We took a repositioning cruise from Vancouver to Los Angeles with my wife and my 4 year old. It was our fourth cruise and my daughter's first.

The good: Cruise was as promised. We didn't find any unpleasant surprises. The staff in general is very likeable and helpful. Most of the activities started on time. The accommodation was very good. The ship is fairly new and it shows. Restaurants are not extraordinary but the food is good and they deliver what they promised. The embarkation process was good considering that it was out of the ordinary (the cruise left at 11 pm and arrived to the port around 5 pm... a challenge).

The bad: Although I did know about it, the automatic tip model is not something I like. Tips are supposed to be a reward you give to a people when they give you a good service and not an automatic reward of any kind. If that's the policy for NCL, I'd rather have the "tips" charges upfront (in the cabin price) and let us tip the employees delivering really good service. Read more