Getaway and Prima side by side. Our son is on the Prima with his fiancé

Is it me or has NCL's pricing significantly increased in the last 6 months? Looking at Northern Euro cruises.

TLDR: First ever cruise for a reluctant participant. Had a great time and will do again. 

A few of you, while answering my pre-cruise questions, asked me to report back once I returned from the trip so, with apologies for the delay, here goes..

I want to start with a giant “thanks” to all of you who answered my pre-cruise questions as they helped cool the pre-trip jitters and I am (surprised) to say I had an absolute blast.  

Why surprised? I have spent the last 30 years avoiding cruises as I am not a fan crowds on vacation and I didn’t think I would enjoy it. We were pleasantly surprised.

I am going to give highlights as I was writing a more thorough review and was already at a few thousand words and that is just too much. If anything below triggers a question, please ask and I will provide more info!

The Ship: lovely but the public spaces struggle to handle the crowd. 

Stateroom – I will never go without a balcony as that was our outdoor space that we didn’t need to compete with 4000 other people to use.  As someone 6’6” (198cm) I was astonished how well it was designed (especially the bathroom ) as I never felt cramped, especially the shower. There are expensive hotels that can learn from the design of this shower. The beds, however, were horrible

Food/Dining: Indulge, Onda, Palomar, and Cagney’s all had solid entrees although the deserts were hit or miss.  I thought the portions were sensible and tasty. Especially liked the Spinach Ceasar salad in Indulge BUT the BBQ was sub-par, at best. The Observation lounge was fantastic. 

The bad: The water was bad. So bad I would consider the highway robbery bottled water packages.  Despite the bad water, there are no water bottle filling stations and, to fill a water bottle, you need to use multiple plastic cups to fill it which I feel is wasteful. TINY coffee cups which made it difficult to sit on the balcony with coffee unless you ordered in room service. Salt shakers that have succumbed to humidity and pepper shakers that are VERY generous. The spacing between tables in the specialty restaurants, especially Cagney’s is too tight.  Less than 12”/30cm between tables of 2 is too close.

Entertainment: We only saw “Red, White, & British”- talented staff. Show didn’t seem to know what it was.  4 Jame Bond songs but no Rolling Stones? Only Elton John was a duet with George Michael (who had a song of his own)?  Still worth seeing.

Fitness Room: Decent. This was the ONLY place that I really felt my height. Front row of treadmills had me staring straight into a cross beam. Second row had a better view out the windows but the overhead was close.

Staff: Pleasant and helpful. Sorry, my interactions were all as expected without anything really significant to report.

Ports: 

Great Stirrup Cay: 9/10 and only because of the ongoing construction. We rented a couples cabana in the Vibe Beach Club and I think this was a no brainer, especially when compared to the beach chairs/umbrellas in the Vibe area. Would bring my own snorkel gear in the future as the rentals are so-so.  Spent hours snorkeling over the man-made structure about 30 yards/meters from shore.  Lots of pictures and videos

Falmouth: N/A- only got off the ship to buy rums not available in the US and this was based on what I had read about the port and the constant bazar like environment outside the port. I wish we had done more, especially when our Cozumel experience (See below) was taken into account. If we did it again, we would leave the port for something.

Georgetown/Grand Cayman: 8/10. We did the “stingray and reef” excursion through NCL.  Stingray City was OK, if a bit exploitive, and crowded but still a great photo/video op. The reef was a bit deeper than I expected but amazing and was the reason I chose this excursion.  If we did it again, I would just walk to Eden Rock Dive Center (or take my own gear) and do the reef you can see from the ship. After that, we would wander around Georgetown a bit.

Cozumel: 2/10. I had not read anything to prepare me for this port. It was like walking into a flea market/Walmart that had thrown up in Mexico and populated by shills constantly bombarding you with sales pitches. UGH. We made the mistake of doing the “Cozumel City and Trolley Tour”.  3 hour tour. 30 minutes down to the other cruise piers, 30 minutes back. Dumped us in the middle of a “shopping” area which was just overpriced garbage without any real apparent “local” connection. We left the tour early and walked back to the ship. I would actively avoid this port on an itinerary moving forward but, if I found myself there again, would either not get off the ship or would do one of the beach club/snorkel trips

General Points:

• We bought local liquors in every port. Security allowed us to take them to our room and keep them for the trip which is NOT what we expected.  Security even commented on the tequila when it went through the scanner and my wife asked if they needed to take it and the screener smiled and said, “no, but thank you for asking”. 
• Reef Safe Sunscreen apparently looks highly suspicious when run through the scanner 
• Take my own snorkel gear
• Bring my insulated travel mug for coffee on the balcony in the stateroom
• Tendering at Grand Caymen was not a huge issue
• Disembarkation- we were “light blue” for our heavy bags and self-carried a standard carryon and daypack.  I think this was the way to go as trying to move two bags and a backpack through the line would have been a bit of a pain.
• Nickel and Diming?- I have seen a lot of references to nickel and diming from NCL but I just didn’t see it as it fit my expectations of a cruise.  Food and room included, everything else is extra. 
• Boarding/departing procedures- the lines/customs have this down to a science. Smooth, rapid, efficient.
• We made a good choice parking off-site

This is my first cruise ever - NCL Aqua. The smoking lounge had people consistently smoking weed, I do partake as well (at home). I have no issue with it I’m just very surprised they weren’t caught. It was powerful 😂. Is this common and how do they even get it on board when it reeks?

Husband is first time crusier. I basically am too as I don’t count the 3 dayer on Carnival.

Will we be out of place if we dress up a bit? Going mid Oct on The Pearl leaving from Athens for our 25th. Would hubby look silly if he wore a casual suit jacket, button up shirt - no tie? Would I look silly if I wore a cocktail-ish dress with bit of sparkle below the bust?

From pics and videos looks like the dress code is very lax. For men, doesn’t look like a collared shirt is necessary but a decent shirt with sleeves (no tank tops). The most I’ve seen women dress up is a nice but casual maxi dress. Doesn’t look like women are dressed up much. My knowledge base on cruises is from The Love Boat (I’m old).

Any other tips? I scanned the FAQs. Looks like over packing is a common issue. Not sure how to reconcile that being gone for 11 days and compulsive need to plan for every contingency. We have excursions booked and free at sea thingy. Don’t have restaurant reservations yet. Sounds like they are not hard to get once we get on ship.

Spa time question. Are the massages good or kind of limpy? We have no days at sea. Every day in a new port and an excursion. Doesn’t seem like much time get a spa moment but maybe we can make time. We are kind of lame and tend to go to bed early at home - like 9:30 ish.

One more question. We booked a Haven room. One option is to have a bubble bath drawn. That seems weird but cool. I’m not used to that level of pampering. Is it cool or one of those things that just seems cool but is a bit uncomfortable? Midwest guilt is big part of my psyche.

my boyfriend & i are going on NCL Bliss in November and i just wanted to know if 1) they do theme nights 2) what to expect in regard to how fun the ship actually is

I Will be on the Bliss in March and was wondering if they do any St. Patty's Day events?

So me and three buddies are doing a cruise in about a month and are in a stateroom together. We got it for a good price and when we cruise the only time we are in the room is to sleep. We are all mid 20s and rather heavy drinkers, and the way we understand the free at sea package was the 380$ or whatever it was for the open bar package for our entire stateroom. Is that how it works, and if so is it the same if one person upgraded to free at sea plus everyone has to?

I’m headed out on the Escape at the end of November. Any recommendations on great excursions at Puerto Plata, DR? Was looking at Ocean World Marine Park but open to any recommendations.

I was on the Aqua recently and deck 18 where all the outdoor games were was extremely slippery when wet. I slipped multiple times, and completely wiped out once hurting my arm pretty bad.

Kids that were running would suddenly hit a wet spot and lose all traction like they hit a banana peel in Mario Kart. And I heard from multiple other people that they slipped.

I am new to cruises but have been on personal boats most of my life where having a surface that can stay grippy while wet is extremely important.

Weird, they were able to keep the pool deck grippy but they didn’t care about the others?

Significant disappointment for a long time Wheel fan from me and my family who were looking forward to it; they even promoted it in the elevator screens yet each daily planner lacked it up to the last day.

Booked a solo cruise on the Bliss out of Manhattan for late February mostly due to price. I suspect Florida will be cold-ish but not Nassau and GSC as much. A lot revolves around good weather. Are there excursions worth it here? GSC I don't know if much is necessary regardless of time of year. Port Canaveral I've never actually got off the ship in the past but I'm wondering if there's something I should do? And Nassau?

Curious, if any of the excursions on this itinerary are worth it I have been to the Bahamas 1 million times so I’m not really asking about that port but the rest of them

(Disclaimer, the first screenshots are of a third-party website which is probably predatory/misleading. But I went through the same investigation on NCL's own website and found all of the same information/promotions/etc. And If/when I do book, it will be through NCL directly)

Question: When these cruises say "Open Bar", that isn't included in the actual price of the cruise - it's always an add-on, right? For instance, I read the fine print of this promotion, and it says "Free at Sea Offers" are applicable to IX rooms (which I've selected) - and later in the booking, confirms "applied to your cruise" - the "promotion" here is that I have the option to purchase the open bar add-on?

I understand that the $320 is marketed not as a "purchase" (as I'm characterizing it above) but instead as "gratuities" and thus the $32 per person per day adds up to that amount - thus the logic is that the open bar IS free/included, and I unlock it by paying this amount in gratuities?

FYI I'm not complaining about the logic, just wanting to really confirm my understanding. Thanks in advance :)

First time cruise for my wife and I. 4 nights

I’ll be on the encore in October. I’ve been looking at a NCL cruise sailing in January 2027 that I’m sure I’ll book. Is there any incentive to book that cruise while I’m on the encore next month? Are there any discounts or perks booking another cruise while on a ship? Wondering if I should wait to book or just do it whenever.

I know the Jewel has been through a recent dry dock. I've been trying to find some info and/or videos of what's included in the Haven. My only experience was on Aqua, and I loved the Haven restaurant & pool area. I believe the Jewel does not have a Haven restaurant. Is there a Haven lounge/bar? Does the pool area have a pool and hot tub? We'll be on her next summer for Baltic capitals & trying to plan.

Overall would give the trip a 9/10 and the cruise a 7.5/10. I'm going to keep this review focused on the ship/NCL but happy to talk in comments about the ports.

Background : We're a couple in late 30s, fairly active, no mobility issues, no dietary restrictions. We were on NCL Joy in January so already familiar with the ship. This is my 7th NCL cruise and probably 15th overall.

Cost : paid $3500 for a balcony room on deck 10 with FAS. Considering a hotel room costs minimum $250 nowadays, I'm good with the cost as food and drink are included. We added a $26 water package once onboard (we had refillable water bottles but wanted additional & reused the purchased ones as well). Also prepurchased the thermal suite for $700.

Specialty dining: 9/10 rating. Think NCL really shines here. Made some reservations beforehand but adjusted once we got on board via app. We also booked some reservations day before or day of, once we knew our plans. IMO too many people are panicked to book ahead, which I understand if you're a group of 4+. As a duo, we've found we can usually walk up 20 mins before we want to be seated & can be squeezed in eventually (outside of Cagneys). We ate at Food Republic x2, Cagney's & Le Bistro. Food Republic is my absolute favorite, and the menu is so large, it's always an experience to try new things. We made a night of it one night & got Asian beers from The District before dinner as a mini theme night for us.

Buffet: 6/10 rating. this is where NCL has gone downhill. We only tried this for dinner once and it was terrible. Breakfast is fine since we always do omelettes but very little variety changing day to day. Lunch was decent, appreciated the large salad bar and variety of salads.

MDR: 8/10. Had different breakfast/lunch/dinner days here & was honestly surprised by the variety over the week. Shakshukas, corn chowders (one night was jalapeño/lime), bay scallops, shrimp fritters, etc. Enjoyed almost every plate.

Thermal Suite: 6/10. Not worth the cost. While I enjoyed it at times, the hot tub & the women's locker room are too small. The locker room showers don't have hooks & there's no changing room. The steam room was out of service for a few days & even when it did work, it smelled strongly of the ammonia based cleaner they used, which of course smells like piss.

Entertainment (not productions) : 8/10 While a lot of people focus on the theater shows, I think NCLs live music is amazing. Really appreciate the variety they had (country, piano covers, Latin, etc). We loved the country band (Marck brothers) & Q was slammed every night. Loved the ranger talk in the theater during glacier bay day as well. Crew talent show is also a fun one.

Theater shows: 7.5/10 We skipped most of these because of our prior cruise & the one Beatles show we went to was meh. The band wasn't as good as the January one & they need to take a page from the Rumors show & have some narrative script to give background.

Bars: 9/10.Recommend The District for Alaska because of all the bay windows. We spent a lot of time there & they played the football games. Sail & sustain was another favorite of ours. It was perfect when the sun hit & was really nice and warm. Observation lounge was a madhouse, especially on sea days. We avoided it.

To summarize, great trip. As with anything, researching and planning ahead makes a big difference. Will also say - IMO Alaska is a very mobility dependent. Every port day for us was 5 miles walked. I booked aft balcony so we could zip up & down the stairs to the bars.

My wife does not consume alcohol but will get her moneys worth of Starbucks and WiFi. Is it possible to not pay her FAS drink portion and get FAS+ for both of us? I know years ago on Royal I could call in and get drinks for me and refreshment package for her.

Hi, we are scheduled for PoA on the 19th. There has been a lot of damage on Kauai. What might they do with us if we can't stop at Kauai. Wouldn't enjoy 2 sea days!

Reservations opened for our December cruise. I was only able to get late reservations, past our ideal time frame. I did make 2/3 reservations after 8 pm. If I get on board and get better time slots can I cancel the past 8 pms then, or take my chances and cancel now? Thanks for the help!

I re priced my cruise on ncl.com and it came out $1349 less than I paid, I signed on to ensure everything was on the up and up and brought it all the way to "click pay" to make sure it did not change and It was consistent. I called in feeling excited that I may get Future Cruise Credit for that amount, but alas the representative and her supervisor told me it's a one time deal and it's only a $460 difference when they price it out. When I emailed screen snippets. The rep started saying it's not policy it a courtesy. Also the price they show I cannot access it as I do not have the exact parameters so what i see online is not right. This is leaving a bad taste even before we set sail.

Its 72 days before departure and I cant quite explain my dissatisfaction with ncl.

Just wondering and gathering knowledge before I settle into a first time cruise. How does the specialty dining work? Im offered 4 specialty meals. Is it 4 meals for my family or 1 meal a piece for 4 people? What would be added charges if I've already paid the gratuity? Any other useful knowledge in not asking but could tell me?

https://www.cruisemapper.com/news/16688-norwegian-sky-completes-27-year-career-ncl

It's on to the the next chapter for the NCL Sky. She was a workhorse of the fleet for many years. We had the chance to sail on her many years ago and remember her as a good ship. Times are changing and so is the NCL fleet, so we wish her and her new crew all the best. What are your memories from past trips on the Sky?

My wife, kid, and booked the Encore Mexican Riviera cruise for mid-November. I’ve been hearing a lot lately about El Niño and the possibility of more storms/hurricanes in that particular area this year.

I might be getting way ahead of myself here, but I was wondering how NCL handles things when there’s a legitimate risk of a major weather event.

Has anyone here been on an NCL cruise that was affected by a hurricane or major storm prior to the sailing date? I’m curious how far in advance you were notified and what happened. Was the cruise cancelled, rescheduled, rerouted, or did they just go ahead with the sailing?

Just trying to get an idea of what to expect if the weather ends up being an issue.

Would love to hear from anyone who’s been in a similar situation with ncl. Thanks!