We chose this cruise for the itinerary and had been satisfied with NCL twice before. Great itinerary but organized chaos on several occasions. The main buffet dining, the Garden Cafe, was always CROWDED!! People fought for tables far away from the buffet at every meal dining early or late. As this was a North Sea cruise, it was cool outside so outdoor seating was not pleasant. The Spirit that we sailed last year never had this problem. It seems that they removed dining space to insert a teenager center with the recent remodel. They provided a reduced breakfast food service at the back of the ship but it was often closed when the Garden Cafe was open. Very frustrating! And they did not ask for any feedback. Maybe it’ll come later. They seemed to have eliminated feedback on dining service that we provided on the Spirit.

When we arrived in the Shetland Islands, the immigration line stretched the length of the ship with minimal staff organization. The tender line to get back on board in Edinburg was an hour. The disembarkation process was smooth, but the taxi line was 90 minutes long!!

The cabins were very nice and the food ranged from acceptable at the buffet to good in the sit down restaurants. Avoid the teppan dining. Staff professional but minimally friendly. Limited discussion of tours with no history lectures or other educational programs. Stage shows were not as high quality as we found on the NCL Spirit last year that were exceptional.