jorge18 Posted May 27, 2016 #1 Share Posted May 27, 2016 My family (I’m 30, wife is 29, MIL and FIL are in their 60s and my son is 3) went on this cruise on April 30th through the 7th. First and foremost, we almost cancelled this cruise as we booked it almost a year ago, and while reading the terrible reviews we were scared. I’m glad we didn’t. Pretty much all of the bad things that we read about, we didn’t encounter. Not sure if NCL fixed these issues, or if it was just petty people that will complain about any and everything (my vote is on the latter). My wife and I travel quite often and usually travel luxuriously via credit card points and miles so we’re accustomed to a higher level of service and comfort. I was pleasantly surprised with the service on the ship. Everything was AMAZING. I honestly cannot remember a single time where I had something to legitimately complain about. Was everything absolutely perfect at all times? No, but it will never be. Enough with my rant…on to the review! Embarkation We live in Miami so getting to the port was obviously much easier than most of you. We got to the port around 10:30am. Crowd outside the terminal We were through security and check in area and in the waiting area by 11 and were handed a tag for group 25. The waiting area was PACKED but we were able to find some free area in another small holding area to the right. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jorge18 Posted May 27, 2016 Author #2 Share Posted May 27, 2016 They had refreshments (Coffee and Tea) while you waiting which was a nice choice. I didn't have any so I can't comment on the quality. The ship is absolutely amazing! You can tell it's new. Before this cruise I was a little weary of cruising because I had been only on smaller, older (cheaper) cruises and this one has really changed my mind completely. The boat is HUGE and even though there's 5,000+ on board, I never felt crowded. Kids club area Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jorge18 Posted May 27, 2016 Author #3 Share Posted May 27, 2016 Miami Vice...one of many! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jorge18 Posted May 27, 2016 Author #4 Share Posted May 27, 2016 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jorge18 Posted May 27, 2016 Author #5 Share Posted May 27, 2016 The room was very well appointed. As I said before, I didn't feel crowded in the room and it was very comfortable with tons of storage space. We were in room 9122, which connected to the in laws room. The room for my son to run around both rooms was great which I'm sure helped with the whole situation. Random thought - The TV lineup SUCKS. I mean it's terrible. And I know, I know..."you're on a cruise, don't watch tv...blah blah blah" sometimes it's nice to just lay in bed and catch a movie or a TV show and it's pretty much impossible to do so. It's the same crappy movies and TV shows playing over and over and over. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jorge18 Posted May 27, 2016 Author #6 Share Posted May 27, 2016 You can charge your phone or whatever else right on the lamp which is very convenient. The bathroom was definitely a little tight, but still bigger than what I'm used to on the smaller ships. It really wasn't that bad. Beautiful Star Island on your way out... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jorge18 Posted May 27, 2016 Author #7 Share Posted May 27, 2016 The Fisher Island Ferry which takes you to probably the most prestigious part of Miami. TVs in all of the elevators Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare BirdTravels Posted May 27, 2016 #8 Share Posted May 27, 2016 Great photos! We were on the Escape last week and thought the cruise was Amazing! Thanks for sharing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jorge18 Posted May 27, 2016 Author #9 Share Posted May 27, 2016 On to the food, which might be the most important part of the cruise. .....Drum roll please...... It was AMAZING. Be forewarned; I'm not a overly picky eater, but I definitely know the difference between good and bad food. The buffet was surprisingly good, with A LOT of different options. I can't imagine somebody not being able to find something that they would like to eat. The a la carte restaurants were great too. We had the dining package so we were able to enjoy a couple of the restaurants. Cagney's was just OK. It wasn't bad, but it was great either. Everywhere we travel we usually go to a nice steakhouse so maybe we're a little spoiled on amazing steakhouses. Pictures to come. The churrasqueria is a definite must. The meat was great as were the sides! And lastly, the Teppenyaki was AMAZING. Pictures to come as well. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ChicagoBarb Posted May 27, 2016 #10 Share Posted May 27, 2016 My family (I’m 30, wife is 29, MIL and FIL are in their 60s and my son is 3) went on this cruise on April 30th through the 7th. First and foremost, we almost cancelled this cruise as we booked it almost a year ago, and while reading the terrible reviews we were scared. I’m glad we didn’t. Pretty much all of the bad things that we read about, we didn’t encounter. Not sure if NCL fixed these issues, or if it was just petty people that will complain about any and everything (my vote is on the latter). I would say it was just petty people. I was on the TA and then a B2B with one week being the same as yours. This is an awesome ship with the best crew. I had no complaints at all. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jorge18 Posted May 27, 2016 Author #11 Share Posted May 27, 2016 The CRAZY PACKED bars that you can NEVER get any drinks in... GHOST TOWN... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jorge18 Posted May 27, 2016 Author #12 Share Posted May 27, 2016 Enjoying some time in the arcade with Grandpa... The sunsets from our room were absolutely amazing. Real nice to sit out here and just relax for a little while. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jorge18 Posted May 27, 2016 Author #13 Share Posted May 27, 2016 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jorge18 Posted May 27, 2016 Author #14 Share Posted May 27, 2016 I think this was a Pisco Punch which was great. Steak Frittes was AWESOME! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jorge18 Posted May 27, 2016 Author #15 Share Posted May 27, 2016 The famous guiding fish! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jorge18 Posted May 27, 2016 Author #16 Share Posted May 27, 2016 Here's the ONLY REAL complaint I had about the cruise. The kids food is absolute TRASH. I know our son is in the minority, but he likes eating real food; not chicken nuggets and hot dogs. The literally do not have any 'healthy' options for kids so we were forced to order things off the adult menu and make it work for him. Like in the next picture, we got him some white rice, steam vegetables and the rotisserie chicken and he gobbled it up! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jorge18 Posted May 27, 2016 Author #17 Share Posted May 27, 2016 My favorite food item for breakfast... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jorge18 Posted May 27, 2016 Author #18 Share Posted May 27, 2016 ugghhh...that's not a leaf in the pool...there was a really crappy situation in the pool lol Lines for the tube pickup Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jorge18 Posted May 27, 2016 Author #19 Share Posted May 27, 2016 We got some crappy weather a couple of the days, but it passed pretty quickly. The captain and crew did a good job of steering us away from the bad weather as you can see they veered off course to avoid it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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