We chose this cruise because Norwegian promised a lot of "FREE" offers: Free excursions, free open bar, free specialty dining and free Wi-fi. We were also assured several times that we would get free PCR Covid-19 tests onboard before we left the ship (which was required to re-enter Canada). There were absolutely NO free excursions, only a $50 credit per cabin per port. The cost of the excursions were inflated so much since our last cruise 2 years ago with Norwegian (many of which were more than $100 per person) that we chose not to take any. When we asked if we could use the credit towards renting umbrellas ($25 each) on Norwegian's private island in the Bahamas, we were told that we couldn't. The free Wi-fi was difficult to access and logout. We got a letter on Wednesday, January 12 stating that we would have to pay $125 each for the PCR tests and that they would be done by a third party in the parking lot. When we went to Guest Services explaining that we were told repeatedly by Norwegian that they would be providing it free of charge, we were told that the policy changed on January 8, the day before our cruise began and that there was nothing they could do about it. The free specialty dining did not include everything on the menu so we ended up paying more there as well.

The service we got from the crew onboard was excellent but our experience with Guest Services was not impressive. When expressing our concerns over the PCR tests being conducted in the parking lot and not knowing where we would find the location, we were assured by one of the Guest Services staff that she would meet us at 6:45am on the day of disembarkation and escort us to the location. When we arrived at Guest Services, no one there knew anything about it and we were informed that the crew onboard are not allowed to leave the ship. We were on our own but were told there would be people outside who could direct us. Again, we found ourselves without help. We eventually found the place but it was not in a parking lot because there was no parking lot, only a parking garage and it was not inside there either. When we got to the testing site, the staff were delayed because there was no Wi-fi at their location. It appeared to be run by young inexperienced people. We couldn't just walk away and get tested elsewhere because we were required to pre-pay for the test the day before.

With all the stress and frustration we experienced on what was supposed to be a relaxing vacation, I doubt we will cruise with Norwegian again.