EMBARKATION: What a nightmare that is. The ship spans two terminals, which is why you need to check you e-docs again right before you board. We spanned in Miami, Terminal B & C. Keep in mind parking is at Terminal C. Knowing which terminal to go to wasn’t clear to everyone, the lines were long (noon) and the heat was beating down. While there was a desk with a NCL rep, he said nothing. The baggage handlers were directing traffic, and it took me a while to actually find a handler who would take my bag and I was waving a $5 bill to get someone’s attention just to place it on the cart I was standing right next to. Once we make it into the terminal, another long, long line. There is a priority room, I guess for NCL Elite and another line for Latitude members. But all lines were moving extremely slow. MUSTER: no one had to stand outside and we did not need to listen to multiple languages, although we did wait a long time for everyone to show up. This specific cruise had a very high urban composition.

SHIP: Of course it is shiny and new but there was clearly a lack of air conditioner, especially in the elevators. There are two sets of elevators but they are the smallest elevators I’ve ever seen on ship, so I would give the elevators a D. Very hard to get an empty one going in your directions. NCL seems to include a free package of your choice for a while now for balconies and above. So it seems like the entire ship had the Ultimate Beverage Package that the bartenders could not keep up with. Getting a drink was extremely difficult. The multiple lines streaming out of each bar seemed to be 5 to 10 deep. It was horrible, but they didn’t seem to mind giving you multiple drinks at once. The price fix for a UBP Drink is now $15.00. Don’t forget if you start ordering drinks as soon as you board you pay the tax until you on your way out to sea. For simple questions, the staff never seemed to know the answers.

ROOM: We booked a mini-suite spa a long time ago, included was the ultimate beverage package and the thermal spa. The mini suite was way smaller than I expected, the photo makes it look way bigger. The bathroom however, was huge, double faucet sink, walk in double door spa shower (numerous jets including overhead shower). Great water pressure and hot, hot, hot water. Shower gel and a combo shampoo conditioner in on wall dispenser. Lotion and more shampoo on sink counter. We had three in the room, they separated the bed into two singles and the couch was made into a bed at the beginning of the cruise. It was a very hard couch, so we requested and received the second night a thin egg crate, which helped. The refrigerator was filled up with mini bar items. The flat screen TV had few stations and although you would assume the remote was new, it was very difficult to change the channels. Press, press, press and nothing would happen, then all of a sudden it would skip 5 channels. What I really liked, they had the push button for make up the room or do not disturb. These must be connected to the stateroom attendants, because you do not see them lingering in the hallways at all. Read more