience. I then showed the annoyed rep that I had made the 3 reservations and that the payment came out to $0. This is where I really feel that Norwegian has lost my business forever...back and forth the reps went with each other for over 20 minutes, only to conclude that they didn't feel that we had the bookings according to the "Ultimate Dining Package" that I had upgraded to receive, only reservations. Anyway, I got the same response as many other passengers I had talked to, that they would send a message to the Miami headquarters, and hopefully receive a response the next day, or later. This made me really confused as I asked how was that going allow me to eat at the specialty restaurants without having to pay for them as my package entitled me to? Needless to say, we never heard one word from customer service, or from the Miami office since and it left me with a very disappointed feeling overall for the cruise experience! Also, the "free" WIFI was useless, as neither me nor my roommate was ever able to get a web page on our phones or my tablet...just kept loading, while using up the free minutes! Very inadequate system. In conclusion, I know that this is a way too long review, but I am just trying to warn folks to beware of the so called 'free perks', as they may not be as expected. This cruise cost us over $800. each for 3 nights. I feel that we could have saved a lot by booking on Carnival for a similar, but much cheaper experience! Thanks for listening. Read Less

My Husband and I badly needed a little getaway that could fit into just 3 days off work, and the regular departure dates on this line made it happen. Having read some pretty awful reviews I had prepared myself to take the good with the bad. That said, I'm very happy to report we experienced far more of the good than the bad! First thing to report back is that we were originally booked on an earlier sailing date but due to a death in the family had to push the cruise back a couple of weeks. The fact that this line offers daily departures for the 2 night itinerary between its 2 ships made it easy to find another date. Although we had insurance on the trip, we decided the $50 re-booking fee from the cruise line was way more convenient than dealing with an insurance claim and waiting for a refund before being able to travel. (Like I said we really needed this getaway) The person on the phone was very helpful and did this quickly. Although we were told that we would not receive the promotion of 10 free drinks and $50obc on the new sailing date, when we received the new confirmation the promotion still showed and in fact was provided on board, so not sure what that was about. Embarkation was a breeze, from the valet parking, to the opportunity to make dining reservations, it was simple and easy. We sailed midweek so the ship wasn't full, and we did arrive early on in the embarkation process which may have helped. They offer desks in the waiting area where you could buy beverage packages, make reservations at the paid upgrade restaurants, buy shore excursions, and sign up for the wine tasting event (which we really enjoyed) Some reviews refer to this as "nickel and dimeing" but personally I found it a good use of our time while we waited to board the ship. The ship itself is very well maintained and clean. Given it's age there are some interesting quirks in regards to the layout and some features, but I felt the cruise line did a good job of maintaining her. The only thing I didn't like about the appearance were these really strange garish blue and orange signs that were placed over some of the old signage to update for the new venue names and offerings. I get that they acquired the ship and that it's a budget cruise but it really was a shame as the ship is otherwise quite Glitzy and classy. On day one we attended a wine tasting that was $12 and we really enjoyed this. We tried lots of wines that were also available for purchase (obviously) but we also met some great people who we ended up spending a lot of time with. We probably wouldn't have had the time to connect with people otherwise, it being such a short cruise. Our room was ready right on time and our luggage was delivered late afternoon in time to change before dinner. The room itself was standard for an inside room on an older ship. The bathroom was small, and the TV wobbled a lot. But the bed was comfortable, the room was clean, and the steward was attentive. And let's face it, for 2 days, we weren't really there to be in the room. The service on-board was great. Every bar we went to had a friendly bar server, and the lounges and restaurants had attentive waiters. We were offered souvenir cups with discounted refills several times, or the drink coupons, but not hounded like some people said. A polite "no thank you" is all it took to move on. Drink Coupons we found to be a good deal, about $75 got you 10 drinks. Cocktails, wine, and mixed drinks were probably best value. If you only drink beer you probably don't need them. I was happy to see that we paid a gratuity relative to the value of each drink when we ordered. I care about servers and know that this is how they make a living, so that protected them from being "stiffed" by stingy passengers! The food on board was standard for cruise ships. I wouldn't offer them a Michelin star any time soon but it was mostly good. That said, the buffet was less than great, but with so many options from the grill, to the main dining room, that didn't effect us. PRO TIP 1: Listen when the servers suggest a dish, that means its good and fresh. On the first night we didn't follow the recommendation and our dish was not as good as our table mate's. PRO TIP 2: If you are dissatisfied with your dish at any of the meals, simply ask to have something else, the servers were so accommodating, and in the event above we switched to the recommended dish and it was wonderful. The on board entertainment was fun and high energy and we enjoyed every single one. The lounge artists were wonderful, and so professional. The theater group were awesome and both shows were very enjoyable. We did pay to see the late night comedian and we are glad we did. Seriously good entertainment! We did not do any shore excursion as we had been to Grand Bahama Island before and were really just looking to relax on the ship, however we did go for a walk around the port area. We sailed before Hurricane Dorian devastated the island, and when we go back we will make sure to go off the ship and spend some money top help them recover. We also donated to the Relief Cruise fund and the Grand Celebration has already sailed on two missions with supplies and volunteers. It is great to see the cruise line is dedicated to helping the island recover! Overall, I would say to approach the cruise with an open mind. Don't expect miracles and you will be pleasantly surprised. We placed a deposit down while on board for another cruise and hope to sail in February. Read Less

I chose a cruise on Norwegian Sky from Miami to Nassau, Bahamas and Great Stirrup Cay. This was my second cruise on Norwegian - being thus, I was offered priority check in, which never happened, and was supposed to receive a bottle of wine in my stateroom, which never happened. They told me once I was in my stateroom and checked in that they only offered a bottle of wine for 4 or more day cruises. And I never got an answer as to why I didn't get priority check-in even though it was offered when I booked the cruise. Why don't they share that information PRIOR to checkin when I booked my cruise? Here are my thoughts about this lackluster cruise line and this very mediocre cruise: 1. Watered-down alcoholic and non-alcoholic drinks. Poor carbonation in all soft drinks. 2. Juice in buffet has sugar substitute in it - would have been lovely if they let consumers know somewhere on the machine. 3. Broken outlet falling out of the wall in the stateroom bathroom. 4. No soap in stateroom bathroom and watered-down shampoo and body wash in shower. 5. Noise level was appauling in staterooms. Never a moment of peace and quiet, and guests next door partying as if they were the last human beings on earth. 6. Great Stirrup Cay - Norwegian's private island - you have to bring your own towels from the ship, the island is dirty, incredibly high priced shore excursions that are not worth the money. If you lose one of your 2 towels, Norwegian bills you $25. This is an outrage. 7. Nassau, Bahamas - similarly, incredibly high priced shore excursions that are not worth it. Be careful to check your bag after purchasing anything at the Straw Market. I purchased a bracelet at one of the stalls, and the saleswoman never put it in my bag even though I paid for it. Taxi cabs will rip off any tourist - just be prepared to be financially raped in the Bahamas. 8. Good luck eating at the Great Outdoors buffet and not having your uneaten food taken off the table the moment you get up to grab a drink for your dinner. Staff in the buffet are disturbingly excited to clean off the tables the moment a guest gets up. If you think you will return to your table with your food there, dream on. It is quite amazing that the staff on the ship were not helpful or communicative about how to disembark for shore excursions or to leave the ship at the end of the cruise, yet they are curiously excited to destroy your peaceful dinner by clearing the table BEFORE YOU HAVE EVEN STARTED TO EAT YOUR DINNER. 9. Palace dining room is one of the worst places I have ever dined. Food is bland, wine is unimpressive, wait staff are not attentive - unlike those crazy staff cleaning off the tables in the buffet. 10. Art auction was a joke. They give you 3 post-it notes with your number to put on any painting you would like to bid on. All of the paintings I was interested in were not put into their auction, even though there were no more than 15 people at the auction. The auctioneer chooses which ones HE wanted to try to sell - all lackluster artists, very unimpressive. Read Less

Adventure of the seas 8N cruise Bahamas and perfect day Stayed overnight at doubletree Hilton. Free airport shuttle and $25 to the port. Wasn't happy they threw my luggage in the back of their free airport shuttle and as only 2 other people the bad slid around and was black not red! I still can't get it clean. Hotel excellent, and had swimming pool, cafe and Starbucks. Cruise Check in was quite quick although the queue for security was long and this was 10.30am. Once onboard there was a long queue waiting for the buffet Windjammer restaurant to open. Best avoided so went to cafe on deck 5 for a cheese and ham sandwich instead. Signs at guest services saying no upgrades as full. I did receive several emails since I paid for my cruise asking me to bid for an upgrade so it would appear unlikely you would now get any free upgrades or be able to pay for any onboard, instead they will go to the highest bidder. I selected my balcony cabin location right by the elevators so didn't want the upgrade anyway. Cabins opened just after 1pm. If you have ever bought a new build house you will understand what I mean when I say I then went on to 'snag' the room for issues. The TV volume would not turn down and was so loud I had to keep it off. The cabin steward said he has reported it but on day 2 I called maintenance myself and they sent an electrician within 30 minutes who advised it was a faulty cable. Several hours later after dinner they swapped the cable and it then worked fine. The sink tap was spraying water all over me as was probably clogged with lime scale and spraying everywhere, the cupboard door to the safe was loose on one of the hinges and almost fell off and one of the balcony chair seats was very dirty. The air con also doesn't seem to work properly either. Again my room steward said he reported these issues on day 1. On day 3 I rang maintenance again myself and within half an hour the tap spray was swapped and works perfectly now and he called a colleague who sorted the cupboard door also. Should I really have to do these things, I would suggest the room steward or supervisor should test these things. You should book my cabin 8622 I have had it fixed! Surprisingly I didn't have to ask for my free drink and welcome gift for crown and anchor which I normally spend two days chasing so that was good. I pre booked arcade credit as it came with a bonus amount so I had a letter in cabin to go to the arcade and dial a number. I did this and was told to just put my card in the machines and it will work out the credit. A nice man appeared and was very helpful, showed me how it all worked. A lot of machines were broken, poorly stocked or simply would not accept the sea pass card. You win tickets and can claim them at a machine in the arcade room on the last evening from 7pm. Needless to say we had to stand around waiting for someone else to arrive as the machine was broken! Then we had to wait whilst all the kids took forever choosing their prizes. Casino credit - was told can use OBC in the casino at no charge. You transfer the money on the machines. They have instructions in the casino. Unfortunately the casino was ruined by the smoking as usual. It goes through the whole casino and not just the smoking section. This is very poor RC. The staff are very unhappy here and are worried about the smoke to their health. People were using the casino as a smoking room instead of going outside. I walked through when it was closed and there were 2 people smoking. Entertainment was good. Mix of dancers and comedians as well as a fabulous entertainer. Dinner was busy in the windjammer most nights which is unusual. It was often busy but plenty of tables in the evening for those not wanting to go down to the restaurant. I had to live on Frosted flakes for breakfast as there were no weetabx. They also had no salad cream which normally I manage to find a bottle hidden away. The restaurant manager told me they've never had it. My reply was that on my last 20+ cruises, I must have imagined it then! I struggled to find any cooked vegetables, broccoli some days but lots of fried food and potato wedges - same all week. It was much better last year. Lovely man in the Windjammer looked after me and was very helpful. He even went to get me some French fries the last evening when they were not on the buffet. Diamond lounge - lovely to see Christopher there again, nothing was too much trouble and he even helped me find something to do the last day whilst waiting all day for my flight. Buffet continental breakfast is served in the diamond lounge although they don't have cereal in there now so was a bit disappointed. Also no snacks during the say when I went in there. I guess it gets wasted so no point putting too much out but would have been nice to find a few cookies. Diamond and above guests please note that guest services advised RC's new policy is to open all cans in the happy hour promotion (5-8pm offer). So where we get 3 X free drinks per day, if we choose to have soda cans, they now open them. I was given two cans of Coke Zero open which I then wasted as couldn't drink two at once. I like to save one for the next afternoon. Apparently they tell me they now open them so we don't give them away! I said look, I don't drink alcohol so I want my free cans of soda to enjoy when I like. If this is your new policy I will still give them away opened or waste them. I suggested RC stop those people who are costing them a fortune drinking for 3 solid hours alcohol at the free bar each night rather than worry about a few cans of soda. I am really cross having got to diamond plus I may now have to switch to P&O!!! The 3 free drinks is a perk I have spent a lot of money with RC to get. Port info: Very little information on each port, maps were not given out unless you went to some sales talk! They just wanted to talk about the overpriced stores and bamboo sheets. I assume they get commission? The Ship ha the usual merchandise, and overpriced general items. I even gave one guest some Ibuprofen for a headache as they were a small fortune in the shop. Usual $10 tat sale as I call it. Day 3 Port Canaveral - very hot! Harmony of the Seas had taken the best dock right by the Exploratory Tower so we ended up too far away to walk to anything by the Port and certainly is this 90F plus heat. There was nothing you could walk to and one of the few attractions nearby was also closed Sunday's. I got off to check I hadn't missed anything but just got bombarded by these giant flies which were everywhere. If not been before, would have done the trip to Kennedy but as we did that in November we stayed on board. Disappointed we couldn't walk to anything. Other people cancelled their tours to Disney as it was just so oppressively hot. Found some people who went to Universal Studios and they said it was unbearable and couldn't queue in this heat. Day 4 Miami - loads of cruise ships in port as you would expect. We docked on the starboard side, walked through the terminal to the HOHO buses. I booked this $49 tour on board as had lots of OBC otherwise would have bought cheaper on shore. Lots of people selling tours ashore and cheaper. They didn't tell us that we would queue for 45 minutes to get a bus that then dropped us off 5-10 mins away to then stand and wait for the proper bus to start the tour. We were left stood next to buses with engines running, it was so hot, 91F/33C in the shade plus the heat from the buses. A lady then shouted we were in the line for the blue route and we would not get on the next bus so would have another 30 minutes to wait after the next one arrived, so she said we could queue for the red bus route and moved us further along. There was no organisation, it was a free for all when the bus came. Nobody dare get off as they knew they would not get a seat back. No air con downstairs, I guess as open top buses but very poor for a hot city. I wouldn't be surprised if people were unwell due to the heat. Even with the windows open downstairs there wasn't much of a cool breeze, in fact it was a warm breeze most of the time. Other than then beach and shops, there wasn't much to see. After the tour ended we had to get off the bus and wait another 20 minutes for the bus back to the Ship. Total waste of $49 as had been to Miami before. Took 4 hours to do nothing. I did give the diamond concierge feedback which he did log and I would have left it at that but as I was infuriated at being given two cans of coke open (total waste) I went to guest services to complain. The excursions manager did call me to discuss and offered a 50% refund which was fair. Day 5 Nassau - docked furthest away so four ships in front of us. On the port side so I had a view of the ocean, ships the other side. I booked the morning essential Nassau tour in advance saved ten dollars. This was a fantastic tour. The only thing I was unhappy about was the man who decided to walk us from the furthest dock to the bus (a good 5-8 minute walk) just as the rain fell down. To say we were all soaked was really an understatement. I took out a cardigan to cover me but it was literally wringing wet. Needless to say the rain stopped after ten minutes and the man abandoned us for another ten minutes. Like they couldn't have waited for the heavy shower to pass! It took 2 hours to dry out. We went to the rum cake factory, Atlantis, the rum factory and more, it was great. Restrooms at every place. Had 3 other ships in with us so was busy around the shops/market right by the port. You can walk wall around this area. There is even a McDonalds just round the corner by the Hilton. Be prepared to haggle at the stalls though. Change was given in local currency at one of the shops on the tour so ask if paying cash whether it's USD change or Bahamas currency. Day 6 the much talked about Perfect Day, Coco Cay We docked on the left as you look at the island so the whole island was to the back of the ship as we had turned around. Grandeur was also in port. Little open mini buses took us from the ship exit to the island. They were driving a little fast! The water park looks amazing. There is also the balloon but it looked too swaying to tempt me. There are a number of shops in huts to the left of the island. Unfortunately I am very fair skinned to cannot stay out in the sun for more than a hour or so, even with factor 50 on. They were selling factor 70 and one lady factor 100 cream in the huts. There was very little shade on the island, some under the food places but not all tables were in the shade. Also you had to venture off the path through sand and sharp shells to find a table. They need to work on this which I'm sure they are doing. Also all the restrooms all had queues for the ladies. Enjoyed seeing the island but too hot for me and set my heat rash off! Internet package $15.99 for the basic one device if purchased for the duration of the cruise, 24 hour pass gone up to $22.99. Slow connection but handy to keep in touch with family and friends. I tried to download the Uber app for cheaper taxi to the airport but the pictures where you have to select store fronts etc. just would not load as it was too slow speed. Disembarkation - transfer to Newark airport it was $27.50 and left at 7.40am only! The excursions booklet had 2 X 4 hour tours leaving at 9.30am (note meeting time is 8.30 in lounges to get you out, collect luggage and through customs etc). At the back of the booklet it said have a late flight, after 3.30pm we have late tours - what they actually meant was the tours in the booklet would get you to the airport for flights after 3.30pm - total waste of time confusing people! They went on to do the same with just airport transfers saying if not in a hurry and flights after 3pm book a transfer to Newark ($27.95) or Times Square ($44.95)Again, they meant only one bus for each, both at 7.40am!!! Seriously! Excursion desk were not helpful at all. They offered no long tours or later tours and said latest time to get off her ship was 9.45am. I was going to book one of the tours but they were all cancelled as they didn't have enough people to run them. So, I was left with nothing to do and a flight at 10pm at night! RC were not helpful at all. I asked if there was luggage storage at the airport and they gave me a leaflet for storage in New York. I google one near the HOHO bus and it said sorry this location is temporarily closed. The rest appeared to be self storage. For those not knowing New York this was not good. Can someone please set up a business collecting luggage from the cruise ship on departure day and returning to the airport or nearby later. Surely a profitable business. I opted to leave at 9.30am, but was told final call to leave around 8.30am. I was going to get a taxi but there was a shuttle for just $20. Ok, so it went to the Hilton and Best western first but didn't take long. Far cheaper than a taxi if just one person. Met a lovely family also from the UK on the shuttle. Worth noting you can get a day room for around $79 plus tax $90 if you have a late flight. Newark Airport - Delta wouldn't let me check in nor offload luggage saying had to wait for virgin Atlantic (code share) staff at 5.30pm. No luggage storage they say after 9/11. However, I was able to walk all around the airport and get within 50 feet of aircraft on the AirTrain with a suitcase that had not been scanned/checked. This is really poor security. So I had 12 hours to kill before my flight. A lovely man in the shop suggested I take the shuttle outside P4 on the AirTrain to The Mills at Jersey Gardens shopping mall. I took the AirTrain around the terminals, just 2 stops and was at P4. The shuttle was outside waiting. $5 one way, $9 return. They accept luggage and even put it onboard for me. The mall is 10 minutes away, buses every half hour and he even gave me the timetable. It is huge! I never covered half. Really good prices and on designer stuff like handbags. I'm not a big shopping fan but really enjoyed this. Luckily I had my suitcase so wedged some things in! Another option with a late flight is to take the train to Manhattan. Follow signs to AirTrain at Newark airport and buy a ticket at the machine right at the AirTrain entrance (I think they were orange/blue). Buy a ticket to New York Penn station (not Newark Penn station). This ticket will cover both the AirTrain and the N Transit train. Take the AirTrain to Newark Liberty International Airport AirTrain station. Takes 10 mins max. Then get off the AirTrain and get on the NJ Transit train going to New York Penn Station. There are signs at the station. Download a map online. Once there, you can either walk around or get the underground to the main sights. You may be able to find a luggage storage location! Read Less

A fun and relaxing cruise. There is so much to do each day that I missed some activities...so much to do, so little time. I liked reading on deck with drink in hand. Never had an issue finding a place to lounge on deck or by the pool. I heard the ship was full but it really didn’t seem that way. I never felt crowded, other than after the safety drill. Never waited for a reservation for restaurants or shows. I ate at all the specialty restaurants. Actually liked lacucina and tappenayke the best! Cagney’s rib steak was fatty with lots of fiber running through it. It was also raw in the middle (I asked for med-rare). The mature D offered to bring me something else and apologized. But I declined and went for the dessert. Bayamo was good, had the lobster, but service was slow. Apps and dessert were excellent! The main dining rooms were also very good! Loved breakfast at taste and savor! I would get a window table have a leisurely breakfast and read my book. Oh! Margaritaville was awesome! Great fish tacos! Traditional key lime pie! Also it was inexpensive! It was getting windy and I must have looked cold. The restaurant manager came over with a soft blue blanket and wrapped it around me. I was so impressed by this!! Excursions: did blue lagoon in Nassau. It was very nice but 5 ships were in port! It was a madhouse getting to the boat!! Very disorganized!! I left the island early to avoid the rush back to the ship. GSC was just wonderful. Lots of room and plenty of lounge chairs. That was very organized! Port Canaveral I didn’t get off the ship. Nothing to do there that interests me and the stay too short to do Disney or universal. They should have 12 hrs at the port. Service was impeccable! A little issue with customer service removing a double charge, but the hotel director corrected it immediately. Everyone is so friendly. My housekeeper was magical! The room was always clean, made up and bed turned down at night, and I never saw her! But left her a nice tip. I had a balcony near the aft elevators...great location! Read Less

My husband and I really enjoy this cruise. This a must if you are looking to party in the sea! There was not a dull moment in this ship, the staff (bartenders) are not as friendly because everyone got open bar but a few dollar tip take you a long way. We stay in a balcony room it was spacious and amazing. I would not recommend this itinerary if traveling with children, this more like a party itinerary, is full all around. It was amazing i would definetly do it again for a fun weekend in the sea. The private island is a very relaxing place. The sushi restaurant is a must is very affordable the bartender Jillmet there is amazing and beyond friendly. Make sure to pack something white for the white party this is a must. Cons- food overall is not the worst but is also not the best, is very average. While in the private island we did jet ski thia was the most exiting and amazing cant wait to it again, and in Nassau we decided to rent a 4 wheeler and drive around the island, this was also very exiting! Love it!! Totally worth it get a bacony room and enjoy the views! Read Less

Overall, the ship was clean and the staff was friendly. We stayed in a junior suite room and it was very spacious. We traveled with 2 little ones, ages 1 and 3. We were under the impression that there would be things for them to do. This is not a family friendly ship. My son who is 3, was not able to attend the aquanauts because he is potty trained but not able to get on the potty by himself and needs assistance. He has to go into the infant room with our daughter. We also weren’t allowed to take our 1 year old in the pool because she isn’t potty trained. They had no other kid friendly pools or waterslides for them. Perfect for adults but not for kids. The childcare was awesome and the staff were super friendly! My only complaint is the hours of operation. They are only open a few hours in the morning and 6-12pm. They had no afternoon hours which I wish we knew prior to booking this ship. We did a shore excursion to the Atlantis which we paid a lot of money for. Getting off the ship to head to the Atlantis was a disaster. We had to wait in a long line with 2 little kids to get on buses over to the resort. They close the kid water playground at 12 and 3 for 15-minute cleaning. Some kid pooped in the pool and my son had only 10 minutes of play the whole time we were there because they closed it down for the day. The aquarium was awesome! Getting on and off the ship was pretty easy. My husband and I took advantage of getting massage at the spa. It was not what I expected. It looked worn down and they did not have any pools, saunas, ect. The services were very pricey for what we received. My actual massage was great. The therapist took me back 11 minutes late and ended 8 minutes early leaving me with a 40-45 minute service that was suppose to be 50 minutes. I complained to the manager who argued with me that her therapist said the service was 50 minutes. She told me that my phone time was wrong. I told her I checked the time as my husband went back on time and finished about 10 minutes after me. She chalked it up to his therapist being a “snail” and “sooooo slow”. She offered my 10% off my service but I never received a refund. Overall, the ship is nice, staff is great and food was awesome. I would NOT take a family on this cruise. For couples, young people or single people only. Read Less

I recently returned from my 6th Carnival cruise. This one was aboard the Carnival Liberty. I have to say it was a perfect cruise. I was very happy with it from start to end. Boarding: I arrived at my selected check in time and was through the line in minutes and onboard the ship right away. Very smooth set up at Port Canaveral. I was very happy with the boarding experience. Public Spaces: I thought that the ship was very clean and maintained well. Pools were clean and always operational as well as all hot tubs on the ship. They could have been a bit warmer in my opinion but still everything was operational and very nice. Lines were minimal at the Lido buffet as well as Guys Burgers and Blue Iguana they did a good job keeping up with the demand. The set up for the deli was good too. Lines were fast as they typically had three people working in there. The fasted deli I have experienced on any of my Carnival cruises. The pizza pirate also was good the most of the day but got very busy late at night. Say close to 1130. I never noticed any foul smells around the ship anywhere like some have mentioned in the past. I also loved the decoration in the lobby area. All the iron work and the beautiful chandelier that displayed a variety of colors. It made for beautiful evenings in the atrium Entertainment: On my four night cruise the shows were Flick and America Rocks as well as Hasbro the Game Show. Playlist cast did a great job the performances were well done. Lots of energy and talent. In the atrium the onboard music group was the Blue Waves. Again they were also amazing and had quite a following every night. I very much enjoyed listening to their shows every night. Comedy was alright. Like on any ship be sure to arrive plenty early if you want a decent seat or even a seat at all. all shows I went to were standing room only. The cruise director for this cruise was Nono and while she has only been a cruise director for a little over a year she is incredible. Loved her energy and her passion for her job. She loved talking to people and taking selfies. She really brought the fun to the ship. I hope to sail with her again Main Dining Room: I had Your Time Dining. I typically arrived anywhere between 600 and 630 and never had a line or a long wait for my table. Two of the nights I had the same serving team. On all nights I ordered from the Port of Call Menu. Had some really good meals here. Everyone came out warm and delicious and flavorful. The port of call menu continues to be a favorite of mine on my Carnival cruises. Tender Process: On this cruise I tendered to Princess Cays. Again great set up. They arrived early and said if we were ready we could come on down to the gangway and board the tender with no stickers. So that’s what I did. No line at all and we were to the island very quickly. Again very pleased with the set up and how smooth it all went. Stateroom: I was in room 7232 on deck 7. I loved the location. Easy access to atrium and also the lido area. My room was also near the "Secret deck" all the way forward on deck 7. Always such a quiet place to go to get away from the crowd and watch us coming into and leaving port for the day. The room was great. It was clean and everything in working order. For the people who say there is only one outlet in the room and it’s by the desk area don’t forget that in the bathroom there is also an outlet. It’s near the ceiling but it works just fine and easy to use to charge your electronics. Again no issues with the stateroom everything was good and it was quiet even though close to the action. I was very happy with this cruise and the ship. I would return to the Liberty any day. I trust that anyone who sails on her will have a great time. Read Less

Do not book this. Group of 50, Forty were sick on the last day, rooms were disgusting, food was,Well, everyone got sick, activites = zero, staff rude made it seem like they were doin u a favor. Put it like this, Dont bother with specialty dining, its the same food as the included dining package, Garbage. Never ate so many hot dogs and burgers in my life. Ive been on many cruises with differant carriers and it was always great,But, let me tell you, this ome was special !!!!!i. Ever hear the saying “ you can (****) up a cup a coffee”? These guys managed to even do that durring breakfest Had to goto the bar for a plastic cup lol. It got so bad that i actually was embarrased for Norweigan. Ever go somewhere and smell musty carpets? The whole boat smelled like garbage this, especially in the ball rooms / show rooms. The icing on the cake was when i was taking a shower and the drain backed up, oh yea, so u know what my shower pan looked like? Omg !!!! Staaaayyyy. awwwwwwayyyy. Use Royal Car’bean Read Less

I booked this cruise to try out solo cruising. I was pleased that they do appeal to solo travelers and do not charge a single supplement for oceanview staterooms. I was accidentally charged for double occupancy but this was quickly resolved by their online customer service chat. Embarkation And Disembarkation: The embarkation was a breeze, I was met with very friendly staff that assisted and directed me through the embarkation processes. I do like the fact that they offer valet parking at rates lower than what it costs to park yourself compared to other ports such as the Port of Miami.There was an area where you can pre-book your dining, shore excursions, and spa before boarding. The staff was not that pushy. Disembarkation is simplified, either you can get off early or get off late. I would recommend getting or using your passport as I was able to breeze through the customs line with a passport while others with birth certificates needed to wait in line. Cabin: The cabin was clean and spacious. It had some wear and tear but nothing worse than what I have experienced on other vessels that operate for the bigger cruise lines. The biggest issues I had was with the firm bed, the cold air conditioning, and no phone directory on the phone. If you do have multiple things to charge, it would be wise to bring a power strip with you as there is only one outlet in the room. I read other reviews prior to going and brought my own power strip. The Ship: I found the Grand Classica ship to be in very good condition with some minor noticeable wear and tear. The public areas were kept clean and I noticed the staff and crew was very quick to remove any rubbish that was found on the floor. The ship could use better quality signage as the some of the directories that were plastered over the old ones were beginning to peel off. Service: I found the service to be excellent. All the staff and crew that I interacted with was helpful and addressed whatever questions or needs that I had. I did have an issue with being charged for a bottle of water that I did not consume from the room and being charged for a bottle of water and a carrying case when I only purchased the bottle. This was cleared up at the purser's desk prior to disembarkation. Dining: Breakfast: The selection and quality compared to the bigger cruise lines like Carnival and Norwegian was about equal. I did not have to really wait in line for an omelet. I stuck to the outdoor grill area in the back as I enjoy eating breakfast in the quiet area with some fresh air. Lunch: I did not really try out the lunch buffet food as I was not in the mood for anything offered on day 1. Instead I opted for a burger and fries. Not bad. On day 2 I ate lunch on the island instead of on the ship. Dinner: On night 1 I tried out Admiral's Steak and Seafood. The $33 cover charge gives you 1 appetizer, 1 soup/salad, 1 entree (some premium items cost additional), 2 sides, and 1 dessert. The food was very good and well worth the money. On night 2 I tried out the Yellow Elder dining room. I was surprised you only get 1 appetizer, 1 entree, and 1 dessert. I sometimes like to order other items on the menu to try out. Nonetheless, the portions were proper and the food was very good. I left satisfied and not hungry. I was surprised to find out that the eating dinner in the buffet was not an option as I would have loved to try that out if it was offered too. Entertainment and Activities: I did not have much of an opportunity to try out many of the activities. I did see both shows which I thought were pretty good. The acrobatic pair featured in the shows was amazing. Freeport, Bahamas: I booked the Crystal Beach swimming with the pigs shore excursion. The beach the excursion goes to was a small and well kept hole-in-the-wall off the beaten path that was not loud and overcrowded. The food and drinks were a bit pricey and it took a while for my order to be made. The pigs were brought out halfway during the excursion and we got to spend some time with them. Final Thoughts: Comparing how this cruise line operates versus the big league they seem to strive to operate at the big league level. They do some of the things a bit differently with their booking (couldn't look up existing booking or make reservations online), embarkation (could reserve dining, shore excursions, and spa right before boarding), dining, and disembarkation. There was a little bit of a learning curve as I have been used to sailing on the big league lines and on the newer and larger ships. It was refreshing to finally sail after all these years on a smaller vessel and not have to do a ton of walking to get to the other parts of the ship. The cruise was not fully booked, so the ship was not crowded and it was nice to not have to always wait in long lines or wait for a deck chair or dining table. While I feel there is still some need for polishing and improving, I felt what I paid for was worth it and for the most part I did have a pleasant cruise. I might consider coming back on this cruise line at a later time. Given that they now operate two ships, I would also be interested if they also offered 3 and 4 day cruises going to either Nassau, Key West, Cozumel, Havana, or just an extra day at sea. Read Less

This cruise was a gift and I was grateful for the opportunity, but let me be frank with you in the following description. Little did we know the disappointment we’d meet at the very entrance with their prolonged entry wait. Services bragged about the boat docking early at 7am and said we should be boarding soon, that was around 3pm. We didn’t board till almost 7pm. There are numerous inconsistencies with information. It was difficult to be positive given the back to back frustrations. They did do their part to serve alcohol endlessly, which is honestly the only perk to riding this cruise line. The food was comparable to school rated lunches. There was hardly any quality. The dining services really tried to make up for what was lacking on the ship. They were great and did their best. The entertainment shows were subpar, which I guess good be ameliorated by alcohol consumption. I was tired of being asked condescendingly if I was of age to drinks, easy fix: mark it on the embarkation card that obviously took so long to make. Might as well put all the necessary information on there. The daily itinerary needs to be revamped as there was so much clutter and the most important information wasn’t highlighted nor clear. There were several areas with severely musty smells and the crew struggled to relieve areas of the stench. The towels and bed sheets were stained with questionable substances and made its cleanliness questionable. The worst part of it all was my inability to rest because of their BED BUG INFESTION on level 8 (and possibly beyond). 3 sets of cabins from our group were later confirmed to have traces of bed bugs. That NEEDS to be a priority to resolve. A lot of passerby crew members were smartasses and that was an unnecessary amount of sass I witnessed repeatedly directed at many people on the ship. The crew really tried to make a pleasant vacation, but there were too many areas of disenchantment that they couldn’t make up for it. Hence the draw to ride the cruise because of INCLUDED alcohol. It’s not freee because you pay the price with all of these discomforts. Their 2013 remodeling should’ve been more drastic because it didn’t do it much justice in this modern day era of cruising. Also with their obsession with spraying alcohol or hand sanitizer did not cover up the fact that several of the soap dispensers weren’t working in the public restrooms. To conclude I would not recommend this cruise for families especially with minors seeing all the inappropriate behavior of everyone taking advantage of the unlimited drinks which were poorly handled, given that half the time crew asked for the room key to swipe and the other half they gave up because it was too much work on top of the demand. Read Less

I read all of the reviews before booking this cruise with Norwegian sky. The cost was an expensive for me to travel alone, so I booked it with no expectations. The reviews were right on. It was an all inclusive cruise to the Bahamas from Miami. I booked an Outside room which is the perfect size for just me. I’ve been on two cruises previous so I understood the room size is quite small. The round porthole window was huge and really cool to look out in the morning as we were docking at the ports. The weather wasn’t great it was cold, very windy, the boat was rocking. Of course none of that is the cruise fault and to be expected in December no big deal. However! The staff was well under par. From customer service, to the shops, to the bars, restaurants and Most important the food. Mediocre or less. I’m not a big drinker so the all inclusive alcohol didn’t really matter to me. I’m glad for that because the bar staff always seemed like you were interrupting them and I only had a few drinks the whole entire cruise. The wait staff walking around the deck barely interacted with the cruising people. The recreation staff tried to get people involved but there was an a lot of space. At the end of the day, I’d rather pay more Money for better service, better food and a better ship in general. Read Less

Everything was great! This was actually the second time this year on the Sky. I believe my room attendant took my lottery ticket but overall it was a great experience again. The unlimited drinks is the highlight of this ship! The food is also amazing! It’s best to purchase everything the first night because prices are lower. My favorite drink is the Mango Meltdown! Deal or no deal is awesome. I’ve experienced an interior room but this time I had a balcony room. The balcony room is an amazing experience. We were able to watch the sun set and the sun rise. Which was beautiful. I recommend taking to ferry boat to Atlantis. The casino in Atlantis is huge. And the beach is beautiful. The water is clear and gorgeous! I recommend the Bahamas to first time cruisers and I definitely recommend the Norwegian Sky if you like to party! Happy sailing! Read Less

Here is my review of the Celebrity Edge. TERMINAL & BOARDING - Terminal 25, is the brand new, flashy, Celebrity Edge gateway to all things new. Since we were on the inaugural cruise, the ship was only about half full, so boarding was super simple. We had pre-registered for everything, we showed our documents, passports and were quickly boarded. Speaking of which, disembarkation was simple. They have an eye reader, and you look at the screen, it identifies you and voila, you are off. It was very effective for embarkation and disembarkation. This was impressive. Initial thoughts…..This ship is truly amazing and beautiful and technologically advanced! ONBOARD - Once we boarded Celebrity Edge, we were handed some wine or champagne, and then had to return the glass, and could meander around the various venues and to our cabin. We went to our cabin to see what the new design was all about. CABIN – The cabin is elegant, well laid out and simply beautiful. The large window showing the outdoors is quite amazing. Instead of seeing a small half view as you normally would, you get an entire window of outdoors. There are doors where the actual balcony would normally be. You can keep those closed or open them up. There is a window shade you can open or close. The window is electronic and can be opened with the push of a button. Once the window is open, it seemed that the air conditioning would shut off, which made it quite stuffy. As such, we honestly didn’t use the balcony much, however, this was such a short trip, we were trying to pack in as much as we could. It was a neat feature, but that is the one downfall to me. I prefer go outside and sit on my actual balcony. Some people may love it, but a big balcony has always been a preference of mine. I did see a panoramic oceanview room, and personally, to save money, I would go with that cabin because I’m not sure how often I would open the window. The suite level categories do offer an actual balcony as you would normally see onboard. If you can afford the suite levels, the Villas and the sky suites were really nice, and then you have the extra options of the relaxation areas with loungers and bar not accessible to everyone. The iconic suites and other suite options were absolutely outstanding. We were fortunate to be able to see them, and they would be amazing and you wouldn’t even need to leave your cabin! Celebrity designers did a nice job with closet space, drawer space, and the electronics box to charge up electronics We had a large screen TV, sofa and bed. In addition, you have a big bathroom, nice glass enclosed shower, and the shower has a bar for the ladies to shave, which was a nice touch. Since we were in an aqua suite, all the shampoo, conditioner, soap and moisturizer were included. The rooms are technology at its best. It uses a smartphone app to control everything from the room temperature to the blackout curtain that can be raised or lowered. There is also a Eurpean plug. The aqua cabins are “spa” category cabins for other lines, so that provides you with the extra amenities of going to the spa and lounging on the heated chairs, you get a slight discount on cost of spa treatments, you also have access to many of the spa areas. VENUES – Magic Carpet. This was a really cool concept, but it does not move while you are inside it. It moves and then they open it up so you can go inside. It allows private events, or when they want to allow more space at venues, and also helps with disembarkation at ports. SHOPPING – They offer many of the nicest shopping venues onboard. You have Coach stores, Bulova, Gucci, Fendi, Marc Jacobs, Cartier, among many others. BARS – There is a Martini bar to meet up with others or to watch people. There was a nice Sunset bar on the aft that we also enjoyed. There was also a bar near the pool area which made some delicious drinks! COFFEE shop – there is a coffee shop and a bistro that overlook the atrium. DINING - The Oceanview Café is a very lovely place to enjoy your food. I should mention that before you enter, they now have a wash station to clean your hands, which is a very nice touch. The buffet is located on deck 14 and has a nice open feel and it offers an airy feeling. There are multiple food stations with varying options for different tastes. We mainly used this area for breakfast, and there was everything from pastries and breads to eggs, omelettes, bacon, sausage, waffles (which Steve raved about), fruits and anything else you could possibly imagine. The food was very good, and the wait staff would bring you drinks if needed, and were very quick to clean up messes. We didn’t get to try many of the restaurants, however, there are many! We ate in the Cosmopolitan dining room, and the food was delicious and the staff were imepeccable and we really enjoyed interacting with them. They also have: Normandie for French fare, Cyprus for Mediterranean dishes, Cosmopolitan is “global-inspired,” The Tuscan serves up Italian selections. All of the venues, as well as Eden Cafe and Mast Grill – are complimentary. The Mast grill seemed to offer any of the hot dogs and hamburger options many like to grab while onboard. Specialty dining for a fee was also an option: Le Grand Bistro, French $25/person; Raw seafood; Rooftop Garden Grill (American BBQ $45/person); Fine cut steakhouse ($55/person) and Eden ($65/person) at night. The La Petit Bistro also offers $45/person with a 3D animation. Blu and Lumininae are available to Aquaclass and suite guests. EDEN – During the daytime, this is a jungle themed venue and it is really beautiful. At night, it is the most bizarre experience I’ve encountered. I am honestly not sure what they were trying to do, and I tried to keep an open mind, but it was just weird. They dance around and try to get the audience to participate as well. They look a bit sadistic and evil. As I was sitting in the chair watching, one came up from behind and whispered in my ear which I wasn’t expecting. Another one of the dancers kept trying to get me up to dance. As much as I love to dance, I was NOT getting near him. Lol It was just creepy to me. I’ll be anxious to hear what others think about this venue. It isn’t my cup of tea. ENTERTAINMENT – We saw the show Hype which is a musical journey, and we thoroughly enjoyed this. The entertainment team did a great job. We missed the Jewelry Box, but it was a technology and acrobatics show that many indicated was impressive. SPACE ONBOARD If you want to relax, you will find a myriad of spaces onboard the Celebrity Edge. There are multiple areas with chairs and loungers where you can just rest and relax. Most of these are found on decks 3, 4, 5. The Rooftop Garden area was one of my favorite places to escape. It provides beautiful views, and the space doesn’t even feel like you are on a ship. It also has music periodically, and they have a large screen television. POOL The Edge pool was innovative and had loungers you could lay in, which was very nice. There are also some hanging chairs and two hot tubs that look like champagne glasses. The techno music played seemed a bit odd for the crowd that I believe they are trying to entice, but those things may change with time. Spa We took the tour of the spa, and they have an amazing gym, with all sorts of treadmills, stairclimbers, bikes, and anything you could desire. They also offer all sorts of classes with different types of workouts from a bungee workout to others. That was a neat idea. They also offer various massages that I hadn’t seen on other lines, such as one you lay on a sheet with warm sand while the massage therapist provides your massage. They also had a zero gravity chair for a massage. In summary, my take is that this ship is for those who enjoy technology, want a more adult experience without the skating rinks, waterslides, and kid activities. Anyone wanting to have a wonderful time and get away from it all would likely enjoy the Edge. I was thoroughly impressed, and I believe anyone who experiences it will enjoy. In my opinion, those you enjoy Royal Caribbean and NCL would be most likely to enjoy this ship. If you have enjoyed Princess ships and want to try something a bit more techno, then this is the ship for you! Read Less

We really enjoyed our cruise experience.The day we arrived, getting on the ship was super easy, lines were no problem. It was our first time cruising ever and so we felt a little lost but he staff was always helpful. I wished there were information about the White Party when we bought the cruise, so that we could be more prepared.The food was really tasteful, even the food at the buffet restaurant. Variaety was good, Everything was well prepared. I had a Server named Raj, on my second night when we had dinner at one opf the restaurant, I believe it was on the 5th floor, and that man needs an award for service! He was so nice. We knew he was in a hurry given the amount of people, but we did not feel rushed, or neglected. We enjoyed eating our dinners at the restaurants rather than the buffet and I have nothing but complements for the whole staff. The 7th floor was the perfect floor for us, they had music by the bar all day long, and the musicians were so good. Bar staff at the pool could use more help on peak hours, but nothing major. I wish we were offered some type of discount for the next cruise or gotten part of our money back since we could not disembark on the first island. Read Less

This cruise was basically the third change we had to make to our vacation plans thanks to work schedule. We originally booked our cruise with Allure of the Seas, but watching too many videos of that ship I had the impression that the Oasis-class ships are nothing but mere floating malls in the ocean - no theme, no character. We wanted a cruise that was going to be memorable before I head to a long deployment. After much deliberation, we went back to the Dream as our last cruise with them three years was exactly just that - it was magical. This cruise went out exactly the same way as we had it three years ago. We got our transportation arranged from the airport, and the whole embarkation process was smooth like before. Once on the ship, we had our cabin on the tenth deck, middle, just below the pool deck. I found our location to be very convenient to wherever we needed to go. We had access to two nearby elevators, and the pool deck are just a deck up. We also noted that our balcony is directly below the pool deck, so like an awning, it was well protected from the elements which I found nice. The room itself had shown some age to it. I'm not sure when and if the ship have ever been refurbished, but with my OCD, I quickly found scuff and wear marks on the light switches and fixture parts that have been heavily touched through the years. Expecting a premium product for this price, it was hard for me to see past that glare of the wear. Our embarkation lunch at Cabanas were not too pleasant. It was way too crowded, open tables were hard to find, and I found some of the servers unwelcoming. Once we got our seats, we did find the food less desirable than the last time we were on the ship. We brought these issues to management and were given immediate answers to our concerns. Over the following days, we experienced the same magical moments that we had the first time we cruised with these ship. Public spaces were clean and looked just as ornate as before. For those that haven't cruised on this ship, Disney did not spare on the small details in creating their theme on the ship. Their shows were of Broadway caliber, especially beauty and the beast. Their character meet and greets were always a hit with the kids, if you don't mind waiting up to a half hour. And because this was a holiday themed cruise, they went over the top for showcasing Santa. As well, their pirate show fireworks on the top deck was an extravaganza. Hands down it was the coolest experience I've ever had at Sea. Our day at Castaway Cay was just Divine. I still can't forget how beautiful and perfect the island looked. It didn't feel over crowded and there were ample opportunities to just unwind and take it all in. Buffet services followed us there and it was great. No complaints. Food was something that this ship have to at least revamp. It was almost the same menu we had three years ago, so we were not as excited this time. Also, we were not served lobster on this cruise, not one time, which I found surprising. On the other hand, we were able to enjoy our previous favorites instead. I was about to write off Disney from our future cruise consideration after this trip, but what made us book another future cruise with them is the fact that our daughter had the best time of her life at their Kids club while the peace of mind it gave us allowed us parents to enjoy our own time at Sea. I don't think we even want to risk trying that out with other cruise lines and be disappointed. Another biggest factor that made us decide to book another future cruise with them is their customer service. They truly went above and beyond to ensure that, despite the issues we raised, we had a magical experience on this ship. Our guest manager was exemplary, and nothing short of commendable. When we disembarked, we felt highly satisfied that the cruise fulfilled our expectations. So much that we ended up cancelling our Royal Caribbean cruise for next year, and ended up prebooking our next Disney cruise with an even bigger family in tow. Disney cruises are not the cheapest out there, but the many repeat cruisers we had on board can't be wrong on going again for the Disney experience. With the amount of people already prebooking their cruise, we can't be wrong on making that decision either. It's simply the best cruise experience for families, and definitely something to strongly consider if you've never cruised with Disney cruises before. Read Less