Our family has only sailed on Royal Caribbean before (3 times) and this was our first cruise with NCL. We were not impressed. Though the cruise wasn't bad, it wasn't nearly as pleasant as our previous cruises on RC.

The excursions were the highlight and we had a great time off the ship . We had a great time Zip-Lining through the jungle in Roatan Honduras and highly recommend it. In Belize we went snorkeling. It was fun but I thought the water was a tad murky! It heard from someone who went scuba diving the water was very clear. Our snorkel excursion in Costa Maya was canceled due to rough seas. Due to our early morning reservation, we didn't know it had been cancelled until we showed up to line up for it. Apparently the staff on the Breakaway tried to inform us but we were already out of our room, at breakfast or on our way off the ship. We were credited the cost but we were rushed to choose another excursion that was leaving right away and ended up paying double what our original excursion cost. We opted for the excursion to the Mayan ruins with lunch on the beach. It was fun but not worth the price. Our final port was Cozumel where we ventured to the mainland by ferry and then by bus (about 1.5 hrs) to do the Secret River Adventure. A very awesome underground tour of a large system of caves where you wade, and at times swim, through crystal clear water between rock formations and beneath stalactites. The tour guide provided wet suit (the water is very cool), helmet/headlamp, water shoes, life vest, towel, and locker storage at no additional cost: another excursion I highly recommend.

Our time aboard the ship was rather mediocre. The overall service was quite poor: from very slow service at the bars to slow service in the dining rooms. In fact very few of the staff made us feel welcome. Instead, I felt more like a burden than a guest. If it had been just a few of the staff i'd say they were just having a bad day, but we encountered dozens of staff during our cruise every day and rarely did I feel welcome. We opted for the complementary premium beverage package as tour choice of one of two promotional offers, of course we paid for it hidden somewhere in the cruise coast (they don't give that stuff away for free). If I had actually paid extra for it I would have been extremely upset with the poor value we received. We never came close to drinking enough to make up for what the cost would have been, mostly because the service was so slow and frustrating. It wasn't worth the time and hassle to order more drinks. The dining room service was only marginally better. Even though we made reservations we sometimes had to wait for a table: up to 15 minutes. Perhaps I'm just fortunate, but I've never had to wait that long for a reserved table ANYWHERE. My biggest problem with dining on NCL is the flexible dining option where you can walk up or reserve a table for any dining venue. On Royal Caribbean, dining is based on one of two fixed times. The flexible times on NCL seems like a better option but unlike RC, you'll be served by someone different every time, with no chance to really get to know your server during the week. If anyone in your party has a food allergy you'll need to go over the details and get recommendations at every meal. At Royal Caribbean, I recall our server made a note of my wife's allergies the first night and there after had a menu ready for her at every meal that he personally marked up highlighting dishes to either avoid or that could be modified to suit her. Read more