We took our first cruise a year and a half ago, on the Norwegian Breakaway. We enjoyed it so much that we returned to the same ship for a cruise to the Caribbean this October. Unfortunately, we found that a great deal had changed on the ship during that time. Here's the summary:
1. The ship allows smoking in its casino, which is located in the center of one of the main floors, with an open staircase that connects it to the floor below and the floor above it. Frustratingly, that allows the smoke to permeate all three of the main floors used for dining and entertainment. On our first cruise, we noticed the smell at times but were able to avoid it without a major problem. This time, the entire center part of the ship reeked, to the point that we walked on the deck instead of the interior hallways to avoid it. If you're sensitive to cigarette smoke, I advise you to avoid this ship.
2. They decided to close the public restrooms for hours every day -- on multiple floors at once. Effectively, you were forced to return to your room to use the bathroom, which was a little silly if you were out for entertainment or a meal. Presumably, this was a cost-saving attempt, but it was a major inconvenience for the guests.
The cabin was very nice, and the room attendants were wonderful.
During embarkation, they ran out of wheelchairs and left disabled people standing (literally standing, with no chairs) for hours, waiting to get onto the ship. To add insult to injury, in order to reach the disability access line (the only one wide enough for wheelchairs), you had to cross all of the other lines that filled the entire lobby. I have never seen a worse setup for this.
Debarkation wasn't any better. There were significant delays in returning to the port. The delays themselves weren't Norwegian's fault at all, but there was terrible communication about them. As a result, thousands of people ended up waiting in line for more than 8 hours, waiting to debark. Then, we had to carry our own luggage for almost the whole way because they literally had no options at all to get help. If you're in a wheelchair, you're screwed.
We went shopping, which was mostly enjoyable. Compare the taxi options, though, since one driver attempted to charge us much more than everyone else.
The tourguide was fantastic. She was extremely knowledgeable and personable. Afterwards, we went to the Bird Park, which was also wonderful. This was our favorite of the islands.
The catamaran was over-crowded, and the best view involved climbing onto the front. Those with limited mobility (who needed seats) saw nothing but the inside of the boat.
We took the St. Kitts by Rail and Sail tour because it had such good reviews. In fairness, it's probably a wonderful tour for most people, but if you have mobility issues, it's not nearly as good. For example, to enjoy the view from the train, you really have to be on the top floor. From the lower level, you mostly see tall grass. The catamaran has the same problem; to really see anything, you need to climb on the front. If you can't do that, you see the inside of a boat. Not thrilling. :-(
This is a difficult tour to review, because half of it was great and half was non-existent. We took the Sea part first, and that was wonderful. We then got on the bus for the Land part. The driver took us to a shopping area (with no tour first) and told us we needed to get out so he could take some other people back to the ship. Several people wanted to stay, but he insisted he needed the space and promised he'd be back in 15 minutes. He never returned. So, not only did we not get the Land part of the tour, but we were literally abandoned in an unknown part of an unknown island, with no way back to the ship. Eventually, we gave up, and people started walking or sharing taxis, but two people with walkers were stuck. Finally, a bus driver took pity on us and gave us a ride back to the ship. Want to know how Norwegian handled this? After delaying for days, and after a heated argument with the Excursion Director, we got a 25% refund. We only got half the tour, and we had added expenses in getting back to the ship, but they only returned 25%. Lesson learned -- never take their shore excursions again.