This was my 5th NCL cruise, but my first one in the past five years. I have to say, I am a bit disappointed in the ship experience compared to the past few trips. 15 of my family members sailed out of Manhattan a few days before Christmas. The age range was 3 to 77: many were first time cruisers.

We had balcony rooms: they were small but comfortable. Some of my family expressed disappointment to not receive a towel animal each night. A few of us had problems with stopped up bathroom lines and their rooms were right by the panels they has to work on. The smell wasn't great but they received complimentary wine at the end of the trip as an apology. The room stewards were extremely polite and friendly. My daughter got sick during a particularly rocky day at sea and he was very attentive when I called for a new comforter and laundry service.

The restaurant staff was very helpful to reserve seating most nights in the main dining rooms for my entire family. The food quality wasn't as good as I remembered it to be on past cruises: we often sent back entrees and reordered meals. The service was often slow. Perhaps it was in part due to our large party size but we noticed the slow service even during lunch when the dining rooms were emptier. We ended up eating at the buffet the last few days due to these reasons. My cousins paid to eat at the churrascaria one night and were disappointed by the quality and meat. The chocolate buffet was excellent. Breakfast in the buffet was always good: it was nice to get a custom made omelet and my sister enjoyed a freshly made fruit/ veggie juice each day (for a price). Read more