First some background. I'm in my early 60's GF in her late 50's. We are both experienced cruisers. We chose this cruise for the itinerary and it was my birthday. Ann Marie has never been to St. Thomas or Tortola (Lost Van Dyke). Nassau is the 3rd stop. I've been to all 3 many times. Drove down from Orlando (Home) on Friday and stayed at Ann Marie's cousins house in Hollywood Fl. Saturday morning we Ubere'd to the port arriving at 10am (cost $29). Much better than the $144 to park at the pier. Embarkation was not the best this trip. Asked one of the officers, when we finally got on at noon, what the issue was. He explained that occasionally on the Western sailing, because of the stop in Belize, customs is more strict at checking everything. Don't know what's going on there but that's his explanation. When we got on we went to the spa to secure week passes, no problem. Didn't try for Vibe as we were in Boarding group 6 and the line at Headliners was ridiculous. Lunch At Savor. FYI, Taste and Savor is a much more relaxed lunch. Avoid the buffet.Then went up to Spice H2O for an informal Meet & Mingle with our CC friends, some already there with their Mardis Gras beads on. The lead bartender, Shane, was great throughout the entire cruise. He and his staff there never missed a beat. Rooms opened up around 1ish. Dropped off our carryon's and to our surprise our checked bags had already arrived. Our cabin 9320 is an Aft Balcony. Normal size balcony room however we had an enormous balcony, did some research on this before we left. Deck 9 and 12 aft balconies have the largest. It had 2 chairs a table and 2 loungers with plenty of room to walk around. Had breakfast out there 4 times during the trip. FYI, no soot issues at all. Went to Muster drill, as always it seems, somebody didn't get the memo, took about 15 minutes longer than normal. Sail away at Spice H20 was a good time. We ventured to the main pool area and that place was rocking. Spice for a more laid back sail away and main pool for the craziness (Hot, Hot, Hot). Dinner on first night at Savor. Ann Marie has a Gluten, Dairy allergy which we alerted NCL to before sailing. Right after we sat down one of the Asst. Maitre D's (Diana) came over to the table to talk to Ann Marie about her allergies and helped with her menu selection. Meal and service was perfect. She then came by at the end of the meal and inquired about our next evenings meal location. We had booked Cagney's for my birthday. She proceeded to show us a Cagney's menu and discuss with Ann Marie her meal for the following night. This was done EVERY evening for the next night. Thank you NCL for your serious concern about food allergies.

First sea day was uneventful. I've been on Getaway and this ship is very similar. Added Haven suites and some new restaurants. Thermal Spa was heaven. Spent about 4 hours there Sunday afternoon. If you can swing it it is worth the $219. Next trip we'll try and book a spa stateroom. Birthday dinner at Cagney's was perfect. Porterhouse was cooked as ordered and AM's filet also cooked to perfection. Service was superb. Monday, 2nd sea day was spent on deck and at the spa. Had diner at La Cucina Italian restaurant. Sat outside on the Waterfront. Was concerned about the wind and humidity, no issues with either. Had a great meal. St. Thomas we did the Cable car ride to Paradise Point. Don't book with the ship just walk out of the Havensight shopping area go left. Its about a block away. Cheaper to purchase there. Nice restaurant at the top. St. John Champagne Catamaran Snorkel. was as expected. Tortola/Jost Van Dyke we couldn't get space on the 4 ships excursions to Jost Van Dyke (book online before you sail) sold out. We got off the ship and went to the Information Kiosk at the end of the pier. The lady there hooked us up with Captain Rudy. Private charter. It was us and 2 other couples ($70 each). Made it to The Soggy Dollar by 9:30am and stayed there until 1pm. Capt. Rudy stayed with us the whole time. Excellent find. Nassau is Nassau. Dis some shopping and had a few drinks at a few bars. Overall this was one of my favorite sailings on NCL ( I was on Getaway in The Haven 2 years ago) beat that sailing for food and especially service. Kudos to the following staff:

Captain Giovanni Cutugno Read more