We are seasoned cruisers, having used RCI, Princess, NCL and MSC. We have previously been on the NCL Jade and Jewel but chose this ship because of the itinerary. However this was changed prior to cruising and Domenica and Martinique substituted for Antigua, the cruise was also changed from 12 nights to 14 ( no extra charge). We flew from the UK the day before and on embarkation we were upgraded to a Spa Mini Suite from our Aft Balcony, as there had been a serious red wine spillage in our original cabin. The upgrade was nice, however we had booked the aft as we spend a lot of time on the balcony and wanted a large one. The spa mini was a nice cabin, and we got the spa package included ( which we did not use). However the balcony was TINY and we therefore did not use it very much.

This ship is very large and consequently pretty noisy. It does has an EXTREMELY laid back attitude to dress code, and people were using the dining rooms in the evening in shorts and vests they had been in all day. On European itineraries this is not encouraged at all. The pool deck was very noisy and the music deafening, almost impossible to find a quiet area to sunbathe. The Waterfront area was very nice, a quiet area with cane seating, but usually not able to find a seat there during the day.

The entertainment was dire - and we walked out of all but the Frankie Valli/Burn the Floor shows - this is a common fault on NCL and other cruise lines tend to provide much better entertainment. The theatre had half the seating capacity of other ships we have used, including their much smaller ships, therefore there were never enough seats ( until most people left half way into the show!). They did have a reservation system for some shows, but a lot of people were not aware of this. Read more