Have been on a royal c. Cruise before. the ship and amenities were much better. and royal c seemed to know what they were doing. ncl started off by having their safety briefing before we even got on the ship (we arrived on time). we never received that. getting normal temp water from the bathroom sink was nearly impossible (usually scalding hot no matter what). getting coffee from the coffee bar was an exercise in futility every day. my wife tried three different times and eventually just gave up each time (she was 2nd in line each time!!!! 15 / 20 minutes later - walked away - super understaffed). and the food was terrible. i have nothing good to say about the food. the worst. and didn't matter if buffet or sit-down. buffet was actually better.... the pay for the food place we went to on the last day was very good. but had to pay for that. the drink prices are outrageous. $27 every time i wanted a drink (2 shots of bourbon + splash of coke). this included 20% gratuity whether i thought it was warranted or not. $5 for a small coke which also included the 20% gratuity.... For somebody to splash it into a glass.... insane. the only good thing i could say is that the people (workers) were friendly and helpful, generally. hawaii and the ports of call were great. loved the excursions but will never us ncl again in the future.