ENTERTAINMENT-my 11th NCL cruise and still can say the sound techs still don’t know what they are doing in their field. Choir of Men are very talented. The sound tech had no ability to mix the background vocals- they couldn’t be heard. During his stage performance, the hypnotist more than once gave them directions on turning the volume of his microphone up. Christopher Caress, hypnotist was most informative with his craft. In his 2nd session, Chris has to ask, more than once to turn down the volume of his microphone. How can these techs not hear the feedback from his microphone? Kinky Boots-the poor audio techs simply destroyed the quality of the show. MAGICIAN-was entertaining and somewhat goofy. FOOD- Speciality restaurants were delicious, attentive staff and decor stunning. Onda by Scarpetta is a huge improvement over La Cucina, the food was perfect in all ways. However, bring back the Caesar Salad to the menu. The buffet was incredibly bland and cold, no matter the meal. COCO- $13 milkshake was way too watery and rich, should have been $5- no one in the place. CASINO- no one was at the table games. Never saw anyone cashing out their winning chips. Thermal Suite Spa- very crowded and noisy. Spoke with spa manger regarding the lack of “Quiet Zone” signs that are usually posted. Left the spa area multiple times due to the loud talking and/or no seats. The thermo-pool temperature was not warm enough, in fact freezing cold. Silas, the cruise director is delightful, engaging, personable and friendly. GUEST SERVICES-were better listeners and helpful. Assigning crew members who don’t have a full understanding of the English, makes no sense. Read Less

We were on the inaugural voyage which started in Southampton and ended in New York. Although the weather was lousy we still had an enjoyable cruise. We stayed in a balcony cabin with the extended balcony. The room was very nice with adequate closet space and storage. The 3 US electric outlets and the 2 UBS ports were very useful. The lights by the side of the bed allowed for focused lighting which came in handy when one of us wanted to sleep and the other wanted to read. Interactive TV was also very useful. We loved the extended balcony. Part of the balcony is covered and the rest is in the sun. It came with 2 lounge chairs, a small table, and a large table which could be used for eating a meal on the balcony. I highly recommend the extended balcony if you can afford the extra cost. Our room steward was very attentive and responsive so we gave him a nice tip at the end of the voyage. The Garden Café was huge. Plenty of food stations and we had no problem finding a table. As with most buffets the food was hit or miss. We ate several breakfasts at the buffet. I loved having my eggs cooked fresh at the omelet station. At lunch and dinner we were happy with the variety of food. We also ate at Taste and Savor which are the complimentary restaurants. The food choices seemed limited and repetitive but we enjoyed our meals and the service was good. We loved Onda by Scarpetta. The food was delicious and the service fantastic. Los Lobos was a bust. We loved Los Lobos on the Bliss and were looking forward to our meal at this restaurant. Unfortunately our waitress was awful and the service was terrible. We were very disappointed in the food. It was bland and lacked flavor. Cagney’s was great. Food was prepared properly and tasted fantastic although the baked potato was very small. Le Bistro was fine. I thought the French Onion Soup lacked flavor but the main courses were cooked to perfection. Q Barbeque was adequate. The food was plentiful and tasted okay. I had a Brownie Sundae at Coco’s. It was a little expensive but it was enormous and tasted great. We had a quick lunch at the Local. Food was good, especially the carrot cake. I did not like most of the artwork around the ship. The large modern art pieces were mostly unappealing and many of the pictures on the walls were rather ordinary. The chandelier looked horrible. We enjoyed both shows. Choir of Man does not have a plot but is a lively energetic romp in a British pub. The songs are great and the singers were fantastic. Kinky Boots was fun. The actors did a great job. Loved that there is a separate area of the casino for smokers. Not a big fan of slot machines being in the main hallway on Deck 7. Most of the bars and lounges were well staffed with very good bartenders. The District Brew House was my favorite. Some of lounges did get a little crowded at night. I liked the Observation Lounge. It was very large and had comfortable seating. I loved going there early in the morning and late at night when it was practically empty and very quiet. We enjoyed going to the art auctions. The gallery staff were very nice and knowledgeable. Chris made the auctions lively and fun. We are not art collectors but we did buy two lower priced items. I was surprised there is still an emphasis on Peter Max. The weather did not allow us to use any of the outdoor facilities. The pool area did look smaller than on the Bliss. The jogging track goes through areas where there are deck chairs which will cause problems for the runners. The water slide looks like it could be fun. Overall we thought the ship was fine but not exceptional. We preferred the Bliss and Escape over the Encore. The cruise was only at 50% capacity so making restaurant and entertainment reservations was not difficult but I can see major problems happening when this ship is at 100% capacity. I suggest you make your reservations before going on the cruise. Read Less

Basically used as transport from the UK to the Caribbean, we had time to take this trip as part of our itinerary to reach home. Southampton check in -very quick and efficient the only flaw was NCL’s oversight in prebooking information in failing to advise that documentary proof of ESTA is required. Ship-We had anticipated some shortcomings as this voyage was essentially a shake down , however it was interesting to see how the latest cruise ships have evolved with a lightly built, full bowed hull outfitted with low maintenance Internal modular units obviously designed for a refurbishment a few years down the road. Despite its huge size the vessel reacted like a much smaller one encountering some poor but not particularly rough sea states, surprising that it is classed for “winter North Atlantic” service. The internal ambience is very understated and the internal decorators have done an outstanding job in both layout and decor. Cabin-Mini suite on deck thirteen, was a little on the narrow side and the balcony, unused due to the weather, extremely small. A large amount of storage, more electrical points would be useful(US standard only). The king bed was comfortable and located inboard of the seating area, apparently the sofa converts to a double bed, it would be adequate only for small children. Bathroom was large with excellent shower, but poor quality toiletries. Restaurants-complimentary, were somewhat limited as Taste, Savor and the Manhattan Room have exactly the same menu which changes little from day to day. The Garden Cafe cafeteria was generally a better choice, being large, beautifully laid out and with an good selection, the carvery and Indian sections were the high spots. -specialty, Ocean Blue(seafood), very disappointing , Food Republic basically sushi with a rather annoying tablet menu, a little better, Le Bistro, worth a visit for a change, Cagneys, by far the best and really the only one worth paying for unless the very reasonable Free at Sea package had been purchased. Bars, although cumulatively quite large in number only the Observation deck had a lounge quality with adequate seating. Again the Free at Sea package is almost essential even for moderate drinkers as the per drink prices are high, a plus point is that only the excess cost is charged over the base prices for premium drinks. Wi Fi-worked well but the very reasonably priced unlimited use add on is essential as the basic 250minutes was consumed by an apparently arbitrary log in and out algorithm. Service-Generally good(vessel only 50%occupied), but could improve particularly in table clearing and cabin areas. Entertainment-Two free professional level productions but not continuously available meant that tickets were scarce. Smaller general acts very similar to other cruise lines. Excessive emphasis on trivia and TV type game shows indicate a Bingo rather than Bridge orientation. Outside facilities, did not use due to weather-vessel is geared to tropical cruises. Value-exceptional,even including Free at Sea and extra Wi Fi costs Disembarkation -An utter shambles, not the fault of NCL, or indeed the immigration officers who struggled to cope with 2000+ passengers using outdated technology and without the self clearance machines used at US airports. They were fortunate, as were we, that the crew were not permitted to disembark.Customs clearance on the following day was much easier as the officers basically just watched passengers collect luggage and leave. High spot-The sea approach to New York under the Verrazano Bridge , past the Statue of Liberty and up the Hudson to the terminal berth was stunning and could have been more so had the ships entertainers been used to provide NY music during the transit. Fellow passengers-mix of American , British, Canadian and some others. Many hugely overweight and large numbers of mobility scooters, walkers and wheel chairs, generally in 50 to 70 age group and preponderance of return NCL guests. Overview-A relative bargain on a new ship , perhaps a half star lower than Holland America or Celebrity but quite enjoyable. Read Less

Chose this for the crossing, our first. Booked adjoining mini-suites. Stay away from Deck 9! Rooms are above the clubs and music is crazy loud. Southampton is a great town full of personality and history. Spend a few extra days there. Don’t miss the Titanic part of the SeaCity Museum. Food on board was iffy at best. Bland, tended to be over cooked and frequently saw items from lunch buffet on dining room dinner menu. Overwhelming majority of crew were amazing! Entertainment was hit/miss. A Choir of Man was a great show. Kinky boots had a couple of standout actors, but overall weak performance. Music in all venues, including acts, was entirely too loud; even mics on personnel MCing games, bingo, etc ... most venues too small for planned activities, especially seating in the atrium. Overall good cruise, but certainly not great. Cruise into New York was def the highlight! Read Less