Ncl provided the lowest grade of food possible whenever they could. Poor grades of meat & fish in main ding rooms and buffet. The menus were very limited in both dining rooms and buffet. Wait staff was mostly inattentive and poorly trained. This was certainly not the type of service we have come to expect after 51 cruises! The weather was bad (not ncl's fault) so all outside venues were closed, including the outside buffets and seating. Ncl did nothing to compensate for this. Seating was very limited in buffet because of this. Ncl also did not add any inside activities or entertainment considering the weather. They were not flexible in any way. Theyn did not even bother to change the daily schedule to reflect the closings etc. There was a severe outbreak of the norovirus, so ncl removed all condiments from tables, kept bathroom doors open, cleaned constantly, did not allow cruisers to get their own food or drinks in buffet, etc. But did leave casino open where people were touching slot machines. I guess the money factor was more important than health in that regard. Read Less

Have cruised with NLC in the past. Never again- Ship was shabby Food average Entertainment was not good Service was lacking But most of all the virus going through the shop was gross- Dirty dishes in hall that sick people put outside their rooms- Never getting a straight answer of what was going on- Couldn't wait to leave (Did not stay for the whole cruise) Both my Husband and Myself got sick. What a awful waste of money But the best part no one cared. Embarkation to Dublin was dangerous and not planned out at all This was nerve racking not a bit of pleasure on this cruise No one is looking for something for free but something should of been done this was a crime People work to hard for their money to be treated like this. This was supposed to be a trip of a life time What a joke. Read Less

The first day aboard, I was pleasantly surprised. Our inside cabin was nicer than expected. My sister and I had plenty of room and the bathroom had a lovely shower. Our steward was excellent during the whole cruise. However, it went down hill fast. We were notified on the 2nd day that a virus was discovered on board. By the 4th day everything in the Buffet was covered with plastic and we had to be served our food by employees who didn't know what they were doing. By the time we got to our table our food was cold. It was really depressing, so we started to eat in the main dining rooms. Here the food was slightly better and usually warm but the service again was terrible. I might add that the food was bland everywhere and the desserts all had some kind of gelatin in them. Even the cheesecake!! The precautions the staff were taking to contain the virus was ridiculous. We had to have our hands sprayed upon entering any dining room and we were given paper menus. However, I seldom saw the staff disinfect their own hands and cleaning the tables in the Buffet was a joke. I did not see anyone in the public areas with disinfection. There were 2 nights where they supposedly disinfected the halls and some public areas but a lot of germs could be around between cleanings. They were constantly making announcements about washing our hands and staying in our rooms if we were ill. But they gave no information as to the viirus' containment. They cancelled the Behind the Scenes Tour and a few other events with flimsy excuses when we all knew it was because of the virus. Just be upfront about it! On top of all of that, we had very choppy seas for about 3 to 4 days. Obviously that was not the cruise line's fault but it just added another layer of discomfort. The excursions were very expensive and disappointing. We went to Cork and arrived in Kinsdale to find there was a big rugby game going on and as it was Sunday most of the shops were closed! The London excursion was a joke. We went through some neighborhood that had warehouses converted to apartments. I can see that at home! Then we stopped at the Tower of London and waited 20 min. while our guide got the tickets. Once we got in, we should have been allowed to wander around and meet up at a certain point. Instead we ALL had to wait at least 30 min while everyone used the rest rooms and then we saw the crown jewels and barely had enough time to get back to the bus. We never saw the cells or armour. We only had an hour for lunch which left no time to shop. The bus driver didn't even slow down so we could get some pictures. I have never been on Norwegian before and after this I never will be on it again. Read Less

FIrst it’s interesting not to see a lot more comments since there were Cruise Critic Members on board. Unless you had Specialty dining the food was fair to poor. A comment by a staff member in one specialty restaurant even said, “yes, we should teach them how to cook”! Even one of the specialty restaurants was so bad that our friends cancelled a dinner. The restaurant service was poor, very inconsistent. Bar service was always good, consistent. My opinion they saved the day. The virus reeked havoc everywhere. Closing facilities like the gym, library and game room leaving passengers with limited places to hang out. The weather was not good so there was no escape outside. Excursions were the biggest disappointment with staffing not communicating causing our excursions to be late our cut short. Dublin was a disaster, I hope they fix it or drop it. London was terrible due to late start, Little communication, tour company not communicating while being transferred on their bus. France equally had issues getting us out at our scheduled time. Finally in Belgium they got it going, though I suspect some passengers missed their excursions because they assumed it’d be another delayed day. Our Brugge On Your Own tour was great, that tour company gets an A+. All and all I won’t be rushing to book myself on NCL anytime soon. Read Less

The itinerary was exactly what I was looking for. However, as soon as we were on board, the upsell was relentless. I began to feel very very pressured and uncomfortable. The cruise across the Atlantic was wild. However, it was unnerving when the captain came on and said he didn't anticipate the weather. We were rocking bad ... 12 to 15 ft waves. I thought they could avoid those issues. Then the noro virus hit. We heard over half the passengers were quarantined ... and 200 crew. The captain came on and said anyone trying to leave their cabin would be removed from the ship!!!! Many of the staff were saying they had never seen it this bad. The food was less than appetizing and we spoke with one family who got food poisoning. The food was consistently repeated (tasteless and some seemed rotten). There was nothing high end other than the specialty restaurants. The entertainment tried, but it appears they just couldn't afford or didn't attempt to gather decent entertainment. There was nothing much to do all day with 6 days at sea. I was expecting activities all day. We ended up watching the same 4 movies the entire trip. They just kept repeating themselves. Even airlines have a better choice of movies. My friend (who was not sick) ... went to medical to purchase some Imodium (accidentally forgot it) and they charged her $219 for 10 pills. He never examined her, just sold her the pills. It appeared the crew was instructed not to discuss anything with passengers after a few days, and they began to get irritable (probably double and triple shifts). Dublin (beautiful city) was a horror trying to get off the ship. Six shuttles for over 1000 people. Nightmare!!! I would not recommend this cruise line. Read Less

From the min. We boarded to the time we departed all we did was try and not get sick . We did not want to miss the different ports of call , We ended up mostly staying in our cabin except to go on the excursions and eat. What a waste of getting to know and see the ship . Generally we ate only in the Resturant’s for our meals . We stayed away from buffet in fear of catching the virus that was spreading rapidly around the ship . The captain threatened to kick anyone who was sick and caught roaming the ship off at the next port . If I hear Washy Washy one more time !¥£€$#@##$ . When I asked the crew if more were getting sick they just looked at me and shook their heads . Our excursions were either delayed or cut short . We had little time if any to eat or shop , We waited 20 mins on three excursions for people to come back to the bus only to leave them . I would give a “ 3 “ to most of our excursions. (Except for when we had to tender 20mins coming and going and they only had 2 tenders to start ) we lost an hour and half on this one .this would receive a “ 0 “ I did however feel sorry for all the shore excursion crew , they did try very hard to help the passengers . We did have many people on our 11th floor ILL .Saw the medical crew many times in our hallways . Got to know them in passing . Our idea of a fun cruise was not sitting in our room day and night . Who ever brought this on the ship thanks . Or was it on the ship before we boarded .????? Again thanks !!!! Being that people were getting sick from day one I might believe it was there when we boarded .... We never did see any entertainment . This was not what you would call a fun cruise experience. We did get to see Ireland ,France.London, and Brussels . Mainly because we stayed in our room and avoided contact with people . We have been on NCL Many times . Alaska . Panama Canal , west Coast . Hawaii 3 times Caribbean . Plus many more . NCL was our favorite line to cruise until now ..... Note : We were celebrating our 41 st anniversary Only one last thing to say. .............. WASHY. WASHY ...... Read Less

I usually do not write reviews but I had to in this case. This trip was just under $7000.00 dollars, not an inexpensive trip! Yet we booked this trip because in our minds this was a trip of a lifetime! As a seasoned cruiser I had wanted to go to Ireland and this seemed like the perfect opportunity.... boy was I wrong! From the minute we got to NYC to get on the ship we had problems! First, not enough space on the bus that shuttled people from the airport to the terminal. People were left on the curb! Then the noro virus hit! We were confined in our cabin for 48 hours. Missed the port in Ireland, which was why we choose this itinerary in the first place. To say we were disappointed is an understatement! We went almost 24 hours without food and water since room service was really busy.... they did not answer the phone.... we did not get clean towels or any compensation for the fact that we missed 2 days of our vacation. The excursions when we were released were unorganized and were not rated correctly for difficulty. The food was okay, nothing extraordinary and there was not enough activities on the sea days. As an example they had cooking demonstrations in the main atrium and they only had enough seats for maybe 75 when there were 2000 passenger. Let me end with this. I understand that it isn’t NCL’s fault that a passenger came on sick but I certainly can fault them for the very poor way they handled a bad situation! NCL needs a course in customer service! Read Less

It was 13 days from NYC to Amsterdam I'm an experienced cruiser. This is the first time I have experienced such a sick ship. Norovirus was rampant from day two! Sick passengers or crew were allowed aboard this ship! This was 13 days of pure displeasure. Many of the crew had bad attitudes. I experienced one of the Supervisors making excuses regarding sanitation methodology. With this type of Management attitude, no wonder the virus continued to expand. I missed two ports and NEVER once heard an apology from the staff. The gym was closed. Many other on board amenities were curtailed -- however, the Casino was always open when not in Port. Self-service at the buffet was curtailed. You had to beg for sugar, salt, pepper, catsup, etc. If you contacted the norovirus, you were quarenteened in your cabin, with your cabin key confiscated. You food was delivered to you on paper plates with plastic utensils. If you had a cabin mate, you could sneak out with them and continue to spread the germs, with no reprocussions unless caught! Thanks to a "sneaker", to whom apparently rules do not apply, I got sick and so did one of my friends! Norwegian, you need better sanitation and better monitoring of sick passengers. I was very disappointed with my cruise and will think long and hard before booking another NCL cruise. The specialty dining was great at Le Bistro, good at La Cuchina, very good at Moderno. I missed the dinner at Cagney's due to the Norovirus. The two dining rooms had very good food, but they tend to seat solo cruisers in the middle of the floor, and couple's get the better tables. Us solo cruisers DO PAY FOR TWO, and only eat for one. The service was hit or miss. Many of the crew had bad attitudes, probably because they had to do the work of multiple crew members because of the crew members who were sick with the Norovirus. I missed a lot of the entertainment, trying to avoid the Norovirus. When I did go to a show, there were groups of passengers talking and being disruptive during the shows. The entertainers were very talented. The trivia was strange, not really testing knowledge, but asking a crew member's age. Read Less

I was told by many people Norwegian was an upscale cruise line. DON’T BELIEVE IT. No one knows what is going on and they seem not to care. The employees don’t go out of their way an inch. The famous work Is “no”. There are a few crew members that actually will get you information but they are the minority. Not many crew members smile and if you have a question or ask “why” for any reason they will argue with you. The food is terrible if you don’t pay for the upgraded restaurants. Do yourself a favor if you still plan on going on this cruise line, , take the upgraded food package and insurance. There is an epidemic of the Niro Virus. I was told over 200 crew members were quarantined and a lot of passengers. All the food cases are wrapped and you have to be handed what you want. They will not let anyone take it themselves. There are crew members spraying your hands entering and exiting the food areas. The captain made an announcement that all the people that had the virus were not allowed to leave their rooms. The ride into Dublin was a disaster. They had 6 tenders and over 1000 people. The lines were long and people missed their excursions. No one on the cruise line seemed to care. I have a horrible allergy to mushrooms and asked for a peanut butter and jelly sandwich because I could not chance eating the items that were available in the buffet. I was told to call room service by a supervisor in the buffet restaurant. Everything about this cruise was a struggle and very uncomfortable.. You will be taking a Hugh chance on this cruise ship. Read Less

I never departed from NYC and won't do it again. The water was very rough. The cabin was great. Just large enough for the two of us. Wouldn't want more than 2 in the room though. We had a balcony. Lovely view. The food was wonderful. We liked the main dinning room most. We especially liked Omar our waiter a couple of times. The afternoon movies in the Crystal Atrium were very noisy. Couldn't hear some of the movies. Very disappointing. The boarding an departing were flawless. Wasn't thrilled with the entertainment. Some were very good but others weren't are cup of tea. Our housekeeper woman Marissa was amazing. Very attentive to us. Loved the spa treatments though costly. I had a reflexology treatment from Josephine. She was a miracle worker. My shoulder pain that I have had for over 5 years is totally gone. Excursions were very expensive. We got better deals off the ship. Sorry to say I prefer Royal Caribbean. Larger ships, never feel any motion on them. Read Less