I haven't cruised since '70s,on Carnival. Embarkation was a breeze. We arrived at 11:30, were given snacks in waiting area, boarded within 45 minutes. The ship had just come out of drydock. There were new carpets, furniture redone, brand new state of the art exercise equipment, and much more.
We experienced polite and helpful staff, our cabin was well cared for, animal towels, an eggcrate on our bed (without asking for it),and anything we needed was provided. The one glitch, the room keys had to be rekeyed. It took an hour or two. So what, where were we going? What was the hurry?
It was freestyle cruising. I couldn't belive the bitchy people. NCL even had an open bar for two hours to compensate us. We felt the food in the main dinning room was wonderful. The breads were great. The choices were wonderful. I think I had a tough pork chop once, and I am not complaining. My husband ate three entrees, two soups and two appetizers every night. On lobster night we were offered as many as we wanted. Our waiters were all wonderful and accommodating. We ate twice at the buffet. Yes it was a bit bottlenecked as mentioned, but manageable. We never had a problem getting a table for two, anywhere. The food was what it was, A Buffet....(It amazes me when I read people critique a buffet).