It had been almost 6 years since we cruised on Norwegian. This cruise brought back memories of why they are not a preferred cruise line for us. The embarkation process at the port of Seattle was a nightmare. My wife had already completed the online check in prior to the cruise. Yet we had to wait in a long line at the port to receive our room cards (just over two hours). This should not happen in 2023. We cruised on Princess in February and with their medallion for check in, basically just walked on board the ship with our necessary documents. Getting off the ship, although not as bad, was also not well thought out and involved a wait.

The other major disappointment was our shore excursion in Juneau was canceled. There was no effort by NCL to notify us of this. We found out when we visited Guest Services for another matter. NCL makes no effort to compensate their passengers when something goes wrong. Based upon how crowded this ship was (at capacity), they seem more concerned with making money then providing a memorable experience for their passengers.

The positives were that the food was good. The specialty dining was very good and the service in the dining rooms was top notch. Onda is a must if you like Italian and want to do specialty dining. Ocean Blue was also good. The ship itself was nice, but again, very crowded. The highlights of the trip were the Glacier Bay cruising; The Capt. did two 360's while there, which provided good photo opportunities. The Scenic Railroad excursion in Skagway was also very nice. Read more