Cruised with another couple. Both couples have travelled a lot on NCL. Both couples felt from the beginning that something was missing. The ship felt "dead". Didn't help that we couldn't have a sail-away party due to 10pm departure out of Tampa. Embarkation was a disaster and Tampa port should be ashamed!! It was bedlum, with luggage dropped everywhere! Cabins were as usual. The ship obviously needs to go into drydock, mainly obvious on the pool deck. We mostly ate at the Great Outdoors and Alizar. Disappointed that NCL has added a few for some menu items in the two main dining rooms. Also, they have switched their flat rate for specialty restaurants to a la carte (very expensive). We purchased the ultimate beverage package, which was great. As a result of passengers purchasing the UBP there was minimal wait staff, so most of the time you had to go to the bar to obtain your own! Something was missing with the cruise director staff...not up to the usual lively TEAM staff. Ports were good except Cozumel (too busy) and Santo Domingo. Really, why did we stop at this filthy, filthy place?? We took the NCL excursion to Virgin Baths which was great. It is hard to buy excursions on the ship when you know privately the cost is almost 1/2!! I would like to know what was wrong with the NCL staff this trip as we are in a dilemma to return to NCL or consider this experience a one-off. Communication between departments was bad, resulting in missed gifts and staff passing on incorrect information to us.