In March 2012 we booked this cruise for Jan 12 - 19, 2013 - to celebrate our 20th wedding anniversary. However, a few months after booking I got a cancer diagnosis and went through treatment. The doctors kept telling me that HI in January would be perfect for my recovery. When we got to our balcony room we could not use two drawers - ever! Though our room attendant tried to get it fixed, it was never done (she kept telling us she had told them to fix it). AND one of the two lights near the bed (how to read at night) worked off and on (would just turn on at 2 am to wake us but wouldn't work when we wanted it). That too could never be fixed. We determined that NCL didn't care - at all - since they knew that the ship was about to be redone in a few weeks. OKAY but we didn't get a special discount because our room was not in good shape. One doesn't sell a broken used piece of merchandise at full price and get a happy customer.

We LOVED the itinerary and would do it again in a heartbeat. Getting used to the American crew everywhere on the ship takes time (the bartenders spent a lot more time talking to them - they always had to wear their name tags) as did the speciality restaurant staff - but it is American Labor Laws. I am so disappointed that NCL chose to deal with this in this manner...and we know we aren't the only ones. It makes us worry about taking another NCL cruise....and you should worry too! We have booked our next one - on Celebrity. We love the NCL line overall for a moderate price but this was not okay. We did try to share our concerns with management - with no response (we are only the 2nd tier of preferred cruisers so we guess we don't count). Again we loved the time on each island (rent a car each time - you can really explore and not spend heaps). Use the speciality restaurants (the others are like mess halls). BUT NCL don't be so cheap!