I treated my art teaching daughter to this cruise during her Christmas vacation. She had never been on a cruise previously and was impressed with the beautiful Viking Star amenities. Our cabin was roomy and comfortable. I don't think my daughter believed that we could have a 4 star meal every night at your excellent restaurant. We particularly enjoyed the New Year's Day brunch which was a fabulous feast. Good weather was unexpected but we always had cold, clear, days without any rain. This made our shore excursions pleasant. I particularly have to thank Viking for catching us up on an excursion that we missed because we misread the departure time on the first day in Florence. Because of Viking's effort, we did get to get "Venus Rising from the Sea" at the Ufizzi Museum which was one of our travel goals. We definitely would travel again on Viking. It was an enjoyable experience. Read Less

My wife and I went on the Arcadia Christmas cruise to Norway and Denmark on 19th December 2019. We have not been on this ship before but have been on other P&O ships. I do not know how this ship gets bad reviews, mind you looking at some of the passengers I don't think they would enjoy anything. The ship was clean and tidy and well decorated for Christmas. Yes there are a few paint chips and scuff marks but how does anything like that spoil a cruise. There were new carpets in the lobby and gangways, we could not fault the ship. The food was excellent. We only used the buffet for breakfast and occasional lunch which again we could not fault for quality and choice. We were seated at the same table in the Meridian restaurant with two other great couples. There was a wide choice of food. One evening we went to the Sindhu and had a great meal and the service was very good. We also went to the Ocean Grill one evening and were both disappointed by the food and the service. The food was not very nice and the service was rushed. If this is supposed to be a menu that Marco Pierre White designed then we think he should go back on the ship and check it out. The Headliners Theatre Company put on very good shows and the visiting acts throughout the 10 days were entertaining. The Entertainments Manager was newly arrived and together with his team did an excellent job. The bars around the ship were always buzzing with something happening. The Captain was informative and quite funny with his announcements. The shore excursions are expensive but that is the same on any cruise line. We went on two excursions but one was good the other not so good. Our cabin was A15 on Australia deck. The cabin has a balcony but compared to other P&O ships the cabin itself was quite small. The cabin was kept immaculate by our cabin steward Beverley who did a great job nothing was too much for her. Overall we had a great time and would say that you should not take any notice of the negative reviews .Some people will complain all the time and some would collapse if they had to smile or say "Good Morning". Some don't even look at you and seem amazed when you speak to them. Perhaps they don't do that on Cunard which we heard on many occasions being dropped into the conversation! We Loved it. Read Less

Bucket list cruise to see Northern Lights. We were very fortunate that we did indeed see this spectacle as it is by no means a certainty. The days we were there the probablity was good at 30% ! We saw them on one of our trips out (ships topur from Tromso) , saw them from the deck in Tromso but no one saw them in Narvik (we went on pre-booked independent trip booked online in the uk before we travelled) to compare the (expensive ) ships tour in Tromso with a less expernsive trip in Narvik. The independent trip was not great. We can absolutely understand not seeing the lights but this tour was poorly organised, very uncomfortable (school type minibus very cramped, hard suspension and blue interior lighting that disturbed our eyes.) The driver got lost and nearly ditched us doing a 3 point turn on a snowy road. When we arrived at the predetermined destination -about 2 hours drive and into Sweden there was a lot of light pollution even though the journey there was pitch dark. Not sure why we went this far. They did provide hot drink (Hot Ribena) and a pancacky thing. The ships tour in Tromso was much better overall. Tip: Book v early as a lot of the tours were sold out well in advance and Cunard were unable to access more spaces. Dining was in Britannioa reastauarant 2nd sitting on a shared table of 6 including the three of us. We purchased the commodore selection wine package v expensive at $715 but as we are not normally big drinkers we tend to splash out on holiday .. 12 bottles for 12 nights for 3 people was fine but at 715 $ a bit over priced. Good , decent wines though so no real complaint. My wife and son have special diets- gluten AND lactose free (a bit of a challenge.) However this was handled fantastically , with no "mistakes" at all. The head waiter was exeptional. They would pre order next days dinner the night before and it was done with so litle fuss that you would be hard pushed to even realise. The kitchens then prepared the exact same meals as everone else minus gluten and dairy.- even making notoriously difficult things like yorkshire puddings or souffle. On the nights when we were not dining on board they sent menus to our cabin to( select next nights choices) and had them collected by room service on our return to ship at 2am The standard of entertainmnent on board was fantastic Something for everyone. Music all over the ship including, jazz, string quartet, cocktail pianist, piano recitals, harp and ships own band / orchestra. The theatre shows were equally v high standard including west end style musicals, comedians, violinist and a "cirque de Soleil type show. I also joined the ships guest choir which was great fun. Ther was so much going on in the way of lectures and demonstratiopns that we split up to do different things andf compare notes later,. That way we didnt feel as if we had missed any. Even then we ended up sometimes having to choose betwen diffeent happenings, The ships tours off ship were all excellent- though some had been cancelled due to road closures and there was limited capacity on ohers so book early. We went on the Fiord trip from Alesund which was excellent, the ships northern lights tour from Tromso, the tromso highlights tour which again was ecellent and well paced. My son went on the High speed RIB trip in Tromso which he rated ecellent. The cable car trip in Narvik was good but the stuff we saw on the trip before reaching the cable car was less interesting. The ships photographers were better than we have had befopre but as expected on the pricey side. They also ran out of the photo albums as this particular company has now lost the contract for future cunard cruises so were "destocking" cunard branded products. Overall then a fantastic experience and a real bonus seeing the spectacle . We are not huge drinkers but even so felt that they are too expensive $12 + 15% for a cocktail just a tad overpriced. We would highly recommend booking with Cunard (we have!) Japan in May and Iceland in June. (more bucket list stuff. Read Less

I wish we had been told this was a "Stars at Sea, David Garrett" cruise when we booked it. David Garrett is a German violinist who plays Metallica and ACDC to the violin (plus some other stuff). He has a small bunch of German fans who are crazy about him. The problem was I was expecting the usual Queen Mary 2 shows to be performed and had no idea that that wouldn't be happening. Instead, David Garrett performs 3 concerts and you get tickets to just one of those concerts, so basically on the 5 night cruise there's only one evening of entertainment. The David Garrett concert begins at 10pm and has a 30 minute interval. The concert finishes at 00:30am. There are four entrances to the theatre and no organisation. So when one section is full they don't tell people which section still has seats (remember this is a ticketed event). The German people will happily take 3 seats for 2 people because that's how they are and there's no one overseeing this. The food was also adjusted for the Germans on-board. It was ok, but not as good as other cruises I've been on. On the first night I ordered sirloin steak because I didn't like any of the choices and it was just ok. Comparing the steak between my last Celebrity cruise with the Queen Mary and it's disappointing that Cunard doesn't match up. Having said all that, it was my first time on the Queen Mary 2. I loved that the ship didn't feel crowded. I loved deck 7 for walking around the ship. I enjoyed the company we had in the restaurant in the evening. If I was travelling to New York and there was a good deal going, I would happily book to go on the Queen Mary again. Read Less

The highlight of this cruise was seeing the northern lights above the Arctic circle in Alta Norway. Spectacular show on our second day of port stay so we were fortunate to see the northern lights. Our other stops in Norway were Alesund, Tromoso and Stavanger. This was the last cruise ship to all these ports for the season and we were the only ship in port. As a result shore offerings were somewhat limited with almost no independent options. The ship tours were adequate and the weather this late being a bit limiting on options. As mentioned above, the highlight was the two day port call in Alta in hopes of seeing norther lights. Our first night was overcast with snow so a total bust. Our scheduled ship excursion to viewing point at secluded slate mine the first night was pretty much a wash out as a result of the bad weather. Second night worked out much better as the weather cleared and the northern lights were visible. Some passengers were complaining but you have to realize that there is no way to control the weather. The ship is a nice medium size, clearly my preference over the Princess mega fleet e.g. Royal, Regal. Captain's daily updates were informative and he made a few adjustments to port arrivals/departures to avoid some rough north sea weather. Considering, we had a very smooth trip, just one night of chop. Crew did a nice job, especially our Cabin attendant and Cruise director/entertainment team. Food was better then our last Princess experience. Disappointing room service options for breakfast but this seems to be Princess standard menu across all ships. Boarding and disembarkation were efficient with no issues. We took the Princess Bus from Victoria Coach Station in London to Southampton and bus to Heathrow airport on return. There were several bus loads so a bit crowded but nicely handled. Overall good service as expected from Princess, very relaxing and we were fortunate to see the northern lights. Read Less

The main purpose of this cruise....the Northern Lights. Spoiler alert.....we saw them! Having spent a couple of nights in London and Southampton pre cruise the day finally arrived to board the Sapphire. Embarkation was delayed due to a satellite needing replacing on the ship but after a few hours waiting in relative comfort we were onboard. I had an obstructed window E212, a step up from my usual inside. Although a lifeboat hung in the lower half of the window, it was sea views over the top. The room was spacious enough for my solo traveling needs and was kept spotless by my awesome room steward "Chai". The bed was amazingly comfortable, the television had a huge selection of new movies and tv shows. This was my first time on the Sapphire and she had everything I love about Princess. Pizza slices by the pool, burgers, amazing milkshakes from Swirls. The cruise staff were great, the activities were good fun and there was plenty to choose from. I won elevator roulette (a game that is always a highlight of the Princess games). Confession..... I'm not really a MDR girl but I did eat there a couple of times. I found the service to be slow but I think this is just how Princess does MDR meals (one of the main reasons I prefer the buffet). The food though was good, no complaints there. The Sapphire has one of the best buffets I've eaten from on a ship. There was a big variety and the food was hot and plentiful. If you get the chance, try the orange mousse OMG! The Lido deck bar and food venues were shut for a few days due to bad weather (a good call from Princess to get staff out of the freezing temperatures and passengers away from the icy surfaces) but we certainly didn't go hungry. I had the soda package and had no problems getting served (which has been an issue on other Princess ships). The bar staff were friendly and efficient. I also had the all inclusive photo package and found no end of opportunities to get a photo taken, I certainly feel I got my monies worth. First port was Alesund where I did a privately booked tour with Calm Giant Tours. The guide was a lot of fun, very informative and the scenery was simply stunning. I highly recommend. Second port was Tromso. Another private tour with Tromso Individuell. We had two buses and unfortunately the guide of the larger vehicle decided to spend a lot of the time preacher her religious beliefs. At lunch we weren't invited to pray, we were told we would be. Not ok in my books. The sights were nice but I wouldn't use this company again. Then I did a night tour "a light chase" with Tromso Guide. The snow was heavy and chances of seeing the lights practically zero but a good time was had, we even got to visit a Norwegian supermarket which was kind of cool. Third port was Alta and an overnight stay. Day one, a private tour of Alta (museum, cathedral, Sami Lavvu) with Luuso. This tour was fun and informative, the guide was very good. In the evening another privately booked light chase with Paeskatun, the snow was falling so hard and the tour seemed to be overbooked causing delays and confusion when trying to board the buses. With no chance what so ever of seeing the lights we drove in what seemed like dangerous conditions for longer than we should have (these guys should know when to call it off but because they had booked so many people on the tours I guess they wanted to give us our monies worth). The guide was informative about the lights we wouldn't see but if I were to use this company again I would insist on it being the small vehicle that I booked, not a larger bus that they swapped to to take more passengers and make more money. Alta day two was Princess tours. During the day a trip to the dam and a Sami Lavvu, both very interesting. At night a trip to Paeskatuns' head quarters to try and see the lights. The skies had cleared and lady Aurora danced across the sky for us. The slate quarry was interesting and the staff were really informative, I've almost forgiven Paeskatun for the shambles that was the previous night. Fourth port, Stavanger. The sun shone and I walked the city then took a privately booked boat trip to Pulpit Rock with Rodne Fjord Cruises. A lovely day (with amazing internet on the boat which was well used on our way back to town). For anyone thinking of doing the lights cruise or sailing on the Sapphire, I wouldn't hesitate in booking. The one downside was the internet. This ship doesn't have medallionet so the internet was slow and sold by the minute. Being in Norway in the fjords we didn't have service for a good amount of time, not Princesses fault but something to consider when purchasing. Read Less

I chose this cruise based upon the ports, and it did not disappoint. This was such a wonderful cruise! The ports are phenomenal- I just wish we had more time in each. For me the highlights of the ship itself were the thermal spa and the food (taste or savor- same menu and so very good!). I want to do it all again! I went on the NCL excursion to Berlin and it was a long day, but well worth it. The tour guides know what they are doing and as such you get to see so much in about 6 1/2 hours in the city. Tallin is quaint and lovely. This was the only day it rained continuously and was a bit miserable- so after my tour I did not stay to explore on my own, which I would have but for the rain. St. Petersburg was the port I was most looking forward to seeing. I did tours through NCL and picked what I was most interested in seeing- there is so much to do and see there, I hope I get to go back. Unbelievable experience. Helsinki- The Rock Church was neat, very cool to see. Otherwise I enjoyed the fall colors. Stockholm was fun- but wished we’d had a little more time as there is much to do here. Copenhagen was beautiful, fun and a great place to stay before or after the cruise. Read Less

We choose this cruise to see areas of Scandinavia it would be difficult to see renting a car and driving around, which we usually do. We had an aft-facing mini-suite on deck 14 that would have been good for two people but was rather cramped for three. There was a lot of storage space but not for the suitcases. With four suitcases. we ended up putting two on the balcony because there just wasn't enough room in the cabin for them. The balcony was nice and the bed was comfortable, but being in the aft section and high up, we could feel the ship move when we went into rougher waters, which was actually often at the beginning of the cruise. The steward assigned to our cabin was good and friendly, but toward the end of the cruise the service started to slack off. We ran out of tissue two days before the cruise ended and it was never refilled. The food was very good, especially the three main dining rooms and for the most part the staff was very friendly. I was disappointed with the Tropicana Room. It was supposed to be a re-make of a 1940's Miami nightclub, but there was barely any music. There was this nice dance floor but it was filled with tables and the one time someone did have music, it lasted about 10 minutes and then they left never to come back while we were there. The Freestyle seating works to an extend. Yes, it is nice to be able to eat when you want and where you want and to sit at a table by yourselves but the wait to get into the dining rooms was some times too long, especially when the ship was at sea for the whole day and people had no where else to eat. Get there a half hour before the places open if you want to get a table without waiting! Activities were a bit limited, especially with the weather the way it was, but that was to be expected at the time of year we went. Indoor activities were okay, but the cruise director was annoying and to be honest, some of the activities were rather childish and stupid. Guest services needed more staff. There are not nearly enough trash receptacles on the ship. In fact, we had a hard time finding any. It was nice that there were disinfection stations everywhere and staff stood around with small spray bottles of the stuff also, but there was nothing in the cabin. As for the itinerary....There was no reason to spend two days in St. Petersburg. We had a two day and one night excursion from the ship and it all could have easily been done in one day. The first day we didn't leave the dock until 0900 and were back at the ship by 1230! Then what do you do? You can't go back into Russia because you don't have a visa or an active excursion. The second day we left the dock at 0830 and were back at 1330 and that was a complete waste. Went to Peterhof and all the fountains were closed, most of the statues were boxed up, and the Asian tourists from other groups were so rude and pushy that it made the entire excursion a waste of time. The two days could have easily been put into one day, as I said, and the Folk show at night, although very nice, wasn't necessary since the ship had one on board at the same time! Russia was just a waste, especially with the time needed to do immigration every single time you left or boarded the ship. It would have been far better to have spend two days in Stockholm, a beautiful city with lots to see and do. Instead, we had less than 4 hours there because the ship docks an hour's drive away from the city! The time in Helsinki was too short also, as was the time in Tallinn. We didn't need to spend until 2230 in Warnemunde. That was another waste. Yes, people want to see Berlin but Berlin is too far away and traffic is always a problem so that everyone else has to wait around while the Berlin buses get back. Take that extra time and put it into Tallinn or Helsinki. The two free shows (musicals) we watched were great! Very well done and entertaining. Great casting! The hypnotist was a joke and a waste of time. The magician was ok. For the price paid, I was disappointed. This was my first cruise ever and it might just be my last. Yes, there were several good things about the ship and I could see this ship in the Caribbean being a fun place to be, but up in the Baltic in October was not the best. Read Less

First time cruising outside of the Caribbean and first time on NCL. This is NOT a one and done but a forever go-to cruise line. Exceptional food, service, cleanliness of the ship, professional staff and there is always something to do. The suites were perfect size with modern features and lighting along with the balcony being the perfect size for coffee in the morning. The food was exceptional at EVERY place we went with La Bistro being a 6 star restaurant. The shows were truly off-Broadway with the acting and variety. The excursions were very well organized, understandable in what to do and courteous staff to answer any questions one may have before embarking for the day. For night life - Bliss is a fun place to meet up with new friends and end the evening with a twist either on the dance floor or in your drink,. If you haven't cruised NCL, then you truly haven't cruised yet! Read Less

We used our cruise next and invited our niece and nephew to come with us. I fixed our itinerary for at least a 1-2 night stay before embarkation. The date to board was on the 11th of October. My wife made arrangements with NCL knowingly that the agent will at LEAST get us an early arrival on the 10th. After getting confirmation via e-mail on the 24th of August, that our arrival time was at 8:00pm on the 10th, my wife tried got a hold to one of their agent and his only response was someone will get back within 72 hours. My wife was able to contact O from NCL to arrange an early arrival but was declined since everything was already booked. My wife was trying to cancel the hotel since it was too expensive at $370 for 2 person for one lousy night in a small room. But we got the same exact answer given earlier, they could not cancel reservation. I believe our late cruise to the Baltic was one of the last ones to sail. So, every port that we docked, we were just the only HUGE ship at the port. And I guess this was one of advantages when we did the excursion in St. Petersburg where there were lesser tourist at major attractions. We also had an onboard credit and had dilemma what to use it for. Our options where shore excursion which will still be much more expensive, specialty dining, when complimentary dining are already par quality dining itself and lastly the internet package of 250 minutes which I took. Aside from how slow the internet was, which I already knew from previous comments by other travelers, be very watchful and always check your usage. The day before the last day at sea, I still had 36 minutes to spare and use for the next day. As soon as I was going to check my emails, it showed that I already have exhausted all my minutes. I brought the issue to their IT department and was given extra 60 minutes. All on board staff were very friendly, cabin crew was nice and food was very good. We loved getting our breakfast either at Savor or Taste where it is a sit down and food are freshly prepared (kind of). I also recommend O’Sheehan’s chicken wings where we always go for our late night snack. Love all the entertainment show that they offer. We didn’t quite do all the activities on board because of the cold weather. Overall, the drawback was just the late arrival that NCL has given us and still hoping that they would make the refunds they promised. Now, all about our shore escapades: Copenhagen, Denmark: The person who picked us up from the airport was very friendly and gave us some pointers and recommendations for a place to eat local food. After check-in, we immediately went to Frk Barners Kaelder, where the driver mentioned for us to eat which was a short walk from Scandic Copenhagen Hotel. We didn’t expect for the price to be so high that we just ended up ordering appetizers. The only place we could get to after dinner was Tivoli Food Hall. We should’ve opted to eat at this place as it was very reasonable price. We could no longer go inside Tivoli Garden, which were on their soft opening for Halloween, since we did not want to spend $24 for each which was closing in 30 minutes. We tried to walk along Stroget but noticed that most store are already closed, we retreated back to the hotel. It was pouring rain the next day and neither uber nor lyft was available and out pick up time from the hotel was 11:15am that a stroll to anywhere was impossible. Warnemunde/Berlin, Germany: We did not avail of the NCL shore excursion. We just got off the ship and walked a couple minutes to the train station. You don’t even have to buy the ticket from the machine as what everybody tried to do that caused a long wait. We just used the app, trainline and bought the ticket which was very convenient and fast. The ticket only cost $60 each with a return. As soon as we had confirmation, we boarded the train and travelled for 3 hours to the central station and got out of the public square in Potsdamer Platz. Pretty much walked around to see all major sights (Public Square, Panoramapunkt, Holocaust Memorial, Brandenburg Gate, Galeries Lafayette, Gendarmenmrkt, Checkpoint Charlie) to check out. We chose to ride the taxi from GendarmenMrkt back to the station which cost less than 9euro. Tallinn, Estonia: Aside from Copenhagen, Tallinn was an all-day rain as well. We made a huge mistake taking the taxi going to Old Town, driver immediately charged us 20 euros. We lately found out about the app, Bolt (you can also use in St. Petersburg) which is exactly the same as uber/lyft that charges way a LOT less. The taxi driver also dropped us off in the uphill area so it would be much easier for us to walk going back. We didn’t cover that much of Tallinn due to the downpour. We first started on a nice overlooking spot where a sign said “The Times We Had”, and made our way to Old Town, St. Patrick’s, Saint Olaf’s Church but was closed, so we were not able to climb to check out the view. We also went to Balti Jaama Turg Food Market, Telliskivi Creative City & Linnahall. Bolt saved us a lot of time and kept us dry for at least a while. St. Petersburg, Russia: We didn’t bother applying for a visa since it was just for 2 days but since our companions (nephew/niece) are both from UK, they applied for an e-visa which was free starting October 1st of this year and had to apply for less than a week before embarkation. Me and my wife on our part had to use TJ Travel. I tried Alla Tours but could not get through their website. Maybe it was for the better as we had a great time with TJ Travel. Our Guide was Elizabeth or Liza and our driver was Alexander. Liza was very friendly and informative. A great guide and very knowledgeable and that made the trip more exciting. Our group of 13 was always on time that made the whole tour swift and spontaneously that was able to get to see all included in the itinerary list and much MORE! We also ate at some local restaurant that was delicious. I and my wife got to see and roam around after lunch but make sure not to go out too far. The tour also had their own special place to buy your souvenir where they also serve you hot coffee and even a shot of vodka. Unfortunately, I received an email 3 days before the trip that the fountain at Peterhof will close on October 13th. Helsinki, Finland: When we got off the ship, a minute walk from the ship, a public bus (#14) was waiting. And it only cost 8 euro each for the whole day getting around. We started from Sibelius Monument, Regatta for a quick sticky roll and hot chocolate (highly recommend), we went afterwards to Temppeliaukion Kirkko and were delighted to get a chance and to listen to an orchestra practicing. We also went inside Kampin Kappell. Then we went to Old Market Hall/Kapaturi Market, Esplanade, Market Square, the Tori Quarters, the Senate Square, Helsinki Cathedral and finally Uspenski Cathedral. If only there was more time. Nynashamn/Stockholm, Sweden: The final leg of the cruise. Another mistake on our part and hopefully you gain from our experience. Read some of the post from previous people who already took the same trip mostly took the Hop on Hop off (HOHO). So, we bought tickets before the trip not knowingly will be a tremendous waste of money and time. Just to let you know also that going to Stockholm from Nynashamn is a one hour train ride. Outside from the ship after the gate, on your right, there was a tent that sells tickets for $27 that also is good for bus rides. When you arrive at the Central Station, you go down to the right side where Mc Donald’s is located that would be the first station of the HOHO. We skipped the 2nd and 3rd stop since we knew that we were going to spend more of our time there and decided to stop at the 4th stop where a scenic view awaits after a short distance of walk. By the time we got back to ride another HOHO, it wasted more than 30 minutes of our time and the driver was VERY SLOW! At that point, we decided just to use the bus and explore ourselves. We went to Drottninggatan, NK for some shopping, walked at Kungstradgarden, visited Cathedral Storkyrkan, wondered around Gamla Stan and Stortorget Square, Royal Palace and Tessin Palace. We also crossed and walked at the narrowest alley which was awesome. We ended at Ostermalmstorg and got back to Central Station to catch the train going back. We missed Vasa Museum and I heard it was a must. So let me know how good it is. The journey to the train station requires at least a 20 minute walk but there is a bus which is included with the ticket that you purchase that will take you to the station. It’s about a 5 minute walk from the ship and takes 2 stops by the bus to the station. A helpful advice if you wish, especially when it’s pouring rain. Read Less

My family and I made a cruise with Norwegian Cruise Line on October 2019. The ship, "Getaway" is pretty new ship, manufactured 2014. The ship is very well maintained and in great condition. The stuff is wonderful and very friendly. But, not all is good. The main thing that we felt bad about is money. Although the cruise is not cheap, all the time we felt that the cruise staff has one goal above all, and that goal is to take the max amount of money out of the passengers pocket. The prices of each "extra" is ridiculously high and not reasonable. For example, a bottle of mineral water in the room cost 7.20$ !!!! The cost of spa, tours, and sport is just outrages. As a passenger you can choose not to take any of those, but, we were very surprised to see on our bill a compulsory pay of 15$ a day per person for tip. For us it adds up to an extra of 675$. No one told us that when we made reservation of the cruise. I think that it should be part of the cost in advance, because it's compulsory. (Yes, it is probably somewhere in the agreement small letters, but I see it as kind of cheat). The looks like the food was the same in the 3 restaurants included with no extra cost. (Savoy, Taste, Tropicana) The food in the buffet had a lot of choice, but not so tasty. I prefer quality on quantity. Embarkation and disembarkation went very quaqly and smoothly. The entertainment program was dinamic and had differant show each night. some were better then other, but it depands on personal preferance. For us, the Burn The Floor show and the Hipnosis were the best. Some of the ports are far from the city. Berlin is 3 hour drive from the port and Copenhagen is 1 hour drive from the port. Read Less

Great cruise itinerary, we saw lots of places but would have loved some more time in almost every port. If you choose do do this cruise in fall be prepared for cold and rain, had a few miserable weather days but plenty of ok days too. Due to the weather very limited use of many of the cruise amenities such as pool, water slides, ropes course and rock wall. Our room came with access to the thermal suites which we utilized to warm up every day after our excursions and would be well worth the cost if traveling at this time of year. Embarkation went quickly and we were able to board the ship almost immediately. Rooms were ready in about the expected time. Disembarkation went similarly smoothly with the only exception being they started calling groups more than a half hour before the estimated exit time which did cause a little unnecessary stress. On the port days we also ran into several issues where the shore excursions dropped us into the cities an hour or more before anything opened. Also due to the season several attractions were closed or being renovated. We were still able to have a good time in each port. For Helsinki and Stockholm we booked the hop-on-hop-off buses but didn't use them very much once we made it to the city as we were able to walk to our destinations faster. In Estonia we opted for a guided tour but did feel a bit like we didn't see anything (maybe it was just due to the terrible weather). The two days in St. Petersburg was very nice but its important to note that most visitors must go with a tour unless they obtain a visa prior, we felt like it may have been worth the cost/effort to get our own visa as the port had lots of things to explore and the tours all felt a bit rushed and crowded. Onboard entertainment seemed to be feast or famine. At sometimes we had more things we wanted to do than we could possible squeeze in and at other times it felt like there was nothing going on. Much of the entertainment was geared more toward the prevailing age of the cruise which was quite a bit older than us (we are ~30). Overall we always manged to find something to keep us entertained. The food was the thing we were most excited for and was the biggest let down of the whole trip. Any of the sit down options (complimentary and specialty) were painfully slow. It sometimes took up to 15 minutes just to get our first glass of water. Food was also frequently cool by the time we got it. My husband was even told food items were not on the menu by one server only to have another server offer him the item he'd requested The specialty restaurants didn't taste worth the extra price. Overall it was usually just easier to grab food at the buffet so you weren't spending 2+hrs of your day just trying to eat one meal. We opted to upgrade to a Spa balcony room and were quite happy with the location and space. it was quite with easy access to the spa and enough room to unpack all our luggage for the whole cruise. This was the best part of our whole cruise. Overall, we had a good time but it wasn't the amazing honeymoon we'd hoped for. Read Less

Great itinerary Copenhagen was beautiful and very walkable Embarkation- make sure your cab drops you at the right terminal ( 1 or 2 as stated on your ticket) Getting off at the ports of call is challenging at best. Not very organized for general exiting the ship. Shore excursions on the ship are way over priced for what you get. We went through TJ travel and had a lovely tour in Germany and Russia for more than half the price the ship was charging. Food- Nothing to write home about. Most of the food such as lobster and good steaks are now served at the pay restaurants. State room had a large spot of black mold on the ceiling above the light fixture in the bathroom. Which I found quite odd because the ship came out of dry dock about 5 months ago. I would say the spot was 6inches wide and about 11 inches long. Entertainment was excellent Read Less

My wife and I had the urge to use the ship board credit coupons we had purchased previously before they were due to expire. We would have one more credit coupon left after this cruise, we have decided to let it expire and not coming back to this cruise ship/line. The ship was average, it lacked a lot of the recreational amenities that other newer ships in other cruise lines could offer on their ships. The embarkation registration was segregated into even and odd numbers. Many earlier arrivals were not made aware of it until they had waited in line and ready to be called to the front counter for processing. The service on board, except for the cabin steward, was terrible or just average at best. The food at the Taste and Savor dining rooms were terrible and not meeting my personal expectation in comparison to other cruise ships. We had to resort to special dining such as the 'Ocean Blue' and 'Cagney's' for our dinners. The Ocean Blue and Cagney's were our favorite restaurants on this ship. The 'Le Bistro' French Restaurant was the biggest disappointment in my history of dining experience on board of any cruise ships I had been traveled in the past years. The service was bad with a grumpy looking waiter who looked too tired to be working that day. I ordered a 20+ oz. T-bone steak special and to be cooked 'medium-rare' as my preference. The steak came out to be so rare(almost raw) that I could not eat most of it. The matter was brought to the waiter's attention and he opted not to return back to our table. The waiter's assistant came to fill in the void instead. My wife and I decided not to stay any further either. I began to question: Some of these cooking staff came from a country where they revered 'cows' in their cultural foundation. And how would they feel, personally and emotionally if they were forced to cook a piece of steak(one of the best cut from a cow's carcass) on the grill and to be served to the diner! On an Asian Themed Evening at the Buffet Restaurant deck - the restaurant manager could not differentiate a ramen noodle from rice noodle or green bean noodle. He was serving Asian(Chinese) food, but I could not find a packet of chopsticks and soy sauce anywhere at the dining area. Everything served was imitational Asian food, they lacked the taste, quality and the presentation of how Asian food should be served. I asked the manager if he had ever been to an Asian(Chinese/Japanese/Thai) restaurant before. The answer was a flat 'NO'! In conclusion, I am inclined to believe that the quality of personnel working on board and how they interacted with the passengers are the factors that would entice people to come back. Or they would drift away for other cruise ships after their first or second trip with this cruise company. Read Less

Norwegian Getaway / Baltic cruise Oct 2019 very large ship with 4K+ passengers. Many balcony cabins up to deck 14. General comments the not so good... It’s a big ship but it’s hard to find comfortable chairs indoors where you can relax and get some peace and quiet for any length of time. On a Baltic cruise the weather wasn’t suitable for sitting outside. Games room was tiny and there’s a huge screen in what’s called the Atrium on deck 6 where lots of events take place, which is always crowded and noisy with its adjacent bar. The most relaxing place was on the outside of deck 8 but for us it was mostly too cold during our cruise. The outdoor facilities looked wonderful (water slides, climbing wall and bars / restaurant) but weren’t practical for our cruise. Staff generally friendly and helpful but staff at Customer Service desk not very effective and don’t go the extra mile. It’s like they are frightened to go “off script” so you get the same old platitudes about why something can’t be done!They are quite happy to tell you they can’t help rather than trying that little bit harder. Example - when we booked our cruise (3 weeks before) transfers to from airport were not available but we found Norwegian reps at the airport on our way in and gladly paid the $25 transfer to the boat. When we tried to book return transfers 3 days before disembarkation we were told that they had been sold before the ship sailed, so they couldn’t help. Since they were also advising that taxis might be scarce on the dock in Copenhagen it was disappointing that more was not done to help especially as we asked in good time. We eventually telephoned a taxi company when we were in an earlier port one day. You are not offered much, if any, port info if you’re planning to do your own thing. We asked for train timetables to Stockholm (c. hr away) and they we very resistant to downloading the info. We didn’t have any free shuttles port to town. Norwegian seem to rely on the local port authorities to send either hop on / hop off buses or shuttles, for which you have to pay. Disembarkation is OK in Copenhagen if you have pre-arranged transfers. It was total chaos for anyone hoping to get a taxi from the rank, all on a wet day with little cover. Thank goodness we'd booked a taxi otherwise I fear we may have missed our flight. The better..... Cabins we had a balc cabin which was not luxurious but most adequate. Nice shower with glass door (no horrible curtain) and no lack of hot water. Liquid hand /shower wash and shampoo in dispensers but no frills. We had a large couch which could probably be converted to 3rd bed. Beds comfy. Balcony very small - only just big enough for two chairs and a tiny table. You wouldn’t want to spend much time out there. Food we were pleasantly surprised. Food was generally much better than on recent Celebrity Constellation in the buffet and Main dining rooms of which there were 3. Of the 3 we opted most nights for the Tropicana which had a central dance floor and band playing which created a nice atmosphere. We could only book these complementary restaurants at 2 specific times online before the cruise but once you’re on board you can either book or take a chance and queue for all / any times. We found that if we accepted a booking later than we really wanted, then turned up at our chosen time we were nearly always accommodated (1 night we were asked to share the table which we were quite happy to do) The food came quickly, was nicely presented, hot and tasty. All 3 restaurants offered the same menu each night. In addition there are speciality restaurants for which you have to pay a supplement. We ate in Le Bistro twice because it was so good. The best fillet mignon we’ve had for many a year either at sea or on land. Other options equally good. The seafood restaurant, Ocean Blue is also excellent. You can choose large simple portions of well cooked fish of various types (with the sauce of your choice) or more exotic fish and seafood dishes ( my husband had seafood with pasta) which didn’t disappoint. I had excellent halibut with a garlic side sauce which was just delicious and an excellent dover sole which came boned and ready to eat. Service was excellent in both. The third speciality restaurant we tried was Moderno which is a brazilian steak house. You select your own starter from a selection on a buffet, then for main course, you’re given a plate and 5 “sides” appear, which are your veg dishes. Waiters then constantly travel round the tables carving off strips of steak, chicken, pork, chorizo from very large skewers and you can have as much as you like. If you like a bit of theatre with your meal you will enjoy it; personally I prefer to choose my meal and have it delivered all in one go!!! The meats were all good, some of the steaks tender & delicious. Then a choice of desserts. We didn’t sample other speciality restaurants. The one restaurant which disappointed was the Chinese for which there is no supplement. It was always full and difficult to get a table. When we finally did get a table, on our last day, we found the food indifferent, not very hot and it arrived sometimes after a wait, then all orders would come together. You eat at bench type tables which don’t have much space so we found ourselves running out of space to put everything. On the whole the Chinese dishes which we found in the main self service buffet restaurant were much fresher and hotter and you can choose your ingredients for the noodle soups, made in front of you by the chef. The buffet has a good range of offers with plenty of fresh fruit and veg. My husband was particularly complementary about the curries which changed every day. The entertainment varied. Burn the Floor and the Quartet shows (no supplement) were excellent and you can book seats in advance. We didn’t try the shows which had supplements such as the Cirque show as we’d heard the the meal they serve at the same time was not especially good. There are the usual cruise ship offerings of bingo, game shows and trivia plus other musical offerings such a instrumentalists, a magician, and a very good show with 3 girls singing Motown. In addition to the theatre there is live entertainment in smaller venues such as a comedy club ( we saw 2 shows, both good esp for us Brits but some other nationalities failed to get all the references/jokes) and other headliners. Something for all ages. We did find lots of the entertainment to be very loud especially in the smaller venues. Everything seems to be ‘over miked’ , even in the theatre, so go with that in mind. Would we travel on Norwegian Getaway again? Probably but only on warm weather itinerary out of school holidays. When we booked we had the option to add 2 supplementary options out of 4 for $99 pp. We chose the drinks package and the 4 trips to speciality restaurants and this was very cost effective considering some cocktails and spirits cost $10-15. 2 drinks per day (which included our dinner wine) and we saved! The shore excursions offered by Norwegian were eye wateringly expensive. We booked independent tour operators and often crossed paths with our shipmates on Norwegian tours. St Petersburg was the stand out trip. We booked a 2 day package with TJ tours. It’s was excellent and overall good value considering we went straight to the front of every long queue - & I do mean long - and we were dropped and picked up at the entrances to every place. The guide was friendly and very knowledgable - not a script in sight - and the pick up and drop off arrangements at the port were very efficient. If you disembark in Russia you must have a pre booked tour to avoid the hassle of getting a separate visa before your cruise. We would go back to St P again because there is so much to see that you can’t do it all in 2 days. The other stops, Tallin, Helsinki, Stockholm were pleasant but we wouldn’t consider revisiting specially. The ship docked at Warnmunde which was billed as stop for Berlin but be aware that it’s 150 miles away and 3.5 hrs in a coach. On the whole the cruise exceeded our expectations esp our 2 days in St Petersburg. The ship also exceeded our expectations re food and entertainment but there were niggles, above, which disappointed. Norwegian have gone up our rankings whereas Celebrity has gone down! Read Less

We chose this cruise because the price was right. Loved the ports (even though it was cold) and the tours. We would have appreciated more time at Tallin and Helsinki but the other ports were perfect shore times. Our ship, The Getaway was great and truthfully better than we expected. Our only suggestion would be to have the entire ship smoke free as there were some places where the smoke smell was very apparent. Food wise, w. We especially enjoyed The Bistro French Restaurant and Cagney's Steakhouse though the Tropicana Dining Room always offered a nice selection and the live music was a plus. The Spa was so much fun! We met a lot of nice people on this trip though it never felt like there were as many passengers as I know there was because the public spaces are so large ... and there is lots of variety to find your "own space". Read Less

We got this cruise at a great price which included 4 restaurant upgrades and the drinks package plus taxes and service charges. Embarkation and disembarkation were both excellent, quick and efficient. There was no hanging about. We sailed on 2 October and it hailstoned. Bring plenty of warm clothes on this trip, we could not go outside on deck as it was so cold. We got as far as Tallinn and it was -2 C. We found the temperatures really cold. The ship is not built for this type of weather, it's better suited to the Med as there is an outdoor pool and slides which are only used by the brave hearted. There should be more entertainment indoors because it's too cold to enjoy bands by the pool. The one hour safety drill went on too long.....boring. Our inside cabin on floor 5 was fine, clean and adequate. You do not need a balcony at this time of the year as its too cold. I would have preferred drawers in the dressing table for my makeup. The studio was a good size and the bathroom was too. I always used our bathroom as the public ladies toilets left a lot to be desired. The ship library was the worst we have come across. We found all the staff very pleasant and friendly unlike a lot of the passengers. As I am plant based we used the Garden Cafe mostly for breakfast, lunch and dinner. The food, especially the vegetarian food was always cold. (We have travelled with NCL 6 times now and have told them over and over again about this but it's still the same). The meat was served beside salads, open for contamination and Vegan options were never labelled, staff were not always knowledgable regarding ingredients. There was not a great variety of salads available and there were 2 curries on at lunch and dinner every day, no variety whatsoever in the Vegetarian corner. The Photographers tortured people, it was like running the gauntlet trying to escape them, everywhere we went. Please NCL stop trying to make money this way. We ate in Cagney's twice and the Italian twice, the Bistro and Argentinian would not accommodate me. The food and service was excellent in both restaurants. Worth having the upgrade. We enjoyed Syd Norman's Pour House, it was always packed and the music was good, if not repetitive. The shows in the theatre were OK. We enjoyed our cruise and would sail with NCL again if we got another bargain. The tipping should not be optional, it should be built into the price. Read Less

This cruise was based on itinerary and friends that we travel with had opted in to a package with Norwegian where they received 2 .free deposits for previously putting money down. The itinerary was great and we enjoyed the ports. We booked our excursions through Alla Tours as they were less expensive and we were not disappointed! They are rated very high on trip advisor and they were excellent! Dining- not very impressed with Savior, Taste or the Tropicana. We were a group of 7 travelling together and they kept trying to put us at a table of 6 which we refused as 2 of our party of 7 are over well over 6 feet and being squished in like that gave us no arm room . One night after yet again trying to sit us at a table of 6 they ended up sitting us at 2 tables which we were not impressed with either. They did offer to pull the two tables together which still led to no elbow room. Service was slow and all over the place in these restaurants. Food not exceptional but okay. In the Tropicana one night they had a group of thirty in and held there table for close to 45 minutes as per one of their staff, so this meant we were lined up longer than normal. They post that they will not hold tables longer than 15 minutes but I guess when you are with a tour company the same rules don’t apply. O’Sheehans was also a hit and miss. 2nd day we went for breakfast and they only had scrambled eggs and no real eggs as they were loading up on food in Berlin. They also ran out of butter on the last morning and instead of telling us they just brought us dry toast which we would have not ordered. Not sure who does their ordering but they need to do a better job. We noticed in the last few days that the butter would change from individual packages to shared butter, whipped unsalted butter and then nothing. We also had an issue on our last morning with getting seated together. Emmanuel (manager?) would only give our friends a table of 4 but said he would pull the empty table of 2 beside us or move us to a table for 7. He ended up sitting someone at that table of 2 and then refused to move us to a bigger table as he previously stated. We did have a few decent meals in this pub though on other days with good service. Best meal I had on the ship was at Cirque dreams steam which you pay for. The show was incredible and my food was good. One of our party had her meat way undercooked and struggled with that. She also was not given the option of how she wanted it cooked. We had a drink package included in our fare and I was disappointed that chocolate martinis were not included. I would have had to pay $4.00 extra for that. Strange that they charge extra for them while Royal Caribbean includes them in their drink package along with bottled water and their special coffees at their coffee shop. Not sure if opting into the drink package is even worth it because you still pay a portion of it and my husband and I are not big drinkers. One thing that was really disgusting was that they did not put soap in the soap dispensers by the pool area/ ping pong area for a day or so. I guess when the staff check off their list they don’t see if their is actual soap in the dispensers. We went to both sides of this bathroom and no soap in either side. We also had a phone package and internet package included. Internet slow but okay to send an email or talk to family members on messenger. Phone okay but noticed after 12 a.m. that you couldn’t call out or reach guest services. I wanted to a family member after 12 and it was out of service. We were on a 6 hour time change from home so it was the perfect time to reach that family member. The first time this happened I tried to call guest service which rang and rang and then just hung up. 2 of our party were smokers, myself included and we were told we could only smoke on deck 15. When I was on the escape a few years ago we could smoke in the warm cigar room which is now not allowed. The few times I walked by that area there it was empty. Why is it that cigar smokers have a nice warm area and we were up on the 15th deck in a semi closed off area that was cold and windy. You can also smoke in a part of the casino if you are playing. I don’t gamble so that was out for us as well. Our room was an inside room on deck 5 mid ship and was cleaned well. No complaints there! Limited space to put clothes away but we managed. Embarking and disembarking was effortless and one thing they did really well on this cruise! All and all is was not super impressed with Norwegian this time around. We have another cruise booked with them for Feb. so will see how that goes. They have already changed the itinerary for that one with no explanation despite sending an email on Aug 4th. I also called Norwegian and the person answering did not know the reason for a few ports being changed and suggested that we email and also that we had the option to cancel the cruise . Problem with that is that the airfare was already booked well In advance. I don’t find Norwegian really cares about customer service at all as of first hand experience. I have had much better Royal Caribbean cruises , Carnival cruises and Celebrity cruises. Read Less

We chose this cruise for 4 ports, but only went to one. Amsterdam and 2 1/2 days in Iceland never happened, nor did 2 of the substitutions. We were told about the loss of Amsterdam less than 24 hours before we would have arrived. Because it was so late, we lost almost $500 in private tours we COULD have cancelled with more warning. Several other cruise lines cancelled days before, so Norwegian knew days before we were notified that they would not be going. Why didn't they send a text or email, a simple courtesy? We were to go to 3 ports in Norway. We had scheduled private excursions in each which we were able to do. The 3rd port, Geiranger, is such a small town that we decided to book a one hour cruise down the fjord to see the world heritage sights, including spectacular waterfalls and incredible scenery. It seemed well worth the $350 we spent to do that. It ended in a tiny town of 250 called Hellesylt. We only found 3 people there since it was past the end of the season. We enjoyed walking around the village and our return trip to the ship. THEN we learned that the Spirit was going there the next day as a port substitution! Passengers were appalled when they found nothing there after we circled around in the ocean all night. The grumbling really started then. We were told that next we would be going to another Norway port, Alesund. By then, they had cancelled both Iceland ports. There was not much to do there either, but it was better than being at sea again. THEN they told us we would be going to Greenoch, Scotland, not more than an hour from Glasgow, so that seemed OK, until we didn't dock there either after being told there would be an hour delay due to a disabled ship in the port. Two hours later they told us we wouldn't dock there at all. At that point, there was a huge passenger protest and the ship turned off the internet. Security was called and the protest lasted a very long time, with shouts of "We Want A Refund", "Shame", "Call Miami" and more. It still got out to the media and we made international news. At that point, Norwegian offered 25% off a future cruise and people were even more outraged. The lack of communication is my main beef, especially after we were cut off from the rest of the world. We did get to the final two ports in Ireland, but the passengers were pretty much beside themselves with the losses, both financially and the loss of the ports. We spent 5 days at sea (should have been 2) with mediocre entertainment and mediocre food. They constantly played Caribbean music on a Scandinavian cruise and the food was almost entirely American. There is little I can say that is positive except that we had a wonderful stewardess. This cruise was a waste of time and money. DO NOT choose Norwegian for a cruise! Read Less

We were on the Spirit for the Norway/Iceland/Ireland itinerary in late Sept/early Oct. 2019. Due to Hurricane Lorenzo moving up from the Gulf, there were several changes in our itinerary. It resulted in some people on the ship getting bent out of shape, and vocal demonstrations. When you stepped back to look at it, most of the changes were reasonable due to weather, but Norwegian could have handled them better. Transfers from airport and embarkation were pretty smooth and as we were the only ship in port lines were short. We filled out the medical report but were never asked for it and never asked if we had any symptoms. As for the ship itself, I was pleasantly surprised. Due to the age of the ship I thought it would be more run down with limited facilities but I found little of that. There was a good variety of dining, and we tried nearly every dining venue on the ship. Our favorite was the Teppanyaki grill. We ate there twice, once lunch on the last sea day of cruise when the two of us were the only ones there but we got the same show and a LARGE quantity of food. I can think of only two or three dishes that were "meh" and none that were "send it back" quality. Most of the food was impressive, especially the soups which I thoroughly enjoyed. The "meh" dishes were my steak at Cagney's grill. It was a thin cut, cooked medium instead of medium rare, and not well marbled. I had a breaded fish in the main dining room that was doughy. Some cruisers were tweeting about "stale food" on the cruise but I could not think of anything that fit that bill, except for dry hamburger buns. (see Twitter handle nclhell1. Please note I disagree with this person on most points). Entertainment was impressive considering the size of the ship and length (14 days) of cruise. Good variety of shows in the theater, and great lounge shows by the show band and two ensemble bands. Especially enjoyed the show band and their jazz & ballroom sets. Talented young musicians who welcomed engaging with the cruisers. Our cruise director (Vincent) did a great job coordinating the shifting landscape of the daily program as itinerary changes turned a port day into a sea day. There was always something to do, though occasionally I just sat and read a book or took a nap. The hot tubs were always full, but the pool was only filled and open for three or four days of the cruise. Rough seas had something to do with it, as well as the fall weather. My wife liked her time in the spa. I had a "deep tissue" massage that was thoroughly disappointing and of course I got the upsell of expensive products afterward that harshed my mellow. Our room steward was average, and once knocked on our door repeatedly even though we had the "do not disturb" sign out. Thinking it was important I roused myself and opened the door only to find that he was delivering a non-critical piece of paper. Our toilet failed to flush a few times, twice in the middle of the night requiring field trips. An engineer replaced a part around day nine which seemed to fix the problem for good. One of the complaints on Twitter etc. from some cruisers on this trip said they smelled "raw sewage" on the trip which I didn't find. Shore excursions were generally very good. They were well organized- we usually met in the theater and got stickers with a number that was used to shepherd us. Tour guides were often non-natives but knew their subject well. The buses they contracted with were generally comfortable. We did one kayak trip in Flam, Norway where the description did not adequately describe how we'd be outfitted so we packed all the gear we needed, and it turned out the provider had all of it including wetsuits, but a poorly outfitted changing section (nowhere to sit or hooks to temporarily hang anything). That said the excursion was fun. As for our cabin itself, it was not quite up to the quality of other cruises but was sufficient. The main issues were it having only a single power outlet, requiring extension cords to power our CPAP machines, and a tiny toilet room that required care when sitting and standing. The TV was terrible, few useful channels and a tiny screen. The mini-bar fridge was overstuffed so opening it took care. The bed was extra firm which suited us but might bother others. Disembarkation was a zoo. There was a long line to get off, and there was a single crew member present to try to keep it in order. Tempers flared. One man behind us in line said he'd booked his flight through Norwegian and had a 9:00 departure from Heathrow. This with the ship docking in Southampton, disembarkation starting at 6:30, and a 90 minute bus ride. Our flight was 11:30 which we made with enough time to have a bit of lunch in the departure lounge. One overall complaint with Norwegian is inattention to detail. Some examples: Twice I was served drinks that weren't mixed, I could visibly see the separation of layers. The ship status video on the TV includes a graphic of the ship with caption "CruiseShow info screen sample graphic" which if memory serves was also present on my last cruise with them in 2017. Our passports were taken at embarkation as Ireland requires them and Dublin was our last port. But we were not told when or how to get them back, or how to get them for VAT refunds. We got them back on the last sea day but had to wait in line for them. Annoying. Drink service in the buffet was non-existent, and spotty in most other venues. This may be due to many people traveling on "free at sea" promotions and free drink packages resulting in high demand and little motivation for servers. The phone app had some mistakes where the ship description pointed out things that didn't exist (e.g. "Atrium Bar"). In summary, I will likely cruise Norwegian in the future but try some other lines first. Read Less

The cruise was chosen for the itinerary despite travel agents caution about NCL quality. The cruise did not visit several stops supposedly due to weather. Whereas three scheduled stops and two substitute locations (Amsterdam, Iceland, France, Scotland) were cancelled, NCL went to two additional Norway locales which had minimal facilities for tourism. They then claimed that they met their commitment with seven of eight stops even though five were in Norway and two in Ireland. It's like taking a trip to New York and instead having the tour company stop at a service area along the highway. They also claimed to provide a second day in Dublin that only extended from midnight to 1 a.m. I believe the NCL organization lacks integrity and puts money well ahead of guest convenience. One example, immediately after we checked in they stated we would not go to Amsterdam - a piece of information they kept quiet beforehand. Also, their offer to make up for the inconvenience was 25% off another cruise which is only slightly more than they were offering for future bookings. Guest inconveniences included workers coming through the cabin during the day to varnish balcony rails and shutting off water during the night for "preventive maintenance". The cabin was adequate. The bed was large and comfortable. The shower was pleasant to use. The room was missing some supposed furnishings such as a foot stool and end table. The toilets at times didn't flush for several hours. The TV worked erratically. There was only one 110 outlet in the room fully across the room from the bed. The dining room food was decent but underwhelming. Some of the desserts were the same as what we buy at Costco. The buffet was 80%+ the same offering every day and quite often lukewarm. The full buffet shut down at 9:30 p.m. The activities were simplistic and mundane (bingo, charades, balloon art, napkin folding) and often had a charge associated with it. Very few informative sessions such as history of the region or cooking demonstrations. Found the art gallery to be the most educational. The entertainment was mostly below par. The Beatles cover band was poor. The solo female singer was exceptional. The excursions did not all live up to the promo summaries. Two of the excursions skipped locations highlighted as primary stops in the write-ups. The one bright spot was the service staff. Our room steward and table steward were both outstanding and we got to know them well. Read Less

Looking forward to Amsterdam and Iceland. Booked >400 days before the sail date. We had 4 fabulous days in London before sailing. We planned private excursions at every port at great expense. Embarkation went smoothly since I'm a gold latitudes member. The ship had only 2018 passengers and was in need of upgrading. The cabin was small. Meals at the paid restaurants were excellent. Other than breakfasts, other meals we're not so good, except at the blue lagoon. The meat was consistently tough. Entertainment was great, especially acoustic soul brothers. Cabin service was excellent and room service was on time and hot. The servers were attentive and pleasant. The original itinerary already had 3 stops in Norway which would have been plenty. When 2 more stops in Norway were added, it got quite redundant. Missing Amsterdam, then Le Havre, then the two stops in Iceland, then Scotland before finally docking g at Belfast was extremely disappointing. It was also very costly since we had prepaid for private excursions at each of these stops. As changes were being made to our itinerary, we managed to book excursions at the new ports only to have them also canceled. There was a very disruptive group of unhappy passengers that intimidated the rest of the passengers and crew. My travel companions and I avoided the atrium, the gathering place for the protesters, as much as possible. Overall, my friends and I made the most of a troubling situation but are not satisfied with the offer of 25% toward a future cruise. We've had financial losses that we can't recover and a cruise that didn't even remotely resemble the planned trip. Although I appreciate the captain’s efforts to keep the passengers and crew safe, I feel that more should be done to make up for the extreme changes to the long-awaited cruise. Read Less

My mum wanted to see the northern lights before she dies, so we booked this cruise fom Southampton (side note: my Grandad helped build this dock !) The embarkation from this port was so easy and smooth. I've been on the Spirit before so it was nice to show my mum around. The cabin was spacious, on deck 10, easy to get to everything and we were quite happy there. Due to the weather our itinerary was changed but we still thoroughly enjoyed our cruise and the cruise director did a fantastic job re-doing our new changes on the fly ! Unexpected sea days and new stops were quite exciting to me. If there was one thing I could say that could be improved, it would be that I wish that they could arrange more handicap buses for those people in wheelchairs, as my mum coudn't get on any of the excursions in Norway as their buses had no wheelchair lifts and the steps were too big for her. The food, as usual, was amazing. Entertainment was great, and the staff, as always, out do themselves. I like Norwegian and have already booked my next cruise in March!! Read Less

I’m sure by now you are aware of the issues that the passengers on the cruise of the Norwegian Spirit endured. I will recount my experience. We saved and saved to do this cruise to Iceland. It was our once in a lifetime trip to Iceland. An overview: Boarded the ship in Southampton. Were informed we could not go to Amsterdam so rerouted to LaHavre. Were informed we could not go to LaHavre. We had a sea day. Arrived in the first port of Bergen. We were informed we could not go to Iceland. Continued on to the 2 other ports in Norway. Then we added on 2 more ports in Norway. Were informed we were going to Scotland after 2 more sea days but couldn’t dock there either. Another at sea day. Docked one day in Belfast and one day in Dublin then yet another sea day before arriving in Southampton. For us it was a complete waste of time and money! Points to consider: Increased sea days. Half the trip was spent at sea. Lied to by staff: 1)One staff said we couldn’t dock in Geeenock because a naval ship was blocking the port, then another staff said the weather was bad, when in fact it was fine. 2) one person at guest services said there was no case number for us but the person next to her said there was. 3) booked an excursion in Dublin and paid the ship $88. Due to protests in Dublin we couldn’t find the tour bus after walking to 4 stops. Gave up and decided to look for the shuttle back to the ship. The shuttle couldn’t get through the protestors. The ship never sent a representative to find us and direct us to a waiting bus 3 blocks away. There were “200” people left at the shuttle pick up with no contact from the ship, bitterly cold, and no bathrooms. On our return 4 hours later we went to ship excursions and demanded a refund. They said it wasn’t their responsibility. If that’s the case don’t sell excursions if you don’t plan to take responsibility for your passengers on those excursions. That is common decency. The next morning we were able to get 20% off. Wow! 4) we were told that passengers were not to walk on the dock in Belfast and Dublin and that we were forced to get a taxi or shuttle. We were told by the visitor centre staff in Belfast and Dublin that NCL were the only cruise company that charged its passengers to get a shuttle into town. Again - it’s all about the money and taking advantage of your passengers. Passengers walked on the piers in both towns and there was no issue! NCL is making up rules to get more money from the passengers?? 5) Since we were alarmed by the pending hurricane we followed it closely and received constant updates from our home. By Wednesday the hurricane path was toward the Azores and the UK. We don’t believe there would have been any issue with Iceland, but we do understand safety first. 6) The schedule said that there were two days in Dublin when in fact there was only one day in Dublin and another sea day. Most staff were kind and obliging, but one at guest services and 2 at shore excursions were unfriendly and sometimes even nasty. We tried to avoid them. The two extra stops in Norway were disappointing. Came out of the fiord from Gerainger and circled in the ocean and went back in the next day to a small town that had closed up when their tourist season. They were not prepared for us and nothing was open. A waste of a day. Then we went back out of the same fiord and did circles in the ocean and docked for the third time at the entrance to the same fiord! Then when we couldn’t dock in Greenock we again found ourselves doing circles and biding our time to land the next day in Belfast. Over and over and over... The entertainment was generally good. The “Beatles” show left a lot to be desired. By the third night they were on we went elsewhere on the ship. No entertainment during the sea days, then lo and behold they found 3 movies to show in the theatre on the last three sea days. It was great but should have had them every sea day. It was very disappointing and that left nothing to do during sea days. TV was terrible. Sporadic reception and only one English movie which played over and over the entire duration of the trip. No account information was available on the TV. With no indoor pool and hot tub, there was nothing to do during the 7 sea days. It was very boring and time passed slowly. The food wasn’t wow or even great. I would describe it as “adequate”. The last few days there were no bran muffins or bananas for example. There was no special night with lobster or prime rib which is common on a lot of cruises. Previous cruises the attendants served tea and coffee at your table in the buffet section. At Raffles we had to get up to get a glass of water. Get up again to get tea and coffee. It never felt like we were special or ever being catered to. When we arrived on board our toilet was black in the bowl and on the seat. The white was worn off. We were told by our cabin steward that it was clean but in need of being replaced. We have had inside cabins before but it was very difficult to walk on one side of the bed except by sidestepping and the reading lights were behind the pillows. Seemed like a fire hazard to me. Went to play cards in the card room but there were no cards. An attendant said there was a box full of card decks at guest services. Went to guest services. “I would like a pack of playing cards” “we don’t have any” “we were told there was a box full of playing cards left here” “I don’t know” “could you ask please” the girl asked and came back to find them under the desk. “Could I have a pack please” “you want the whole box?? we can only give you one pack” “I only want one pack” Fortunately, I didn’t have to pay for a pack of playing cards. There were no maps provided of the places we were visiting until we disembarked and picked up a map in town. No news or newspapers with headlines from passengers homes. Terrible smell of cigarette smoke on decks 6-8 in the elevator lobbies located aft. Because we had counted on having many more days onshore to use wifi we only had a small wifi package and of course couldn’t afford to upgrade but no allowances were made for people who had depended on contacting home while onshore. Went to get a refund for all of our prepaid excursions. Refunds were all cash. The man at guest services said we only have $10 bills left. We were owed $1930.00 Then to insult our intelligence by offering 25% off the next cruise. We still have to pay 75% of the next cruise!! This was our first cruise with NCL. We have used Celebrity, Royal Caribbean, and Princess in the past. Never have we had anything like we experienced with NCL. If you want any future business I would suggest you give refunds to your passengers to entice them back. Read Less

Embarkation went smoothly with exception of a change of schedule, the first port Amsterdam. Not a major deal because the substitute port was Le Havre, France, outside of Paris. Not, the ship was unable to dock and we were given a day at sea. Then, Iceland (two ports) was canceled and we were given two additional ports in Norway and one in Scotland because of Hurricane Lorenzo. This was disappointing but understandable because of weather. Then on the day we were to dock in Scotland at 8:00am, we were told a Naval ship was docked and we would arrive at 9:30am. 9:30am came and approximately at 9:45am the captain states we had to abort port because of weather. Okay, there is a discrepancy with this story. This is when the ship loss all creditability and a protest started on board. Our 14-day Icelandic cruise became a Norway/Ireland cruise. Regarding, the ship, cabin, dining, activities and service on board were excellent. The ports and shore excursions we were able to do were great. The ship offered 25% off a future cruise and refunded $60 for Iceland port charges and taxes. Many people are not going on another Norwegian Cruise. This was not a cheap cruise because of the destinations we were supposed to go to. A 25% refund needs to be given on this cruise. The ship made news headlines all over the world. Read Less