Ship: First impressions are positive. Despite having been in service for 5 years, the exterior and public areas are in very good condition. In fact, only the brand new Silhouette was in better overall shape than any other cruise ship I have been on. Layout is straightforward if not a bit on the boring side. No grand atrium to speak of. Really appreciated the ability to walk all the way around the ship on the lower deck. Made for nice evening walks. Really lacking though are those small, intimate spaces you can call your own.

Cabin: Was outside on deck 5. The room is the smallest of all the cruises I have taken but was well laid out. In fact had probably twice the useable storage of my Celebrity balcony cabin. This was listed as a family cabin so it had one unit built into the wall. Problem is the room is so narrow, I literally did a face plant into it every time I got up, even after pushing the bed to the far wall. Bathroom is small as to be expected but the way it was divided up made it seem even smaller. Could not dry off in the shower, knees touching the wall when using the toilet. There was also no trash can in the bathroom, a pet peeve of mine. The biggest issue though was just how DIRTY the room was. Standing dust on all the surfaces, fixtures, etc. The carpet was absolutely filthy and was long, long overdue for a thorough cleaning or replacement. Linens were stained at times or had holes in them. Debris inside the drawers I had to remove before I used them. Norwegian also allows smoking inside all of their cabins (at the time of my sailing) and the smell while slight was ever present.

Staff: Could best be described as okay. My room steward and his assistant never introduced themselves the whole trip. I never had any bad encounters with the staff but also didn't have any memorable ones either. Restaurant service was spotty at best. Service, particularly in the main dining room was very slow and not very proficient. The staff in the secondary dining room, Indigo, did a much better job. Service at pay extra venues was an improvement. Bar staff friendly and never pushy. Read more