This was my 3rd cruise with NCL and to be honest they are getting very samey. The gameshows were exactly the same and the menus were exactly the same. I would have expected a little bit of variety per ship but no. The jogging track is a major bugbear of mine. On Epic it is on the 6th deck away from everyone but for some really stupid reason on Breakway/Getaway they have put it on the 16th deck in between and around all the sunbeds and directly along the lath to the Uptown/Florida Grill. This means you get a lot of tutting and nasty looks if you dare to move your bed or so much as cross the track which is impossible not to do. The entertainment was pretty bad. Rock of Ages the actors couldn't sing and it was so bad I had to put my fingers in my ears. The comedian was diabolical. Burn the Floor I had seen on the Getaway so didn't really want to see it again and there were 50/50 reviews on the hypnotist! The juggler was good as were Frankie Valli & the Four Seasons but these were acts brought onto the ship at different ports. Spice H20 and Bliss nightclub are so much smaller than on the Epic and Bliss is just in the wrong place altogether. The casino is really smoky and although I wanted to eat in the specialty restaurant Shanghai, it was in the casino so couldn't unless I wanted to stink of cigarettes.

We didn't arrive in San Juan, Puerto Rico until 3pm so it didn't really give you any time to go to a beach and it was too late for the Bacardi Tour (last tour 4:30). We arrived as the Quantum of the Seas was leaving and the port couldn't handle the number of passengers so we were waiting in a queue for over an hour before we could get off the ship. As a result a few things we were supposed to look at on our tour were closed which I wasn't happy about. I did the Historic Walk & Cuisine Tasting which I didn't think much of. The excursion to St John Island when we were in St Thomas was a bit of a rip off as it was $99 and we didn't even get a drink or any food all we got was verbal diahorrea from the captain all the way there and back. On a previous excursion of $30 I had been given a free drink and food so I was very disappointed. On the St Lucia Beach Break we spent 35 minutes on the bus each way before we left and when we got to the beach the beds were rammed really close together, the vendors hassled you and we weren't even allowed to move the beds to face the sun. What was the point? They were also selling umbrella shade for $10 when the tour operator told us it would be $5. There was a yacht club right next to the area we were in and I was on the end and they kept making me move my sunbed to let the boats go in and out of the water. The beach was dirty and there was tissue paper in the sea. The St Kitts Scenic Rail was probably the worst experience of all. We spent 90 mins crawling along the west coast of the island with a driver who was running out of things to say only to be told the trip was cancelled as the train had broken down. We did get a full refund but I was annoyed as after speaking with a guide they told me the train had been broken for over a week so they shouldn't have been accepting tours. I told Shore Excursions this and they said they weren't aware of any problems so the company must have kept it quiet. The food was a bit hit and miss but at least if you didn't like it you could just order something else. I didn't like the fact that as I was not a US resident I couldn't benefit from the NCL credit card as I think this is discriminatory. I would've been able to use the card on board, at home and gathered loads of points. They said that the bank was Bank of America so they had no choice but why didn't they try HSBC so all their loyal clients could benefit not just specific people from one country. It also appears that wherever your cabin is on the ship the crew will wake you up every morning with their trolleys banging and crashing around. I could also hear every practice and show going on in the theatre.

I think the Waterfront is a great idea having restaurants and bars half inside and half outside but most of the time it's too windy or cold for dinner outside. All the staff were really friendly and very helpful, especially my room steward Edwin Tuscano. It would be nice if NCL had stuck to the layout of the Epic as it makes far more sense. As a solo traveller the solo traveller host and meetings are really good for getting to know others on the ship and our host Jeimy Caro was brilliant. However, the meeting is at 6pm which is too early and would be better if it was at 7pm. It gives you time to relax for longer at the pool and maybe go to the gym before getting ready. I wish that other cruise lines had a Solo Traveller Programme as then I wouldn't be stuck with NCL as it is starting to get very repetitive.