On the plus side, the food quality was very good, the room was nice and the service was, on the net, great. I was impressed with the entertainment, which was very well done. 2 of the 4 ports (Costa Maya and Cozumel) were excellent.

On the not so positive side, there were 4 points that really trouble me:

1. High pressure upsell. This started well before the cruise and continued throughout the cruise. For example, I went to the spa and had some work done, the service was excellent, however, there was an "infomercial" at the end of the session and the pressure to "buy at least the $47 bottle of facial cleanser" was intense and uncomfortable. At least in my case the upsell was limited to the end of the session so I could relax dring the session...my wife's experience was crazy, with the attendant pointing out every thing she was doing wrong and recomminding products to solve the problem. Can't we just have a relaxing massage? This pressure extended to the dining (where the "paid for" restaurants were largely empty, but service in the "free" dining rooms was slow, basically telling you for decent service you need to pay up for the nicer restaurants). I expect a level of upsell and opportunity to buy-up to better food or services, however, this shouldn't be uncomfortable, and the level of services for those who choose to stick with the basic service should be acceptable...my last experience on Holland America was great, I was not pressured to buy up and so I chose those things I really wanted. NCL, on the other hand, seems to be driving the bottom line by how much upselling it can do. Read more