Friends told us a Baltic cruise would be good for us. It was. We really enjoyed this cruise. We were told that our cabin was ocean view or better. We were told that meant if there were better cabins available we would be upgraded. There was better available, but no upgrade. We were on a low deck that was extremely noisy. Not a very romantic send off for our first ever cruise and our honeymoon. The service in many areas left a lot to be desired, however we encountered some staff that was over and above any expectations and really blew us away. Food in main dining areas was bland and very small portions. We had the drink package and the fine dining package. The restaurants in the fine dining were simply amazing. We loved NCL’s freestyle cruising and would love to cruise NCL again but to know that balcony cabins went unused and activities staff seemed unprepared or even uninterested in some of the games and such makes you wonder if NCL even cares that you are there. Read Less

After 14 cruises with this storied line, I was disappointed with the Copenhagen-Copenhagen sailing that stopped in Norway, Iceland and Scotland:(Lerwick, Inverness were pleasant surprises) All the ports met expectations and more. Holland's receptions had no music; first ship I've been on that had no orchestra; no appetizers, Bloody Mary's had no celery. B-B King's seemed to forget that they were there to play jazz and blues, not 90% rock n roll or whatever it took to get people on the dance floor. If it hadn't been for the Lincoln Center classical performers, there would have been No entertainment. There were no production shows, only a comedian, some signer and a local group that got on in Iceland for one evening that no one understood them or their music. There was an abundance of food that was either tasteless, undeterminable or the chef was left to make whatever he/she wanted. Salads had mushy substances instead of recognizable products(tuna, chicken)???pizza slices had virtually no cheese on them; sandwiches consisted mostly of bread, mayonnaise and mustard(cold cuts, chicken or salads composed less than 10%.) Hardboiled eggs served in room service had turned gray from age. I'd rate the food OVERALL: one level below fast food! Excursions were pricey and in one instance one bus had 64 people on it with one guide in Iceland. Needless to say, it was not worth it! The ports sold themselves in terms of their beauty, offerings and ability to get around on your own. I would recommend future passengers secure their own tours. Disembarkation was efficient and could not come fast enough. Read Less

I had a voucher PLUS I like the solo cabin option. However, the solo lounge director staff was unable to get us to know once another.. Still nice to have our own place for coffee, etc. I never had to wait too long at the complimentary restaurants. However, at Taste and Savour the service was very slow and many of the staff appeared to have a language issue. NCL need to make sure each waitstaff has a good understanding of English. Also, when I asked someone for something and it was NOT in there service area, instead of getting it, they passed the request along to someone else which caused taking additional time. Several time I had to ask the manager to provide menus as no one claimed responsibility as our waitstaff!!!! Speciality restaurant service was excellent. I had three excellent massages. But please cut the hard sell. So off-putting.The LGBT meet and greet in the Sunset Bar was well attended and bar staff friendly. Even the cruise director stopped by to introduce himself. I avoided NCL shore excursions. Very expensive and more intimate to find your own tour guides,especially in St. Petersburg. I only took SPB tour as many of the ports could be seen on your own with a local map. Disembarkation was a disaster. Took much too long. Just get off the ship early and do not wait until you tag color is called. I would book NCL again but only on a smaller ship. Read Less

We are a couple in our 50's and booked this cruise because we wanted to see the Baltics/ Northern Europe and we wanted to try a better quality small ship cruise after getting very tired of the mega ships. We were very happy with our choice. The small ship experience is so much better for us. Embarkation and debarkation were totally hassle free. In addition we really enjoyed the excellent quality of the food. Azamara upgraded us from a veranda to a suite and we loved the larger room. We ate in the specialty restaurants most of the time and they were excellent, we ordered breakfast in our room several times and loved that. We ate lunches at the patio grill almost everyday, loved the Greek lamb burgers and hot fresh French fries! The staff is exceptional! So friendly and welcoming. The ship never felt crowded even though it was full. It was so nice that all your needs are included in your fare, the included wines were good and certain ones that we really liked the waiters were happy to get for us on days they were serving different selections. We mainly drink wine so cannot speak about the other alcohol options. The ports we visited were great. St Petersburg was one of the highlights. We took the ships 2 day tour and had a wonderful time and saw so much, it really is a small group of around 20 people, we used the 3rd day to relax after the huge crowds in the museums, etc.. Other ports we used the Azamara provided shuttle (again included) and toured on our own. We did not attend the Azamazing evening since we had been out on a tour for 10 hours that day. I heard it was very nice. The entertainment in the evening was not great every night (but some great performances) but that didn't bother us, one night we saw Tony Arias who was terrific!! So funny and a great singer, loved him! Another night was an ABBA night and we loved that! Our cruise director was Alicia Hill and she's wonderful, she had a great standing room only show. Our next trip is probably South America in 2020 and we most certainly will come back to Azamara. Thank you Azamara for such an outstanding trip! Read Less

We've cruised a few times but so far this is our new favourite. The only reason I gave 4 stars was because of the location of the casino, it was right smack in the middle of Deck 7 where all guests including children passed by, so you inhaled the smoke and all, but I guess it had a strategic location and purpose by NCL. The shows were good especially Cirque Dreams, vocalist Karl Loxkey and the female violinist. Food was tasty and had a variety of selection. There were themed nights at the Garden Cafe, and the Grilled Night was the best! The Prime Rib special of the day at O'Sheehans Is a must try, tender and mouth watering, cooked to perfection! The Indian themed lunch at Moderno's was very flavourful and tasted authentic! The cruise director, Dan Dan was my favourite of all. He was quick, witty, smart, hilarious and very generous and attentive! He even rendered a duet with Karl Loxley at the Matinee Farewell Show. He was such a great singer! His staff was amazing! The Matinee Farewell Show by the way is not to be missed! There was so much things to do and see for the family. Lots of free demonstrations and health seminars during the last sea day. Crew were attentive to guests' needs. There was also Lounge and cabins for single cruisers. Overall it was a cruise to remember! Read Less

Another hit by NCL this time on the Getaway during the westbound crossing - Copenhagen to Miami - 14 nights with stops in Ponta Delgada (Azores) and Bermuda (2 day overnight). Bermuda was an added port after the originally scheduled ports of St. Thomas and St Marteen were cancelled due to post hurricane damage. I was traveling solo meeting global friends onboard, I arrived at the terminal around 10am, At the port drop off, the bags are collected by deck number allowing for quicker delivery. The check-in was easy and the port team was knowledgeable of the process and could answer all questions. I boarded the Getaway by 11am, Meeting my friends at the Savor dining room for lunch where we were quickly seated. Luggage arrived by 2pm. The ship was in good shape - clean, comfortable, My balcony cabin - 13170, was convenient to the stairs, health club and sun decks. I traveled solo and found the cabin configuration to meet my expectations. My cabin steward was pleasant and greeted me each time we say each other, I am not a fussy traveler and found the attention to the cabin to meet my needs. The temperature control was working to increase/decrease air conditioning as needed. My neighbors were quiet as were the passageways, Dining: I had several upsale diners and purchased additional, My fare included the unlimited beverage package. My friends and I enjoyed dinner in all of the venues - Tropicana 1 time, Taste 1 time, Cagneys 3 times, Bistro 2 times, Tapenyaki 1 time, Moderno 1 time, La Cucina 1 time, Ocean Blue 1 time. We enjoyed all. The dining staff was friendly and greeted our table, The Tropicana Main Dining room can be crazy buzzy and appear chaotic at times the team delivered a great meal. Lunch at the RAW bar was phenomenal. Fitness: The Getaway offers an unlimited fitness class fee which I did purchase, The package allows for taking unlimited fitness classes as per the set schedule. The instructors were friendly and knowledgeable, If you are not able to keep to the schedule the fee is not for you. I attended classes twice per day, Classes are not offered on port days, Spa package: I did purchase the spa package. Not a good idea on this trip as the spa was crowded (very over crowded) as the weather was cool, cloudy and foggy. Most spa members took loungers and headed beds and stayed for all day, Some even took two loungers (for their hand bags) being totally rude to others who need, All entertainment is good and enjoyable, I have seen most of the shows before either on ship or on land. I highly recommend attending the shows which fit your schedule, On shore I did my own planning with friends and local outfitters choosing not to purchase ship excursions. Being a gay traveler I find the support of NCL with the offering of the daily meetings (Friends of Dorothy) to be a wonderful bonus., The attendance at the daily meetings were well attended allowing a place to gather before dinner and evenings entertainment. Read Less

I typically cruise on Celebrity but wanted to give NCL a try since the sailing date for this particular itinerary worked best for the group. The ship was newer so I figured I could not go wrong. First the PROS. I stayed on a Spa Mini Suite cabin on deck 14 middle, which was excellent. It was just the right size but the bathroom really impressed me, particularly the size and amenities of the shower. The cabin attendant was excellent and worked around our schedule. Storage in the cabin was nice and the room was always immaculate even after we left it a mess. The food (both quality and offerings) in some of the restaurants was great, particularly Cagney's (specialty), Taste and Tropicana (general dining). And service at Cagney's was incomparable, especially in light of the horrible service at another specialty restaurant Le Bistro. The professional nightly shows were amazing, whether Burn the Floor or the Cirque or the Magician. The staff throughout the entire ship was very friendly and knowledgeable with the exception of some folks down on the deck 6 customer service. There were plenty of bars throughout the ship, which when combined with the ultimate drink package made it for a very enjoyable experience. The tours were pretty good and the tour guides pretty knowledgeable with the exception of Finland. Overall, the ship was very clean across all public areas. Now the CONS, and there were plenty of those. For a 4000 passenger ship that often sails the Caribbean, the pool deck was tiny. Not sure how they would accommodate those many passengers in sunny/pool weather days. Thank God it was chilly during this voyage so I was able to pretty much stayed out of the pool deck. There were too many kids on this cruise, which when coupled with the lack of rules enforcement by both crew members and parents made it the whole experience excruciating. Kids were in the adult pool, jacuzzis, bars etc. For a 4000 passenger ship, the fitness center was a fraction of the size found in similarly sized Celebrity cruise with far fewer passengers. Compounding the problem was the # of KIDs under 16 years old that were allowed to come into the gym and get in the way of people actually trying to work out in an already overcrowded facility. Food (quality and service) at some restaurants was pretty bad, including Savor, Le Bristro, O'Sheehan's, Garden Cafe and a couple of others. And speaking of the Garden Cafe, or as we often referred to it THE ZOO, it was the worst set up of any cruises I have been on. First of all, the Garden Cafe was too small, again for a 4000 passenger ship, particularly when compared to Celebrity. The setup of the cafe was linear/aisle so people had to walk and bump into each other to get to a station even if they had no interest in the to the other 3 stations in between. In some other ships, the main breakfast cafe is set up via stations in a circular format so that folks that are vegetarian, for example, do not have to bump into people waiting at the meat section. The food at the Garden Cafe, both quality and offerings, wasn't great particularly for folks living a healthier lifestyle, or folks that do not consume meats. Also, some of the cafe attendants (again given the setup of the room and # of folks trying to squeeze into the stations) could not act fast enough to address issues with spoons falling into the food and passengers putting their hands all over the food to grab the spoon. I also observed a couple of cooks in the Garden Cafe sneezing all over the food being cooked. The dinner theater at the Cirque was pretty awful; food was bad and service was worse. Thank Goodness for the actual show. The embarkation process on day 1 and disembarkation process on the last day went pretty smoothly but the embarkation during the tours was painful in some instances. Not enough scanners available to quickly move thousands of passengers through the line. Getting back to kids, my group was unlucky enough to end up with the same family and kids on a couple of tours. The infant kid was screaming the entire bus ride and during most of the actual tour. The cruise line should able to coordinate kids free tours for those passengers interested in a more relaxed experience. Entertainment during the day, particularly the days at sea was pretty mediocre and so was the White-themed party on the next to last night. Heavy smoking fumes where all around most of the middle section of decks 7 & 8. Read Less

This was my first cruise so will perhaps mostly be of use to those who have not cruised before. First the company, NCL, Norwegian Cruise Lines. My impression of certain level of corporate sloppiness. On the website, and emails, some of the links lead no place. I asked a question on their 1- 800 number and all the 'expert' could do was read out corporate brochures. The first days safety drill was a farce. After several conflicting instruction as to where I was to go I found my assigned designation the Versailles dining room where we did? Nothing really but listened to announcements and were shown how to put on a life vest. My impression of this was that this is where we peasants go to drown while the worthwhile guests sail away in uncrowded life boats. I will definitely not be sailing with NCL in the Caribbean at any time even vaguely close to hurricane season. But the sea was as flat as a board, so no problems, though I would love to know what was that BUMP that we hit in the middle of the night July 30 on our return to Copenhagen. As a hotel the Star rates much better. To me everything looked shiny and new and to someone who has never been on a cruise before down right impressive. I found the service generally excellent, perhaps even more than excellent in the buffet as my table would be cleared whenever I left it unguarded. My cabin on the rear 8th level was supposed to be less than ideal because of the Spinnaker Lounge on deck 7, but I heard absolutely no noise from there. Note that the stage is at the very back of the ship. The same could not be said about noise from adjacent cabins. I would judge the wall construction to be that of a cheap motel, of course the fact that on one side children seemed to be literally bouncing off the walls did not help. Aside from the neighbours my cabin was better than I expected, and the steward took good care of it with the room always looking nicer and neater when I returned than when I left it. I mostly booked tours from the ship, though I 'did' Stockholm on my own, and used Alla Tours for St. Petersbourg. Though getting off the ship in St. petersbourg the first day was a worse farce than the safety drill (with the Russians blaming the NCL, and NCL blaming the Russians), I very much enjoyed my Alla tour especially the part where we walked in ahead of other tours lined up, at the Hermitage, and also the gardens at Peterhoff. The 'FREESTYLE DAILY' thing placed in your room aside from all the buy this buy stuff will have some useful information, and the most important is exactly where in the port the ship will be docking. You should take note of that information when you go ashore, or take that first page in your bag. If you get lost or loose your tour, the name of the ship may not be useful to a taxi driver but the port location will be. Read Less

Hello! Well this is our 3rd Cruise with Norwegian and would say it was a VERY GOOD Cruise. We chose this cruise based on the Ports / Germany, Estonia, Russia, Finland & Sweden. This cruise we were going with 2 sets of friends from New York, who we would meet in Copenhagen, with a 4 day stopover in London on our way home back to Vancouver Canada. Traveling to Copenhagen. We booked with British Airways from Vancouver to London, then London to Copenhagen. We chose this airline as they were going to offer the A380 DoubleDecker and the layover would have been 2 Hours in London. After booking the fights and about 2 months prior to our departure they changed the connecting flight time thus making an illegal connection in London. We decided that we had to fly a day earlier from Vancouver spend the night in London and then off to Copenhagen. The flights were uneventful booked in Premium Economy - Made it a little more conformable for that long haul. Arrived in Copenhagen stayed the Scandic Palace Hotel - We met up with our friends and had an amazing night exploring the city - Found a TapHouse with 61 Brews (Amazing!) The next morning we headed to the ship, we were all booked in Suites (3 Penthouses) so we had priority boarding. We had already done our Online Checkin and by the time we arrived at the Pier to when we boarded the ship would have been about 15 minuets When we booked the cruise Dec 30/14 we were able to get the Promo's Unlimited Dining, Beverage, Gratuities and $250 OBC Stateroom 12510 (SG) - There are only 4 of these on the ship, we chose this cabin because of the bathroom - Bigger and we liked being forwards upper on the ships. (We have cruised 2 other times with NCL - Breakaway & Getaway both in the Haven) This would be our first Non-Haven Cruise, however in Suite (So with some perks) The stateroom was nice and modern in appearance however some of the furniture was a little worn - the couch was extremely worn to the point you couldn't sit down on it without your knees in your ears - Not a deal breaker but a bit of a disappointment. The Bed was amazing and comfortable with great sheets and pillows. We ate at all the restaurants onboard except for Aqua & Ginza our group preferred La Cuncia along with Cageny's (We ate 2 times at each restaurant) We used room service once for Breakfast and it was just "OK" the eggs were extremely runny and the toast was non edible As we were a group of 6 our Lounge of choice was Gatsby's however we were always disappointed when the singers would come - not because we didn't want to hear them sing it was because they were too LOUD, we wanted to chat and visit with friends and new friends we made onboard - NCL would have the Friends of Dorothy meeting point there at the same time the lounge singers would come in. I would say that was our disappointment with the cruise was no where to relax and lounge and visit with Bar Service - Maybe Sprinklers but it's so dark and depressing in there when you're a group of 10 apx The Ports all were great and offered a little something different. We did the Friends of Dave Tour in Germany which was outstanding - It was great because we didn't have a 6 hour train ride into Berlin. Estonia - We did our own walking tour and ate at an amazing Vegan Restaurant - Old Town. Russia - We booked through the ship the best of Russia in two days - This was simply amazing - Our tour guide was fast and efficient - Got us to some stunning places - sadly for the 2nd day I woke up severely congested and lethargic, I figured It would be best for me to stay back on the ship. The rest of the group went and enjoyed it immensely. Finland - We did our own walking tour - Loved it! Just wondered through the city and enjoyed the Architecture throughout, found the Starbucks (Hehe) Sadly we were not able to dock in Sweden due to Weather so we ended up going back to Copenhagen a day earlier (Which for us was fantastic because we had only 15 hours there) and missed a lot on our first day - So this gave us an opportunity to see the city. Service; Our Butler Ravi I would say was just ok, nothing outstanding he brought us breakfast once, and normal basic treats were in the room, nothing over the top or special. Which is fine as we are the people who would go get something it wanted to. Karin our Concierge seemed to be frazzeled at any request, It seemed asking for anything would cause to her panic or almost like she was going to run away. The requests always came through but we felt bad for asking her as we felt it was causing her discomfort. Joel our Room Steward - AMAZING! He was simply the star of the ship for us. Any room request was done and done fast! He even anticipated a lot of extra items in the room for us. Brining us extra reading pillows when we came in and found us reading. Simply put amazing. Bar Staff - AWESOME! They were always so friendly and attentive - I was worried with some reviews people said its as difficult to get service - Not the case. The drinks were good and plentiful and a smile and their face. Fellow Passengers, There was a big group of Asian traverls on board and we found their manners to be HORRIBLE. They would cut lines, grab food off trays and put it back?!?! I would watch them in the washroom use the facilities and not was their hands! It was horrific - We were doing a tour in Russia and in one of the rooms they were touching the GOLD LEAFED walls etc! I was horrified ! Flight back to London we booked through NCL for our transfer - It was fast and efficient got us to the airport. Copenhagen airport however is not designed for influx of 5 cruise ships in port - Security lines were well over an hour, we ended up using our Lounge Access to get away from the crowds London was amazing - We booked a Flat north West of the city and just played tourist. Flight home from London was a surprise - British Airways upgraded us to Business Class. - Now that was a serious treat and a beautiful way to end our trip. Overall this was a trip of a life time! Saw places I thought I would never see, the crew and ship made the trip that much more spectacular Read Less

Background Information Last year on the Mediterranean DCL cruise, we played with the idea of booking a new trip onboard, this time to Norway. The idea nearly felt a bit preposterous - as we were both native Norwegians living in Norway - should we really do a Disney Cruise to our own homeland? Then again, thousands of Norwegians travel the coast of Norway with Hurtigruten, so why should going with the award winning DCL be any less of a choice? Thus, we booked this June 6th inaugural sailing to our "own" Norwegian fjords. We had to go first to Copenhagen, Denmark, to embark the Disney Magic. Travel To Port of Embarkation We took the transportation ferry from Oslo to Copenhagen the day before the cruise, arriving the morning of the first cruise day. The Norway-Denmark ferry is rather far away from where the port of the Disney ship (5+ kilometers), and taxis were few and far between. We were waiting in line for nearly an hour, and had no Danish currency to pay for the bus. Finally, several taxis showed up, and we could relieve some stress as we were taken to our "final" destination, the Disney Magic. The taxi was less expensive than in Norway. Checking in was pleasant, as we were met with the regular (in other words, wonderful) cheery Disney service. We had not received our luggage tags in the mail (do to an oddness of more than one address registered in the DCL systems), and could not find the registration print-outs we were supposed to have at check-in. Luckily, this is not a problem, and all things were taken care of swiftly. Stateroom As we are budget travelers for the moment, I had asked the booking agent to "give us the most affordable stateroom she had". Which was both spacious and comfortable enough for our liking. We didn't spend much time there anyway. The bathroom was not split this time (we still survived), and the tub is really tiny. I did notice some wear and tear in the bathroom, which is unfortunately expected, especially when running water is involved. Ship Info The Disney Magic is one of the two older DCL ships. Everything looks (and is) clean, polished, and working seamlessly. We have started to avoid visits to the spa, however, because of the disappointing visit last year. It's dark (inside, now windows), showers are broken, and in stark contrast to the Disney Fantasy, where it's simply amazing. There is a certain scent to some of the hallways outside the restaurants which I can never place - it's distinctly "Disney food scent" or perhaps it's the scent of Florida. Who knows. It is ALWAYS a thrill to enter the now familiar atrium with the Mickey statue and chandeliers. That is in my opinion the heart of the ship. The bars are great, and as always, there is absolutely no awkwardness in being a childfree couple on a Disney cruise. This cruise line really caters to all sorts of families - and singles. Dining Animator's Palate is always a thrill. On the main show night (yes, it is a show with a dinner), we were seated with a delightful couple that provided "wow factor" animated figures. I always try to make grotesque figures. Food was good, although I was surprised at some of the "regional inspirations". Norway has a far better cuisine than I could trace here, so although tasty and well done, it could have been even more Norwegian fare. Oh well. Lumiere's is in my opinion just okay as a restaurant, and Cariocas is downright almost boring (as a location). The food in every location, however, is excellent. If you leave this cruise hungry, you have not been on a cruise. We also ate at Palo (with our great Facebook pre-cruise group!), yet another delightful experience. Palo is a must. I am glad it's only available on the Disney cruise ships... The rotational dining system is nice, as always. The Coconut Tres Leches cake at Cariocas which was drenched in a caramel sauce last year was a disappointment this time around. Come on, DCL, gimme more caramel! Oh and breakfasts at Cabanas were better than ever before, I think! Very tasty food. Kudos for no dry pancakes this time. I almost prefer this to the Lumiere's breakfast, which is nearly dull in comparison. Activities Because weather was fairly cold (unusual for this time of the year - May and early June was below normal temperature wise), we only used the adult pool once on the final sea day. Usually I am crazy about the pool, but this time we huddled with lots of provided fleece blankets and read books on deck. Cove Cafe provides cakes, food is of course omnipresent, and we brought our own coffee travel mugs (the Bodum french press kind) because the DCL coffee is, well, not as good as we are used to. We also did the Tequila Tasting, Margarita and Caipirinhia Tasting, and Chocolate and Liquor Tasting. All good fun. We do these on every cruise anyway. Additionally, we attended the Anna's Chocolate Hunt or whatever it was called. We saw families, both adults and children, doing this. The rice crispie treat we got didn't exactly meet our expectation of an award for a "chocolate hunt". I think it had white chocolate on it... oh well, no biggie. We tend to really enjoy relaxing on deck with a drink and a book. Service Disney service is usually above and beyond. It is always promptly and excellently delivered, so we were happy. It's one of the delights you get to indulge yourself with when on a Disney cruise. I have to say it is great to be recognized an entire year later by cast members. Entertainment I finally got to see Twice Charmed! I loved it, what an excellent show! Although every show is great, I found the "welcome aboard" part a bit strange. They could have regionalized it more - this wasn't the Med or the Caribbean. I have to say, the Frozen part of Disney Dreams - An Enchanted Classic, was INCREDIBLE! I was not expecting much as I am already very tired of Frozen, but wow, this was amazing. They have added effects for this part, also with the Lion King bit. Well worth the watch! Villains Tonight! was fun yet again. We watched Clara Oman singing and playing the piano each night at Keys. The Frozen Deck Party was really nothing to write home about. Home being Norway, the place that inspired Frozen. No fireworks (which is okay), but not very funny or entertaining either. So many missed opportunities. We rarely interact with characters, although this time Mickey, Minnie and Daisy wore Norwegian costumes (bunads), and Goofy was dressed in Viking gear! The non-Disney show The Magic of Light was also great! Kind of a strange storyline, but still not something you would want to miss! Port & Shore Excursions The Port Adventures we did through Disney. We did the Lysefjord Cruise (SV01) from where you get to see Prekestolen (The Pulpit Rock) from underneath. It really shows high far up and gigantic this vista is! Several spectacular views on this trip. Also, we did the Iconic Norway By Train And Bus (BG36) from Bergen to Flåm, Voss, and Stalheim Hotel, where we were served a buffet lunch (it was okay). Would do the last one again in a heartbeat. People said they wish we had more time at the different stops. In Ålesund we walked up to Aksla by ourselves, and went to the Atlanterhavsparken Aquarium. Unfortunately, we were met with a very rude and unpleasant service upon entering the aquarium. It made the wolffish on display seem friendly. Luckily, the guy in the shop was nice when we left later on. The Stavanger Oil Museum was just okay. It seems dated to me. Disembarkation On disembarkation day we were just sad. Having met so many great people, it's sad to know you won't be seeing them again for a while, if at all! We went with newfound friends to Tivoli Gardens in the middle of Copenhagen (I have been many times as a child) and enjoyed a splendy sunny half-day there. You don't need a lot of time to do most things they offer - but at least try the gigantic Danish ice creams "with everything". Summary To quote Walt Disney: “You can design and create, and build the most wonderful place in the world. But it takes people to make the dream a reality”. Whether it is the cast members or other guests, we always feel exceptionally lucky to be surrounded by so many friendly, interesting, and nice people. We meet new friends from all over the world (oh who am I kidding - it's mostly Americans), and make wonderful memories together. So is a Norwegian Disney cruise worth it for Norwegians - and everyone else? Only if you love life, and all of the above. Come on. Of course it is. Read Less

Well - to make it easy: you can pay more - and you get more... but I am always asking myself is there a need to have more and spend the money for another cruise for some comfort of one cruise only. With NCL I can afford balconies while with the same budget I would only get lower categories. But you must accept some lower standards in the free food. Our cruise started in Copenhagen. A great embarkation port. Close to airport. Only problems when you are someone extremely "cheap" and loves to carry your bags 20 minutes to the next public transport an on weekends. But pre-/post-cruise could be a little more expensive than somewhere else as Copenhagen is not the cheapest city but beautiful and worth to see. Drop-off bags at curbside: no problem, check-in: no problem either. As we really have a great TA with great revenue with NCL and great contacts we got an upgrade from Balcony to Mini-Suite. The Mini-Suite was just (like the whole ship) from a time where maritime feeling decides. Great furnitures - enough space. Only problem was door to balcony and the drawers need to fixed for unintentional movements. Walkable closet and a seperate beauty table incl. hair dryer in the bathroom: wonderful! Only disadvantage: bath tub instead of shower - especially if you had sea movements and no handle to get in or out. Our cabin steward did a very good job and every special request we had was done asap. The ship itself had space and maritime feeling. Not like NORWEGIAN EPIC which reminds more to a floating casino mall... You had great lounges like Observation Lounge to look forward - not like NORWEGIAN STAR/DAWN only looking back! You had atriums which gives you the feeling how tall the ship is with glass elevators. Open deck: not so crowded that you have the feeling to be squeezed with others. Well... food... We did not die of hunger... but somehow variation and quality become worse and worse. Even when you pay extra like with the Musical bruch: Salmon as starter, salmon as entree... and the next days salmon salmon salmon... Compared to our last experience on NORWEGIAN JADE it was poorer: like Cesar's Salad: no options like anchovies or tabasco. It was plain and you can top chicken, shrimps or croutons. As they sold 2 for 1 you had also very "cheap" fellow-cruisers: no habit how to queue up and ignoring existing queues, pushing you away because they arrive and need space, early arrival before buffet was finished and starting to store desserts before coffee was served because they were afraid that when they finished their entree the desserts might be gone. I am willing to pay 20 or 25 USD to have a nicer atmosphere but such guests who obviously never participated to any better buffets before. Therefore PLEASE NO MORE 2 for 1-OFFERS!!! They still had surf and turf, but with two shrimps instead of a lobster tail. But they still have lobster. Lunch in the MDR: same every day! No general variation. The offer day by day: regional specialities for lunch and dinner: but if you get a waiter who does not know and they forgot to display you do not get it. But even the regional specialities: nothing upscale: things like Meat Loaf, Saussage, Wiener Schnitzel. Soups: as I am a soup lover and so I was quite disappointed that flavour was a word the chef in charge for soups did not know. They had days simple things like chicken broth were excellent and other days it tasted like water. Before you book Royal Caribbean or Carnival: they are not better either - but NCL lower their standards later than Royal Caribbean. We had two occassions to eat two dinners in Le Bistro and Moderno. Le Bistro unchanged so far (Latitudes Platin) and Moderno: not as good as on NORWEGIAN EPIC due to capacity reasons: buffet is smaller on NORWEGIAN SUN so something which we knew from NORWEGIAN EPIC was missing. Nevertheless: an experience you should not miss. A new experience was Las Ramblas Tapas-Restaurant... well I could not say that this reminded me very much to classical Spanish Tapas-Bars but it was a nice place to sit and listen music or to have a snack. It was the second time that we were drawn for the Hosted Dinner Table. No idea why they put us on a pure German speaking table. I had to learn that the HR Manager and the Staff Captain are not the same person and it was great to learn many many new things during this dinner. I can only recommend to go to the front desk and let them know that you are interested to join this event. It's complimentary and you get free drinks you normally have to pay and very nice company like us. It was our first time on NCL to join the Chef's Table. But honestly COMPARED to Princess and Carnival the 75.00 USD was a little poor since you get cooking books and food preparation in the galley! Furthermore the "best" was a veal chop while you get Lobster Thermidor on Princess! It was also a little sad: it was hold the night when we set sail in Torshavn and so we missed the passage between the islands as our separate dinner room was kept dark. We need to say it was still a great food and service experience we would not like to miss and therefore a reason to be first onboard on NORWEGIAN SPIRIT in January 2013 to book it. The coffee was an up and down and my fellow had his French Press and his own coffee with him. What was very good: Breakfast variation: you can choose in the MDR if you like la carte or buffet. And if you did not find anything in the menu you can just top by food from the buffet and vice versa. A "secret": Breakfast at Moderno: nearly the same standard like with the VIP breakfast in Il Adagio but no warm menu. Although the food could be better we accept that we had to "suffer" because of the great crew. We really did not expected anyone might be onboard whom we know but just 10 minutes after embarkation we heared already "Welcome back onobard - nice to have you back with us again!". There were so many good "friends" with the crew that they even could read our mind: like I did not get the same teabag I am used to have: someone who served us many times before came and asked what was wrong. I normally say: when you have a quota of 90 good / 10 bad - I can live with it. But with NCL you normally have 98 /2 but on this cruise it as 99.5 / 0.5!!! Maybe because of the ship's management: Richard Jarnicki whom we know from previous cruise and his entire team did really everything to accomodate us. The word "No" we have never heared. We can only say: we had no reasons to go home and tell people not to go NCL. We finally made it to "Shout" after we missed so many times on NORWEGIAN JADE. A great show - most of the songs I downloaded later as iTunes. "Rock it" we did not like, so we left after few minutes as it was too hard and too loud for us (Sorry: too young to be "EasyRider"-Generation"). Claire Maidin was nice but when she had an additional Matinee show we left also early as she started to repeat songs from her 1st show which we did not like. Rope artists are not my world but we stayed to see the crew farewell... Anyhow we were so busy that we had no more time see anything. Jaime was a great Cruise Director and really one who was available for their guests. The only thing I need to claim: if guests are using signal horns to disturb the performance it's no fun - it's a reason to send security. We went on cruises and we experienced also concierges whose body language let you know "Do not bother me when you are not a suite-guest and only Latitudes Platinum". But not David Contreras: he showed up after few days, asking how we were as he was wondering that we never showed up so far and told us one more time that he was there to assist us and we should not be shy and come. A great concierge. I think they could treat their Latitudes Platinum guests better: You get a letter what you kind of amneties you get. Like "fruit basket". Never delivered but a box of chocolate (Godiva but the cheapest selection!!!): Background: guests can walk to the Garden Cafe and grab their fruits. That was why they sent chocolate. Nightly chocolate was never available: reason run out - could not find any supermarket in Copenhagen to buy new one... 10 addtional minutes for internet and only once. Cheese and Wine for Gold and Platinum: service went not fast enough: so guests took away tray with cheese from waiter and deliver to their friends and family while eating from the tray. What was great: when you arrived back from your tours someone was always there to welcome you with warm and cold beverages or cakes and a hot/cold towel. Something we even did not get with Holland America with 100 F in Asia! We choosed the cruise because of the itinerary: Copenhagen, Denmark: as we knew Copenhagen well we arrived very late and spend Saturday in Karen Blixen Museum (Out of Africa) and Kronborg (Hamlet's to be or not to be). We missed an insigth of Louisiana as our US-friends had to see the airport because their bags were missed. But we were on vacation - so no stress. The dinner we met Danish friends. The day of embarkation we spend a little time in Malm' in Sweden before returning to Copenhagen to get on the ship. Bergen, Norway: 90% of the days of the year it is raining. So what? It was raining. We send our friends to Norway in a Nutshell BUT the tour offered by Fjordtours on boat (Naer'yfjord), train (Flaam-Railways) and bus (Stalheim) and sitting with the ship's tour 27 miles in a tunnel to miss the UNESCO World Heritage. We stayed the day in Bergen and went on Mt. Fl'yen and did some shopping. In the evening we left with our friends on Hurtigruten (Norwegian Coastal Line) Bergen to Aalesund. Aalesund, Norway: Hurtigruten was testing the acceptance of H'jrundfjord instead of Geirangerfjord for the next year. So we were lucky to go into the fjord what we missed with NCL: Aalesund itself: season was over and they did not go to Geirangerfjord - how sad! We returned by taxis who took us to Geirangerfjord in Hellesylt and Mt. Aksa back to our ship. Lerwick, Shetland Island, Scottland: we rented a car and drove ourselves to Jarshof to buy some gloves and hats. A calm day. Torshavn, Faroe Islands: the port with the lowest expectations! So I felt the right to cancel just in case the weather might be too bad. But the tour went that day. The tour operator arranged that we had a one-way and must not return with our boat the whole way back and so could see more and arranged that public bus would wait for us. We have not seen one bird on the bird cliff tour. But just the voyage on the public bus from Torshavn to Vestmanna was worth to see. It was calm because my 20 fellow-cruisers who followed me (it was a open public tour everyone could join and I did not want them to enroll etc...) were so surprised of the scenery that nobody said a word on the tour. Later once they saw the boat for the ship's tour and our boat it was the moment they liked to kill me. But our small Viking boat could enter grottos etc.. Same with the boat tour: nobody spokes... what should you say, when you have Kau'ai (Hawai'ian Island), Norwegian Fjords and Halong-Bay (Vietnam) at one single place. It was the biggest surprise for me and I definately want to come back and see it again but with birds. Reykjavik, Iceland: unfortunately I got the same morning a message that a very good friend passed away. So my attention to The Golden Circle tour was very limited. We booked a public tour. It was cheaper and was fine. Geysir, Guldenvoss, Thingstatte... all the essentials. We stayed the night in Reykjavik because we thought that Iceland was worth to see more. So the next day we did Perlan (Saga Museum), a helicopter ride and Blue Lagoon. While the day before tons of buses arrived we had only about 30 cars in front of the Blue Lagoon. Greenock, Scotland: So we had the luck to miss the 2 days at sea with 15 ft high waves. When we arrived the day earlier in Glasgow we informed the port agent and I need some time to arrange some flowers for the funeral. So the afternoon we went to Edinburgh to see the Royal Yacht Britannia and meet friends for dinner with typical Scottish food. The next day we followed our friends' recommendation to see the Loch Lomond area and had more scones for our US-friends. It was nice - but after Torshavn it was somehow a little weak... Everything was done by a rented car. Dublin, Ireland: Again we booked a private taxi tour for Glendalough and Powerscourt. Well Glendalough was not my world as I hate bunch of old stones (but same with Stonehenge, temples on Malta or Ostia Antica... but I liked Angkor Wat, Tulum, Leptis Magna or Ephesus...) The Powerscourt were worth the money and time. But best was the lunch our driver took us with for. Never had better corned-beef before and fun!!! One picture says more than thousands words: Here in the postings of the boards you find pictures of our voyage incl. information of the ports and events on board: http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1713888 In summery: there were few little weak points but I would do this tour again and I would recommend all my best friends to go on this cruise again. You cannot get more for the price we paid! You can pay more and get more! But I prefer to go another cruise for this budget. I hope that someone from NCL read this too and take it as inspiration to become better with the food. I do not mind to pay a little more if I get a little higher standard with the food. But do not touch your crew: wonderful: can I adopt them for my home? Read Less

I did not expect much from Holland America's Eurodam (my 3rd cruise with them) and I was not disappointed. I eat mostly in the main dining room as I expect to have better food there. Unfortunately the food was bad to ordinary in all of the venues. One night I had a lasagna that was over cooked. The only bright spot on the table were the desserts. Except for a tastless frozen yogurt, the desserts were very good. The ice cream at the ice cream bar at the Lido always had ice crystals. One of the joys of ice cream is the texture, and each time I was disappointed. The last night a friend suggested we do something different and eat at the alternate restaurant, the Canaletto, a small Italian venue off of the Lido. The experience was bad from the start. We broght a bottle of wine,delivered to my cabin by my travel agent, to the table. The wine stewart suggested that we order a better bottle of wine as the wine we brought to the dining room was the "house" wine. Considering it was a gift to me I thought it to be quite rude of him to disparage it. He was a bit too persistent. I'm glad we did not spend money on a better wine, for the "house" wine suited the service and food served in the Canaletto. It took an hour to get through the main course which I could only eat half of. The waiter was concerned that I had not eaten the subpar food and begged me to order another entree. We had already wasted one hour on bad food and were not in a mood to gamble on a second disaster. I did not find the ship decor to be particularly interesting. The giant sculpture in the main lobby is horrid. It looks like an inverted ice berg. Unfortunatly it did not go away by melting by the end of the cruise. The bright spot of the cruise was the fact that cruiser who gets sea sick did not notice the motion of the ship. we were on the 6th floor and found it to be comfortable. The 11th floor library/computer center/observation lounge was often a shaky place to be. A word to those who subscribe to internet service, it is very slow most of the day. I lost 30 minutes of my time because I could not log on. About half of my 100 minutes were wasted in wait time. If anyone thinks they will do serious business on a cruise ship computer, they will be bitterly disappointed. The service is very expensive. Read Less

My partner and I enjoyed our Holland America Alaskan cruise a couple years back, and we'd always wanted to see Scandinavia, so we signed up for their 12-day Baltic cruise. Now, most others we know in the gay/lesbian "community" (I hate that word but it does the job) look at us like we're nuts when we say what we've done. After all, there are cruises that cater to gays exclusively. But these tend to be "party" ships that aren't really what we're looking for 24 hours a day. This cruise lived up to our expectations -- not more, not less, which isn't too bad. We arrived in Copenhagen a day early to give us a cushion of time and see more of the city. It proved to be a pattern for this cruise. We were able to taste a bit of the city but not much more. We walked around the narrow cobblestone streets, peeked in the Tivoli Gardens, ate at a lovely Italian restaurant (Fiat) near the Nyhavn harbor. We'd love to come back. The ship for this cruise was Holland America's flagship, the Rotterdam, almost identical to the Volendam on which we'd sailed before. We like the layout. Plenty of lounge areas where you can curl up with a book or conversation. In the boarding area we quickly got a sense of the demographics of the passengers. A lot of grey hair and J.C. Penney vacation fashions. No other male (or female) couples that we could see. But then, there weren't a lot of families with ADD-afflicted children either, so it definitely balanced out. As before, the HAL boarding process was efficient and quick. Before we knew it we were in our stateroom, a veranda cabin that lived up to the website illustration. Small but roomy enough, smartly decorated, very inviting. I feared that we'd hear our neighbors through the walls or ceiling, but the room was perfectly quiet throughout the entire trip. At our assigned dinner table we met our dining companions for the rest of the cruise, a very nice couple from Canada and an 83-year-old Australian dowager traveling solo. She had a wry sense of humor and was up for anything. The Canadians clearly weren't expecting a gay couple at their table, but their discomfort quickly disappeared and by the end of the cruise we were like a family. The HAL experience is pretty hard to beat. The service is extraordinary, and your cabin steward and waitstaff all remember your name. The entire ship is clean and bright. There's plenty to do if you're so inclined (which we weren't -- we participated in a "Name That Tune" contest one night, but the pianist wasn't really into it). Food, of course, is everywhere. The slight downside is that the food, overall, was pretty bland. The adventurous menu selections were mostly disappointments in the tastebud department, except for the excellent meal we ate one night in the deluxe Pinnacle Grill. Still, everything was edible, and we didn't really take the cruise to have five-star cuisine at every meal anyway. The entertainment, likewise, leaves a little to be desired, but is appropriate, I guess, for the target passenger demographic. Evening shows were mostly Vegas-type song-and-dance revues, with B-level talent who could have done more under different circumstances. But they weren't quite bad enough to amuse ourselves making fun of them. The lounge musicians weren't as good as on our previous HAL cruise; it seemed like one of them was belting out the same Muzak version of a Neil Diamond song every time I walked past. The ports of call were the main reason we took the cruise, and, again they were mostly good with a little bit of disappointment. Our favorites: Tallinn, Estonia, was surprisingly fun, with interesting shops and a well-preserved old city center. Helsinki and Stockholm were beautiful, clean, fascinating. Our least favorites: Oslo seemed a bit too bland, and the German port (Warnemunde) was a bit tourist-tacky. We only signed up for a few shore excursions. The St. Petersburg tours were surprisingly enjoyable. We both didn't know what to expect, and were pleasantly surprised. The tour guides were well-informed, efficient, and even entertaining (albeit often in an inadvertent way!). We're not big museum goers, but enjoyed the Peterhof and Catherine the Great palaces. We particularly wanted to see the Hermitage, but were dreading it somewhat because of comments we'd heard about it being overcrowded and hot. We were surprised that the crowds were tolerable and, even though we rushed through five buildings in an hour-and-a-half, we felt that we saw quite a bit, even if we couldn't stop and appreciate all of the art. Later we talked to others who booked their own private tour guides and recommended it, but we didn't have any complaints with the ship-organized tours. In Arnhus, Denmark, the shore excursion we chose stopped at a curious selection of sites (a vintage train that took us nowhere in particular and back, and a museum of a 2,000-year-old preserved body) but was definitely worth it for seeing the beautiful countryside. Most of all, the cruise was peaceful and unchallenging enough to really be relaxing, and provided an interesting glimpse into countries we'd always wanted to see. A bonus was viewing the coastal islands all along the way from our stateroom. I don't know if we'll do another cruise anytime soon, because we generally enjoy staying longer at our destinations to do some exploring, but if we do another, it will be definitely be HAL. Read Less