Cruise Ship Reviews : Norwegian Cruise Line Reviews
shirliten saw things this way:
VERY DIRTY DAMAGED CABIN, November 23, 2015
Reviewer: shirliten
Pros: PORTS OF CALL
Cons: WORST CABIN EVER
Departure port: new orleans
Region visited: Caribbean - Western
Cabin category: Outside
Cabin number: 5022/5036
Upon entering my cabin the first thing I noticed was there were pools of blood-like stains on the carpet, metal carpet trim hanging off wall, window so dirty/damaged could not see outside. I reported it to housekeeping but they did not seem that bothered but after phoning five times they eventually agreed to inspect my cabin and shampooed the carpet saying it was not blood only red sauce. We had wet carpet underfoot for a few hours as they told me every cabin was full. The window was not improved much by cleaning. I was unhappy about having no view from the window. Apart from pathetic apologies they really could not give a damn about passenger satisfaction.
babaloo saw things this way:
Norwegian Dawn safety hazard, employees bad hygiene, February 20, 2014
Reviewer: babaloo
Pros: Getting off the ship
Cons: All
Date of cruise: January 12, 2014
Departure port: Tampa
Region visited: Caribbean - Western
Cabin category: Inside
Good for children: No
Good for teenagers: No
On Sunday 1/12/2014 we arrived early and boarded the Dawn after regular procedures. Everyone promptly received their bags and lounged around the pool all day. We did not receive our bags. I entered our stateroom which was dirty from the previous tenants. The mini bar was not stocked as noted from the previous tenant's consumption of it. I personally cleaned our cabin, including picking up trash from the floor and a filthy luggage plastic sheet which went across the bed and had to scrub the shower also. I called the Steward and asked him to stock the mini-bar. He agreed to do so, as we did not want to be charged for the previous peoples consumption. Day turned into night and we still had not received our bags and we missed a whole day at the pool with our fellow cruisers. We went to dinner and after dinner while walking back to our cabin we found our bags aft in front of other people's staterooms, nowhere close to our cabin. We dragged our bags to our cabin which was at the bow of the ship. As you can see, we were off to a very bad start. When we returned with our bags, the mini bar was still not stocked as promised, and never was during the course of the entire trip with the contents of beer and soda to which the previous tenants consumed. The next day we asked to play shuffleboard with an older group and the attendant instead stopped the older groups game and locked up the contents of the game which we did not understand and we apologized to the older group for this action. We then went to the jewelry store and I asked an attendant the price of a certain ring, he said he would be right back and never returned. I bought a spa package for the week. After swimming and taking a very hot sauna I undressed in the ladies room where an unannounced male supervisor in full uniform entered and stopped to gawk at me, putting his hand over his mouth, going "Oh!" as he walked through to join two other female supervisors in full uniform including heels and full jackets who were sitting in the hot sauna enjoying a gossip session. There was no excuse for this breach of privacy or this entire scene. If this male wanted to join his female companions in the sauna, he could have gone through the men's room. More lack of respect on NCL's employees part. Hygiene wise, I found it completely unprofessional that NCL supervisors intentionally soiled up their uniforms only to afterwards address the passengers in this state for the rest of the evening. It was a real eye-opener for these employees' lack of disregard for hygiene and guarding the health of the passengers and themselves. It made me contemplate if other employees of NCL in the food area also had such a disregard for guarding good health measures and fighting bad bacteria that can so easily spread around the ship causing sickness among the passengers as we have all read about on other cruises. In regards to this entire scene, it was completely unnecessary, unprofessional, infringed on my privacy, and easily could have been avoided if NCL had a professionally minded staff. This scenario was inexcusable. My husband then returned to the cabin and found me quite distraught over the situation which had just taken place,. I told him of this latest incident in tears which prompted him to have a meeting with the hotel manager who offered us a free dinner" to add insult to injury. We had prepaid for an excursion to "Boat, Blast and Beach" on Costa Maya. We took the long bus trip to this beach and were put on a non-working boat. Three other boats also returned to shore due to non-working boats. Those people were accommodated with less-than-sufficient, but running boats. We were then put in a second non-running boat as the others in our group circled around. We were again taken back to shore and given a third boat. This third boat ran and ran fast and then began making a non-stopping ascending winding sound to the point where we thought the engine was going to blow up. My husband is a more than experienced boat baptain and out of desperation to stop the boat before it blew up pulled the red emergency stop which resulted in NOTHING as all safety controls for the drivers were disconnected and removed. To our astonishment, the upward winding sound continued and scared us to death. If you had another person manning this boat who was inexperienced in driving boats, you would have had some serious consequences on your hands. In such a whirlwind my husband managed to get this third boat to shore, and we were given a fourth boat which could not even get out of its own wake to reach the others. We gave up and asked for a refund. The attendant said that we would have to take that up with the ship and brought my husband tortilla chips and salsa to "make up for it" and then tried to charge us for a day at the beach. The Canadians that we befriended said that their boat broke down twice while in the ocean and that it could not keep up with the group. All of this made it apparent that NCL did not and does not monitor the quality of excursions that by NCL's own hand endorses. Before NCL authorizes a shore excursion it should apply quality control tactics against the outfit that it employs to carry out the excursion. NCL must assess the liability which the company holds if the outfit is non-compliant with safety standards, such as the removal of the emergency stop on the boat. This directly reflects the disregard for safety by NCL as my husband actually pulled the emergency stop key which was disabled. Our situation could have resulted in serious injuries to us or others. The disabling of the safety emergency stop on the boat is a recipe for disaster for all, producing yet even more negligence. Upon return to the ship, my husband went to the same shore excursion woman for a refund for "Boat, Blast and Engine Blowup. She kept arguing that he drank the alcohol which was asinine. She stated that it was against her better judgment and reluctantly refunded our money for the "Boat Blast" that never was. There is no question that we should have been refunded without these constant hassles. All of these avoidable situations made it apparent that NCL's staff members had a disregard for seeing it through that our trip went smoothly. I personally was never addressed for the negativity that I experienced on this cruise and I should have been. We worked hard to fund this trip and drove from Virginia to Tampa and back to experience a great time.
Emily saw things this way:
Beautiful ship, poor food and service., May 16, 2013
Reviewer: Emily
Pros: The ship is very pretty and the entertainment was good.
Cons: Terrible service and mediocre food.
Date of cruise: April 8, 2023
Departure port: Tampa, FL
Region visited: Caribbean - Western
Cabin category: Outside
Cabin number: 4538
We went on a 7 day Caribbean cruise for our honeymoon, to Roatan, Belize, and Cozumel. We had to skip the port in Costa Maya due to rough sea conditions. The experience ranged from some really good parts to some very bad parts. The excursions, entertainment, and housekeeping staff were excellent and we really enjoyed that part. The food and guest relations staff were not good. In most restaurants (even the specialty restaurants), the servers were very slow and we had to keep asking for things like coffee and drinks. The food always arrived cold or at room temperature - the only hot meal I got was at the buffet. It seemed like the food in the main dining rooms was made mediocre to make people pay for the specialty restaurants. We bought a package of three specialty restaurants and of those, only Cagney's stood out as being excellent, if you ordered the filet mignon. Other people in my party ordered t-bone and ribeye and had to send theirs back due to being overcooked and not tasting good. So, the food experience on this ship was not good at all. The staff at guest services were adversarial and not terribly helpful... they made us feel defensive every time we went there. They were also very disorganized in terms of the special event we had planned for our group. They didn't have any clue what was going on, but they did manage to get us to the person who could help. We heard a rumor that the best staff had been taken away to work on the newest ship, so if that was true, maybe this ship was left with the lesser quality staff. The other item worthy of note is the scheduling of activities. On the first sea day there was lots to do. On the last sea day, the activities seemed focused on squeezing as much money out of us as possible. I would have liked more activities on the last sea day that focused on fun and learning, like the first day. Overall, I am disappointed with this cruise experience and would rate it 4th of the 5 cruises we have done. We made the best of what we had but I don't think it should be like that... I expected much more in terms of food and service.
br1995MA saw things this way:
Excellent staff couldn't make up for terrible food. Lack of entertainment areas, March 26, 2013
Reviewer: br1995MA
Pros: Staff
Cons: Food
Date of cruise: March 3, 2013
Departure port: Tampa
Region visited: Caribbean - Western
Cabin category: Suite
Wait staff, butler and concierge were excellent. But the cruise director was poor. The food was barely above the level of fast food. Cabin layout was excellent, especially the bathroom and dressing area, but the furniture could use updating. The TV should provide interaction for things like bill review, reservations etc.
mulljac saw things this way:
Best vacation we ever had, January 30, 2011
Reviewer: mulljac
Pros: Friendly staff, good food, clean ship, good shows, price for the cruise.
Cons: Bingo expensive, some drinks expensive, fitness center needs updating.
Date of cruise: January 14, 2011
Departure port: Miami
Region visited: Caribbean - Southern
Cabin category: Outside
Cabin number: 4616
Good for children: Yes
Good for teenagers: Yes
We took a 9 night southern Caribbean cruise and had a blast. This was our second time on NCL and it was far better than last year's 4 night on the Sky. Everyone was friendly and the waiters came by for drink orders but did not hound you. The food was really good. The nightlife was good also. Some really good shows. The cruise director, Matt Baker, was really funny. The main pool was on the small side but worked out fine. Plenty of lounge chairs by the pool and hot tubs. The casino was small. Bingo was too expensive to play every day and payouts were not that great. This trip had a lot of older people so after the shows the dance club didn't have a lot of action going on. The guest DJ was really good. The shops had a pretty good selection to choose from. Hardly any kids on this cruise which was a plus. The fitness center needs new weight machines. And it was really hot when working out. I had dietary restrictions and it was never a problem in any of the restaurants. The waitstaff was also very helpful. Overall we liked the ship and had a great time. Would like to try another ship on the NCL line.
ezcruiser saw things this way:
Very nice ship, great restaurant choices, very good entertainment, July 17, 2010
Reviewer: ezcruiser
Pros: Lots of choices in food and entertainment, nicely mantained ship
Cons: ome workers could not communicate too well in English, kids were allowed to run
Date of cruise: April 7, 2010
Departure port: NYC
Region visited: Bermuda
Cabin category: Outside
Cabin number: 4622
Good for children: Yes
Good for teenagers: Yes
Left on July 4 from NYC. Great sailaway party past Lady Liberty. Enjoyed the two sea days and got to know the ship. Bermuda was beautiful but the Dockyard is boring after about two hours so you do have to get a transportation pass and use the buses and ferries to see anything of interest. Takes approximately 25 to 30 minutes to get anywhere by either mode. Service was quick and clean though. Ship is super nice considering it's age. They keep up on it and it shows. Entertainment was varied and interesting. Food in main dining room, the Venetian, was pretty good, not great but fine. The other main room, Aqua, has same food but seems kind of small and LOUD. The Le Bistro French was the best specialty restaurant. Impressions Italian was really nice but they did rush us a little. We had to send back the main course since we were still eating our appetizers. Cagney's Steakhouse was not so hot. Steak was overcooked and overall the food was just okay. Big Band Brunch was very nice but poorly attended There were only a handful of tables taken during the one hour we were there. The Pub crawl was a lot of laughs but the drinks they give are LAME. Bermuda is VERY expensive ($75 for hamburger and drink, lunch for two at Elbow Beach and in St. Georges) but we ate most meals on the ship so not that bad. Horseshoe Bay was very overcrowded with ship passengers, felt like the Jersey shore. Go to Warwick Long Beach or Jobson's Cove for more seclusion and privacy. Only two or three beaches have facilities of any kind so that can be tricky for some but bring water and a snack and you'll be fine. They do hawk drinks very aggressively at the pool, you have to say no thanks about 100 times a day. The pool is very small and deep so everyone hangs on the side and it gets sort of crazy. Hard to even get in to cool off. Cabin steward did a pretty good job. We gave him $20 on the first day and we always had ice, clean towels and he even cleared out our mini fridge and put in our soda and water for us. We never saw him again, though, after day one. Loved being docked in Bermuda so we could wander and do whatever and have no time limits. Go to Hamilton on Wednesday night for harbor nights. Vendors selling food and wares and live music. Nice evening to spend off the ship. Overall we had a blast and enjoyed ourselves and the slow pace of "Freestyle Cruising."
Norwegian Dawn reviews
Average customer rating:
2.91 / 5
2.91 / 5Average Rating based on 6 Reviews:
Value For Money
Cabin Design
Entertainment
Fitness Center
Food Quality
Ship Maintenance
Spa
Specialty Restaurant
Staff and Service
Cabin Design
Entertainment
Fitness Center
Food Quality
Ship Maintenance
Spa
Specialty Restaurant
Staff and Service
2.67
3.17
3.00
2.50
2.83
3.00
1.00
3.33
2.80
3.17
3.00
2.50
2.83
3.00
1.00
3.33
2.80
shirliten saw things this way:
Value For Money
Cabin Design
Entertainment
Food Quality
Ship Maintenance
Specialty Restaurant
Staff and Service
Cabin Design
Entertainment
Food Quality
Ship Maintenance
Specialty Restaurant
Staff and Service
1
3
2
4
1
2
2
3
2
4
1
2
2
VERY DIRTY DAMAGED CABIN, November 23, 2015
Reviewer: shirliten
Pros: PORTS OF CALL
Cons: WORST CABIN EVER
Departure port: new orleans
Region visited: Caribbean - Western
Cabin category: Outside
Cabin number: 5022/5036
Upon entering my cabin the first thing I noticed was there were pools of blood-like stains on the carpet, metal carpet trim hanging off wall, window so dirty/damaged could not see outside. I reported it to housekeeping but they did not seem that bothered but after phoning five times they eventually agreed to inspect my cabin and shampooed the carpet saying it was not blood only red sauce. We had wet carpet underfoot for a few hours as they told me every cabin was full. The window was not improved much by cleaning. I was unhappy about having no view from the window. Apart from pathetic apologies they really could not give a damn about passenger satisfaction.
babaloo saw things this way:
Value For Money
Cabin Design
Entertainment
Fitness Center
Food Quality
Ship Maintenance
Spa
Specialty Restaurant
Staff and Service
Cabin Design
Entertainment
Fitness Center
Food Quality
Ship Maintenance
Spa
Specialty Restaurant
Staff and Service
1
1
3
3
2
1
1
3
1
1
3
3
2
1
1
3
1
Norwegian Dawn safety hazard, employees bad hygiene, February 20, 2014
Reviewer: babaloo
Pros: Getting off the ship
Cons: All
Date of cruise: January 12, 2014
Departure port: Tampa
Region visited: Caribbean - Western
Cabin category: Inside
Good for children: No
Good for teenagers: No
On Sunday 1/12/2014 we arrived early and boarded the Dawn after regular procedures. Everyone promptly received their bags and lounged around the pool all day. We did not receive our bags. I entered our stateroom which was dirty from the previous tenants. The mini bar was not stocked as noted from the previous tenant's consumption of it. I personally cleaned our cabin, including picking up trash from the floor and a filthy luggage plastic sheet which went across the bed and had to scrub the shower also. I called the Steward and asked him to stock the mini-bar. He agreed to do so, as we did not want to be charged for the previous peoples consumption. Day turned into night and we still had not received our bags and we missed a whole day at the pool with our fellow cruisers. We went to dinner and after dinner while walking back to our cabin we found our bags aft in front of other people's staterooms, nowhere close to our cabin. We dragged our bags to our cabin which was at the bow of the ship. As you can see, we were off to a very bad start. When we returned with our bags, the mini bar was still not stocked as promised, and never was during the course of the entire trip with the contents of beer and soda to which the previous tenants consumed. The next day we asked to play shuffleboard with an older group and the attendant instead stopped the older groups game and locked up the contents of the game which we did not understand and we apologized to the older group for this action. We then went to the jewelry store and I asked an attendant the price of a certain ring, he said he would be right back and never returned. I bought a spa package for the week. After swimming and taking a very hot sauna I undressed in the ladies room where an unannounced male supervisor in full uniform entered and stopped to gawk at me, putting his hand over his mouth, going "Oh!" as he walked through to join two other female supervisors in full uniform including heels and full jackets who were sitting in the hot sauna enjoying a gossip session. There was no excuse for this breach of privacy or this entire scene. If this male wanted to join his female companions in the sauna, he could have gone through the men's room. More lack of respect on NCL's employees part. Hygiene wise, I found it completely unprofessional that NCL supervisors intentionally soiled up their uniforms only to afterwards address the passengers in this state for the rest of the evening. It was a real eye-opener for these employees' lack of disregard for hygiene and guarding the health of the passengers and themselves. It made me contemplate if other employees of NCL in the food area also had such a disregard for guarding good health measures and fighting bad bacteria that can so easily spread around the ship causing sickness among the passengers as we have all read about on other cruises. In regards to this entire scene, it was completely unnecessary, unprofessional, infringed on my privacy, and easily could have been avoided if NCL had a professionally minded staff. This scenario was inexcusable. My husband then returned to the cabin and found me quite distraught over the situation which had just taken place,. I told him of this latest incident in tears which prompted him to have a meeting with the hotel manager who offered us a free dinner" to add insult to injury. We had prepaid for an excursion to "Boat, Blast and Beach" on Costa Maya. We took the long bus trip to this beach and were put on a non-working boat. Three other boats also returned to shore due to non-working boats. Those people were accommodated with less-than-sufficient, but running boats. We were then put in a second non-running boat as the others in our group circled around. We were again taken back to shore and given a third boat. This third boat ran and ran fast and then began making a non-stopping ascending winding sound to the point where we thought the engine was going to blow up. My husband is a more than experienced boat baptain and out of desperation to stop the boat before it blew up pulled the red emergency stop which resulted in NOTHING as all safety controls for the drivers were disconnected and removed. To our astonishment, the upward winding sound continued and scared us to death. If you had another person manning this boat who was inexperienced in driving boats, you would have had some serious consequences on your hands. In such a whirlwind my husband managed to get this third boat to shore, and we were given a fourth boat which could not even get out of its own wake to reach the others. We gave up and asked for a refund. The attendant said that we would have to take that up with the ship and brought my husband tortilla chips and salsa to "make up for it" and then tried to charge us for a day at the beach. The Canadians that we befriended said that their boat broke down twice while in the ocean and that it could not keep up with the group. All of this made it apparent that NCL did not and does not monitor the quality of excursions that by NCL's own hand endorses. Before NCL authorizes a shore excursion it should apply quality control tactics against the outfit that it employs to carry out the excursion. NCL must assess the liability which the company holds if the outfit is non-compliant with safety standards, such as the removal of the emergency stop on the boat. This directly reflects the disregard for safety by NCL as my husband actually pulled the emergency stop key which was disabled. Our situation could have resulted in serious injuries to us or others. The disabling of the safety emergency stop on the boat is a recipe for disaster for all, producing yet even more negligence. Upon return to the ship, my husband went to the same shore excursion woman for a refund for "Boat, Blast and Engine Blowup. She kept arguing that he drank the alcohol which was asinine. She stated that it was against her better judgment and reluctantly refunded our money for the "Boat Blast" that never was. There is no question that we should have been refunded without these constant hassles. All of these avoidable situations made it apparent that NCL's staff members had a disregard for seeing it through that our trip went smoothly. I personally was never addressed for the negativity that I experienced on this cruise and I should have been. We worked hard to fund this trip and drove from Virginia to Tampa and back to experience a great time.
Emily saw things this way:
Value For Money
Cabin Design
Entertainment
Food Quality
Ship Maintenance
Specialty Restaurant
Staff and Service
Cabin Design
Entertainment
Food Quality
Ship Maintenance
Specialty Restaurant
Staff and Service
2
3
4
2
5
3
1
3
4
2
5
3
1
Beautiful ship, poor food and service., May 16, 2013
Reviewer: Emily
Pros: The ship is very pretty and the entertainment was good.
Cons: Terrible service and mediocre food.
Date of cruise: April 8, 2023
Departure port: Tampa, FL
Region visited: Caribbean - Western
Cabin category: Outside
Cabin number: 4538
We went on a 7 day Caribbean cruise for our honeymoon, to Roatan, Belize, and Cozumel. We had to skip the port in Costa Maya due to rough sea conditions. The experience ranged from some really good parts to some very bad parts. The excursions, entertainment, and housekeeping staff were excellent and we really enjoyed that part. The food and guest relations staff were not good. In most restaurants (even the specialty restaurants), the servers were very slow and we had to keep asking for things like coffee and drinks. The food always arrived cold or at room temperature - the only hot meal I got was at the buffet. It seemed like the food in the main dining rooms was made mediocre to make people pay for the specialty restaurants. We bought a package of three specialty restaurants and of those, only Cagney's stood out as being excellent, if you ordered the filet mignon. Other people in my party ordered t-bone and ribeye and had to send theirs back due to being overcooked and not tasting good. So, the food experience on this ship was not good at all. The staff at guest services were adversarial and not terribly helpful... they made us feel defensive every time we went there. They were also very disorganized in terms of the special event we had planned for our group. They didn't have any clue what was going on, but they did manage to get us to the person who could help. We heard a rumor that the best staff had been taken away to work on the newest ship, so if that was true, maybe this ship was left with the lesser quality staff. The other item worthy of note is the scheduling of activities. On the first sea day there was lots to do. On the last sea day, the activities seemed focused on squeezing as much money out of us as possible. I would have liked more activities on the last sea day that focused on fun and learning, like the first day. Overall, I am disappointed with this cruise experience and would rate it 4th of the 5 cruises we have done. We made the best of what we had but I don't think it should be like that... I expected much more in terms of food and service.
br1995MA saw things this way:
Value For Money
Cabin Design
Entertainment
Food Quality
Ship Maintenance
Specialty Restaurant
Staff and Service
Cabin Design
Entertainment
Food Quality
Ship Maintenance
Specialty Restaurant
Staff and Service
3
4
1
1
3
4
5
4
1
1
3
4
5
Excellent staff couldn't make up for terrible food. Lack of entertainment areas, March 26, 2013
Reviewer: br1995MA
Pros: Staff
Cons: Food
Date of cruise: March 3, 2013
Departure port: Tampa
Region visited: Caribbean - Western
Cabin category: Suite
Wait staff, butler and concierge were excellent. But the cruise director was poor. The food was barely above the level of fast food. Cabin layout was excellent, especially the bathroom and dressing area, but the furniture could use updating. The TV should provide interaction for things like bill review, reservations etc.
mulljac saw things this way:
Value For Money
Cabin Design
Entertainment
Fitness Center
Food Quality
Ship Maintenance
Specialty Restaurant
Staff and Service
Cabin Design
Entertainment
Fitness Center
Food Quality
Ship Maintenance
Specialty Restaurant
Staff and Service
5
4
4
2
4
4
4
5
4
4
2
4
4
4
5
Best vacation we ever had, January 30, 2011
Reviewer: mulljac
Pros: Friendly staff, good food, clean ship, good shows, price for the cruise.
Cons: Bingo expensive, some drinks expensive, fitness center needs updating.
Date of cruise: January 14, 2011
Departure port: Miami
Region visited: Caribbean - Southern
Cabin category: Outside
Cabin number: 4616
Good for children: Yes
Good for teenagers: Yes
We took a 9 night southern Caribbean cruise and had a blast. This was our second time on NCL and it was far better than last year's 4 night on the Sky. Everyone was friendly and the waiters came by for drink orders but did not hound you. The food was really good. The nightlife was good also. Some really good shows. The cruise director, Matt Baker, was really funny. The main pool was on the small side but worked out fine. Plenty of lounge chairs by the pool and hot tubs. The casino was small. Bingo was too expensive to play every day and payouts were not that great. This trip had a lot of older people so after the shows the dance club didn't have a lot of action going on. The guest DJ was really good. The shops had a pretty good selection to choose from. Hardly any kids on this cruise which was a plus. The fitness center needs new weight machines. And it was really hot when working out. I had dietary restrictions and it was never a problem in any of the restaurants. The waitstaff was also very helpful. Overall we liked the ship and had a great time. Would like to try another ship on the NCL line.
ezcruiser saw things this way:
Value For Money
Cabin Design
Entertainment
Food Quality
Ship Maintenance
Specialty Restaurant
Cabin Design
Entertainment
Food Quality
Ship Maintenance
Specialty Restaurant
4
4
4
4
4
4
4
4
4
4
4
Very nice ship, great restaurant choices, very good entertainment, July 17, 2010
Reviewer: ezcruiser
Pros: Lots of choices in food and entertainment, nicely mantained ship
Cons: ome workers could not communicate too well in English, kids were allowed to run
Date of cruise: April 7, 2010
Departure port: NYC
Region visited: Bermuda
Cabin category: Outside
Cabin number: 4622
Good for children: Yes
Good for teenagers: Yes
Left on July 4 from NYC. Great sailaway party past Lady Liberty. Enjoyed the two sea days and got to know the ship. Bermuda was beautiful but the Dockyard is boring after about two hours so you do have to get a transportation pass and use the buses and ferries to see anything of interest. Takes approximately 25 to 30 minutes to get anywhere by either mode. Service was quick and clean though. Ship is super nice considering it's age. They keep up on it and it shows. Entertainment was varied and interesting. Food in main dining room, the Venetian, was pretty good, not great but fine. The other main room, Aqua, has same food but seems kind of small and LOUD. The Le Bistro French was the best specialty restaurant. Impressions Italian was really nice but they did rush us a little. We had to send back the main course since we were still eating our appetizers. Cagney's Steakhouse was not so hot. Steak was overcooked and overall the food was just okay. Big Band Brunch was very nice but poorly attended There were only a handful of tables taken during the one hour we were there. The Pub crawl was a lot of laughs but the drinks they give are LAME. Bermuda is VERY expensive ($75 for hamburger and drink, lunch for two at Elbow Beach and in St. Georges) but we ate most meals on the ship so not that bad. Horseshoe Bay was very overcrowded with ship passengers, felt like the Jersey shore. Go to Warwick Long Beach or Jobson's Cove for more seclusion and privacy. Only two or three beaches have facilities of any kind so that can be tricky for some but bring water and a snack and you'll be fine. They do hawk drinks very aggressively at the pool, you have to say no thanks about 100 times a day. The pool is very small and deep so everyone hangs on the side and it gets sort of crazy. Hard to even get in to cool off. Cabin steward did a pretty good job. We gave him $20 on the first day and we always had ice, clean towels and he even cleared out our mini fridge and put in our soda and water for us. We never saw him again, though, after day one. Loved being docked in Bermuda so we could wander and do whatever and have no time limits. Go to Hamilton on Wednesday night for harbor nights. Vendors selling food and wares and live music. Nice evening to spend off the ship. Overall we had a blast and enjoyed ourselves and the slow pace of "Freestyle Cruising."
