We chose this cruse for the dates and itinerary. We celebrated a thirtieth anniversary onboard the ship. Our previous NCL experience was the Escape in the Haven suites. On this cruise we had two rooms, one inside and one balcony mini suite. The rooms were adequate in size with ample closet/storage space. The finishes did not appear to have been renovated with recent dry dock. There were chips in the bathroom counter, stains on the counter and the wood on cabinets was pretty scuffed. I expected the angled toilet in the inside room per other reviews. No ice bucket in inside room. No coffee pot in inside room. Both items in mini suite. Shower was adequate with good water pressure and easy controls. The quality of the shampoo and shower gel was lower, but serviceable.

We left from Vancouver on Canada Day. This made for a bit of confusion at the port, and a bit of difficulty for taxi to get in with luggage and passengers. We arrived at 10:25 at luggage drop for a 10:30-11:00 NCL slot. Once in the terminal there were 4 stations to complete. Sign in with NCL and present cruise documents, then walked to a different area for customs, then the third area for security, the final step was to wait in a chair area for admission to the boat. Boarding happened at about 12:15. It seemed to be pretty organized despite moving all over the terminal building.

We were able to eat at Tzars for lunch while waiting on rooms. The room announcement happened in stages our rooms on the 11 th floor were announced ready at about 1:30. However, only one was ready. The other was still being prepared. It was the beginning of several times where it appeared the staff was working for the first day ever. Read more