Very good first cruise with NCL

This was my first cruise with NCL and I quite enjoyed it. FYI, I didn’t choose this for the ship but for the itinerary so I didn’t care so much about the onboard experience.

Port

I arrived in Venice two days before departure and was quite happy I did so. I had a great hotel in a residential section of Venice and spent the days exploring. I recommend doing this.

Embarkation

I arrived at the port around 11:45am and was on the ship by 12:30. It went very smoothly and quick. Notice: they did take everyone’s passport upon embarkation no matter what nationality. They were given back after leaving Greece.

Cabin

I was in an inside, mid ship cabin on deck 10. I requested the bed to be split which gave me a lot more room to move around. The cabin was very nice and clean and the bed much more comfortable than I expected it to be. And the USB ports were fantastic for charging.

Dining

I don’t drink alcohol and I refuse to spend money on speciality dining so I ate primarily at the Main Dining rooms. Aqua was quite nice however I found the tables too close to each other. Versailles was much better laid out although the service was a bit slower. The food itself at the dining rooms was great. Hot and delicious. I did eat at the buffet a few times for breakfast and lunch and it was good as well. Just a madhouse with the number of people.

Entertainment

I went to a couple of the shows which sucked. Too loud, too sexist, just not good.

Activities

I do not participate and since this cruise was so port intensive, I really wasn’t on the ship much.

Ship

This was a very nice ship. Clean and upgraded. More quiet areas would have been nice. But the refurb was done really well.

Service

The service was great. No complaints.

Ports and Shore Excursions

The ports were amazing and the shore excursions with NCL were very good. No complaints at all.